Valerie Ettenhofer
School
Saint Mary's College Of California
Expertise
The Last Of Us, Stranger Things, Streaming TV Shows
- A major "Avatar: The Last Airbender" fan since 2005, Valerie has previously ranked every episode of the series and even has a tattoo of the four element symbols.
- Valerie wrote an essay about the Nicolas Cage drama "Pig" – her favorite movie of 2021 – that appears in the 2023 Simon & Schuster anthology "Sad Happens."
- Valerie has previously served on the Critics Choice Awards TV comedy nominating committee, where she was thrilled to help highlight breakout performances from great shows like "Reservation Dogs" and "Abbott Elementary."
Experience
Valerie has been working professionally as an entertainment journalist since 2012, when she began freelance writing for her local college newspaper and quickly rose through the ranks to become editor-in-chief. After college, Valerie interned at the historic Roxie Theater in San Francisco, writing copy for their website and falling even more in love with film in the process. Since then, her work has appeared in print in the East Bay Express, as well as on websites like The Playlist, IGN, Dread Central, IndieReader, Movie Mezzanine, and more. Valerie is a voting member of the Critics Choice Association's TV and Documentary branches and the LGBTQ+ critics' circle, GALECA. For several years, she served as the head TV critic at Film School Rejects. She also publishes a weekly pop culture newsletter titled "Hey, What Are You Watching?"
Education
Valerie graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree from Saint Mary's College of California, where she studied English. Her film-heavy education allowed her to study special topics in pop culture, including independent film and the works of Alfred Hitchcock.
/Film is one of the most trusted entertainment sites on the web, catering to the particular interests of film buffs, binge watchers, and casual fans. We cover everything from big releases from Marvel, DC, and Disney to independent film and classic Hollywood, and we do so while maintaining a firm commitment to journalistic integrity and excellence.
Our team consists of veteran entertainment editors, subject-matter experts, writers, fact-checkers, graphic designers, and beat reporters dedicated to bringing you the kinds of fresh, accurate, and exclusive scoops only a credible and trusted outlet can provide. For more information on our editorial process, view our full policies page.
Stories By Valerie Ettenhofer
-
The robots in disguise are back in the sci-fi animated movie Transformers One. Watch the new trailer right here.
-
We've put together a program for an eclectic but satisfying movie night made entirely of great movies that are about to vanish from Netflix in August 2024.
-
The new Cuckoo trailer further teases the acclaimed (and unnerving) horror film starring Hunter Schafer and Dan Stevens.
-
Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga are caught in a bad romance in the new trailer for Todd Phillips' sequel Joker: Folie à Deux.
-
Bob Newhart was eager to work with The Big Bang Theory creator Chuck Lorre, but he had some stipulations for playing Professor Proton.
-
Leonard Nimoy and Star Trek producer Harve Bennett had a push-pull partnership that extended to Nimoy directing The Voyage Home.
-
Twisters was shot in Tornado Alley, which meant that its cast and crew frequently had to deal with real-life tornados during filming.
-
Twisters director Lee Isaac Chung didn't want the film to be pigeonholed as 'the big flying cow movie.'
-
Shōgun and The Bear are the shows to beat at the 2024 Emmys, with the pair racking up nearly 50 nominations between them.
-
The Goldie Hawn/Kurt Russell comedy Overboard was actually (partially) inspired by a true story.
-
While Ian McShane was in production on Hot Rod, the Lonely Island crew got to hear him record some of his profane dialogue as Al Swearengen for Deadwood.
-
The Curse of Harrenhal injects some magic and mystery back into House of the Dragon season 2, which has mostly felt funereal and flat.
-
The Twilight Zone season 3 episode 'Five Characters in Search of an Exit' is a stealth holiday special with a surprisingly sweet twist ending.
-
The Crow remake star Bill Skarsgård was quite muscular when he joined the film, which wasn't ideal for playing Eric Draven.
-
Don't expect Stephen King's Rage to ever be adapted for TV or film, with the author himself having pulled it from publication.
-
Director Denis Villeneuve gave screenwriter one word to sum up Dune.
-
David Boreanaz underwent sniper training for his role on the series Bones.
-
Hit '90s sitcom Murphy Brown famously clashed with vice president Dan Quayle over its season 4 pregnancy storyline.
-
Do you think a depressed person could make this? Here's every season of Parks and Recreation ranked.
-
There are only two Jack Nicholson movies with a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes. Can you guess what they are?
-
Veronica Mars hit some high highs and low lows over its first three seasons and 2019 revival. Here's our ranking of every season of the noir detective series.
-
Robert Towne, the legendary screenwriter of Chinatown and so much more, has died at age 89.
-
What started on Lucifer as a one-off reference to Bones ultimately gave rise to a surprisingly heartfelt callback.
-
The Twilight Zone episode 'I Am the Night - Color Me Black' has a timeless message that very much applies to true crime culture.
-
No spoilers yet, but The Bear season 3 has a somewhat surprising ending. Here's our take on the biggest questions left unanswered and what might happen next.
-
The Boys character Firecracker was inspired by one of the most detestable politicians around right now.
-
Several WKRP in Cincinnati actors continue to work (on screen and off) more than 40 years after the hit sitcom ended. Let's catch up with them.