{{Short description|American film critic}}
{{Infobox person | birth_name = Beth Accomando | alma_mater = {{Plainlist| * [[Bonita Vista High School]] * [[University of California, San Diego]] }} | occupation = {{hlist|Film critic|arts reporter|podcast host|film festival curator|film editor}} | employer = {{Plainlist| * [[KPBS Public Media]] * [[NPR]] * [[XETV]] }} | known_for = Cinema Junkie | credits = {{Plainlist| * ''[[Killer Tomatoes Eat France]]'' * ''[[Killer Tomatoes Strike Back]]'' }} | awards = 2023 [[Bob Clampett|Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award]] }} '''Beth Accomando'''<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=NewsCenter {{!}} SDSU {{!}} Staff Awardees Honored |url=https://newscenter.sdsu.edu/sdsu_newscenter/news_story.aspx?sid=76345 |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=newscenter.sdsu.edu |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite news |date=1978-06-11 |title=Article clipped from Chula Vista Star-News |pages=27 |work=[[The Star-News (Chula Vista, California)|The Star-News]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chula-vista-star-news/4301445/ |access-date=2023-12-23 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> is an American film and theatre critic for [[KPBS Public Media|KPBS]], who formerly worked as an arts reporter for [[NPR]], [[XETV-TDT|XETV]] and ''[[The Star-News (Chula Vista, California)|The Star-News]]''. She hosts the Cinema Junkie podcast and has curated several film events throughout San Diego County. Accomando edited the 1991 to 1992 sequels of the ''[[Attack of the Killer Tomatoes]]'' franchise and is part of the [[Alliance of Women Film Journalists]] and [[Critics' Choice Movie Awards]]. Her work has been distributed through several publications, including [[RogerEbert.com]].
== Early life == Upon graduating from [[Bonita Vista High School]] in 1978,<ref name=":4" /> Accomando was the recipient of the [[Bank of America|Bank of America certificate]] for English and was Chula Vista Elks Most Valuable Scholar.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news |date=1978-06-25 |title=Bonita Vista |pages=16 |work=[[The Star-News (Chula Vista, California)|The Star-News]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/imperial-beach-star-news-bonita-vista/137299032/ |access-date=2023-12-23 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> While in college, she was a special writer for [[The Star-News (Chula Vista, California)|''The Star-News'']].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Accomando |first=Beth |date=1981-04-30 |title='Curious Savage' deals delightfully with insanity |pages=26 |work=[[The Star-News (Chula Vista, California)|The Star-News]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/imperial-beach-star-news-curious-savage/137299145/ |access-date=2023-12-23 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> Accomando graduated from [[University of California, San Diego]], in 1982<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-05-18 |title=University of California at Diego Student Filmmakers Push Envelope in Third Annual Film Festival |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/288242884/8A8047F384C64198PQ |access-date=2023-12-19 |website=[[Federal News Service]] |language=en |id={{ProQuest|288242884}}}}</ref> with a degree in communications and visual arts.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1986-10-19 |title=Peggy Sue's trip back is revealing |pages=9 |work=[[The Star-News (Chula Vista, California)|The Star-News]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chula-vista-star-news-peggy-sues-trip-b/137299109/ |access-date=2023-12-23 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
== Career == Accomando is a theatre and film critic<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2016-07-06 |title=Theatre Dojo honored |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2306836208/8A8047F384C64198PQ |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=[[Deming Headlight]] |language=en |id={{ProQuest|2306836208}}}}</ref> for [[KPBS Public Media|KPBS]]<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Diego |first=Voice of San |date=2011-03-26 |title='Trite and Laughable' and Other Opinions |url=http://voiceofsandiego.org/2011/03/26/trite-and-laughable-and-other-opinions/ |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=Voice of San Diego |language=en-US}}</ref> who reviewed films such as [[Sucker Punch (2011 film)|''Sucker Punch'']],<ref name=":2" /> [[The Fall (2006 film)|''The Fall'']],<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Garrett |first=Daniel |date=2008 |title=Liberations of Mind, Spirit, and Vision: The Fall by Tarsem Singh |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2064787310/EE9E437682742F0PQ |journal=Offscreen |location=Montreal |volume=12 |issue=9 |id={{ProQuest|2064787310}}}}</ref> [[The Brave One (2007 film)|''The Brave One'']],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gillmor |first=Alison |date=2007-09-14 |title=In Foster's case, revenge is far-fetched |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/752197956/8A8047F384C64198PQ |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=Winnipeg Free Press |language=en |id={{ProQuest|752197956}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2007-09-14 |title=Other Voices. Selected excerpts from reviews of The Brave One, starring Jodie Foster |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/460122176/8A8047F384C64198PQ |access-date=2023-12-19 |website=[[CanWest News]] |language=en |publication-place=[[Don Mills]] |id={{ProQuest|460122176}}}}</ref> and ''[[Knocked Up]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Coddon |first=David L. |date=2007-06-22 |title=Schlubs and knockouts are match made in La-La Land |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/273056017/8A8047F384C64198PQ |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=[[San Diego Union Tribune]] |language=en |id={{ProQuest|273056017}}}}</ref> She runs a podcast called Cinema Junkie<ref name=":3" /> and in 2014, Accomando organized the Film Geeks late-night screenings at [[Digital Gym Cinema]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-04-04 |title=Digital Gym Cinema: Bringing unique and engaging films to San Diego |url=https://laprensa.org/digital-gym-cinema-bringing-unique-and-engaging-films-san-diego |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=La Prensa |language=en}}</ref> She described just how much [[George A. Romero]]'s ''[[Night of the Living Dead]]'' influenced [[Edgar Wright]]'s ''[[Shaun of the Dead]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-10-23 |title=English class provides food for thought |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1615465746/8A8047F384C64198PQ |access-date=2023-12-19 |website=[[University Wire]] |language=en |id={{ProQuest|1615465746}}}}</ref>
In 1985, Accomando was one of 12 women featured in ''A San Diego Exhibition: Forty-two Emerging Artists'' at [[La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Damsker |first=Matt |date=1985-01-23 |title=Choice of Spots in Local Art Show Raises Ire |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/292033471/804EB29B79A54CF8PQ |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |language=en |id={{ProQuest|292033471}}}}</ref> In the early 1990s, she was the film editor for ''[[Killer Tomatoes Strike Back]]'' and ''[[Killer Tomatoes Eat France]]''.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |title=Beth Accomando Movie Reviews & Previews – Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/critics/beth-accomando/movies |access-date=2023-12-24 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |language=en}}</ref> Accomando worked for [[XETV-TDT]] in 1992<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Brass |first=Kevin |date=1992-06-15 |title=Small Stations Reap Harvest of Emmys Awards: Channel 39 took the most Emmys at the local awards but the show belonged to the small stations that seldom share the limelight. |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/281694949/804EB29B79A54CF8PQ |journal=[[Los Angeles Times]] |id={{ProQuest|281694949}} }}</ref> and in 1998, introduced the film ''[[Rashomon]]'' at Landmark's [[Ken Cinema]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Elliott |first=David |date=1998-07-09 |title=Tribute to a fallen samurai {{!}} The Ken pays homage to the great Toshiro Mifune |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/271610624/8A8047F384C64198PQ |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=[[San Diego Union Tribune]] |language=en |id={{ProQuest|271610624}}}}</ref>
