A. O. Scott Explained

A.O. Scott
Birth Name:Anthony Oliver Scott
Birth Date:10 July 1966
Birth Place:Northampton, Massachusetts, U.S.
Other Names:Tony Scott
Alma Mater:Harvard University
Children:2
Relatives:Eli Wallach (great-uncle)
Anne Jackson (great-aunt)

Anthony Oliver Scott (born July 10, 1966) is an American journalist and cultural critic, known for his film and literary criticism. After starting his career at The New York Review of Books, Variety, and Slate, he began writing film reviews for The New York Times in 2000, and became the paper's chief film critic in 2004, a title he shared with Manohla Dargis. In 2023, he moved to The New York Times Book Review.

Early life and education

Scott was born on July 10, 1966, in Northampton, Massachusetts.[1] Both of his parents were professors. His mother, Joan Wallach Scott, is the Harold F. Linder Professor at the School of Social Science in the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.[2] His father, Donald Scott, was a professor of American history at the City University of New York. He is a great nephew of the married acting couple Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson (his maternal grandfather was Eli's brother).[3] Scott identifies as Jewish.[4] He attended public schools in Providence, Rhode Island, including Classical High School before graduating magna cum laude from Harvard in 1988 with a degree in literature.

Career

Print

Scott began his career at The New York Review of Books, where he served as an assistant to Robert B. Silvers.[5] Scott then served as book critic for Newsday, while also serving as a contributor to The New York Review of Books and Slate. In 1993, he wrote television reviews for Variety, using the name Tony Scott.[6]

He joined The New York Times Arts section in January 2000, following Janet Maslin's retirement from film criticism. (Maslin continues to review genre fiction for the paper.) In 2004, he became chief critic, following Elvis Mitchell's resignation. Scott and the other film critics at the Times host a video podcast on the subject of film, called Critics' Picks.[7] On March 9, 2020, The New York Times announced that Scott would take a one-year break from his role as co-chief film critic and assume the title of critic at large, writing "bigger, cross-topic essays."[8]

Better Living Through Criticism, a book on art criticism by Scott, was published in 2016.[9]

Scott left his role as a film critic in March 2023 and joined The New York Times Book Review.[10] About his departure from film criticism, he said: "I have found that the way that I’ve practiced it has gotten harder to do. And also, the feeling of disconnection between the critic and the audience feels much stronger And the gulf feels much wider."[11]

Television

In 2006 and 2007, Scott served as a guest critic on Ebert & Roeper during Roger Ebert's absence due to thyroid cancer.

Between 2002 and 2014, Scott made 15 appearances on Charlie Rose, where he predicted the Academy Award winners and spoke about recently released films. He often appeared alongside David Denby of The New Yorker and Janet Maslin of The New York Times and guest-hosted the program on a number of occasions.

On August 5, 2009, it was announced that Scott, along with Chicago Tribune critic Michael Phillips, would take over hosting duties on At the Movies from Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz, who would no longer be involved with the show.[12] Scott and Phillips began their duties when the show started its new season on September 5, 2009.[13] The show was canceled after one season due to low ratings, concluding its run in August 2010.[14]

Academia

Scott is a professor of film criticism at Wesleyan University.[15] As of 2023, he is no longer listed as being on the faculty at Wesleyan.[16]

Personal life

Scott is married to Justine Henning, and they have two children.[1] [17]

He was a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism "for his incisive film reviews that, with aplomb, embrace a wide spectrum of movies and often explore their connection to larger issues in society or the arts".[18]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
2001 Tales of the City: Hanif Kureshi's Rough Guide to London Himself
2002–2014 Charlie Rose Guest/Guest Host 15 episodes
2006–2010 At the Movies Guest Host/Co-Host 66 episodes
2008 American Masters Himself Episode: "You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story"
2009 Himself
2010 Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Guest Expert 5 episodes
The View Himself 1 episode
TCM Guest Programmer Himself Episode: "U.S. Critics"
Up To The Minute Guest Film Critic 1 episode
2011 The Early Show Himself 1 episode
2013–2016 Jeopardy! Video Clue Presenter 5 episodes
2014 Life Itself Himself
CBS This Morning Himself 3 episodes
2015 Remembering David Carr Himself
2016 PBS NewsHour Himself 1 episode
Generation X Himself 2 episodes
2017 Spielberg Himself
2021 WTF with Marc Maron Himself Episode: "A.O. Scott"

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: A.O. Scott . . March 22, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150106173026/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/critics/A-O-Scott . January 6, 2015 . live .
  2. Web site: The School of Social Science . https://web.archive.org/web/20071218153321/http://www.sss.ias.edu/community/scott.php . December 18, 2007 . March 22, 2019 . . Joan Wallach . Scott . Joan W. Scott.
  3. . March 2000 . Eli Wallach, BA '36. May 28, 2012 . . 28 . 1535-993X . 88 . 4 .
  4. News: Jewish History, Popcorn Included . A.O. . Scott . October 4, 2009 . May 28, 2017 . . AR1.
  5. The Amazing Human Launching Pads . . September 26, 2010 . March 22, 2019.
  6. Book: Prouty . Variety and Daily Variety Television Reviews, 1993–1994 . 113 . . 1996 . 9780824037970.
  7. News: Movie Reviews . . May 28, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170528092742/https://www.nytimes.com/reviews/movies/critics-picks . May 28, 2017 . live .
  8. Web site: March 9, 2020. Staff News From Culture. December 5, 2020. The New York Times Company. en-US.
  9. News: Review : In Better Living Through Criticism AO Scott Offers Insight. The New York Times. February 3, 2016 . May 13, 2016. Wood . Michael .
  10. Web site: From Culture to Book Review: A New Chapter for A.O. Scott. The New York Times Company. February 21, 2023. March 11, 2023.
  11. News: Barbaro . Michael . Our Film Critic on Why He's Done With the Movies . The New York Times . March 23, 2023 . May 31, 2023.
  12. Web site: 'At the Movies' Drops Hosts Lyons, Mankiewicz. ABC News. August 5, 2009. Lindsay. Goldwert. Dean. Praetorious. July 28, 2022.
  13. Web site: Chicago Tribune's Michael Phillips, N.Y. Times' A.O. Scott take over 'At the Movies' . Phil Rosenthal. August 5, 2009. Chicago Tribune. July 9, 2010.
  14. Web site: Tower Ticker: Disney-ABC cancels 'At the Movies,' Siskel and Ebert's old show. March 24, 2010. Chicago Tribune. Phil. Rosenthal. July 28, 2022.
  15. Web site: A.O. Scott . https://web.archive.org/web/20180615032353/https://www.nytedu.com/instructors/a-o-scott/ . June 15, 2018 . March 22, 2019 . The School of The New York Times . live .
  16. Wesleyan University Website as of 5 November 2023. https://www.wesleyan.edu/cfilm/academics/faculty.html
  17. News: A.O. Scott. The Harvard Crimson. Shih. Cynthia W.. May 29, 2013. November 20, 2021.
  18. https://www.pulitzer.org/finalists/ao-scott The Pulitzer Prizes