About the Film Maven

It’s a really hard time to be any type of journalist, but especially in the entertainment field. Film criticism and writing about movies are slowly being punted to free sites only and/or A.I. content. When I left my most recent journalism job I was worried about what to do. Part of me wanted to get back to why I love writing and entertainment in the first place. I missed writing things that interested me, and was uninterested in focusing on clicks. That’s where creating The Film Maven has been so fantastic. 

It’s allowed me to share the parts of myself I love: talking about movies I love, movies I hate, and the elements of the industry that keep me mired in this hellhole.

Whether you’ve met me through social media, seen me on TCM, or watched me moderate a panel you know how much entertainment means to me. The Film Maven hopes to expand those conversations and let me share more of myself along the way.

If you don't know me, I'm Kristen! I'm a freelance pop culture journalist whose bylines have appeared in Variety, The L.A. Times, and The Hollywood Reporter, to name a few. I'm the former film editor for TheWrap and the former TV Editor for IndieWire. I'm the author of two books, But Have You Read the Book: 52 Literary Gems That Inspired Our Favorite Films, which TCM and Running Press put out in 2023, and Popcorn Disabilities: The Highs and Lows of Disabled Representation in the Movies which Bloomsbury Academic is dropping this Thanksgiving. I'm currently in the works on a second volume of But Have You Read the Book, coming out next August, and Welcome, Boils and Ghouls: The Complete Oral History of Tales From the Crypt which is dropping in 2027.

Your subscription, either paid or free, helps support an independent disabled female journalist! I don’t toot that horn often but considering how the entertainment industry, particularly journalism, is still dominated by white, able-bodied men, your support helps balance the scales a very teeny tiny bit. There’s a huge difference between how the trades write about movies and how I write about it. I’ve been working as an entertainment writer for over a decade and would love to keep doing it for as long as I can, on my own terms. 

I’m also hoping to grow a community of film and disability lovers, authors, and just cool people who want to talk about entertainment and why we love it.

Either way, thank you for being here.

-Kristen