VOICE MEDIA GROUP HIRES AMY NICHOLSON AS LOS ANGELES-BASED FILM CRITIC
Reviews and Features to be Published Across VMG’s Print Publications, Websites and Mobile Platforms
Denver, CO (July 1, 2013) — Voice Media Group announced today that Amy Nicholson will join the staff as a full-time film critic for its eleven newspapers. She will be based in Los Angeles at LA Weekly.
Nicholson has long been a contributor to both LA Weekly and numerous film-focused publications. She will work closely with VMG principal film critic Stephanie Zacharek, who is based at the Village Voice in New York.
“Of all the reviews we read while evaluating job candidates, Amy’s were the ones that sang,” said VMG film editor Alan Scherstuhl. “It was difficult to predict whether Amy would like a film — but it was impossible not to be captivated by her feisty, smart take. She was absolutely our first choice for this position.”
A Texas native who graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2002, Nicholson got her first job in journalism with LA Weekly as a film intern, and went on to write freelance theater reviews for the paper for the next nine years. In 2008, she earned a Masters of Professional Writing in Nonfiction from the University of Southern California.
Until last fall, Nicholson was editor-in-chief of Boxoffice Magazine. In that capacity, she launched Boxoffice Weekly, a new iPad-only magazine, and Boxoffice Magazine, a free in-theater publication.
Nicholson has freelanced for the Los Angeles Times, Movieline, Movies.com, Fandango.com and IndieWire, and was the film editor at Inland Empire Weekly from 2006 to 2010. She recently finished a book evaluating Tom Cruise for Phaidon Press’ Cahiers du Cinema imprint. She’ll begin working full-time at the Weekly in late July.
“I came to Los Angeles eleven years ago for my dream opportunity, an internship at LA Weekly,” said Nicholson. “I’m thrilled to rejoin Voice Media Group, a champion of bold and opinionated criticism. Becoming part of their legacy is an honor.”
With Nicholson’s hiring, VMG reaffirms its commitment to film journalism. Along with Scherstuhl, Zacharek and Nicholson, the company employs the services of many freelance contributors. Its member publications covered more than 850 films last year, printed weekly film features and interviews, and published dispatches from national and international film festivals.