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Mark Kermode
Kermode performing with the Dodge Brothers in 2009.
Born	Mark Fairey (1963-07-02) 2 July 1963 (age 61) Barnet, North London, England
Nationality	English
Citizenship	British
Education	PhD (English)
Alma mater	University of Manchester
Occupation(s)	Film critic, presenter, musician
Employer(s)	BBC, The Observer, Sight and Sound
Known for	Kermode and Mayo's Film Reviews, The Culture Show, The Dodge Brothers

Mark Kermode (born 2 July 1963) is an English film critic and a member of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. He contributes to Sight and Sound magazine, The Observer newspaper and BBC Radio 5 Live, where he presents Kermode and Mayo's Film Reviews with Simon Mayo on Friday afternoons. He also co-presents the BBC Two arts programme The Culture Show and discusses other branches of the arts for the BBC Two programme Newsnight Review. Kermode writes and presents a film-related video blog for the BBC and is a patron of the Phoenix Cinema in North London.

Personal background and education

Kermode, born Mark Fairey in Barnet, North London, England, attended Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School, an independent boys' school in Elstree, a few years ahead of comedians Sacha Baron Cohen, Matt Lucas and David Baddiel and in the same year as actor Jason Isaacs. He was raised as a Methodist, and is now a member of the Church of England.

Mark Fairey's parents divorced when he was in his early 20s and he subsequently changed his surname to his GP mother's maiden name by deed poll. (Neither of them is related to the literary critic Frank Kermode.)

He earned his PhD in English at the University of Manchester in 1991, writing a thesis on horror fiction. Kermode has stated that "I was a revolutionary communist affiliate in the 80s", but that "none of us had any respect for Stalin".

Kermode now lives in Brockenhurst with his wife, Linda Ruth Williams, a professor who lectures on film at the University of Southampton and has written The Erotic Thriller in Contemporary Cinema and co-edited Contemporary American Cinema. In October to November 2004, they jointly curated a History of the Horror Film season and exhibition at the National Film Theatre in London. Kermode and Williams have two children. Kermode has been described as "a feminist, a near vegetarian (he eats fish), a churchgoer and a straight-arrow spouse who just happens to enjoy seeing people's heads explode across a cinema screen".

Career

Horror specialisation

Kermode is a visiting fellow at the University of Southampton, having gained a PhD at the University of Manchester in modern English and American horror fiction. This makes him something of a horror film expert, together with his former contributions to Fangoria magazine, his authoring of the monograph The Exorcist (BFI Modern Classics), and his work on film-related documentaries like The Fear of God; 25 Years of the Exorcist, Hell on Earth: The Desecration and Resurrection of Ken Russell's The Devils, and The Cult of The Wicker Man. He calls The Exorcist (1973) "the best film ever made". He recommends The Witch Who Came From the Sea as one of the best video nasties of the 1970s.

Kermode is sometimes critical of the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), the censor for film in the UK, calling for horror films from abroad to be shown in their uncut versions. However, in recent years, he has stated on numerous occasions that the BBFC do a good job in an impossible situation, and expressed his approval of their decisions.

Print media

Kermode began his film career as a print journalist, writing for Manchester's City Life, and then Time Out and the NME in London. He has also written for The Independent, Vox, Empire, Flicks, Fangoria and Neon. Until September 2005, Kermode reviewed films each week for the New Statesman. Since 2009 Kermode has written "Mark Kermode's DVD round-up" for The Observer, a weekly review of the latest releases. He sometimes writes for the British Film Institute's Sight and Sound magazine.

In February 2010, Random House released his autobiography, It's Only a Movie, which he describes as being "inspired by real events". Its publication was accompanied by a UK tour.

Radio

Kermode began working at BBC Radio 1 in 1993, on a regular Thursday night slot called Cult Film Corner on Mark Radcliffe's Graveyard Shift session. He later moved to Simon Mayo's BBC Radio 1 morning show. He also hosted a movie review show with Mary Anne Hobbs on Radio 1 on Tuesday nights called Cling Film. Between February 1992 and October 1993, he was the resident film reviewer on BBC Radio 5's Morning Edition with Danny Baker.

Kermode also co-hosted an early 1990s afternoon magazine show on BBC Radio 5 called A Game of Two Halves alongside former Blue Peter presenter Caron Keating.

He currently reviews and debates new film releases each Friday afternoon with Simon Mayo on Mayo's BBC Radio 5 Live show, which is also available as a podcast. The programme won Gold in the Speech Award category at the 2009 Sony Radio Academy Awards on 11 May 2009. The judges' citation was:

The winner of the Gold Award made the judges laugh out loud. They found this programme witty and entertaining, cheeky and irreverent, and they admired the sustained passion and energy of its presenters who made listening an effortless and rollercoaster pleasure.

