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Wesley Morris (born December 19, 1975) is an American film critic and podcast host. He is currently critic-at-large 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 ...
'', as well as co-host, with J Wortham, of the ''New York Times'' podcast '' Still Processing.'' Previously, Morris wrote for ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'', then
Grantland ''Grantland'' was a sports and pop-culture blog owned and operated by ESPN. The blog was started in 2011 by veteran writer and sports journalist Bill Simmons, who remained as editor-in-chief until May 2015. ''Grantland'' was named after famed ...
. He won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism for his work with ''The Globe'' and the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism for his ''
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 ...
'' coverage of
race relations in the United States Racism has been reflected in discriminatory laws, practices, and actions (including violence) against racial or ethnic groups throughout the history of the United States. Since the early colonial era, White Americans have generally enjoyed le ...
, making Morris the only writer to have won the Criticism prize more than once.


Early life

Morris was born and raised in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. He attended high school at Girard College, graduating in 1993. While a high school student, he wrote for the ''
Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...
s teen supplement, "Yo! Fresh Ink." In 1997 he graduated from
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
, where he had been a film critic at ''
The Yale Daily News The ''Yale Daily News'' is an independent student newspaper published by Yale University students in New Haven, Connecticut, since January 28, 1878. Description Financially and editorially independent of Yale University since its founding, th ...
'' for four years.


Career

Morris joined ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' in 2002, where he reviewed films alongside Ty Burr. Morris and Burr also made regular appearances on NECN to discuss the latest films and do the weekly ''Take Two'' film review video series on '' Boston.com''. Before joining the ''Globe'', he wrote film reviews and essays for the ''
San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and has been published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst and the flagship of the He ...
'' and the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...
''. He is featured in the 2009 documentary film '' For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism'' discussing the impact of video store shopping on the importance of film criticism, and how critic Harry Knowles started a questionable revolution of amateurs writing film criticism. In 1999, he was one of many film critics who temporarily co-reviewed films with
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
on his television program in place of
Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune'' who co-hosted a movie review television series alongside colleague Roger Ebert. Siskel started writing for the '' ...
, who was ultimately replaced by
Richard Roeper Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American writer. He is a former columnist and film critic for the '' Chicago Sun-Times'', where he wrote for 39 years dating back to 1986 until his departure in 2025. He co-hosted the television s ...
. From 2013 to 2015 Wesley Morris wrote for
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
's website ''
Grantland ''Grantland'' was a sports and pop-culture blog owned and operated by ESPN. The blog was started in 2011 by veteran writer and sports journalist Bill Simmons, who remained as editor-in-chief until May 2015. ''Grantland'' was named after famed ...
''. In October 2015, Morris joined ''The New York Times'' as critic-at-large, contributing to the newspaper as well as ''The New York Times Magazine''. In September 2016, Morris and ''Times'' colleague J Wortham began hosting a
podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...
called '' Still Processing'', produced by ''The New York Times'' and podcasting company Pineapple Street Media. The podcast received enthusiastic reviews and was named in several year-end lists of the best podcasts of 2016. Morris was the guest editor of the 2024 edition of The Best American Essays anthology.


Preferences


Favorite films

Morris participated in the 2022 ''Sight & Sound'' critics' poll, where he listed his ten favorite films as follows: *'' Au hasard Balthazar'' (France, 1966) *''
Beau Travail ''Beau Travail'' (, French for "good work") is a 1999 French film directed by Claire Denis, who co-wrote the screenplay alongside Jean-Pol Fargeau, an adaptation of the novella ''Billy Budd'' by Herman Melville. The story is set in Djibouti, wh ...
'' (France, 1999) *'' Do the Right Thing'' (USA, 1989) *''
Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big city b ...
'' (German, 1927) *''
Moonlight Moonlight consists of mostly sunlight (with little earthlight) reflected from the parts of the Moon's surface where the Sun's light strikes. History The ancient Greek philosopher Anaxagoras was aware that "''the sun provides the moon with its ...
'' (USA, 2016) *''
Naked Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. While estimates vary, for the first 90,000 years of pre-history, anatomically modern humans were naked, having lost their body hair, living in hospitable climates, and not ...
'' (UK, 1993) *'' O.J.: Made in America'' (USA, 2016) *''
Taxi Driver ''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American neo-noir psychological drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. Set in a morally decaying New York City following the Vietnam War, it stars Robert De Niro as veteran Marine and ...
'' (USA, 1976) *''
There Will Be Blood ''There Will Be Blood'' is a 2007 American epic film, epic historical drama, period drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, loosely based on the 1927 novel ''Oil!'' by Upton Sinclair. It stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Kev ...
'' (USA, 2007) *'' Yi Yi'' (Taiwan, 1999)


Awards

In 2011, Morris won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism for his work at ''The Boston Globe''; the award cited "his smart, inventive film criticism, distinguished by pinpoint prose and an easy traverse between the art house and the big-screen box office." In 2015, Morris was a finalist for the
National Magazine Award The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...
for Columns and Commentary, recognized for his 2014 Grantland columns, "Let's Be Real," "After Normal," and "If U Seek Amy." In 2021, Morris won his second Pulitzer Prize for criticism, for a series of essays in ''
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 ...
'' which the Pulitzer citation praised for “unrelentingly relevant and deeply engaged criticism on the intersection of race and culture in America, written in singular style, alternatively playful and profound."


Personal life

Morris lives in Brooklyn, New York. Morris is gay.


References


External links

*
Biography and film reviews at the ''Globe'' websiteAppearance on NECN with film critic Ty Burr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Wesley 1975 births African-American journalists American film critics Pulitzer Prize for Criticism winners The Boston Globe people San Francisco Examiner people San Francisco Chronicle people LGBTQ people from Pennsylvania African-American LGBTQ people Yale University alumni African-American writers Journalists from Philadelphia Living people Place of birth missing (living people) The New York Times people American podcasters American gay writers 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people LGBTQ media critics