Jason Zinoman
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Jason Zinoman (born 1975 or 1976) is an American critic and author. He has written for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', ''
Time Out New York ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 333 cities in 59 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition became ...
'', '' Vanity Fair'', and ''
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
''. In 2011, he published ''
Shock Value Shock value (or shock factor) is the potential of an image, text, action, or other form of communication, such as a public execution, to provoke a reaction of sharp disgust, shock, anger, fear, or similar negative emotions. In advertising Sho ...
'', a non-fiction book about horror films. In 2017, he published ''Letterman: The Last Giant of Late Night'', a biography of David Letterman.


Career

Zinoman began his career at ''Time Out New York'', where he became the theater editor in 2001. After writing freelance stories for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', he was hired to become the On Stage and Off theater columnist in 2003. In 2011, he became the comedy critic for ''The New York Times'', a newly created position, and, two years later, he published "Searching for Dave Chappelle", a Kindle single about comedian
Dave Chappelle David Khari Webber Chappelle ( ; born August 24, 1973) is an American stand-up comedy, stand-up comedian and actor. He starred in and co-created the satirical comedy sketch series ''Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006) before quitting in the middle ...
's retreat from public life. In 2010, he recapped the third season of the HBO series ''
True Blood ''True Blood'' is an American fantasy Horror fiction, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball (screenwriter), Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a series of novels ...
'' for ''
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
'' and argued that the series might not be getting the critical attention it deserved because of an "old elite snobbishness toward lowbrow genres." In 2011, he published the non-fiction book ''
Shock Value Shock value (or shock factor) is the potential of an image, text, action, or other form of communication, such as a public execution, to provoke a reaction of sharp disgust, shock, anger, fear, or similar negative emotions. In advertising Sho ...
'', which describes how horror films changed in the late 1960s to become more brutal, realistic, and auteur-driven, as opposed to the older, campier films based on Gothic melodrama. The book was an outgrowth of an article he had written for '' Vanity Fair''. He has spoken further about horror films as an interviewee in the 2013 documentary film '' Birth of the Living Dead'', which tracks the legacy of ''
Night of the Living Dead ''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American Independent film, independent zombie horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, written by Romero and John A. Russo, John Russo, produced by Russell Streiner and Karl Har ...
''. In 2017, he co-hosted the television show "Theater Talk."


Personal life

Zinoman was born in 1975 or 1976 to a Jewish family. He grew up in Washington, D.C., where his mother founded the
Studio Theatre A black box theater is a performance space, typically a square or rectangular room, with black walls and a black, flat floor. The simplicity of the space allows it to be used to create a variety of configurations of stage and audience interact ...
. He graduated from the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
and got married in 2004.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zinoman, Jason Living people American theater critics American male non-fiction writers American non-fiction writers The New York Times journalists 1970s births Writers from Washington, D.C. University of Chicago alumni Year of birth missing (living people)