In 2010, 13-year-old Hailee Steinfeld made a strong first impression (and nabbed an Oscar nomination) for her work in the Coen Brother’s True Grit remake. Six years later, the young actress, model, and singer has a dozen more feature films on her resume–including Pitch Perfect 2, which also served as a launching pad for a very … More Interview: Hailiee Steinfeld, Star of The Edge of Seventeen

When you interview someone for an arts piece, there are numerous competing agendas at play, including: 1) What you, the interviewer, personally want to know, are curious about. 2) What you think is important for others to know. 3) What the average reader would probably find the most interesting, what will make the interview “pop.” … More Interview: Actress-turned-nun Mother Dolores Hart

From 2000 to 2005, Swiss endurance athlete Serge Roetheli and his wife Nicole traveled 25,000 miles around the world, from Europe, down around Africa, across the Middle East and South Asia, through East Asia and Australia, then over to South America and up into North America before finishing up back in Europe. The catch? Serge … More Interview: The 25,000 Mile Love Story’s Star and Filmmakers

I’ll spare you my rambling thoughts about why I love/hate end-of-year (or even 13-days-after-the-end-of-the-year) lists, and I’ll spare you flowery prose about what a rich/poor/weak/strong/fascinating/frustrating/encouraging/discouraging/“insert-cinematic-trend-here” year 2012 was at the theater. Instead, a few bookkeeping matters: I draw a fuzzy, idiosyncratic distinction between a “great” film and a “favorite” film. In short, the former makes … More My Top 25 Favorite Films of 2012

The Oscars tend to twist us film critics and writers into pretzels of varying paradoxical silliness. There are film writers who truly love the Academy Awards and genuinely embrace them each late winter as a glamorous celebration of the art, craft, and business of (mostly) Hollywood movie magic. There are just as many film critics … More So, About Those Oscar Nominations…