Los Angeles Times Film critic Justin Chang leaves the publication to join The New Yorker.
Chang, who had been with him Times since 2016, leaves the Times as the publication grapples with the recent layoffs of 115 employees and the resignation of executive editor Kevin Merida. Editorial page editor Terry Tang has been named interim executive editor.
Accept the job at New Yorker As critic Anthony Lane, who has held the position for three decades, expands his scope beyond film to write on a variety of topics, including reported articles and critical essays on the arts. Lane’s final movie column will appear in the New Yorkeranniversary issue, however, his writings will continue to appear in the magazine.
Chang starts in the new position at the New Yorker February 12.
In addition to his previous position at Los Angeles Times, Chang teaches at the USC Annenberg School of Journalism and reviews films for NPR’s Fresh Air. He has been named Film Critic of the Year at the Los Angeles Press Club’s National Arts & Entertainment Awards and serves as president of the National Society of Film Critics and secretary of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. He is also a member of the New York Film Festival selection committee.
Chang will be based in Los Angeles but will visit New York. Richard Brody will also continue to cover movies for the New Yorker across all platforms.
In a memo to staff, editor David Remnick praised Chang’s addition and commemorated Lane’s tenure, going on to write, “Anthony is the most witty and wisest of essayists. Sentence after sentence, he can erase the pretensions of a film or describe the resonances and references of a masterpiece.”