“All art forms converge in the movies; that's why I enjoy writing and talking about them so much," says Betty Jo Tucker. Because of a passion for film, Betty Jo and her husband Larry see almost 200 movies a year. A retired college dean, Betty Jo serves as lead critic for ReelTalk Movie Reviews (www.reeltalkreviews.com ) and for News First Online (an NBC-affiliate Website). She also writes film commentary for the COLORADO SENIOR BEACON, and many of her reviews appear on The Romance Club site (www.theromanceclub.com) and on the Real Movie News site in the United Kingdom. Her latest adventures involve hosting the ReelTalk Movie Reviews Radio Show (www.ReelTalkRadio.com) for the iWRN Radio Network and teaching an online course titled “The Reel Deal: Writing about Movies” for the Long Story Short School of Writing. 

Phil Hall, book editor for the NEW YORK RESIDENT, calls Betty Jo one of today’s finest film critics and “a graceful, intelligent judge of cinematic offerings.” According to Hall, “Tucker is wonderful as an observer and cogent as an interviewer.”  

During her ten years as an entertainment journalist, Betty Jo has interviewed such stars and filmmakers as Susan Sarandon, Ian McKellen, Brendan Fraser, Angelina Jolie, Guy Pearce, Aidan Quinn, Barry Bostwick, Phillip Noyce, Tony Shalhoub, Fred Willard, Aaron Eckhart, Willem Dafoe, M. Night Shyamalan, Oliver Parker, Douglas McGrath, Hector Elizondo, and Annette Bening.

While serving as Dean of Humanities at San Diego Mesa College, Betty Jo supervised expansion of film studies classes, designed an “Exploring Human Values through Film” course and coordinated a “Reel to Real Public Film Forum” program.   

Betty Jo helped found the San Diego Film Critics Society and is a member of the Online Film Critics Society. Her amusing life-at-the-movies memoir, CONFESSIONS OF A MOVIE ADDICT, received rave reviews from fans and critics alike. Her latest book, SUSAN SARANDON: A TRUE MAVERICK, is a fascinating look at the extraordinary film career of an actress who’s become an American icon with influence throughout the world.