Steven Rea

Last updated
Steven Rea
Born London, England [1]
Occupation
  • Author
  • film critic
  • journalist
Nationality American
Education San Francisco State University
University of Iowa [1]
Period1975–present
SubjectFilm, pop music, books, cycling
Website
www.ridesabike.com

Steven Rea (also known as Steven X. Rea) is an American journalist, film critic, [2] [3] web producer, and writer. He was a film critic for The Philadelphia Inquirer from 1992 through late 2016.

Contents

Early life

Rea was born in London, and raised in New York City. [4] He is a graduate of Stuyvesant High School in New York. Rea went to the West Coast for college, earning an undergraduate degree in English and Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. He attended the Writers Workshop graduate program at the University of Iowa.

Career

Rea has written for multiple publications since 1975, as well as working for major record labels such as Island Records. [4] In 1982, he joined The Philadelphia Inquirer , where he covered pop culture topics including movies, pop music and books. [2] He became one of its film critics in 1992 and left that post in late 2016. [2] [4] Other periodicals for which he has written include: Entertainment Weekly , TV Guide , Family Fun, [2] Crawdaddy! , Music World, Phonograph Record Magazine, High Fidelity , Folk Scene, Los Angeles , New West, Trouser Press , Oui , Chic , Record World , and the Los Angeles Herald Examiner . [4] His film reviews and movie columns have been syndicated. [1]

Rea was an adjunct professor in the Cinema and Television program at the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design at Drexel University. [5] He hosts Talk Cinema events. He served on the Narrative Features jury of the 2012 Florida Film Festival [1] and the FIPRESCI jury at the 2014 Palm Springs International Film Festival. He is a member of the National Society of Film Critics (NSFC). [6]

Rea is the author of Hollywood Rides a Bike: Cycling with the Stars (2012), [7] an expansion on his blog featuring photos of stars riding bikes, in which Rea explores his obsession with the details of these images and stARS. It received good reviews from The Telegraph (UK) [8] and the San Francisco Chronicle. [9] He later published Hollywood Cafe: Coffee With The Stars (2016), which was favorably covered in The New York Times , the Los Angeles Times , Metro US, and numerous other publications and websites. He is the curator of the Tumblr blog, Rides a Bike www.ridesabike.com . His essay on the British New Wave is published in the book European Cinema (2012). [10]

Additionally, Rea has worked as an editor and written fiction. [2] His poetry has been published in The Paris Review [11] and The New York Quarterly . [12]

Personal life

Rea lived in Los Angeles at the start of his career, [4] but he and his wife have long resided in Center City, Philadelphia. [13]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 "2012 Special Guests & Jurors", Florida Film Festival Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Columnists: Steven Rea". Philly.com. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  3. "Critics » Steven Rea". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Steven X Rea". Rock's Backpages Library. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  5. "Movies and Culture". Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, Drexel University. January 20, 2010. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  6. "Who We Are". National Society of Film Critics. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  7. Steven Rea (2012). Hollywood Rides a Bike: Cycling with the Stars. Angel City Press. ISBN   1883318637.
  8. Gaby Wood (May 22, 2012). "Hollywood Rides a Bike: Cycling with the Stars review". The Telegraph (UK).
  9. Mick Lasalle (February 19, 2012). "Hollywood Rides a Bike, by Steven Rea: review". San Francisco Chronicle'. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  10. Zhenya Kiperman (2012). "6". European Cinema the Defining Figures Movements Films. University Readers. pp. 163–172. ISBN   978-1609276256.
  11. "Paris Review No. 62" (Index only, PDF). Summer 1975. Archived from the original on June 13, 2010.
  12. "Steven Rea - Poems/Articles/Artwork in NYQ". The New York Quarterly. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  13. "Steven Rea Contributions: Author". MomentumPlanet.com. Archived from the original on January 14, 2010.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Soderbergh</span> American filmmaker

Steven Andrew Soderbergh is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor. A pioneer of modern independent cinema, Soderbergh is an acclaimed and prolific filmmaker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Bogdanovich</span> American film director (1939–2022)

