Even if you didn’t personally know my mentor and dear friend Peter Caranicas, who died May 19 at age 80 after a brave battle with cancer, I’m certain your career has been touched by his pioneering journalism. And if you were lucky enough to know him as his friends at Variety did, you were gifted with having known a one-of-a-kind person.
Peter was a widely respected editor at Variety for the past 16 years, capping four decades as a trusted voice who provided balanced and insightful coverage of topics including, notably, entertainment technology and its impact on the art, science and business of our industry. He wisely identified trends and interpreted what they mean for those who dedicate their careers to this field.
But it was the combination of his intellect and wisdom, as well as his wit, curiosity, charm, kindness and integrity, that made him a truly beloved member of his Variety and PMC family, as well as the community that he covered. There was just nobody like him. The outpouring of love from friends and colleagues (past and present), including executives, artisans, publicists and fellow journalists from the U.S. and internationally since the news broke of his passing is perhaps the best testament to the impact that he had on this business and on all of us.
I met Peter when he was editor of newsweekly Shoot in New York, and I’m so grateful that he hired me for my first job in the business. As an editor and a mentor, he encouraged and guided and challenged you, and you always knew that he had your back. That’s what he gave me as a cub reporter. We’d frequently sit in the office discussing industry trends and what they meant. He knew all aspects of the business and how one informed the others.
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Peter was an oracle who saw so much since he started writing about this business back in the 1970s. Over the years, he had a front-row seat to an industry in transition — the launch of satellite broadcasting and cable, the internet, email and streaming, to name a few.
In addition to these inflection points, he covered the work of artisans from editors to production designers to cinematographers. (In 2012 he received the International Cinematographers Guild’s Technicolor William A. Fraker Award for journalistic contributions to cinematography). At Variety, he developed the editorial franchises Dealmakers Impact Report, Hollywood’s New Leaders, Legal Impact Report and Business Managers Elite.
Before joining Variety, Peter worked with numerous industry-leading trade publications. He launched Videography magazine; edited titles including Millimeter, Shoot and Below the Line; and served as editorial director and publisher of Film & Video. He was so well known in the business that it was not surprising that he received a hero’s welcome at industry events. He also loved to travel, and when he did so on business, he made new industry friends around the world.
Reflecting how much Peter meant to the industry, in 2019 he received the Hollywood Professional Association’s inaugural Legacy Award for his contributions. At the time, he wrote on his LinkedIn page, “I love this business and the smart people who work in it. We’re in the middle of the most influential industry on the planet — one that in the right hands can speak truth and contribute to positive social change. It’s a responsibility, and it’s fun.”
At the time, Steven Gaydos, Variety’s executive VP of global content, wrote of Peter: “He speaks several languages, and knows both sides of the camera, but more importantly he is fluent in one essential tongue: Truth. And he is coming from one essential place: The Heart.”
Peter Caranicas and Carolyn Giardina
Source Agencies
