What’s your deal?
I started this website sometime in 2016 (I think?), and have been diligently committed to sporadic posting since its inception. I can blame college, day jobs, mental illness, etc for the rate of posting the past decade, and so I will! If you’re looking for credentials, I graduated from The Ohio State University with a BA in Film and from The University of Chicago with a Masters in Cinema and Media Studies. I also interned at the Chicago International Film Festival for the 2019 school year as part of their education program, and helped program the lineup for the 2020 CineYouth Film Festival (which would be pushed to 2021 due to lockdown.). My current day job is as a social worker, and I’m also emplloyed by the Columbus Film Festival as a programmer for their 2025 slate.
Whose film writing has made you like this?
There are so many voices I would not have met without Nathaniel Rogers and The Film Experience giving them some kind of platform, which I first discovered around 2015. It helps Nathaniel himself is such a talented writer, and he really discerning about inviting smart, interesting personalities to collaborate with. I first heard of Brian Herrera and his Supporting Actress Smackdown when TFE started hosting podcast episodes picking over their thoughts on Oscar’s lineups, and they were a godsend for introducing me to the smartie pants analyses of folks like Mark Harris, Emily St. James, Tim Robey, Guy Lodge, Kyle Turner, Karina Longworth, Bill Chambers, Teo Bugbee, Tasha Robinson, Katey Rich, Joe Reid, and Lynn Lee.
For people who convinced me I could do this, we must start with Nick Davis, whose writing was instrumental to helping me shape my tastes and pet interests. He was also a terrific chaperone for the 2019 Chicago Film Festival, which remains one of my best memories of living in Chicago before lockdown shut everything down. As far as contemporaries (ie, people around my age who are more productive than I am) who have and continue to inspire me with their wit and personality, allow me to shout-out Claudio Alves, Caroline Thompson, Patrick Gratton, Juan Carlos Ojano, Caden Gardner, and Willow Maclay.
I dig the cut of your jib and want to sample your CV – what pieces are you most proud of?
I really love what I wrote about Never Rarely Sometimes Always, which I still consider the first great article I wrote for The Film Experience. As part of their Queering the Oscars series, I had a great time diving into Common Threads: Stories From the Quilt and Chris Sarandon’s performance in Dog Day Afternoon. I’ve been happy to champion The People’s Joker all 2024. Of the many performance write-ups I’ve done as a side panel for the Supporting Actress Smackdown, I’m proud of what I wrote on Jenette Goldstein in Aliens, Gwyneth Paltrow in Hard Eight, Julianne Moore in May December, Mink Stole in Female Trouble, and Nicole Kidman in Paddington. And for extra silliness, I had great fun with my two stints as Minus One Godzilla for TFE, as part of a pre-Oscars interview and a post-Oscars victory statement.
How can I get in contact with you?
If you would like to find me and my writing on other social media platforms, you can sift through my Linktree here. Otherwise, if you’d like to email me directly, fill out the form below!
It's Just Like The Movies 