Joseph McBride

Joseph McBride is a renowned American writer, film scholar, and academic whose career has spanned more than five decades, establishing him as one of the most influential voices in the study of Hollywood cinema. Born in 1947, McBride grew up with a deep fascination for movies, a passion that propelled him into journalism in the early 1970s, where he contributed to publications such as Rolling Stone and Cineaste while honing his analytical voice. His first major book, The Hollywood History of the New Hollywood, was published in 1975 and quickly earned praise for its incisive examination of the cultural and industrial forces reshaping American film in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Over the following years, McBride authored a prolific array of works, including the seminal Falling in Love with Hollywood: The Story of The Flamingo Club and the exhaustive John Ford: A Comprehensive Biography, each demonstrating his meticulous research and engaging prose. In addition to his books, he served as a contributing editor for Variety and curated numerous retrospectives, bringing forgotten classics back to public attention. Parallel to his writing, McBride built a distinguished academic career, holding professorial positions at institutions such as the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of Texas at Austin, where he taught courses on film history, criticism, and screenwriting. His mentorship has shaped a generation of scholars and filmmakers, many of whom cite his mentorship as pivotal to their own development. Recognized with awards like the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) Lifetime Achievement Award, McBride continues to publish, lecture, and consult, remaining an essential figure whose work bridges the gap between scholarly rigor and accessible storytelling. His enduring legacy lies in his ability to illuminate cinema's past while inspiring contemporary creators to engage critically with the medium.