Associate Editor, Features at Variety
Greater Los Angeles Area
- Current
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- Author at HarperCollins Publishers
- Associate Editor, Features at Variety
- Senior Writer at Script Magazine
- Freelance writer at DSCohen.com
- Past
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- Writer at Ostlund Productions
- Executive Assistant at Wind Dancer Production Group
- Education
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- State University of New York at Albany
- Recommended
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- Industry
- Writing and Editing
- Websites
David Cohen’s Summary
David S. Cohen brings 30 years of experience to his coverage of entertainment, culture and global business.
He studied acting and directing at SUNY Albany, graduating summa cum laude and becoming the first theatre major in the school's history to be inducted Phi Beta Kappa.
He worked as a stagehand in regional theaters before moving to New York City, where he directed and stage managed in Off-Off Broadway theatre. In 1992, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue writing, earning his living in the business office of the hit sitcom “Home Improvement.” Working with writing partner Martin Winer, he soon sold a script to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; the pair received sole “Written by” on the episode “Destiny.”
Discovering a passion for true stories, he moved into journalism, cutting his teeth in 1996 as the first Los Angeles stringer for the South China Morning Post of Hong Kong. He has written Script magazine’s “From Script to Screen” articles, with occasional short interruptions, almost from the series’ inception. After more than a decade and in-depth interviews with screenwriters, directors and producers of some 60-odd feature films, those articles became the basis of Cohen’s first book, “Screen Plays: How 25 Scripts Made It To A Theater Near You — For Better or Worse.”
He began freelancing for the "entertainment bible” Variety in the late 1990s, covering every aspect of film and television. He was hired on by Variety as a copy editor in 2002 and moved on to be a news reporter. He is now a features editor there and covers the visual effects and post-production news beats for the paper as well. For Variety, he has attended and covered the Emmys, the Golden Globes, the SAG Awards, the Scientific and Technical Academy Awards and the Oscars.
He lives with his wife and stepdaughter in Los Angeles.
David Cohen’s Specialties:
Movies, Television, Visual Effects, Screenwriting, Screenplay Development, Production Technology, Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror Films
David Cohen’s Experience
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Author
HarperCollins Publishers
(Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; Publishing industry)
June 2006 — Present (2 years)
Author of "Screen Plays: How 25 Scripts Made It To A Theater Near You -- For Better or Worse."
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Associate Editor, Features
Variety
(Public Company; 51-200 employees; Entertainment industry)
November 2002 — Present (5 years 7 months)
Features editing:
Oversaw more than 20 feature sections annually. Conceived and assigned stories, hired and supervised freelance writers. Fact-checked and edited copy, and supervised designers. Aquired and consulted on art and page design. Wrote numerous feature stories for my own sections and others.
Wrote major profiles including Jerry Bruckheimer (Showman of the Year lead profile) and Al Pacino (2007 AFI honors lead profile).
News reporting:
Covered post-production and visual effects beat. Attended and covered numerous events on deadline, including ShoWest (Las Vegas), SIGGRAPH, Scientific and Technical Academy Awards, Visual Effects Society Awards, USC Scripter Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, Golden Globes and Academy Awards.
Spearheaded expanded coverage of visual effects, post-production, digital cinema, stereoscopic 3-D and animation. -
Senior Writer
Script Magazine
(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Motion Pictures and Film industry)
June 1997 — Present (11 years)
"From Script to Screen" series of articles since 1997.
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Freelance writer
DSCohen.com
(Newspapers industry)
June 1996 — Present (12 years)
Freelance entertainment, science & business reporter. Articles in Daily Variety, Video Business/DVD Exclusive, Tradeshow Week, Discover Magazine, OK! Magazine (U.K.), Total Film Magazine (U.K.), South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), Jerusalem Post.
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Writer
Ostlund Productions
(Writing and Editing industry)
2001 — 2001 (less than a year)
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Executive Assistant
Wind Dancer Production Group
(Privately Held; Media Production industry)
1992 — 1996 (4 years)
David Cohen’s Education
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State University of New York at Albany
B.A., Theatre, 1977 — 1981
- Activities and Societies:
- Phi Beta Kappa
Additional Information
David Cohen’s Websites:
David Cohen’s Interests:
Writing, photography, movies, television, theater, science fiction, visual effects, screenwriting, swimming, biking, cross-training, triathlon, cooking, single-malt Scotch, tea, hiking, Asian travel.
David Cohen’s Groups:
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Animation, Media & Entertainment member
David Cohen’s Contact Settings
Interested In:
- job inquiries
- expertise requests
- business deals
- reference requests
- getting back in touch
