Michael Ventura (born October 31, 1945) is an American novelist, screenwriter, film director, essayist and cultural critic.

History

Michael Ventura commenced his career as a journalist at the ''

Austin Sun The ''Austin Sun'' was a biweekly counterculture newspaper, similar in nature to ''Rolling Stone'' during the latter's formative years, that was published in Austin, Texas, between 1974 and 1978.LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...

'' in the early 1980s and continued in the '' Austin Chronicle'' until 2015. He has published three novels: '' Night Time Losing Time'' (1989), '' The Zoo Where You're Fed to God'' (1994), and '' The Death of Frank Sinatra'' (1996). An excerpt from his novel about Miriam of Magdala was published in the third issue of the CalArts literary journal ''

Black Clock ''Black Clock'' was an American literary magazine that published twenty-one issues over twelve years. Edited by Steve Erickson, the magazine was "dedicated to fiction, poetry and creative essays that explore the frontier of constructive anarchy.. ...

'' in 2005. He is the author of two essay collections, '' Shadow-Dancing in the U.S.A.'' (1985) and '' Letters at 3 A.M.: Reports on Endarkenment'' (1994). With psychologist

James Hillman James Hillman (April 12, 1926 – October 27, 2011) was an American psychologist. He studied at, and then guided studies for, the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich. He founded a movement toward archetypal psychology and retired into private practi ...

, Ventura co-authored the 1992 bestseller '' We've Had a Hundred Years of Psychotherapy – And the World's Getting Worse''. He appears as a fictional character in Steve Erickson's 1996 novel, '' Amnesiascope''. He wrote the screenplay for '' Echo Park'' (1986), among other films, including '' Roadie'' (1980). He curated the

Sundance Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

's 1989 retrospective on John Cassavetes.

Bibliography

Novels

* '' Night Time Losing Time'' (1989) * '' The Zoo Where You're Fed to God'' (1994) * '' The Death of Frank Sinatra'' (1996)

Nonfiction

* '' Shadow-Dancing in the U.S.A.'' (1985) * '' We've Had a Hundred Years of Psychotherapy – And the World's Getting Worse'' (1992) (with

) * '' Letters at 3 A.M.: Reports on Endarkenment'' (1994) * '' Cassavetes Directs'' (2007)

Screenplays

* '' Roadie'' (1980) * '' Echo Park'' (1986)

Film director

* '' I'm Almost Not Crazy: John Cassavetes, the Man and His Work'' (1984)

Awards

* USA PEN award * Los Angeles Press Club Award * Upton Sinclair Award

References

External links

* *
Archive of Ventura's column in the Austin Chronicle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ventura, Michael 1945 births Living people 20th-century American novelists American male screenwriters American columnists American male novelists American film directors American social commentators American male essayists 20th-century American essayists 20th-century American male writers