Amy Nicholson | |
|---|---|
 Nicholson in 2016 | |
| Alma mater | University of Oklahoma (B.A.) University of Southern California (M.A.) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2002–present |
Amy Nicholson is an American film critic and author. She is the co-host of the podcast Unspooled . She has previously reviewed films for several publications, including LA Weekly , The New York Times , Variety , and The Washington Post .
Nicholson was raised in San Antonio, Texas. As a child, she developed her admiration for films after watching "ancient films on TV" with her father. While studying at Incarnate Word High School, Nicholson remembered repeatedly watching Home Alone (1990) with her friends, as well watching films starring Leonardo DiCaprio. [1] When she began attending the University of Oklahoma (OC), Nicholson initially enrolled to study psychology. [2] During her second semester, Nicholson took an anthropology course; she reflected: "I felt I was always really interested in the way people think about culture." [2]
After attending a film class, Nicholson became fascinated that narrative film can visually represent a culture of a certain time. [2] Nicholson then double majored with a B.A. in Film Studies and Anthropology from the University of Oklahoma, and graduated in 2002. [3] During her studies at OC, Nicholson interned at LA Weekly , and wrote freelance theater reviews for the paper for the subsequent nine years. [3] Nicholson then relocated to Los Angeles where she enrolled into the University of Southern California (USC), and graduated with a Masters in Professional Writing in 2008. [4]
After graduating, Nicholson served as the editor-in-chief of Boxoffice Magazine. In that capacity, she launched Boxoffice Weekly, an iPad-exclusive e-magazine. Meanwhile, she also freelanced for the Los Angeles Times , Movieline, Movies.com, Fandango and IndieWire , and was the film editor at Inland Empire Weekly from 2006 to 2010. [3]
In July 2013, Nicholson was hired as a full-time film critic for LA Weekly, a position she considered her dream job. Her reviews were featured in both the print and online editions, as well as eleven publications owned by Voice Media Group. [3] [5] When reflecting on her role as a film critic, she stated, "When people ask me how I judge a film, I tend to say I judge a film based on what it wanted to do." [2] In 2014, Nicholson wrote an essay "Why Renée Zellweger's Face Matters," which was published in LA Weekly. Based on the essay, she was the recipient of the Best Online Commentary Award at the 2015 National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards. She also won the Best Critic Award in Broadcast or Print for her submitted reviews of American Sniper (2014) and Fifty Shades of Grey and Focus (both released in 2015). [6]
In January 2016, Nicholson left LA Weekly and became the chief film critic for MTV News. [7] Afterwards, she reviewed films and wrote articles that were published in Variety, The Guardian , and The Washington Post. [8]
In 2014, Nicholson published her first book, Tom Cruise: Anatomy of an Actor. When asked why she selected to write about Cruise, she replied: "He's an actor who so famous, but I feel like he's hiding in plain sight. Everybody knows who he is but no one really takes him as a serious actor. I really like taking someone that everybody thinks they know and making the argument that he's even more than we think." [2] She was given two and a half months to write the book, in which she watched ten of Cruise's films and analyzed them to determine his growth as an actor. [2] Her second book Extra Girls is scheduled to be released by Simon & Schuster. [9]
In 2014, Nicholson began hosting the podcast series The Canon on Earwolf, alongside Devin Faraci. In October 2016, due to a sexual assault allegation made against Faraci, Nicholson and Earwolf mutually agreed to place the podcast on an indefinite hiatus. [10] In April 2017, the series returned from its hiatus but without Faraci. Nicholson explained Faraci "won't be coming back for this version" but that "when and if he is ready to come back, the door is open." [11] That same month, she invited actor Paul Scheer to discuss the 1984 film Ghostbusters . Scheer defended the film's artistic merits, in which Nicholson thoroughly enjoyed the conversation that she invited Scheer back to discuss The Room (2003) later that year. In 2018, she and Scheer launched their joint podcast Unspooled. [1] The podcast debuted at number 1 on iTunes Film & TV podcast rankings and number 4 on the iTunes overall top chart. [12] [13]
Jerry Maguire is a 1996 American sports comedy-drama film directed and written by Cameron Crowe. It was produced by Crowe and James L. Brooks for Gracie Films and distributed by TriStar Pictures. It stars Tom Cruise as the sports agent Jerry Maguire, alongside Cuba Gooding Jr., Renée Zellweger, Kelly Preston, Jerry O'Connell, Jay Mohr, Bonnie Hunt and Regina King. It was released in North American theaters on December 13, 1996.
