Who is Cameron Meier?

Welcome to MeierMovies, and thanks for indulging me while I wax egotistical. I am a film critic, film historian and entertainment journalist whose reviews and other articles appear on this site and have run regularly in The Orlando Weekly and other Euclid Media publications such as The Detroit Metro Times and The San Antonio Current. My movie, theatre and art reviews have been featured in numerous other publications as well, including Sunshine Artist Magazine (for which I was editor from 2004 to 2010) and Jacksonville Folio Weekly, and on websites such as OrlandoCityBeat.com, now part of The Orlando Sentinel. I am a member of the Florida Film Critics Circle and am Tomato-meter approved on Rotten Tomatoes.

When not covering film, I am serving as vice president of Paul Meier Dialect Services, a company devoted to dialect and accent instruction for actors in film, television, theatre and voice-over; as executive editor, copy editor, sound editor and webmaster of the International Dialects of English Archive; and as co-producer of the popular In a Manner of Speaking podcast. In addition, I have served as a festival juror and judge for such events as the Love Your Shorts Film Festival; the Orlando, Tampa and Richmond 48 Hour Film Projects; Filmapalooza (part of the 48 Hour Film Project); Spooky Empire Horror Film Festival, the Organization of Independent Filmmakers (OIF); and the Enzian Theater’s Brouhaha Film & Video Showcase. And for a brief period in the early 2000s, I was a professional photographer. (I am currently a raging shutterbug.)

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been crazy about film, and I have my parents, Paul and Marilyn, to thank first for that. I was also fortunate enough to work for the Walt Disney Company, at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom (as Fantasyland art/show coordinator, with a particular emphasis on the historic carousel) and at the Disney-MGM Studios, where I spent many days on the soundstage floor. That latter experience, right out of high school, helped shape my love of film. Spending time in Los Angeles – especially on the Disney, Universal, Warner Brothers, Sony and Paramount lots – has also fueled my passion, as have my enriching experiences at festivals such as Florida, Sarasota and Telluride. (At the latter event, in 2019, I was finally able to meet one of my mentors, Leonard Maltin.)

I’m indebted to friends, colleagues and acquaintances who have fueled my love of film. I should specifically acknowledge fellow movie enthusiastic and friend Chester Maple, who was my accomplice during many soundstage and backlot adventures, and Jim DeSantis of Movie Brain Rot, who has introduced me to countless B movies, exploitation flicks and low-budget horrors. Also deserving a hearty thanks are the actors, directors and crew I worked with back in my theatre days. (I don’t perform anymore, but I do still dabble in theatrical reviews.)

I have a degree in journalism (news/editorial, with an emphasis in film, theatre and art criticism) from the University of Kansas. (Rock Chalk, Jayhawk!) I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to my journalism teachers at both KU and Lawrence High School — including Paul Jess, Ted Frederickson and Cheryl Nelsen — who instilled in me a respect for reputable journalism. And though it feels like a lifetime ago, I’m also grateful for my experiences as a copy editor at Gould Publications, The Topeka Capital-Journal and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. (I still say I’m a better editor than writer.)

I hope you find this site insightful and the information contained therein useful in discovering films you’d like to watch, or watch again. If it points you in the direction of a film that changes your life or affects you deeply, I have done my job. I welcome constructive comments, suggestions and feedback at MeierMovies@aol.com.