Sasha Stone is an American film

blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

ger based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. She is the founder and editor of the film and awards discussion website ''

Awards Daily ''Awards Daily'' (formerly known as Oscarwatch) is a website primarily focused on the film industry and the film awards seasons that was established in 1999 by American editor Sasha Stone. History ''Awards Daily'' was started in 1999 by Sasha ...

'' (formerly known as Oscarwatch).

Early life and education

Sasha Stone grew up in

Topanga Topanga (Tongva: ''Topaa'nga'') is an unincorporated community in western Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located in the Santa Monica Mountains, the community exists in Topanga Canyon and the surrounding hills. The narrow southern ...

and

Ojai, California Ojai ( ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''’Awhaỳ'') is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara. The valley is part of the east– ...

, and went to

Nordhoff High School Nordhoff High School (NHS), originally Nordhoff Union High School, is a public high school in Ojai, California that serves the Ojai Valley. The school, established in 1910, is part of the Ojai Unified School District. History The original Nord ...

. She studied film at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, and eventually graduated from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

. She won third place in the

Samuel Goldwyn Writing Awards The Samuel Goldwyn Writing Awards are bestowed annually by the Samuel Goldwyn Foundation, which is funded by a trust established by the Goldwyn family. Started in 1955, the awards are a competitive writing prize open to all University of Californi ...

competition at UCLA in 1993. She has one daughter.

Career

Stone has written for various entertainment industry magazines, including ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', and ''

The Wrap ''TheWrap'' is an American online news organization that covers the business of entertainment and media. It was founded by journalist Sharon Waxman in 2009 and is based in Los Angeles. The site features original reporting, analysis, and editor ...

'', and was also the film critic for the '' Santa Monica Mirror''. She founded a website on 1999-12-02 while at home, after her daughter's birth, as a single parent, covering the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

called Oscar®Watch. The website was later renamed ''

'' after Stone was sued in 2006 by the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

for using Oscarwatch as the site's name for eight years prior. Since its founding, the website has received a

Shorty Award The Shorty Awards (also known as "The Shortys") are awards for outstanding and innovative work in digital and social media content by brands, advertising agencies, and creators. The awards, which generally focus on short-term content, honor achiev ...

nomination. Additionally, Stone has appeared on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

's ''

Weekend Edition ''Weekend Edition'' is a set of American radio news magazine programs produced and distributed by National Public Radio ( NPR). It is the weekend counterpart to the NPR radio program ''Morning Edition''. It consists of ''Weekend Edition Saturday ...

''. Following the Boston Marathon bombings of 2013, Stone was featured in a ''New York Times'' article about how quickly false information can spread in moments of crisis. She wrote her own account of the night in question on her personal blog. In 2014, Stone was profiled by Boris Kachka in ''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...

'' about the growing industry of Oscar punditry, which Stone helped launch with ''Awards Daily''. Stone is also a writer on the Netflix series ''

Voir ''Voir'' was a francophone alternative weekly newspaper in Montreal, Quebec, published by Communications Voir. ''Voir'' was founded by Pierre Paquet in November 1986. The first issue of the newspaper was published on 27 November 1986. Later o ...

'', alongside the critics Tony Zhou, Taylor Ramos, Walter Chaw, Drew McWeeny, and David Prior, and producers Prior and

David Fincher David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. Often described as one of the preeminent directors of his generation, David Fincher filmography, his films, of which most are psychological thrillers, have collectiv ...

. Her episode ''The Summer of the Shark'', focusing on the experience of seeing '' Jaws'' at the age of 10, aired on December 6, 2021,. Stone became involved in politics in 2016, writing for the Democrats, but left the party in 2020. She now writes and podcasts from a primarily conservative point of view in her newsletter, ''Free Thinking Through the Fourth Turning''.

References

External links

Free Thinking Through the Fourth Turning

Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stone, Sasha 1965 births American film critics Columbia University School of the Arts alumni Living people People from Ojai, California People from Topanga, California Tisch School of the Arts alumni UCLA Film School alumni American women film critics 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American women journalists Variety (magazine) people American bloggers American women bloggers