#46 - David Ansen: Movie Critic

Film critic David Ansen has had one of the most unique and influential careers in modern entertainment history.

He joins his high school classmate Bob and Suzanne in a revealing and engaging conversation that starts with a childhood growing up in Beverly Hills as the son of a Hollywood industry insider. You’ll hear about David’s early fascination with movies and how even as a pre-teen he began documenting that interest as the ultimate “list maker.”

Going from undergrad writing studies at Harvard, to life on a commune, and then to writing about movies for Boston’s The Real Paper, David then found himself recommended as film reviewer at Newsweek by no less a luminary that legendary film critic Pauline Kael.

During his 31-year career at Newsweek, David Ansen became one of the most powerful voices in modern film criticism. His lifelong love of movies was matched by an insightful worldview and a writing style that made many of his reviews more entertaining than the movies he reviewed. When David Ansen wrote favorably about a movie, people bought tickets. A negative review would often have the opposite effect, although in this conversation David humorously reveals the one film he describes as “an unkillable movie.”

With unique industry knowledge and deep analytical perspective, David talks about today’s rise of quality TV shows as compared to the trend toward major studio “franchise” movies which fail to capture his attention.

After a career as Senior Editor at Newsweek and writing numerous television documentaries about Hollywood legends Greta Garbo, Groucho Marx, and Elizabeth Taylor--winning the Ace Award for All About Bette Davis—David moved on to work with The New York Film Festival, the Sundance Film Festival, and recently served as Artistic Director of The Los Angeles Film Festival.

His newest assignment as Lead Programmer for the 2016 Palm Springs International Film Festival guarantees his ongoing influence in the world of serious filmmaking.

If you like movies, you don’t want to miss this revealing conversation with David Ansen.