On the Radio Five Live show, Kermode is frequently referred to by nicknames including "The Good Doctor" and listeners also send in names for the double-act of Kermode and Mayo, such as Hinge and Bracket.

Television

Kermode is currently a regular presenter on BBC Two's The Culture Show. He also appears regularly on Newsnight Review and Film 24 on BBC News. It was during a 2006 interview with Kermode for The Culture Show in Los Angeles that Werner Herzog was shot by an air rifle. Herzog appeared unflustered, later stating "It was not a significant bullet. I am not afraid". On 19 May 2007 he was featured on the show playing with his skiffle band, The Dodge Brothers, in which he plays the double bass.

Kermode is also a film critic and presenter for Film4 and Channel 4, presenting the weekly Extreme Cinema strand. He also writes and presents documentaries for Channel 4. Once a week, he reviews films for BBC News at Five.

Kermode rarely watches television, calling it "trivial" and stating that "I have been doing my best to avoid for the last 20 years." On being challenged by The Observer to watch TV, he admitted "if there's one thing I've learned from agreeing to take up the Observer's TV challenge this summer, it's that an awareness of what's going on in television is probably helpful to an understanding of movies. Worse, it may even be essential".

Other work

As of April 2008, Kermode has started a twice-weekly video blog hosted on the BBC website, where he posts clips of himself talking about films and telling anecdotes.

Kermode has recorded DVD audio commentaries for Tommy, The Ninth Configuration, The Wicker Man and (with Peter O'Toole) Becket. He also appears in the DVD extras of Lost in La Mancha, interviewing Terry Gilliam. Kermode has written books, published by the BFI in its Modern Classics series, on The Exorcist and The Shawshank Redemption and his documentary for Channel 4, Shawshank: The Redeeming Feature, is on the film's 10th anniversary special edition DVD.

Opinions

Kermode's appreciation of genre cinema is not always in line with popular taste: he dislikes all four Pirates of the Caribbean films, all three Transformers films and the Star Wars films, which he regards as "a gross infantalisation of the dark hearted 'serious' sci-fi" that he grew up with. Kermode has also expressed his dislike of director Chris Columbus, labelling him an "accountant director" and producing a negative analysis of the first two Harry Potter films, which Columbus directed. However, Kermode says he has "grown into the Potter story" as the films have advanced in their mature themes and content. He has made no secret of his dislike for 3D films and is particularly disdainful of the trend for what he calls "retrofitting" 2D movies into 3D. Kermode's emphasis on genre cinema has also meant he often expresses a liking for films panned by other critics, such as Basic Instinct 2 (2006) because it follows genre expectations. Kermode has been critical of documentary maker Michael Moore (despite praising his most recent film Capitalism: A Love Story on his radio show) , accusing him of "feeding his own ego".

Music

Kermode played double-bass for a skiffle/rockabilly band called The Railtown Bottlers in the early 1990s. The Railtown Bottlers were also the house band on the BBC show Danny Baker After All for a series, starting in 1993, where he performed with Madness lead singer, Suggs. He currently plays bass in skiffle quartet The Dodge Brothers.

Awards and other recognition

Kermode is 75th on The Guardian's Film Power 100; According to The Screen Directory, Kermode is tenth in the list of the best film critics, in company that includes Alexander Walker, Pauline Kael, Roger Ebert, David Thomson, and James Agee.

