Film Critic More Critical of Nearly Everything Else

published June 22, 2011RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA — Jeremy Ryder is one of the most popular – and trusted – film critics in the country. His syndicated columns and tv show help America know what they like. And his reviews can make or break a film. Ryder sat down with Entertainment Bi-Daily to talk about his craft at his estate in Rancho Cucamonga in preparation for filming of the 5,000th episode of his tv show.Ryder’s 7,000 square foot home is straight from one of the movies he writes about so elegantly. Ryder brought us poolside to talk about his uncanny knack for measuring the zeitgeist, a skill which led the American Association of Film Journalists to call him “The best living example of excellence in film criticism” and “a true bellwether for America’s experience with film.”EBD: Thanks for having us in your home, it’s beautiful.  Clearly film and the film industry has treated you well.JR: Well, I love film, and I particularly love movies. Movies have added so much to my life, I feel like it is my duty, as a movie lover, to share what I’ve learned from watching for four decades, so that others can share my unconditional love for movies as well.EBD: What is it like to be one of the most respected journalists working in any field today?JR: First, let me say that I don’t really see myself as a journalist. I see myself as a tool for helping people unlock their reactions to a film. What I do is show people themselves, as they look to themselves through the gauze filter of Hollywood’s cameras.Someone like Samantha Shaw of the Fresno Bee, I think of her as one of the best journalists in the country. Her most recent series on the impact of agribusiness on sustainable food production, and the detrimental and de-stablizing role of agribusiness in the developing world, that’s brilliant. In three generations we have caused more ecological harm than probably the entire previous human history.Her work has changed my life. It helped me stand strong in my convictions. For the past twelve years, I have committed to eating sustainably and organically produced food that is, more importantly, locally sourced.  That’s meat, produce, everything. As a country we consume a disproportionate amount of global resources. We also have a disproportionate impact on the environment. So I think as a country we have a moral obligation to repay this debt we’ve unloaded on the developing world, starting with the way we live our lives every day.That’s the power of journalism.I may have 315,000 Twitter followers to her 400, but she is still one of the people I look up to in journalism.EBD:  But clearly people look up to you as well. JR: Yes, they do. And I look up to them, too, by giving them everything they need to know, to know how to feel about a film. The respect is mutual.EBD: Your influence is unmatched, no?JR: (laughing) Yes, what you see around you speaks to that.EBD: So do you disagree? James Cameron credits you with single-handedly helping people appreciate his films.JR: Oh, I love his work! A movie like "Titanic," I think I said it best when I said, “See it now! It’s a timeless love story that connects us to our romantic past. See it now!”EBD: So true.JR: But endowing corporations with all the rights of individuals has also been influential. Our political system is no longer as responsive to the needs of its citizens, it has lost its concern with assuring the provision and access to things we once described as the Social Good. That’s an example of influence that I don’t think any of us would point to as positive.EBD: OK. What are some of your favorite recent films?JR: I loved "Crazy, Stupid, Love." When I said “'Crazy, Stupid, Love' is crazy stoopid good!” I meant it. Ryan Gosling is exactly who we want to believe has problems developing deep, lasting relationships. The chemistry between him and Emma Stone – it’s magical. Like a unicorn. It’s almost like they met at least two weeks before filming started! Stone plays her role of a woman in a film flawlessly.And not to return to Cameron, but a film like "Avatar" is so well loved for a reason. It’s touching, timely and poignant. That film does a perfect job of doing what film does so incredibly, which is let us look at it.I’ve seen more than 200,000 films and I love every one of them. It’s impossible to have a favorite, in the same way a parent loves every one of their children equally.EBD: Where do you see film going? Where would you like to see it go?JR: I’d like to see film continue to connect us to our humanity. If I learned anything from my years as a lover first and critic second of film, is that we need to keep watching everything. The 282 films that are coming out this summer, I predict will be the best summer films of the year. Two enthusiastic thumbs and eight ecstatic fingers up!# # #