Joe Morgenstern
Encyclopedia
Joe Morgenstern is a Pulitzer Prize
-winning film critic for The Wall Street Journal
.
in 1953. His first journalism experience was as news clerk at the New York Times. He then became foreign correspondent for the Times, based in Switzerland
and France
.
Morgenstern became an entertainment reporter for the New York Herald Tribune
in 1959, later advancing to theater/music critic.
Beginning in 1965 until 1983 Morgenstern was film critic for Newsweek
. During this time, his most famous review was when he initially panned Bonnie and Clyde
and then reconsidered his opinion seriously enough to retract it in the next issue. That proved a golden marketing opportunity for Warner Brothers to attract interest in the film by noting it made a major film critic change his mind about its virtues. From 1983 to 1988 he wrote a column for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner.
Morgenstern, presently based in Santa Monica, California
, has written movie reviews for the Wall Street Journal since May 1995. His movie reviews appear each Friday in the "Weekend & Leisure" section of the newspaper, and he covers the movie industry in a column which appears every other Saturday. He also writes movie reviews for CNBC
.
Morgenstern's writings have appeared in The New Yorker
, The New York Times Magazine
, Newsweek
, Rolling Stone, Esquire, the Columbia Journalism Review
and the Los Angeles Times Magazine
. He has written several scripts for television.
Morgenstern co-founded the National Society of Film Critics
.
He is renowned for his use of vocabulary and humor.
He received a Pulitzer Prize
for Criticism in 2005, making him only the third film critic to win a Pulitzer for criticism, after Roger Ebert
of the Chicago Sun-Times
and Stephen Hunter
of The Washington Post
.
on 21 January 1962. They had one child, Anna Grace Morgenstern. The couple divorced in 1981.
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning film critic for The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
.
Career
Morgenstern graduated from Lehigh UniversityLehigh University
Lehigh University is a private, co-educational university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the United States. It was established in 1865 by Asa Packer as a four-year technical school, but has grown to include studies in a wide variety of disciplines...
in 1953. His first journalism experience was as news clerk at the New York Times. He then became foreign correspondent for the Times, based in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Morgenstern became an entertainment reporter for the New York Herald Tribune
New York Herald Tribune
The New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...
in 1959, later advancing to theater/music critic.
Beginning in 1965 until 1983 Morgenstern was film critic for Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
. During this time, his most famous review was when he initially panned Bonnie and Clyde
Bonnie and Clyde (film)
The film was originally offered to François Truffaut, the best-known director of the New Wave movement, who made contributions to the script. He passed on the project to make Fahrenheit 451. The producers approached Jean-Luc Godard next...
and then reconsidered his opinion seriously enough to retract it in the next issue. That proved a golden marketing opportunity for Warner Brothers to attract interest in the film by noting it made a major film critic change his mind about its virtues. From 1983 to 1988 he wrote a column for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner.
Morgenstern, presently based in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
, has written movie reviews for the Wall Street Journal since May 1995. His movie reviews appear each Friday in the "Weekend & Leisure" section of the newspaper, and he covers the movie industry in a column which appears every other Saturday. He also writes movie reviews for CNBC
CNBC
CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
.
Morgenstern's writings have appeared in The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine
The New York Times Magazine is a Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of The New York Times. It is host to feature articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors...
, Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
, Rolling Stone, Esquire, the Columbia Journalism Review
Columbia Journalism Review
The Columbia Journalism Review is an American magazine for professional journalists published bimonthly by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961....
and the Los Angeles Times Magazine
Los Angeles Times Magazine
The Los Angeles Times Magazine is a monthly magazine which supplements the Sunday edition of the Los Angeles Times newspaper on the first Sunday of the month...
. He has written several scripts for television.
Morgenstern co-founded the National Society of Film Critics
National Society of Film Critics
The National Society of Film Critics is an American film critic organization. As of December 2007 the NSFC had approximately 60 members who wrote for a variety of weekly and daily newspapers.-History:...
.
He is renowned for his use of vocabulary and humor.
He received a Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for Criticism in 2005, making him only the third film critic to win a Pulitzer for criticism, after Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
and Stephen Hunter
Stephen Hunter
Stephen Hunter is an American novelist, essayist, and Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic.-Life and career:Stephen Hunter was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and grew up in Evanston, Illinois. His father was Charles Francis Hunter, a Northwestern University speech professor who was killed in 1975....
of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
.
Personal
Morgenstern married Hollywood actress Piper LauriePiper Laurie
Piper Laurie is an American actress of stage and screen known for her roles in the television series Twin Peaks and the films The Hustler, Carrie, and Children of a Lesser God, all of which brought her Academy Award nominations...
on 21 January 1962. They had one child, Anna Grace Morgenstern. The couple divorced in 1981.
External links
- Bio on Pulitzer Prize Site
- "Joe Morgenstern '53: Pulitzer winner is essayist at heart" from the Lehigh University Alumni Bulletin