Peter attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied film and served as entertainment editor of The Daily Texan. It is said that Austin has the country’s best live-music scene, but Peter was too busy playing catch-up on movies (via the Alamo Drafthouse, local video stores and the SXSW Film Festival) to find out. After graduating, he moved to New York, where he worked forEntertainment Weekly and AOL Moviefone before relocating to Los Angeles.
He now serves as chief film critic forVariety, where he has worked since 2005, including a two-year stint in Paris, when he focused on covering the international festival circuit. In 2017, Peter helped co-found the Animation Is Film Festival in Los Angeles, and he was been a member of juries at the SXSW, Reykjavik, Molodist, COLCOA, Annecy and Cannes film festivals.
Back in his freelance days, he reviewed for theAustin Chronicle, Miami Herald andFort Worth Star-Telegram. His writing on film has also appeared in such publications asBackstory, IndieWire, Creative Screenwriting andLife magazine. For four years, he taught a graduate film studies course at Chapman University’s Dodge College. Peter has won various awards for his writing, but is most proud of two honors bestowed for his dedication to foreign cinema: the Prix Alliance Française and a Palme d’Or from the country of Belgium.