References

1. BAFTA member Mark Kermode
2. "Mark Kermode". Phoenix Cinema. 15th February 2010. Retrieved 2011-06-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
3. Norman, Matthew (24 January 2005). "Matthew Norman's Media Diary". The Independent. London. Retrieved 14 January 2008.
4. Norman, Matthew (7 February 2005). "Matthew Norman's Media Diary". The Independent. London. Retrieved 14 January 2008.
5. ^ "Film critic honoured by University of Manchester". University of Manchester. 14 December 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
6. Lester, Paul (1 February 2008). "JC Interview: Jason Isaacs". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 23 June 2008. Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School ... quite a vintage crop in time: fellow pupils included Sacha Baron Cohen, David Baddiel and Matt Lucas. 'I've seen Baddiel a few times', Isaacs says, and he sees the others occasionally at awards ceremonies. ... ot all the Habs stars of the time were Jewish, though, and Isaacs has a lot of time for another alumnus, the BBC's film critic, Mark Kermode: 'He is always incredibly lovely and says hello on his Radio 5 podcasts, which I've listened to in Auschwitz and many other strange places. He's said I was too cool , but he was at the epicentre of the in-crowd.' 
7. Dalton, Stephen (22 January 2010). "Mark Kermode: the new Jonathan Ross?". The Times. London. Retrieved 15 December 2010.
8. ^ Lawson, Mark (9 April 2009). "Drawn to the devil". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
9. Dalton, Stephen (22 January 2010). "Mark Kermode: the new Jonathan Ross?". The Times. London. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
10. "Koba the Dread". BBC Newnight Review. 10 September 2002. Retrieved 4 April 2008. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
11. ^ "Professor Linda Ruth Williams". University of Southampton. Retrieved 8 March 2008.
12. Randall, Lee (6 February 2010). "Interview: Mark Kermode, film critic". The Scotsman Magazine. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
13. Kermode on BBC Newsnight Review, accessed 14 January 2008
14. http://www.thebookseller.com/news/76846-kermode-to-random-house.html
15. Macmillan
16. Sight and Sound
17. Kermode was speaking during an interview with Simon Mayo on BBC Radio 5 on 12 June 2009 which as of 15 June 2009 can be downloaded at here
18. Kermode, Mark (2002--06-21). "Mark Kermode on censorship: What are they scared of?". The Independent. London. Retrieved 2009-01-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
19. ^ Mark Kermode, English Department teaching staff, University of Southampton, accessed 14 January 2008
20. Mark Kermode, New Statesman, accessed 14 January 2008
21. "Mark Kermode's DVD round-up". The Observer. guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-6-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
22. Gallagher, Victoria (10 February 2009). "Kermode to Random House". The Bookseller. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
23. "It's Only a Movie". Random House. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
24. "Fancy a Brew? (Mark Radcliffe and Marc Riley website)". Retrieved 23 April 2008.
25. "Mary Anne Hobbs". BBC. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
26. Kermode, Mark (2010). It's Only a Movie: Reel Life Adventures of a Film Obsessive. London: Random House. p. . ISBN 184794602X.
27. "BBC - Podcasts - Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo's Film Reviews". BBC Radio 5 Live. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
28. Speech Award 2009 citations Sony Radio Academy official site
29. Hastings, Sheena (30 September 2009). "Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode: In conversation for the Yorkshire Post". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
30. Herzog shot during interview, Hollywood.com, 3 February 2006, accessed 14 January 2008
31. Herzog on his latest film Grizzly Man, BBC News, accessed 14 January 2008
32. ^ Mark Kermode (23 September 2007). "Should a film purist find time for TV?". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 1 March 2008.
33. Kermode Video Blog from the BBC's Blog Network website
34. "The Wicker Man review". dvdoutsider.com. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
35. "Becket review". reel.com. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
36. Kermode, Mark (2003). The Exorcist (2nd ed.). London: BFI Publishing. ISBN 9780851709673.
37. Kermode, Mark (2003). The Shawshank Redemption. London: BFI Publishing. ISBN 9780851709680.
38. Kermode, Mark (22 August 2004). "Hope springs eternal". The Observer. London. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
39. Papamichael, Stella (8 September 2004). "The Shawshank Redemption 10th Anniversary SE DVD (1994)". BBC Movies. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
40. ^ "Film Critics". TheScreenDirectory.com. Archived from the original on 13 March 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
41. "Mark Kermode, Pirates of the Caribbean review". Guardian Film. London. 9 July 2006. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
42. "Mark Kermode, Sunshine review". Guardian Film. London. 25 March 2007. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
43. Kermode on Columbus and the Potter films
44. Kermode, Mark (11 April 2010). "No, your eyes aren't deceiving you – 3D really is a con". The Guardian. London.
45. Adams, Richard (31 March 2006). "Basic Instinct 2 - comedy sensation of the year". The Guardian Online. London. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
46. Mark Kermode (27 June 2004). "'Moore is shameless in feeding his own ego'". The Observer. London. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
47. "Critically speaking". Southampton Echo. 13 April 2002. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
48. ^ Kermode, Mark (1 June 2008). "My 20-year love affair with the joy of skiffle". The Observer. London. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
49. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er6HthvT5UY
50. "Radio Specialist of the Year Award". Retrieved 12 August 2010.
51. "The Speech Radio Award". Retrieved 12 August 2010.

External links

• Profile of Mark Kermode at the University of Southampton
• Archive of selected articles by Kermode in Critics / Authors Review and Articles at Rotten Tomatoes
• Mark Kermode at BBC Online
• Kermode Uncut: Mark Kermode's Movie Blog at BBC Online

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