Meet Joanne Ross

Joanne Ross, our newest contributor to ReelTalkReviews.com, loves the cinema. I became aware of her passion for film while reading her assignments for my LSS School of Writing online class, “The Reel Deal: Writing about Movies.”

In fact, I could hardly wait to add Joanne to our roster of film critics. When asked to send in a short bio for the site, Joanne came up with a very witty submission. Here’s the opening paragraph:

Joanne Ross loves movies, and has loved them since she was a little girl—maybe earlier. There are times she’s convinced she was born clutching a pair of ticket stubs with one hand and holding a bucket of buttered popcorn with the other.

Joanne doesn’t just watch movies, she experiences them. As explained in her first assignment, she “lives vicariously through them.” Her love for movies inspired an equal love for acting and theater which led to studying acting and taking courses in film history and film studies.

About her philosophy as a film critic, Joanne says, “I'm not really sure I want to entertain readers so much as engage them to think about the movie and hopefully, help them see how the techniques and conventions of film making, as I understand them in my limited way, are used in any given movie to tell the story, convey meaning, and engage their emotions.. Of course, I hope I don't bore them in the process.”

After reading Joanne’s reviews of movies like No Country for Old Men, Stuck, Savage Grace, My Kid Could Paint That, it’s quite clear there’s no danger of her boring anyone.

The Reel Deal: Writing about Movies

As an instructor at the Long Story Short School of Writing, I’m pleased to share the following information about "The Reel Deal: Writing about Movies," an online course I’m teaching there.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

In the arts, the critic is the only independent source of information. The rest is advertising. --Pauline Kael

"It stinks!" -- Jay Sherman

Reviewing movies, of course, is much more difficult than tossing off a cryptic comment like the one from cartoon character Jay Sherman above. And it’s more complicated than Roger Ebert’s “Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down” appraisal. Nevertheless, because of the powerful role movies play in popular culture, good critics are needed to provide honest, independent opinions about the quality of films being released today -- just as the late Pauline Kael pointed out in her famous quotation.

Maybe being a film critic isn’t the best job in the world, but it’s one of the most satisfying if you have a passion for movies and writing. This course is designed for students who want to learn various techniques for writing movie reviews as well as for interviewing actors, directors, screenwriters and other film-related personnel.

Perhaps you’d like to be the next Roger Ebert or Pauline Kael -- a respected critic with influence throughout the world. Or maybe you’re simply interested in writing better reviews for your own Website or Blog. In either case, this course is a good place to start.

First Session: Developing a Reviewing Philosophy.

In this session, we’ll explore the role of the critic and his/her responsibility to readers as well as objectivity vs. subjectivity, film knowledge and ethical concerns related to film criticism.

Second Session: Deciding What Matters about a Film.

The second session examines such important topics as: art vs. business; universal themes; personal and social impact of films; plot and character arc; production values; directing; cinematography; background music; editing; music; and actors’ performances.

Third Session: Organizing and Writing the Review.

This session covers the basic steps involved in writing a cohesive, insightful and entertaining review.

Fourth Session: Dealing with Negative Feedback.

Most critics receive their fair share of “hate mail.” Our fourth session provides tips for appropriate responses to such messages. This is the most fun session – and a prize will be awarded to the student who writes the best reply to a hypothetical “hate mail” message.

Fifth Session: Conducting Celebrity Interviews.

The fifth session offers suggestions for questions to ask actors and other film personnel when interviewing them about their movies. It also includes information about how to obtain such interviews.

Sixth Session: Finding Outlets for Your Articles.

Our final session provides advice on how to get movie reviews/interviews published in print and on the Internet.

For details concerning registration and fees, please go to::

http://www.lsswritingschool.com/thereeldeal.html

An Awesome Testimonial

Thanks so much to Joanne Ross for her comments concerning "The Reel Deal: Writing about Movies,” my online course for the LSS School of Writing. Below are excerpts from her feedback e-mails.

Betty Jo, thank you for a wonderful experience.

I love the topics and the progression, the way one lesson builds on the other. For such a brief course, you manage to cover a lot of ground and in a way that makes perfect sense. I especially love starting out with first lesson on developing a reviewing philosophy… I'll only add a request that you don't ever change this lesson -- it is the perfect starting place and chance for each student to take his or her "reviewing pulse" at the outset.

The content is rich, yet delivered concisely. You somehow managed to impart a lot of information in each lesson in a clear, succinct, and enjoyable way, while keeping the lesson brief and manageable. That is a special talent. You have a humorous, engaging touch to your writing that is very appealing and made me feel that I could learn to write reviews. Your inclusion of links, recommended reading, and references to other critics was very helpful by way of illustrating the points you were making--not to mention just furthering our movie review education.

I’ve always wanted to write film reviews, and what I learned in this course has helped me make it a reality. I know I have a big learning curve in front of me, but I feel better prepared to meet the challenge.

To sum it all up: studying with you has been a real pleasure and a fruitful experience as well—I learned a great deal. Even more, it is a start for something new for me, so I can add “life changing” as well.

Joanne Ross, San Francisco
January, 2008