Elvis Mitchell | |
|---|---|
 Mitchell in 2007 | |
| Born | (1958-12-06)December 6, 1958 (age 67) Highland Park, Michigan, United States |
| Alma mater | Wayne State University (1980) |
| Occupation | Film critic |
| Years active | 1980–present |
Elvis Mitchell (born December 6, 1958) is an Americanfilm critic, host of the public radio showThe Treatment, and visiting lecturer atHarvard University.[1] He has served as a film critic for theFort Worth Star-Telegram, theLA Weekly,The Detroit Free Press, andThe New York Times. He had also been an interviewer forInterview Magazine.[2] In the summer of 2011, he was appointed as curator ofLACMA's new film series, Film Independent at LACMA. He is also currently a Film Scholar and lecturer at theUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Mitchell was born inHighland Park, Michigan, in theMetro Detroit area. He graduated in 1980 fromWayne State University, where he majored in English. He was a film critic for theFort Worth Star-Telegram, theLA Weekly,The Detroit Free Press, andThe New York Times.[3]
In the 1990s, Mitchell was part of a short-livedPBS show calledEdge.[4] On the series, he provided film commentary and general criticism. In one segment, Mitchell offered a quick run-down of all of directorOliver Stone'stropes, including "always keep that camera moving," which he said while moving a camcorder over a model of aVietnam jungle and prison camp set up on a table. He was also the host of theIndependent Film Channel'sIndependent Focus, a one-on-one interview show in front of a live audience from 1998 to 2001.
In March 2005, Mitchell was announced as the co-head (along with producer Deborah Schindler) of a New York City office for Sony'sColumbia Pictures. Mitchell's role would be to help scout new minority talent and make movies for minority audiences. Mitchell never appeared for work, leaving Schindler to run the office alone, and as of 2011 he had refused to discuss his behavior.[5]
From 2008 to 2010, Mitchell co-producedThe Black List, a three-part series of documentaries about African Americans in the entertainment industry, with directorTimothy Greenfield-Sanders. The first film,The Black List (2008), includesToni Morrison,Chris Rock andKareem Abdul-Jabbar among others.The Black List: Volume 2 (2009) featuresAngela Davis,Tyler Perry andRZA, among others.The Black List: Volume 3 (2010) includes interviews withJohn Legend,Lee Daniels andWhoopi Goldberg, among others.
Since 1996, Mitchell has been the host ofSanta Monica, California, public radio stationKCRW's pop culture and film interview programThe Treatment, which is nationally distributed and podcast. He served for a number of years as a pop culture commentator forWeekend Edition onNPR. In 2008,Elvis Mitchell: Under the Influence began airing onTurner Classic Movies. On the program, Mitchell interviews actors and directors about their favorite classic films.
Mitchell is featured in the 2009 documentary filmFor the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism discussing how he was championed as a young writer byPauline Kael, and the impact on him as an adolescent of theHerschell Gordon Lewis film,Two Thousand Maniacs!.[6]
On September 10, 2010, film criticRoger Ebert announced that he would be returning to television on a movie review show that he was producing for public television. He also announced that Mitchell, along with film criticChristy Lemire of theAssociated Press, would be featured on the new program reviewing the new films released.[7] On December 14, 2010, theChicago Sun-Times reported that Mitchell would not be appearing on the new show.[8]
In January 2011, it was announced that Mitchell had joined theMovieline as chief film critic, along with Stephanie Zacharek.[9] Penske Media Corp terminated him after more than three months as Movieline.com's chief film critic.[10]
Mitchell has been hired by theLACMA in partnership withFilm Independent as curator of a new film series, Film Independent at LACMA. It was announced on June 16, 2011, that Mitchell would start his new job on the weekly film series in July. The series launched on October 13, 2011, with the world premiere ofThe Rum Diary, an adaptation ofHunter S. Thompson's novel, by directorBruce Robinson, starringJohnny Depp.[11]
On April 4, 2019, Mitchell was the moderator at the 2019CinemaCon Filmmakers Forum, where the guests includedElizabeth Banks,Olivia Wilde, and theRusso brothers. On February 9, 2020, on the Red Carpet at the Oscars program, Mitchell said "capitalism is ruining humanity".
In October 2022, Mitchell's documentary filmIs That Black Enough for You?!? premiered at the New York Film Festival.[12]
In 2007, Mitchell appeared in an episode of theHBO TV seriesEntourage, playing himself.
In 2014, Mitchell was mentioned as "the bad boy of public radio" during theFOX TV seriesBob's Burgers episode "Friends With Burger-Fits".
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