As a film critic, I owe a great deal to the filmmakers responsible for the work that I am analyzing to diffuse my ego and bias when appropriate, observing each film as objectively as possible while walking the difficult tightrope between being the viewer and attempting to analyze the picture through a filmmaker’s lens and from the perspective of every major player: the actors, the directors, the cinematographers, the producers, the screenwriters, the editors, the composers, etc. Filmmaking is, for lack of a better term, a “team sport.” Far too often, film critics and journalists forget this fact.

Considering how difficult it is to make a film, I don’t agree with the approach many other critics take. That of knee-jerk reactions and petty grievances, oftentimes resorting to unhelpful insults, and ultimately providing neither constructive nor productive contributions to the art forms of film criticism and cinema. Critiquing a film or television show isn’t a race to publish one’s opinion online as soon as the social media and review embargoes lift.

Consider Martin Scorsese’s thoughts on why content over critical thought is harming the industry in the age of review aggregators:

“The horrible idea they reinforce [is] that every picture, every image is there to be instantly judged and dismissed without giving audiences time to see it. Time to see it, maybe ruminate and maybe make a decision for themselves. So the great 20th-century art form, the American art form, is reduced to content.”

A film is a living, breathing thing. In that sense, initial reactions of films don’t always beget the most unbiased critiques. Films deserve distance and time in order to be properly dissected. We are all film lovers at heart, and therefore owe the artists contributing to this medium analyses that are thoughtful and well-informed.

My big break was authoring the first nationally published review of Martin Scorsese’s “Silence” in the San Francisco Examiner. The rest, as they say, is history.

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I am well-versed in utilizing my knowledge of film and insight into the industry to conduct productive yet relaxed, conversational interviews. Several of the actors and filmmakers I have interviewed are Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver, The Aviator), Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner: 2049, Dune), Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men, Being the Ricardos), Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network, The West Wing), Kristen Stewart (Personal Shopper, Clouds of Sils Maria), Robert Pattinson (Good Time, The Lighthouse), Edward Norton (25th Hour, American History X), John C. Reilly (Step Brothers, Stan & Ollie), Juliette Lewis (Cape Fear, Natural Born Killers), Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal, Mogul Mowgli), Olivia Wilde (Her, Booksmart) Jason Sudeikis (Saturday Night Live, Ted Lasso), Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull), Armie Hammer (Call Me by Your Name, The Social Network), Stanley Tucci (Big Night, The Lovely Bones), Val Kilmer (Top Gun, Heat), Rashida Jones (I Love You, Man, Parks and Recreation), Boots Riley (Sorry to Bother You), Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon, The Color Purple) Kieran Culkin (Succession, Igby Goes Down), Jennifer Garner (Alias, Catch Me If You Can), John Waters (Pink Flamingos, Cry-Baby), Glenn Close (Fatal Attraction, Hook), James Gray (Lost City of Z, Ad Astra), Janicza Bravo (Lemon, Zola), and many more. You can find these interviews in the “Interviews” drop-down menu at the top of the page.⇑

It was an honor to assist Val Kilmer’s PR team in promoting his one-man play, Cinema Twain. Check out what he had to say about his project during our interview.