By: Jacob Elyachar, jakes-take.com
The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast begins its sixth season!!
I am honored to welcome Shawn Edwards, my friend, mentor, and award-winning journalist, as the season’s first guest!
Shawn is one of the United States’ leading African American film critics. Known for his sharp insight and considerable knowledge of the business side of the movie industry, Edwards has quickly established himself as a respected and trusted critic. Since he began reviewing movies for FOX in 2000, he has been quoted on more than 300 movies.
His reviews are on the “Screening Room,” which airs every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday on Fox 4 News or at fox4kc.com. The nationally recognized film critic is also a co-founder of the African American Film Critics Association and is the creator of iloveblackmovies.com.
He has written and produced three documentaries about black film: “We Make Movies Too: The 100 Best Black Movies (Ever),” “No Joke: The 50 Best Black Movie Comedies (Ever),” and “Our Heroes: The 25 Best Black Movies (Ever).” Edwards is currently working on his fourth documentary, “The Movies We Love: The 25 Most Romantic Black Movies (Ever),” which will premiere in the summer of 2010.
Shawn Edwards also produced “A Celebration of Black Film, ” a well-attended film event honoring blacks’ historical contributions to cinema. Edwards is also the co-creator of the Kansas City Urban Film Festival, which showcases independent filmmaking by diverse filmmakers from around the world.
Shawn began his journalism career as an editor/writer for “The Pitch” in Kansas City, Missouri. He also freelanced for “Vibe,” “The Source” and “XXL” national music magazines where he wrote feature stories about music and movies.
He has won numerous journalism awards. In 2009, he was honored by the Los Angeles Press Club and their National Entertainment Journalism Awards as the best film critic on television, an award Edwards also received in 2008 along with his “Screening Room” partner Russ Simmons. Edwards was also recognized in the Best Feature for TV (“Chat with the Stars”) and Best Online Film Critic (iloveblackmovies.com) at this year’s National Entertainment Journalism Awards.
He is currently writing a book on the history of black film and producing television shows for Black Entertainment Television in conjunction with FGW Productions, which is based in Los Angeles, California.
On this episode of The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast, Shawn Edwards spoke about celebrating 25 years at WDAF-TV FOX 4 News, his most memorable celebrity interviews, and the Black Movie Hall of Fame’s groundbreaking.
You can connect with Shawn Edwards on social media. Visit his Facebook, Instagram, & Threads.
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