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
-
Another Mattel movie is in the works in the wake of Barbie, with Sam Hargrave set to direct a Matchbox movie.
-
You don't have to look far to find the work of three of My Three Sons' main actors, all of whom are still sharing their wisdom from decades spent acting today.
-
Harrison Ford's highest rated films on Rotten Tomatoes aren't franchise movies like Star Wars or Indiana Jones, but Francis Ford Coppola masterpieces.
-
These are the only major actors still alive from the classic series Matlock.
-
The Boys don't just have Homelander to worry about in the new season 4 trailer. They're also facing off against superpowered chickens and flying sheep.
-
Netflix's shockingly popular Karate Kid series Cobra Kai will split its sixth and final season into three parts over the next year.
-
A sequel to horror movie The Pope's Exorcist has been officially greenlit, setting the stage for Russell Crowe to battle more demons.
-
Remember that time a few million kids tuning in for American Idol inadvertently saw someone's head explode in an episode of Bones?
-
Dafne Keen, who plays Jecki in Leslye Headland's upcoming Star Wars series The Acolyte, broke multiple lightsabers during production of the show.
-
In Star Wars: The Acolyte, Manny Jacinto's character, Qimir, much like Jason Mendoza from The Good Place, is what you might call 'pre-successful.'
-
These are the only major actors still alive from the classic sitcom Family Affair.
-
Mystery Inc. is making the leap to live-action again, this time with a Scooby-Doo Netflix series being backed by Arrowverse maestro Greg Berlanti.
-
David Simon's terrific crime drama remains one of the most well-respected shows in television history. Here's our definitive list of The Wire seasons ranked.
-
Creating the iconic roar for Godzilla Minus One resulted in some noise complaints from folks nearby.
-
Fallout used virtual sets for many expansive locations, but you wouldn't know it by looking at the Prime Video series. Let's break down some special effects.
-
Francis Ford Coppola explains a classic cut scene from The Outsiders, and why he cut it to begin with.
-
The Bob Newhart Show featured a terrific cast of talented comedians. Here are the only major actors still alive from the series.
-
Gilligan's Island was set to air for a fourth season, only to be canceled to make room for the renewal of the long-running Western series Gunsmoke.
-
Timothée Chalamet is older than Paul Atreides in the first Dune book, which wound up benefitting Denis Villeneuve's movie adaptations.
-
Makeup artist Donald Mowat has long collaborated with Daniel Craig, but couldn't pass up the chance to work on Dune after No Time to Die was delayed.
-
HBO's groundbreaking prison drama Oz is getting a sequel in the form of a short film titled Zo, about life after prison.
-
These are the only major actors still alive from the classic show The Rockford Files.
-
Austin Butler approached his role in Dune: Part Two differently than he did with Elvis.
-
One of the wilder moments in the trailers for Guy Ritchie's The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare was the result of Henry Cavill improvising.
-
Watch out, Darth Maul; The Acolyte cast and crew are gunning to deliver some of the best lightsaber battles ever seen in a live-action Star Wars project.
-
Time to pick up your hammer again. Park Chan-Wook is overseeing the development of an Oldboy English-language TV series inspired by his classic revenge movie.
-
Martin Scorsese can't stop, won't stop. The filmmaker is now planning a Frank Sinatra biopic starring Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jennifer Lawrence.