OAKLAND MAGAZINE: May/June 2010

Who: Jana Hardy, 61, Oakland

What: By day, she’s a workers’ comp risk management consultant. By night, she’s a respected Bay Area movie critic.

When: She reviews about 130 movies a year, almost always buying her own ticket. While the general public sees seven or eight films a year, Hardy sees two or three movies a week, often before they’re released to the general public.

Where: She attends screenings around the Bay Area, including a December screening of the movie Nine at the home of George Lucas. “I drove through pouring rain and hideous weather to Lucas’s Skywalker Ranch to see that movie.”

Why: She got started on a dare, eight years ago. “A group of friends and I formed a women’s group. We challenged each other to be more creative in our lives.” Hardy loved movies and loved to write, and her friends encouraged her to start doing movie reviews.

How: She sends the reviews by e-mail to friends and colleagues, who pass them on to other friends and colleagues. “Hundreds of people get my reviews now,” she guesses. “Maybe thousands.”