Lou Lumenick

Last updated
Lou Lumenick
Born
Louis J. Lumenick

(1949-09-11) September 11, 1949 (age 74)
Astoria, Queens, United States
Occupation Film critic

Louis J. Lumenick (born September 11, 1949) is an American film critic. He was the chief film critic and film editor for the New York Post where he reviewed films from 1999 until his retirement in 2016.

Contents

Life and career

Lumenick was born and raised in Astoria, Queens. He attended City College of New York (CCNY) and took filmmaking courses at The New School. He previously worked at The Hartford Times , a defunct newspaper in Connecticut, and The Record in New Jersey, reviewing films over a nine-year span for the latter. [1] He was metropolitan editor at the Post before taking the film reviewer position.

In 2007 he was inducted into the CCNY Communications Hall of Fame. [2] He is a member of the New York Film Critics Circle. Lumenick and Farran Smith Nehme conceived and created "Shadows of Russia," a 20-film series that aired in January, 2010, on Turner Classic Movies. [3] He also appeared as an on-air TCM guest programmer in October 2010 as part of the Critic's Choice film series, introducing The Last Flight and All Through the Night with Robert Osborne. His essay on It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is included in The Criterion Collection's January 2014 release of the film. Lumenick has introduced films at the United Palace (the former Loews 175th Street) in Washington Heights, Manhattan, as well as at the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of the Moving Image, Loews Jersey and at the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood. He has also recorded introductions for DVD releases of several classic films for the Troma Team's Roan Group label.

Roger Ebert incident

At the 2008 Toronto Film Festival, during the premiere of Slumdog Millionaire, Lumenick was sitting in front of Roger Ebert, who both could not speak and was unable to freely move his head due to his medical condition caused by cancer. Ebert was inconvenienced by Lumenick obstructing his line of sight, could not see the subtitles, [4] and tapped him on the shoulder a few times to get him to move a bit to the side. Lumenick abruptly rose from his seat, shouting "Don't touch me!"; he did this again a few minutes later and then also hit Ebert with a large binder, causing a loud noise that reportedly startled the audience. He then understood that he had yelled at and hit Ebert, but reportedly did not apologize at the time. [5] [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Ebert</span> American film critic and author (1942–2013)

Roger Joseph Ebert was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. Ebert was known for his intimate, Midwestern writing voice and critical views informed by values of populism and humanism. Writing in a prose style intended to be entertaining and direct, he made sophisticated cinematic and analytical ideas more accessible to non-specialist audiences. Ebert frequently endorsed foreign and independent films he believed would be appreciated by mainstream viewers, which often resulted in such films receiving greater exposure. In 1975, Ebert became the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Neil Steinberg of the Chicago Sun-Times said Ebert "was without question the nation's most prominent and influential film critic," and Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times called him "the best-known film critic in America."

<i>L.A. Confidential</i> (film) 1997 film by Curtis Hanson

L.A. Confidential is a 1997 American neo-noir crime film directed, produced, and co-written by Curtis Hanson. The screenplay by Hanson and Brian Helgeland is based on James Ellroy's 1990 novel of the same name, the third book in his L.A. Quartet series. The film tells the story of a group of LAPD officers in 1953, and the intersection of police corruption and Hollywood celebrity. The title refers to the 1950s scandal magazine Confidential, portrayed in the film as Hush-Hush.

<i>Round Midnight</i> (film) 1986 film by Bertrand Tavernier

Round Midnight is a 1986 American musical drama film directed by Bertrand Tavernier and written by Tavernier and David Rayfiel. It stars Dexter Gordon, with a soundtrack by Herbie Hancock. The title comes from Thelonious Monk's 1943 composition 'Round Midnight, which is featured in this film in a Hancock arrangement.

<i>The Brown Bunny</i> 2003 film directed by Vincent Gallo

The Brown Bunny is a 2003 film written, directed, produced, photographed and edited by Vincent Gallo. Starring Gallo and Chloë Sevigny, it tells the story of a motorcycle racer on a cross-country drive who is haunted by memories of his former lover. It was photographed with handheld 16 mm cameras in various locations throughout the United States, including New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Ohio, Missouri, Utah, Nevada, and California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonard Maltin</span> American film critic and film historian (born 1950)

Leonard Michael Maltin is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide, published annually from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film critic on Entertainment Tonight from 1982 to 2010. He currently teaches at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and hosts the weekly podcast Maltin on Movies. He served two terms as President of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and votes for films to be selected for the National Film Registry.

<i>Once Upon a Time in America</i> 1984 film directed by Sergio Leone

Once Upon a Time in America is a 1984 epic crime film co-written and directed by Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone, and starring Robert De Niro and James Woods. The film is an Italian–American venture produced by The Ladd Company, Embassy International Pictures, PSO Enterprises and Rafran Cinematografica, and distributed by Warner Bros. Based on Harry Grey's novel The Hoods, it chronicles the lives of best friends David "Noodles" Aaronson and Maximilian "Max" Bercovicz as they lead a group of Jewish ghetto youths who rise to prominence as Jewish gangsters in New York City's world of organized crime. The film explores themes of childhood friendships, love, lust, greed, betrayal, loss, and broken relationships, together with the rise of mobsters in American society.

