Variety has hired acclaimed magazine writer Stephen Rodrick to be a chief correspondent for the publication. In his new post, Rodrick will write cover stories and longform pieces about Hollywood, movies, TV shows and important figures in the entertainment industry. His work has been featured in The New York Times Magazine, Esquire, New York and The New Yorker. He has spent the past decade writing for Rolling Stone.
“Stephen is one of the best magazine writers in the country,” say Variety co-editors-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh and Cynthia Littleton. “His arrival at Variety comes in a year where we are experiencing unprecedented digital growth. We are so excited to start publishing his beautiful, literary writing in the pages of our weekly print magazine and online.”
Rodrick’s story on Lindsay Lohan and Paul Schrader for The New York Times Magazine and his Rolling Stone profile of Johnny Depp are two of the most talked about Hollywood stories of the past decade.
“I’ve written about many things but writing about creative people trying to make things—sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing spectacularly–has always been when I’ve been most happiest,” said Rodrick. “I’ve been reading Variety for years and I can’t wait to get started.”
Rodrick’s trademark as a journalist is exhaustive profiles and process pieces. He has penned many memorable profiles of Hollywood figures including Robert Redford, Jeff Bridges and Raphael-Bob Waksberg. Rodrick spent months following Lohan and Schrader during the making of “The Canyons” in 2013. (The story was a National Magazine Award finalist). His story on casting director Allison Jones for The New Yorker provided a rare glimpse into the world of casting. In addition to his culture reporting, Rodrick’s sports stories have been anthologized four times in The Best American Sports Writing. He covered the 2020 political campaign for Rolling Stone, spending over 100 days on the road during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rodrick will be based on the West Coast. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Loyola University of Chicago as well as a graduate degree from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism.
