THE UN-NATURAL

Chris Willman tells us he played a reporter in the new Albert Brooks movie “The Scout” (“Out of His League, or Out of His Mind?” Sept. 25). Too bad he didn’t play the same role for Calendar.

The self-absorbed and, despite its epic length, virtually news-free story read more like an advertisement for a reporter’s ego and 20th Century Fox than journalism.

I also wonder: Even with a reporter involved in the production of “The Scout,” how did The Times miss the biggest story--that the baseball movie tested so disastrously that the filmmakers had to shoot an entirely new and totally unbelievable ending (call ‘em up and ask).

I’d call this one a shutout: Hollywood 1, Professional Integrity 0.

JOSHUA PHILLIPS

Pasadena