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.
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Stories By Valerie Ettenhofer
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While Alison Lohman was everywhere in the 2000s, she's mostly stepped away from acting since headlining Drag Me To Hell. Here's why.
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Taylor Sheridan can't stop, won't stop. In addition to all the other shows from the Yellowstone creator, he also has a new title, The Madison, on the way.
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The Academy has handed out thousands of statuettes throughout Oscars history, but only six awards have ever ended in a tie.
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Legal entanglements meant that Deadpool & Wolverine was initially prevented from putting both character's names in the title.
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How did Daryl (Norman Reedus) end up in France in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon? It's yet another long story from a franchise that loves telling long stories.
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Bones is a quintessential Washington, D.C. show, but how much of the crime-solving series was actually filmed there? Here's the truth.
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The Resident's Chris Harrell tribute is a reminder to recognize the work that goes on behind-the-scenes of our favorite films and shows on all levels
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Luke Castellan is a crucial character in the Percy Jackson books, films, and TV series alike. Here's who plays the character in different adaptations.
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Classic Hollywood star Katharine Hepburn has three films that currently have 100% scores on Rotten Tomatoes. Can you guess what they are without looking?
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While the Tim Allen sitcom Home Improvement was a consistent ratings winner for ABC, behind-the-scenes issues ultimately led to its demise.
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Stranger Things is set in the small town of Hawkins, Indiana, but it's shot elsewhere. Here are the Netflix show's real filming locations.
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When Stephen King isn't writing his next hit book, he's taking to social media to praise TV shows and movies. Here's what he recommended in 2024.
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Seinfeld's beloved screw-up George Costanza bungled (or faked) his way through several jobs over the course of the sitcom. Here are our five favorites.
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Frankie Muniz was a big star after Malcolm in the Middle, and he even had his own franchise in Agent Cody Banks. So why did he disappear from Hollywood?
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Stephen King has given his stamp of approval to a trippy British sci-fi horror miniseries that you most likely didn't know about until now.
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Star Trek: Lower Decks may be over, but we'll never forget these five episodes, which showcase everything the series did so brilliantly.
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A Sonic the Hedgehog 3 post-credits scene sets things up for yet another sequel, but it also implies the series will go in a new direction.
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James Gunn's Superman has its own unique solution to what's probably the most common complaint about the Man of Steel as a character.
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The Royal Tenenbaums director Wes Anderson was asked what his favorite Christmas movie is, and he went for a classic 1940s Technicolor musical.
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The opening of Gilligan's Island indicates an eighth passenger on the dreaded three-hour tour, but only seven cast members were shown. Did someone drown?!
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Jude Law has been a tad more forthcoming about his Star Wars: Skeleton Crew character than Disney and Lucasfilm might've preferred.
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Perhaps the most controversial movie of 2024 flopped pretty badly at the box office, which came as a real shock to its director.
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HBO is desperate to recapture the magic of Game of Thrones, but is missing what made the show special in the first place.
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Boy Meets World was one of the best coming-of-age comedy shows throughout the '90s, and plenty of now notable actors had guest spots you might have missed.
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Actor Wolé Parks has revealed the Steel costume for John Henry Irons that was cut from Superman & Lois due to budget constraints.
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Sidney Lumet's Serpico is one of the greatest films of all time, but here's what the major cast members did after this Academy Award-nominated crime drama.
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No soup for you! Here's the context for Jerry Seinfeld's feud with the real life "Soup Nazi" from that popular Seinfeld episode.