<i>Bicycle Thieves</i> 1948 film by Vittorio De Sica

Bicycle Thieves, also known as The Bicycle Thief, is a 1948 Italian neorealist drama film directed by Vittorio De Sica. It follows the story of a poor father searching in post-World War II Rome for his stolen bicycle, without which he will lose the job which was to be the salvation of his young family.

Clorinda "Linda" Fiorentino is an American former actress. Fiorentino made her screen debut with a leading role in the 1985 coming-of-age drama film Vision Quest, followed that same year with a lead role in the action film Gotcha! and an appearance in the film After Hours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron Eckhart</span> American actor (born 1968)

Aaron Edward Eckhart is an American actor. Born in Cupertino, California, Eckhart moved to the United Kingdom at an early age. He began his acting career by performing in school plays, before moving to Australia for his high school senior year. He left high school without graduating, but earned a diploma through a professional education course, and then graduated from Brigham Young University (BYU) in Utah, U.S., in 1994 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in film.

Rex Taylor Reed is an American film critic, journalist, and media personality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mads Mikkelsen</span> Danish actor (born 1965)

Mads Dittmann Mikkelsen is a Danish actor, former gymnast and dancer. He rose to fame in Denmark as an actor for his roles such as Tonny in the first two films of the Pusher film trilogy, Detective Sergeant Allan Fischer in the television series Rejseholdet (2000–2004), Niels in Open Hearts (2002), Svend in The Green Butchers (2003), Ivan in Adam's Apples (2005) and Jacob Petersen in After the Wedding (2006).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elvis Mitchell</span> American film critic and radio host (born 1958)

Elvis Mitchell is an American film critic, host of the public radio show The Treatment, and visiting lecturer at Harvard University. He has served as a film critic for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the LA Weekly, The Detroit Free Press, and The New York Times. He had also been an interviewer for Interview Magazine. In the summer of 2011, he was appointed as curator of LACMA's new film series, Film Independent at LACMA. He is also currently a Film Scholar and lecturer at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Osborne</span> American film historian and actor (1932–2017)

Robert Jolin Osborne was an American film historian, television presenter, author, actor and the primary host for more than 20 years of the cable channel Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Prior to hosting at TCM, Osborne had been a host on The Movie Channel, and earlier, a columnist for The Hollywood Reporter. Osborne wrote the official history of the Academy Awards, published in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramin Bahrani</span> American film director

Ramin Bahrani is an Iranian-American director and screenwriter. Film critic Roger Ebert ranked Bahrani's Chop Shop (2007) as the sixth-best film of the 2000s, calling him "the new director of the decade". Bahrani was the recipient of the 2009 Guggenheim Fellowship. Bahrani is a professor of film directing at his alma mater, the Columbia University School of the Arts.

<i>Tempest</i> (1982 film) 1982 film by Paul Mazursky

Tempest is a 1982 American adventure comedy-drama romance film directed by Paul Mazursky. It is a loosely based, modern-day adaptation of the William Shakespeare play The Tempest. The picture features John Cassavetes, Gena Rowlands, Susan Sarandon, Raúl Juliá and Molly Ringwald in her feature film debut.

<i>Eds Next Move</i> 1996 American film

Ed's Next Move is a 1996 American romantic comedy film written and directed by John Walsh. It stars Matt Ross, Callie Thorne, and Kevin Carroll. A micro-budget film about a transplanted Midwesterner adapting to life in New York's East Village, the film appeared at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival where it received critical praise and was picked up by Orion Classics for theatrical release.

<i>Night Flight</i> (1933 film) 1933 film by Clarence Brown

Night Flight is a 1933 American pre-Code aviation drama film produced by David O. Selznick, distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Clarence Brown and starring John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Clark Gable, Helen Hayes, Robert Montgomery and Myrna Loy.

<i>Medicine for Melancholy</i> 2008 American film

Medicine for Melancholy is a 2008 romantic drama film written and directed by Barry Jenkins in his feature directorial debut. The film stars Wyatt Cenac, Tracey Heggins, and Elizabeth Acker.

<i>What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael</i> 2018 biographical documentary film by Rob Garver

What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael is a 2018 American biographical documentary film about the life and work of the controversial New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael. The film was directed, produced and edited by Rob Garver, and features Sarah Jessica Parker as the voice of Pauline, and over 30 participants, including Quentin Tarantino, David O. Russell, Paul Schrader and Kael's only child, Gina James. Oscar-winning producer Glen Zipper (Undefeated) also served as a producer for the film.

References

  1. Lumenick, Lou (September 13, 1992). Fall Preview '92. The Record
  2. "Journos Salute College Paper's Centennial". 24 May 2007.
  3. http://news.turner.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=4780
  4. "Roger Ebert Attacked at Screening by New York Post Movie Critic". HuffPost . Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  5. "Ebert smacked at Toronto Film Festival". ABC7 Chicago. September 11, 2008. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  6. Herald, Boston (12 September 2008). "Roger Ebert attacked at film premiere". Boston Herald. Retrieved 15 March 2024.