Peter Bogdanovich was an American director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian, of partial Serbian extraction. He started his career as a film critic for Film Culture and Esquire before becoming a film director in the New Hollywood movement. He received accolades including a BAFTA Award and Grammy Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Corman</span> American film director, producer, and actor (born 1926)

Roger William Corman is an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works that have an already-established critical reputation, such as his cycle of low-budget cult films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Fonda</span> American actor (1940–2019)

Peter Henry Fonda was an American actor. He was the son of Henry Fonda, younger brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget Fonda. He was a prominent figure in the counterculture of the 1960s. Fonda was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Easy Rider (1969), and the Academy Award for Best Actor for Ulee's Gold (1997). For the latter, he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama. Fonda also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film for The Passion of Ayn Rand (1999).

<i>Bowfinger</i> 1999 American comedy film directed by Frank Oz

Bowfinger is a 1999 American satirical buddy comedy film directed by Frank Oz. The film depicts a down-and-out filmmaker in Hollywood attempting to make a film on a small budget with a star who does not know that he is in the movie. It was written by Steve Martin, who also stars alongside Eddie Murphy in two roles, and Heather Graham as an ambitious would-be starlet.

<i>A History of Violence</i> 2005 film directed by David Cronenberg

A History of Violence is a 2005 action thriller film directed by David Cronenberg and written by Josh Olson. It is an adaptation of the 1997 graphic novel of the same title by John Wagner and Vince Locke. The film stars Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, William Hurt, and Ed Harris. In the film, Tom Stall, a diner owner, becomes a local hero after he foils an attempted robbery, but is threatened by a gangster Carl Fogarty, where Tom must face his past and also protect his family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judd Apatow</span> American comedian and filmmaker (born 1967)

Judd Apatow is an American filmmaker, comedian, and actor. He is best known for his work in comedy and drama films. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, through which he produced and directed the films The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Knocked Up (2007), Funny People (2009), This Is 40 (2012), Trainwreck (2015), The King of Staten Island (2020), and The Bubble (2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Hutcherson</span> American actor and producer (born 1992)

Joshua Ryan Hutcherson is an American actor and producer. He began acting in the early 2000s and appeared in several commercials and minor film and television roles before landing his first major role in 2002 in the pilot episode of House Blend. His first film role was in Miracle Dogs (2003) on Animal Planet, followed by a motion-capture performance in The Polar Express (2004) and a voice-acting role in Howl's Moving Castle (2005).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wheeler Winston Dixon</span> American filmmaker and scholar

Wheeler Winston Dixon is an American filmmaker and scholar. He is an expert on film history, theory and criticism. His scholarship has particular emphasis on François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, American experimental cinema and horror films. He has written extensively on numerous aspects of film, including his books A Short History of Film and A History of Horror. From 1999 through the end of 2014, he was co-editor, along with Gwendolyn Audrey Foster, of the Quarterly Review of Film and Video. He is regarded as a top reviewer of films. In addition, he is notable as an experimental American filmmaker with films made over several decades, and the Museum of Modern Art exhibited his works in 2003. He taught at Rutgers University, The New School in New York, the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and as of May 2020, is the James E. Ryan professor emeritus of film studies at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.

<i>Superbad</i> 2007 film by Greg Mottola

Superbad is a 2007 American coming-of-age teen buddy comedy film directed by Greg Mottola and produced by Judd Apatow. The film stars Jonah Hill and Michael Cera as Seth and Evan, two teenagers about to graduate from high school. Before graduating, the boys want to party and lose their virginity, but their plan proves harder than expected. Written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the script began development when they were 13 years old, and was loosely based on their experience in Grade 12 at Point Grey Secondary School in Vancouver during the 1990s. The main characters have the same given names as the two writers. Rogen was also initially intended to play Seth, but due to age and physical size this was changed, and Hill went on to portray Seth, while Rogen portrayed the irresponsible Officer Michaels, opposite Saturday Night Live star Bill Hader as Officer Slater.

