Scott was born in Northampton, Massachusetts. His mother, Joan Wallach Scott, is the Harold F. Linder Professor at the School of Social Science in the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. His father, Donald Scott, is a professor of American history at The City University of New York (City University of New York).
Scott is Jewish on his mother"s side.
Scott attended public schools in Providence, Rhode Island, including Classical High School. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard in 1988 with a degree in literature.
Along with Manohla Dargis, he serves as chief film critic for The New York Times. Scott began his career at The New York Review of Books, where he served as an assistant to Robert B. Silvers. He then served as book critic for Newsday, and also as a contributor to The New York Review of Books and Slate magazine.
He joined The New York Times" Arts section in January 2000, following Janet Maslin"s retirement from film criticism.
(Maslin continues to review genre fiction for the paper) In 2004 he became chief critic, following Elvis Mitchell"s resignation. He and the other film critics at the Times host a video podcast on the subject of film, called Critics" Picks.
Scott is particularly fond of the work of Mary McCarthy, calling her novel The Group one of the greatest of the 20th century. He contributed a foreword to her collection A Bolt from the Blue and Other Essays.
Top ten lists Below are A. O. Scott"s top ten lists as published in The New York Times (more than one entry with the same ranking indicates a tie).
In addition, there is his "Best of the Decade" list from At the Movies. In 2011, along with Dargis, he published a list with 20 movies and in alphabetical order.
