Richard Lawson (writer)
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Richard Lawson (born 1982/1983) is an American writer and critic. He rose to prominence as an entertainment writer for '' Gawker'' and was named chief critic for '' Vanity Fair'' in 2018. Lawson's debut YA novel, ''All We Can Do Is Wait'', was released in February 2018.


Career

Lawson began his writing career at '' Gawker'' in 2007. Initially hired onto Gawker's ad sales team, Lawson secretly began participating in ''Gawker'''s active
comments section The comments section is a feature on most online blogs, news websites, and other websites in which the publishers invite the audience to comment on the published content. This is a continuation of the older practice of publishing letters to the edi ...
under the handle LolCait, where his writing gained the attention of the editorial staff. After revealing his identity, he began providing editorial content for the site, first by selecting the week's best comments, and eventually becoming a full-time editor. Lawson gained notice for his television recaps for shows such as ''
The Real Housewives of New York City ''The Real Housewives of New York City'' (abbreviated ''RHONY'') is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on March 4, 2008. Developed as the second installment of ''The Real Housewives'' franchise, it has aired thirteen ...
''. His posts were the most popular on the site, where they garnered 2.4 million viewers each month. He left in July 2009 to work at
TV.com TV.com was a website owned by Red Ventures that covered television series and episodes with a focus on English-language shows made or broadcast in Australia, Canada, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Origin ...
for five months, before returning to ''Gawker''. Lawson left the site for the second time in late 2011 to work for ''The Atlantic Wire'' as a senior entertainment and culture writer. In November 2013, Lawson left ''The Atlantic Wire'' to work as the Hollywood columnist at ''Vanity Fair''. Four months later, he was hired as the magazine's TV and film critic. In March 2018, he became ''Vanity Fair'''s chief critic. Lawson's debut novel, ''All We Can Do Is Wait'', was released on February 6, 2018 under
Razorbill The razorbill, razor-billed auk, or lesser auk (''Alca torda'') is a colonial seabird and the only extant member of the genus '' Alca'' of the family Alcidae, the auks. It is the closest living relative of the extinct great auk (''Pinguinis im ...
. The book is a YA novel that centers on a group of teenagers in the waiting room of a hospital after a bridge collapse. ''All We Can Do Is Wait'' received a starred review from ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
''.


Preferences


Favorites

When asked to rank the best films of the 2010 decade, Lawson named: *1. '' Mad Max: Fury Road'' (USA, 2015) *2. ''
Phantom Thread ''Phantom Thread'' is a 2017 American historical drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, and starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps and Lesley Manville. Set in 1950s London, it stars Day-Lewis as an haute couture dressmaker w ...
'' (USA, 2018) *3. '' Dawson City: Frozen Time'' (USA, 2016) *4. ''
Melancholia Melancholia or melancholy (from el, µέλαινα χολή ',Burton, Bk. I, p. 147 meaning black bile) is a concept found throughout ancient, medieval and premodern medicine in Europe that describes a condition characterized by markedly d ...
'' (Denmark, 2011) *5. ''
Parasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...
'' (South Korea, 2019) *6. ''
Get Out ''Get Out'' is a 2017 American psychological horror film written, co-produced, and directed by Jordan Peele in his directorial debut. It stars Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Lil Rel Howery, LaKeith Stanfield, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Land ...
'' (USA, 2017) *7. '' Eden'' (France, 2014) *8. '' Force Majeure'' (Sweden, 2014) *9. '' Weekend'' (UK, 2011) *10. ''
Princess Cyd ''Princess Cyd'' is a 2017 drama film written and directed by Stephen Cone and starring Rebecca Spence, Jessie Pinnick, and Malic White. Plot Cyd Loughlin, a headstrong 16-year-old, is sent away from her home in Columbia, South Carolina to spen ...
'' (USA, 2017)


Best of the Year

Since becoming a film critic for '' Vanity Fair'', Lawson has marked these films as the best of the year. * 2013: ''
Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
'' * 2014: ''
Love is Strange "Love Is Strange" is a crossover hit by American rhythm and blues duet Mickey & Sylvia, which was released in late November 1956 by the Groove record label. The song was based on a guitar riff by Jody Williams and was written by Bo Diddley ...
'' * 2015: '' Mad Max: Fury Road'' * 2016: ''
The Meddler ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' * 2017: ''
BPM (Beats per Minute) ''BPM (Beats per Minute)'', also known as ''120 BPM (Beats per Minute)'', (french: 120 battements par minute) is a 2017 French drama film directed by Robin Campillo and starring Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Arnaud Valois and Adèle Haenel. The fil ...
'' * 2018: '' Roma'' * 2019: ''
Parasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...
'' * 2020: '' The Nest'' * 2021: '' The Worst Person in the World'' * 2022: ''
Tár ''Tár'' (stylized as ''TÁR'') is a 2022 psychological drama film written and directed by Todd Field and starring Cate Blanchett. The film charts the downfall of fictional composer and conductor Lydia Tár. The supporting cast includes Noémie ...
''


Personal life

Lawson was raised in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston, and attended Boston Latin School and Boston College, before moving to New York City. Lawson wrote an article that went viral about the personal significance of openly gay Olympic figure skater
Adam Rippon Adam Richard Rippon (born November 11, 1989) is an American figure skater. He won the 2010 Four Continents Championships and the 2016 U.S. National Championships. Earlier in his career, he won the 2008 and 2009 World Junior Championships, the ...
during the
2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics ( ko, 2018년 동계 올림픽, Icheon sip-pal nyeon Donggye Ollimpik), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (french: Les XXIIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; ko, 제23회 동계 올림픽, Jeisipsamhoe Donggye Ollimpi ...
.


References


External links


Richard Lawson
on ''Vanity Fair'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, Richard Year of birth missing (living people) 1980s births 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American novelists American male bloggers American bloggers American film critics National Society of Film Critics Members American online publication editors American television critics American young adult novelists The Atlantic (magazine) people Boston College alumni Boston Latin School alumni Entertainment journalists American gay writers Gawker Media LGBT people from Massachusetts Living people Novelists from Massachusetts Vanity Fair (magazine) people Writers from Boston Writers from New York City