<i>Boyhood</i> (2014 film) 2014 film directed by Richard Linklater

Boyhood is a 2014 American epic coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Richard Linklater, and starring Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane, Lorelei Linklater, and Ethan Hawke. Filmed from 2002 to 2013, Boyhood depicts the childhood and adolescence of Mason Evans Jr. (Coltrane) from ages six to eighteen as he grows up in Texas with divorced parents. Richard Linklater's daughter Lorelei plays Mason's sister, Samantha.

<i>The Diving Bell and the Butterfly</i> (film) 2007 film by Julian Schnabel

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a 2007 biographical drama film directed by Julian Schnabel and written by Ronald Harwood. Based on Jean-Dominique Bauby's 1997 memoir of the same name, the film depicts Bauby's life after suffering a massive stroke that left him with a condition known as locked-in syndrome. Bauby is played by Mathieu Amalric.

<i>Looper</i> (film) 2012 American film by Rian Johnson

Looper is a 2012 American science fiction action-thriller film written and directed by Rian Johnson, and produced by Ram Bergman and James D. Stern. It stars Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Emily Blunt. It revolves around "present-day" contract killers called "loopers", hired by criminal syndicates from the future to terminate victims whom they send back through time.

<i>Premium Rush</i> 2012 American film

Premium Rush is a 2012 American action thriller film directed by David Koepp and written by Koepp and John Kamps. The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Shannon, Dania Ramirez, and Jamie Chung. It follows a bicycle messenger chased around New York City by a corrupt police officer who wants an envelope the messenger has. It was released on August 24, 2012 by Columbia Pictures.

<i>Lincoln</i> (film) 2012 film by Steven Spielberg

Lincoln is a 2012 American biographical historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, starring Daniel Day-Lewis as United States President Abraham Lincoln. It also features Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook and Tommy Lee Jones in supporting roles.

<i>Silver Linings Playbook</i> 2012 American romantic comedy-drama film by David O. Russell

Silver Linings Playbook is a 2012 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by David O. Russell. The film was based on Matthew Quick’s 2008 novel The Silver Linings Playbook. It stars Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, with Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Anupam Kher, Chris Tucker, John Ortiz and Julia Stiles in supporting roles.

<i>Flight</i> (2012 film) 2012 drama film by Robert Zemeckis

Flight is a 2012 American drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by John Gatins and produced by Walter F. Parkes, Laurie MacDonald, Steve Starkey, Zemeckis, and Jack Rapke. Loosely inspired by the plane crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261, the film stars Denzel Washington as William "Whip" Whitaker Sr., an alcoholic airline pilot who miraculously crash-lands his plane after a mechanical failure, saving nearly everyone on board. Although hailed a hero, an investigation soon begins to cast the captain in a different light.

<i>Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues</i> 2013 film by Adam McKay

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is a 2013 American comedy film and the sequel to the 2004 film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. As with the original film, it is directed by Adam McKay, produced by Judd Apatow, written by McKay and Will Ferrell, and stars Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, and Christina Applegate, all reprising their roles from the first film. Harrison Ford, Kristen Wiig, James Marsden, Meagan Good, and Dylan Baker all join the cast.

<i>The Decay of Fiction</i> 2002 film by Pat ONeill

The Decay of Fiction is a 2002 American 35mm part color and part black-and-white experimental film noir project directed by independent filmmaker and artist Pat O'Neill. The film, initially conceived as a documentary, was produced by O'Neill and Rebecca Hartzell for Lookout Mountain Films. Filming took place in Los Angeles.

<i>The Post</i> (film) 2017 film by Steven Spielberg

The Post is a 2017 American semi-fiction historical political thriller film about The Washington Post and the publication of the Pentagon Papers. It was directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, and written by Liz Hannah and Josh Singer. It stars Meryl Streep as Katharine Graham, the publisher of the Washington Post, and Tom Hanks as Ben Bradlee, the longtime executive editor of The Washington Post, with Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk, Tracy Letts, Bradley Whitford, David Cross, Bruce Greenwood, Carrie Coon, Alison Brie, and Matthew Rhys in supporting roles.