Jason Bailey
Jason Bailey is film critic writing for The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Bloomberg, RogerEbert.com, Vulture, Rolling Stone, The Playlist, Slate,Flavorwire, The Atlantic, Salon, Vital City, and Crooked Marquee, where he is the editor-in-chief.
He has also written books including Gandolfini: Jim, Tony, and the Life of a Legend, Fun City Cinema: New York City and the Movies That Made It, Richard Pryor: American Id, Pulp Fiction: The Complete Story of Quentin Tarantino's Masterpiece, and his latest, Yippee Ki‐Yay: “Die Hard,” Bruce Willis, and the Reinvention of the Action Movie.
Currently he is sharing his views on his podcasts Guide for the Film Fanatic.
Spotlight
What’s a project you are currently working on, or excited to work on in the future?
My new book (my seventh!) is Yippee Ki‐Yay: “Die Hard,” Bruce Willis, and the Reinvention of the Action Movie. Based on extensive research and interviews, it is a chronicle of the making of the
1988 game-changing action smash Die Hard, as well as its sequels and legacy. It's out in May 2027 from Abrams Press. (Also,
my previous book, Gandolfini: Jim, Tony, and the Life of a Legend is out in paperback,
hardback, ebook, and audiobook.)
What is one piece of advice you’d give to a current SPA student?
Leave yourself open -- don't get too locked in on what you think your career and passion
are going to be. My undergrad was in theater performance with an eye on film production,
and though I made several movies while at WSU and in the years after, I discovered
that I was more adept at writing about movies than making them, and have had a rich
and rewarding career in that field.
