L.A. Times Film Critic Justin Chang Joins The New Yorker

Caitlin Huston
·2 min read
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Los Angeles Times film critic Justin Chang is leaving the publication to join The New Yorker.

Chang, who had been with the Times since 2016, departs the publication as it contends with the recent layoffs of 115 staffers and the resignation of executive editor Kevin Merida. Editorial page editor Terry Tang has been named interim executive editor.

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He takes on the job at The New Yorker as longtime critic Anthony Lane, who has held the post for three decades, broadens his beat beyond film to write on a variety of subjects, including reported pieces and critical essays about the arts. Lane’s last movie column will be published in The New Yorker’s anniversary issue, however, his writing will continue to appear in the magazine.

Chang begins in the new post at The New Yorker on Feb. 12.

In addition to his previous post at The Los Angeles Times, Chang teaches at the Annenberg School of Journalism at USC and reviews movies for NPR’s Fresh Air. He has been named film critic of the year at the Los Angeles Press Club’s National Arts and Entertainment Awards and serves as chair 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 film for The New Yorker across all platforms.

In a memo to staffers, editor David Remnick praised the addition of Chang and commemorated Lane’s tenure and continued writing saying, “Anthony is the wittiest and wisest of essayists. Sentence by sentence, he can razor away a film’s pretentions or describe the resonances and references of a masterpiece.”

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