In 2000, Accomando curated an event in San Diego that held premieres for ''[[Butterfly and Sword]]'', ''[[Eastern Condors]]'', ''[[Holy Weapon]]'', ''[[The Magic Crystal]]'', ''[[Pedicab Driver]]'' and ''[[Shanghai Blues]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Elliott |first=David |date=2000-07-06 |title=MoPA gives Western moviegoers chance to catch up with some of the best of Asia |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/271687369/8A8047F384C64198PQ |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=[[San Diego Union Tribune]] |language=en |id={{ProQuest|271687369}}}}</ref> She wrote for [[National Public Radio]]<ref>{{Cite news |date=2002-02-09 |title=The Smash Hit of Asia Comes to America |pages=33 |work=[[The Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-the-smash-hit-of-a/137299079/ |access-date=2023-12-23}}</ref> and helped put together an Asian festival at University of California, San Diego.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Elliott |first=David |date=2000-09-03 |title=Movie summer wasn't so hot |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/271711939/8A8047F384C64198PQ |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=[[San Diego Union Tribune]] |language=en |id={{ProQuest|271711939}}}}</ref> In a 2007 interview, [[Lee Ann Kim]] described Accomando as the one "who really plugged me into international Asian film".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Elliott |first=David |date=2007-10-07 |title=In Asian film, Kim's the edge of our Pacific Rim |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/273006265/8A8047F384C64198PQ |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=[[San Diego Union Tribune]] |language=en |id={{ProQuest|273006265}}}}</ref> Accomando has interviewed [[Chow Yun-fat|Chow Yun Fat]], [[Jackie Chan]], [[Stanley Tong]] and [[John Woo]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Elliott |first=David |date=1997-01-05 |title=Screen's Queen Latifah looks poised to ascend |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/271565312/8A8047F384C64198PQ |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=[[San Diego Union Tribune]] |language=en |id={{ProQuest|271565312}}}}</ref> She was a panelist at UCSD's Up & Coming Film Festival with [[Ham Tran]] in 2008,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-10-03 |title=Politics Gives May to Self-Exploration in Student Films |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/473088939/8A8047F384C64198PQ |access-date=2023-12-19 |website=[[Federal News Service]] |language=en |id={{ProQuest|473088939}}}}</ref> [[Ligiah Villalobos]] in 2009,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-05-26 |title=Aspiring Martin Scorseses, Francis Ford Copoas Display Talent at Student Film Festival |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/472683201/8A8047F384C64198PQ |access-date=2023-12-19 |website=[[Federal News Service]] |language=en |id={{ProQuest|472683201}}}}</ref> and with [[Arthur Ollman]] in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-05-17 |title=Student Cinema Takes Center Stage of Fourth Annual Up and Coming Film Festival |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/867336313/8A8047F384C64198PQ |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=Targeted News Service |language=en |publication-place=Washington, D.C. |id={{ProQuest|867336313}}}}</ref> In 2016, Accomando judged a play called ''Killing Buddha'' at [[San Diego International Fringe Festival]].<ref name=":1" />
In 2017, Accomando was a judge at [[Horrible Imaginings Film Festival]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-09-15 |title=2017 Awards {{!}} Horrible Imaginings |url=http://www.hifilmfest.com/2017-awards/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170915115858/http://www.hifilmfest.com/2017-awards/ |archive-date=2017-09-15 |access-date=2025-04-02 |website=[[Horrible Imaginings Film Festival]]}}</ref> She was part of a ''Storytelling in Film'' panel with [[Michael Lewis Foster]], [[Neal Hallford]] and [[Jonathan Hammond (filmmaker)|Jonathan Hammond]] at [[San Diego Comic-Con|San Diego Comic Con]] in 2021.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |date=2016-10-26 |title=SAM Guests and Program Participants |url=https://www.comic-con.org/frontpage/sam-guests-and-program-participants |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210724230740/https://www.comic-con.org/frontpage/sam-guests-and-program-participants |archive-date=2021-07-24 |access-date=2022-06-25 |website=[[San Diego Comic-Con]] |language=en}}</ref> She hosted Flicks on the Bricks in 2018,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rocha |first=Michael James |date=2018-08-09 |title=At Athenaeum's Flicks on the Bricks, next up is the 1949 film 'Tension' |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2085862315/8A8047F384C64198PQ |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=[[San Diego Union Tribune]] |language=en |id={{ProQuest|2085862315}}}}</ref> 2022 and 2023 at [[Athenaeum Music & Arts Library]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Peterson |first=Karla |date=2022-07-05 |title=From free parks to swanky rooftops, a guide to San Diego's outdoor movie venues |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2693866361/8A8047F384C64198PQ |access-date=2023-12-18 |website=[[Tribune Content Agency]] |language=en |id={{ProQuest|2693866361}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hubbard |first=Anne |title=Flicks on the Bricks — Athenaeum Music & Arts Library |url=https://www.ljathenaeum.org/flicks |access-date=2023-12-20 |website=[[Athenaeum Music & Arts Library]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-08-11 |title=Flicks on the Bricks Series: The Lubitsch Touch |url=https://www.ljathenaeum.org/events/flicks-2022-series |access-date=2023-12-20 |website=[[Athenaeum Music & Arts Library]] |language=en-US}}</ref>
In June 2025, Accomando won a [[Pacific Southwest Chapter of the National Television Academy|Pacific Southwest]] regional [[Emmy Awards|Emmy Award]] for the video podcast ''Stripper Energy: Fighting Back From the Fringe''s.<ref name=":9" />
== Filmography == {| class="wikitable" !Year !Title !Notes |- |1991 |''[[Killer Tomatoes Strike Back]]'' | rowspan="2" |Editor<ref name=":8" /> |- |1992 |''[[Killer Tomatoes Eat France]]'' |}
== Awards == {| class="wikitable" !Award !Year !Result !Ref. |- |Chula Vista Elks Most Valuable Scholar | rowspan="2" |1978 |{{won}} |<ref name=":5" /> |- |[[Bank of America|Bank of America English certificate]] |{{won}} |<ref name=":5" /> |- |Promotional Announcement Emmy |1992 |{{won}} |<ref name=":0" /> |- |Light Feature Story/Series |2006 |{{runner-up}} |<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2006-07-19 |title=2006 Journalism Award Winners |url=https://spjsandiego.org/2006/07/19/2006-journalism-award-winners/ |access-date=2023-12-20 |website=San Diego Society of Professional Journalists |language=en}}</ref> |- |[[Inkpot Award]] |2022 |{{won}} |<ref>{{Cite web |title=Inkpot Awards |url=https://www.comic-con.org/awards/inkpot/ |access-date=2023-12-20 |website=[[Comic-Con International]] |language=en-US}}</ref> |- |[[Bob Clampett|Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award]] |2023 |{{won}} |<ref>{{Cite web |last=Garrity |first=Shaenon K. |author-link=Shaenon K. Garrity |date=2023-07-31 |title=Kate Beaton, Marjorie Liu, Sana Takeda Win Graphic Novel Eisners |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/trade-shows-events/article/92839-beaton-liu-takeda-win-graphic-novel-eisners.html |access-date=2023-12-20 |website=[[Publishers Weekly]] |language=en |publication-place=New York |id={{ProQuest|2843476248}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Solan |first=Colin |date=2023-07-23 |title=35th Annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards Announced |url=https://www.conventionscene.com/2023/07/23/35th-annual-will-eisner-comic-industry-awards-announced/ |access-date=2023-12-20 |website=Convention Scene |language=en-US}}</ref> |- |[[Emmy Awards|Emmy Award]] |2025 |{{won}} |<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |date=2025-06-21 |title=EMMY® AWARD RECIPIENTS |url=https://nataspsw.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/2025_Emmy_RecipFINAL.docx.pdf |website=nataspsw.org |publisher=[[Pacific Southwest Chapter of the National Television Academy]]}}</ref> |}
== Selected works ==
=== Articles === * [[RogerEbert.com]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Accomando |first=Beth |title=Women Film Editors: Shedding the Cloak of Invisibility {{!}} Features {{!}} Roger Ebert |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/features/women-film-editors-shedding-the-cloak-of-invisibility |access-date=2023-12-20 |website=[[RogerEbert.com]] |language=en}}</ref>
=== Publications === * [[Alliance of Women Film Journalists]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-12-12 |title=Beth Accomando – Alliance of Women Film Journalists |url=https://awfj.org/blog/author/accomandob/ |access-date=2023-12-20 |language=en-US}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{IMDb name}} * [https://www.kpbs.org/staff/beth-accomando Beth Accomando] at [[KPBS Public Media|KPBS]] * {{Rotten Tomatoes|critic/beth-accomando}} * [https://www.npr.org/podcasts/442951456/cinema-junkie Cinema Junkie] at [[NPR]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Accomando, Beth}} [[Category:American women film critics]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:University of California, San Diego alumni]] [[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] [[Category:Bonita Vista High School alumni]] [[Category:Mass media people from San Diego]] [[Category:Writers from San Diego]]