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| Ben Lyons | |
|---|---|
| Born | Benjamin Lyons October 8, 1981 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Television producer, talk show host, movie viewer, journalist |
| Years active | 2002–present |
Ben Lyons (born October 8, 1981) is an American film critic and entertainment journalist. He is the son of the NBC film and theater critic Jeffrey Lyons and the grandson of the American newspaper columnnist Leonard Lyons.
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[edit] Career
Lyons started his own production company in 2002, producing segments for Hip-Hop Nation. In 2004, MTV hired him to co-host Your Movie Show. In 2006, Lyons hosted entertainment segments on The Daily 10, covering red carpet events and festivals. In addition, he began to write the E! Online column "The Lyons Den", whose name refers to the old New York Post newspaper column by his grandfather, which his father has also used for his show on the New York City radio station WCBS. He then became a regular contributor on "Daily 10" as their resident film critic and interviewer, appearing several times a week, in many instances. He also appears on the channel's red carpet coverage of the SAG, Golden Globe, Critics' Choice and Oscar telecasts. He has been on their red carpet coverage of the BAFTA awards as well from London.
Lyons has been featured on Access Hollywood and has worked as a segment producer on the nationally syndicated Hip-Hop Nation. His "Day in the Life of Russell Simmons" episode followed the music mogul as he prepared for the opening night of Def Poetry on Broadway. Lyons also hosted My Family's Got GUTS, on Nickelodeon. Lyons has also appeared in Disaster Movie and The House Bunny. He is a regular contributor to Good Morning America.
[edit] At the Movies
In September 2008, in the Walt Disney Company's rebranding of the long-syndicated program At the Movies, Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz were named co-hosts.[1] They replaced Richard Roeper and Michael Phillips, himself a temporary replacement who had joined the program after Roeper's co-host Roger Ebert was left unable to speak following treatment for thyroid cancer. The intention was for Lyons and Mankiewicz to take the show in a new direction, hoping to widen the viewership and appeal to younger audiences. At the time, Lyons competed with his father's show, Reel Talk, produced by NBC, until its cancellation in May 2009.[2]
During Ben Lyons' tenure on At the Movies, he was criticized for his perceived lack of understanding of films and film history, use of positively phrased quotes (sound bites) in reviews which appear tailored for use on movie advertisements[3] and for purported conflicts of interest by posing for photographs with actors whose movies he later reviews.[4] Lyons and Mankiewicz were replaced on August 5, 2009 by Phillips and New York Times critic A.O. Scott as the show's permanent hosts.[5]
An example of the criticism of Lyons' reviews was his declaration that I Am Legend was one of the "greatest movies ever made". The phrase was subsequently incorporated into the film's promotional material.[4]
Film critic and host of Filmspotting, Adam Kempenaar, criticized Lyons for his negative review of Synecdoche, New York, saying Lyons had not actually engaged in what the film was trying to say, rather only offering that the movie was "difficult to understand."[6]
Roger Ebert wrote a general commentary on ethical standards for film critics,[7] which other commentators have inferred as critical of Lyons and responding to comparisons of Ebert with Lyons, which Ebert later confirmed.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ Anne Thompson (July 22, 2008). "Lyons, Mankiewicz to host 'Movies'". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117989303.html?categoryid=1237&cs=1. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
- ^ Richard Huff (2009-05-28). "Ch. 4 axes 'Reel Talk' host Jeffrey Lyons". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2009/05/29/2009-05-29_ch_4_axes_reel_talk_host_lyons.html. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
- ^ Rush & Molloy (August 1, 2008). "Jeffrey Lyons pans son's critics". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2008/08/01/2008-08-01_jeffrey_lyons_pans_sons_critics.html. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
- ^ a b Chris Lee (December 28, 2008). "Critic Ben Lyons gets many thumbs down". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-lyons28-2008dec28,0,3485043.story. Retrieved 2008-12-27.
- ^ Ken Tucker (September 1, 2009). "New 'At The Movies' premieres: Now with real film critics". Entertainment Weekly. http://watching-tv.ew.com/2009/09/01/at-the-movies-roger-ebert-a-o-scott. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
- ^ Adam Kempenaar and Matty Robinson (November 7, 2008). "FS #234: Synecdoche, New York/Role Models/David Wain/Top 5 Movies About Mortality". Filmspotting. http://cdn2.libsyn.com/cinecast/filmspot234_110708.mp3?nvb=20090124165825&nva=20090125165825&t=02985808c24722b7fca99. Retrieved 2009-01-24.
- ^ Roger Ebert (October 28, 2008). "Roger Ebert's Journal: Roger's little rule book". Chicago Sun-Times. http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2008/10/eberts_little_rule_book.html. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
- ^ Roger Ebert (November 25, 2009). "Roger Ebert's Journal: Time keeps on slip, slip, slippin' away". Chicago Sun-Times. http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2009/11/post.html. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
