Harlan Marshall Jacobson (born February 15, 1949) is an American film critic and scholar.

Education

Harlan Jacobson received a bachelor's degree in English from

Haverford College Haverford College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), began accepting non-Quakers in 1849, and became coeducationa ...

in 1971.

Career

Jacobson has interviewed numerous actors, musicians, directors, and producers over his 30-year career, some of whom include

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola (; ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the major figures of the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Coppola is the recipient of five ...

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

and

Mia Farrow Maria de Lourdes Villiers "Mia" Farrow ( ; born February 9, 1945) is an American actress. She first gained notice for her role as Allison MacKenzie in the television soap opera '' Peyton Place'' and gained further recognition for her subsequent ...

. Jacobson's interview with

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism. Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ' ...

("Michael & Me") in the December 1989 edition of ''

Film Comment Magazine ''Film Comment'' is the official publication of Film at Lincoln Center. It features reviews and analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world. Founded in 1962 and originally released as a quarterly, ''Film Co ...

'' for the film ''

Roger & Me ''Roger & Me'' is a 1989 American documentary film written, produced, directed by, and starring Michael Moore, in his directorial debut. Moore portrays the regional economic impact of General Motors CEO Roger Smith's action of closing several a ...

'' sparked an international debate over the methodology of Moore's misrepresentation of then

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

CEO Roger Smith in the film. From 1982 to 1990 Harlan Jacobson was the Editor in Chief of ''

''. He continues to contribute articles and interviews to this day. Jacobson was a contributing author in ''Variety'''s ''History of Show Business'' (Abrams, 1993), Jim Jarmusch's ''Stranger Than Paradise'' (Univ. Mississippi Press / 2001) as well as

Steven Soderbergh Steven Andrew Soderbergh (; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor. A pioneer of modern independent cinema, Soderbergh is an acclaimed and prolific filmmaker. Soderbergh's direct ...

's ''The King of Cannes: Truth or Consequences'' (Univ. Mississippi Press / 2002). In 1992, Jacobson and his wife Susan created the national sneak preview and discussion program Talk Cinema, a multi-city film discussion series for film lovers, which has early showings of new films with comments by a local critic and audience participation. Talk Cinema Travels hosts guided tours to international film festivals in Cuba, Iceland, Israel, Spain, California and to a variety of other regional and international festivals.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobson, Harlan Living people 1949 births American film critics 20th-century American Jews Variety (magazine) people WFUV people 21st-century American Jews