In winning this category again, Stephen Cooke is humbled. “It’s not just an entertainment writer, but a newspaper writer,” he says. He’s too modest to say so, but certainly his encyclopedic knowledge of music, film, and local culture keeps him at the top of this list. “I’ve been around for awhile so I guess I’m reasonably well-informed,” he’ll admit. And of his bread and butter, he’s anticipating at least one cinema highlight in the weeks ahead: “The new Coen Brothers film,” he says, suddenly animated at the thought of the American filmmakers’ to form in a thriller called No Country for Old Men. “I’m really looking forward to it.”
First runner up: Stephen Kimber, The Daily News and The Coast
Second runner up: Peter Duffy, The Chronicle Herald
