I’m MaryAnn Johanson: writer and ponderer from New York City now living in London who thinks way too much about such inconsequences as movies, TV, books, and the meaning of life.
I founded FlickFilosopher.com in September 1997, which means it’s one of the oldest film sites on the Web. It has been operating continually since then.
Please join my Patreon or my Substack to support truly independent film criticism and my weird fiction.
FlickFilosopher.com does not accept guest posts, link placements, or sponsored content.
[contact: maryann@flickfilosopher.com]
Read my critic’s minifestoes for my philosophies on criticism.
My film reviews have appeared regularly in a variety of alternative weekly newspapers across the United States, including:
• Salt Lake City Weekly
• The Source Weekly (Bend, OR)
• Orlando Weekly
• Riverfront Times (St. Louis)
• Detroit Metro Times
• Current (San Antonio, TX)
• Folio Weekly (Jacksonville, FL)
• Isthmus (Madison, WI)
• Charleston (SC) City Paper
• Colorado Springs Independent
• Pacific Northwest Inlander (Spokane, WA)
• Monterey County (CA) Weekly
• Missoula Independent
• Rocky Mountain Chronicle (Fort Collins, CO)
• North Coast Journal (Humboldt County, CA)
• Sacramento News&Review
• Wausau (WI) City Pages
• Cincinnati City Beat
• Ace Weekly (Lexington, KY)
Executive Member:
• International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (the Webbys)
Member:
• Online Film Critics Society
• Alliance of Women Film Journalists
Reviews polled at:
• Movie Review Query Engine (top critic)
• Rotten Tomatoes (Tomatometer critic)
At Amazon:
• Amazon US author page
• Amazon UK author page
Print and online credits:
• The List
• Independent Lens
• IndieWire
• Film4.com
• movieScope magazine
• Film.com (2006-2011) (articles now at MTV.com)
• Video Librarian (2004-2009)
• Apollo Guide
• Archaeology
• Film Threat
• Wilmington (Delaware) News Journal
• Blockbuster Preview
• The Internet Review of Science Fiction
• Yahoo! Internet Life
• New York Living
• Staten Island Advance
• My AOL
• The Encyclopedia of US Popular Culture
• Staten Island Source
Author of:
• Cultural Artifacts, a collection of science fiction/fantasy/horror flash fiction
Kindle/Kindle Unlimited: global
• The Totally Geeky Guide to The Princess Bride, a deconstruction of the cult-favorite film
Kindle/Kindle Unlimited: global
• Bronx Cheer: A Romantic Dramedy Screenplay
Kindle/Kindle Unlimited: [Amazon US] [Amazon Canada] [Amazon UK]
• Cat and Mouse: A Screenplay of Psychological Suspense
Kindle/Kindle Unlimited: [Amazon US] [Amazon Canada] [Amazon UK]
Film festival juries:
• Best Female-Directed Film (Narrative), 2014 Edinburgh International Film Festival
• 39th Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival (2014)
• Best Female-Directed Film, 2013 Sheffield Doc/Fest
• Best Female-Directed Film, 2012 Sheffield Doc/Fest
• Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Film Festival, 2003 I-Con, the largest SF convention on the US East Coast
Professional appearances, talks, lectures, etc.:
• SpyHards, “American Made,” January 10, 2023: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Castro | SpyHards; “Zero Dark Thirty,” January 11, 2022: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Castro | SpyHards (podcast discussion)
• Ribbon of Memes, “Cinema, Paradiso,” January 15, 2022: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Ribbon of Memes; “Paris, Texas,” November 13, 2021: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Ribbon of Memes (podcast discussion)
• British Film Institute’s Woman with a Movie Camera Summit 2021, “The Rise and Fall of the Girl Boss” (watch on YouTube), “Times Up Critics UK Panel: Behind the Bylines” (panel discussions)
• BBC World Service’s “The Arts Hour,” August 1, 2020; June 13, 2020; March 14, 2020; January 4, 2020; September 7, 2019; June 15, 2019; March 30, 2019; January 12, 2019; October 7, 2018; March 4, 2018; November 12, 2017; October 15, 2017; July 30, 2017; January 1, 2017 (discussion)
• Hoxton Radio’s “Hoxton Movies,” May 2, 2019 (discussion)
• Royal Albert Hall, October 2018: hosted screening of a film sneak preview, moderated postscreening Q&A
• BBC Radio 4’s “Front Row,” December 22, 2017 (discussion)
• Underwire Festival, November 2015: “Wired Women: Voice It Out – Find Your Editorial Power” (panel discussion; listen here)
• University of Southampton (UK) Web Science Doctoral Training Centre, May 2013: “Challenges and Opportunities of the Web” (lecture with Q&A)
• St. Peter’s RC Primary School, Leicestershire, UK, June 2012; half-day programs speaking to 10- and 11-year-olds about Doctor Who and media criticism
• University of Southampton (UK) Web Science Doctoral Training Centre, October 2011: “How the Net Devalues Creative Work” (lecture with Q&A)
• GRITtv with Laura Flanders, February 2010: “GRITtv Goes to the Oscars” (TV panel discussion)
• Fusion Film Festival at New York University, February 2009: “Smart Talk: Women and Film in the Blogosphere” (panel discussion)
• Court TV’s Hollywood Heat, December 2006 (TV interview)
• panel discussions at science fiction conventions including multiple WorldCons, Philcons, Boskones, Arisias, I-Cons, and Lunacons
• BBC Radio, London’s LBC radio, and local radio programs across North America (on-air interviews)
I was a nominee for Best Online Critic in the 2010 National Entertainment Journalism Awards, awarded by the Los Angeles Press Club.
follow me on: [Twitter] [Pinterest] [Letterboxd]
[email]