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Mick LaSalle | |
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| Born | May 7, 1959 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Film critic, writer, author |
| Spouse | Amy Freed |
Mick LaSalle (born May 7, 1959) is an American film critic and the author of two books on pre-Code Hollywood. Up to March 2008, he had written more than 1,550 reviews for the San Francisco Chronicle [1] and he has been podcasting them since September 2005. [2]
LaSalle is the author of Complicated Women: Sex and Power in Pre-Code Hollywood, a history/critical study of the actresses who worked in the film industry between 1929 and 1934. It was published by Thomas Dunne Books in 2000. In his review in The New York Times , Andy Webster called it "an overdue examination of a historic conflict between Hollywood and would-be monitors of morality" and added LaSalle "has an avuncular but informative style, and makes his points with a relaxed economy." [3] Nationally syndicated columnist Liz Smith called it "a brilliant work."
The book served as the basis for the documentary film Complicated Women, directed by Hugh Munro Neely and narrated by Jane Fonda, which originally was broadcast by Turner Classic Movies in May 2003. LaSalle provided commentary for and was associate producer of the project. [4]
LaSalle's follow-up to Complicated Women was Dangerous Men: Pre-Code Hollywood and the Birth of the Modern Man, published by Thomas Dunne in 2002. LaSalle has lectured on film subjects at various film festivals, including those in the Hamptons, Denver, Las Vegas, and Mill Valley and at New York City's Film Forum and San Francisco's Castro Theatre. His third book, "The Beauty of the Real: What Hollywood Can Learn From Contemporary French Actresses," was published in 2012. His fourth book, "Dream State: California in the Movies" (Heyday Books) was published in 2021.
In the late 1990s, LaSalle was the on-air film critic for KGO-TV. He was a panelist at the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2019 Venice Film Festivals. He was also a panelist at the 2009 Berlin film festival. In addition to his reviews, he answers film-related questions in the Chronicle column Ask Mick LaSalle. As the primary film critic for the Chronicle, LaSalle's reviews appear in all the Chronicle's sister newspapers of the Hearst chain, including the Connecticut Post , the Albany Times-Union , the San Antonio Express-News and the Houston Chronicle .
LaSalle is married to playwright Amy Freed. [5]
The Pompatus of Love is a 1996 American comedy film that tells the story of four guys discussing women and the meaning of the word "pompatus". This made-up word is found in two Steve Miller songs, "Enter Maurice" and "The Joker", the latter of which contains the line "Some people call me Maurice / 'cause I speak of the pompatus of love". Wolfman Jack can also be heard using the term in his spoken lines in The Guess Who's "Clap for the Wolfman."
George Washington is a 2000 American drama film written and directed by David Gordon Green in his directorial debut. Its story centers on a group of children in a depressed small town in North Carolina who band together to cover up a tragic mistake.
Thirteen Conversations About One Thing is a 2001 American drama film directed by Jill Sprecher. The screenplay by Sprecher and her sister Karen focuses on five seemingly disparate individuals in search of happiness whose paths intersect in ways that unexpectedly affect their lives.
The Dying Gaul is a 2005 American drama film written and directed by Craig Lucas, his feature directorial debut. The screenplay is based on his 1998 off-Broadway play of the same name, the title of which was derived from an ancient Roman marble copy of a lost Hellenistic sculpture.
The Secret Lives of Dentists is a 2002 drama film directed by Alan Rudolph. The screenplay was written by Craig Lucas, based on the novella The Age of Grief by Jane Smiley. It had its world premiere at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival and was subsequently screened at several other festivals, including Sundance and Cannes. It had a limited theatrical release in the United States on August 1, 2003.
The Big Tease is a 1999 American comedy film starring Craig Ferguson, directed by Kevin Allen, and written by Ferguson and Sacha Gervasi. The cast includes Frances Fisher, Mary McCormack, Chris Langham, and David Rasche. The film follows a Scottish hairdresser who comes to Hollywood to compete in an international hairdressing contest. Drew Carey, David Hasselhoff, and John Paul DeJoria appear in cameo roles.
Tommy O'Haver is an American film director and screenwriter.
Body Shots is a 1999 American drama film written by David McKenna and directed by Michael Cristofer. It stars Sean Patrick Flanery, Jerry O'Connell, Amanda Peet, Tara Reid and Ron Livingston. It tells the story of eight singles whose night of drunken debauchery goes terribly wrong. The film at times has the characters speaking straight to the camera. New Line marketed the film with the poster tagline: "There are movies that define every decade."
Lake City is a 2008 American drama film directed by Perry Moore and Hunter Hill and starring Sissy Spacek, Troy Garity and Dave Matthews.
Crazy Love is a 2007 American documentary film directed by Dan Klores and Fisher Stevens. The screenplay by Klores explores the troubled relationship between New York City attorney Burt Pugach and his ten-years-younger girlfriend Linda Riss, who was blinded and permanently scarred when career criminals hired by Pugach threw lye in her face.
Paper Man is a 2009 American independent comedy drama film written and directed by Kieran and Michele Mulroney. The film stars Jeff Daniels as a struggling writer who relies on a childhood imaginary friend to help him with life decisions, Emma Stone as a 17-year-old high school student who befriends him, and Ryan Reynolds as the imaginary Captain Excellent. The film was developed at the Sundance Filmmakers’ Labs.
Steven Rea is an American journalist, film critic, web producer, and writer. He was a film critic for The Philadelphia Inquirer from 1992 through late 2016.
Happythankyoumoreplease is a 2010 comedy-drama film written and directed by Josh Radnor in his directorial debut. The film features Radnor, Malin Åkerman, Kate Mara, Zoe Kazan, Michael Algieri, Pablo Schreiber, and Tony Hale, in the story of a group of young New Yorkers, struggling to balance love, friendship, and their encroaching adulthoods.
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers is a 2009 American documentary film directed by Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith. The film follows Daniel Ellsberg and explores the events leading up to the 1971 publication of the Pentagon Papers, which exposed the top-secret military history of the United States' involvement in Vietnam.
The Waiting Room is a 2012 American documentary film and social media project directed by Peter Nicks that follows the life and times of patients, doctors, and staff at Highland Hospital, a safety-net hospital in Oakland, California.
Alan Jacobs is an American independent film director, screenwriter and producer, best known for his films Nina Takes a Lover (1994) and Down for Life (2009).
Praise is a 1998 Australian drama film directed by John Curran and adapted by Andrew McGahan from his novel of the same name. The film stars Peter Fenton and Sacha Horler and is about two outcasts who fall into an unlikely relationship.
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Maria by Callas is a 2017 French documentary film about the life and career of opera singer Maria Callas, written and directed by Tom Volf.
Edward Norton is an American actor and filmmaker. He made his film debut in the film Primal Fear (1996), for which he earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and a Golden Globe Award in the same category. In the same year, he starred in two other films, The People vs. Larry Flynt and Everyone Says I Love You. In 1998, Norton featured in American History X, in which he played a neo-Nazi who served three years in prison and ultimately revamped his ideology. His performance was critically lauded and earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. For the David Fincher-directed film Fight Club (1999), Norton starred in a role that required him to learn boxing, taekwondo and grappling. Though initially fiercely debated by critics, Fight Club gradually received critical reappraisal and earned its status as a cult film.
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