Renée Kathleen Zellweger is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards, she was one of the world's highest-paid actresses by 2007.
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Paul Christian Scheer is an American comedian, actor, filmmaker, and podcaster. Scheer is best known for his roles in FX/FXX's The League and Showtime's comedy series Black Monday. Scheer also co-created and starred in MTV's Human Giant and Adult Swim's series NTSF:SD:SUV::, and has had recurring roles on ABC's Fresh Off the Boat and HBO's Veep. He is also known for voicing Chip Whistler in Disney’s Big City Greens.
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Scott David Aukerman is an American writer, actor, comedian, television personality, director, producer, and podcast host. Starting as a writer and performer in the later seasons of the sketch series Mr. Show, Aukerman is best known as the host of the weekly comedy podcast Comedy Bang! Bang! as well as the IFC original television series of the same name. Aukerman is the co-creator of Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis and co-founder of the Earwolf podcast network.
Jamie Denbo is an American actress, writer, comedian and half of the comedy duo Ronna and Beverly with Jessica Chaffin. She also co-starred in the FX series Terriers and appeared in Spy, The Heat and Ghostbusters (2016).
Cathryn Rose "Casey" Wilson is an American actress, comedian, and screenwriter.
Jessica Chaffin is an American actress, comedian, and writer best known as part of the comedy duo Ronna and Beverly with Jamie Denbo. She is also known for her recurring roles as Coco Wexler on Nickelodeon's Zoey 101, Marie Faldonado in the CBS sitcom Man with a Plan and appearing in the films Spy and The Heat. She starred as Beth in the NBC sitcom Abby's.
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Earwolf is an American comedy podcasting network founded by Scott Aukerman and Jeff Ullrich in August 2010. In 2011, they announced a partnership with Funny Or Die. It merged with podcast advertising network The Mid Roll in 2014, a separate company founded by Ullrich, to form Midroll Media. Midroll was acquired by the E. W. Scripps Company in 2015. In July 2020, Sirius XM acquired Midroll Media, which includes Stitcher Radio and Earwolf, for $325 million.
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How Did This Get Made? (HDTGM) is a podcast on the Earwolf network. It is hosted by Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael and Jason Mantzoukas with occasional substitutes and/or guest hosts. Each episode features the deconstruction and mockery of outlandish films that are widely considered to be the worst.
Matthew James Gourley is an American actor, comedian, and podcaster best known for his work on the Superego and Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend podcasts and Drunk History.
The Canon was a weekly audio podcast on Earwolf which began airing on November 3, 2014 and ended on July 16, 2018. Each week, Devin Faraci and Amy Nicholson, of MTV News, discussed films they believed to be worthy of The Canon. The Canon is a list of films that the audience votes to decide whether it is one of "the greatest films of all time", similar to the Western Canon. Some episodes compare two films head-to-head.
Denzel Washington Is The Greatest Actor Of All Time Period, sometimes abbreviated to DWITGAOATP, is a weekly podcast co-hosted by W. Kamau Bell and Kevin Avery. Designed to highlight and canonize the career and cultural significance of actor Denzel Washington, the show reviews each of his films, discusses "Denzel news," and interviews filmmakers associated with and inspired by his work. As the show has evolved, it has also expanded to include discussions on the state of black film and diversity in media. The show is produced by Earwolf.
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Unspooled is a film podcast on the Earwolf network. It is hosted by film critic Amy Nicholson and actor/comedian Paul Scheer. Initially, the podcast covered the American Film Institute (AFI) Top 100 films. Later episodes of the podcast have covered other classic movies, with the ultimate goal of creating a list of the 100 best movies of all time.