The Return, and a Q&A
Hello my wonderful readers!
It has been far too long. And I mean far too long. I've missed writing and interacting with all of you, but sometimes you have to side with a job that leaves you with no life. The good news is that that job is behind me and I'm starting to do things for myself. Not for my ridiculous student loans, nor for my family, but for me, myself, and I. And one of the first things I cannot wait to be a part of again is this, my blog. I know I've been away for most of the summer, and by the beginning of summer some of you readers may have figured out that I was going through, yet again, another identity crisis with my site. The good news is that that's gone. I found my road, and barreling down it. I have some really fun plans for the future of this blog and instead of planning ahead two months in advance, which was stressing me out, I'm going to take it one week at a time. I want to make sure that everything I put out for you is at the top of my game which is why I'll be only posting once a week.
Each week I'll be rotating my essays, lists, and podcast. Yes, that's right, the Film Assist Podcast is back and this time it's revamped! No more vamping by myself, no more trying to understand Scorsese, never again. This time my podcast will be only appearing when I have an interview set up, and boy howdy do I have two special interviews for you fellas. This means that sometimes I'll be dropping a few podcast interviews, maybe in the same month, and won't be able to drop another for a few weeks simply because I don't have an interview subject, and that's fine. It'll be a special once in a while treat.
With that out of the way, let's get to the goodies.
Q&A:
From James Dean
What or who is your biggest inspiration?
This is a difficult question only because I was never one to have heroes growing up. There are certain attributes I gravitated towards, and would pick certain aspects out of many people to look up to, but because of that I've never held a definitive figure as an inspiration. There are people I admire like Akira Kurosawa as a filmmaker. Or Jake Gyllenhaal as an actor. Witney Seibold is one of my favorite film critics to listen and read to, mainly because he has such a different viewpoint, but I wouldn't say his work has inspired me in how I'd approach my work. Ultimately, what inspires me the most to continue this blog and share my thoughts is the simple fact that I don't have anybody to talk to in my life about these topics. I'd love to go to a movie and analyze it over dinner with somebody, but alas my film friends are either online or living in different states. Thus the Film Assist blog was born where I could spew my nonsense day in and day out because I couldn't spew on my friends.
What's your favorite piece of writing you've done?
This is another difficult one. I've been slowly getting better, I think, and have some that I remember fondly but the quality might not be there. I also hate picking one so...here's a few :P
The Graduate and the Corruption of Youth is one of the first instances that I decided I liked writing essays and topics about a film more than reviewing it. I read it over and over and over again before publishing, making sure every edit was scrutinized, because I was determined to deliver some good content.
Why I Believe The Netflix/Mowgli Deal is Bad (Part 1) I generally try to avoid film news because it's unstructured and everybody feels the need to share their opinions. Especially on the internet. But this felt like a huge deal that not many people were talking about in the right way (they would rather it never come out because Disney already made an attempt) and so I offered up my opinion. It's also my only two part post.
When it comes to my up and down podcast I feel like my talk with Mike was fantastic as we geeked out over award season. 2018 Oscar Nominations with Special Guest Mike
And finally, since I don't do reviews anymore, I'd like to share my best review ever: Star Wars: The Last Jedi Review!
What made you interested in writing initially?
I already covered this, but really it's because I have nobody to talk about film in depth with. Simple as that. And even if I did have somebody it wouldn't be nearly as detailed as this. Also, while I love podcasting I don't have a podcasting voice and am very self conscious about the way I sound so...writing it was!
From Mike Pisacano
Which of the major film festivals would you want to attend the most?
This is a great question, and I feel like saying all of them would be a cheat. I've actually attended the Sundance Film Festival as part of a school trip/class/thing and absolutely ate up the festival atmosphere. Since then I've craved that atmosphere and chaotic release of film nerds. At some point I'd like to go back, but to answer this question I'll leave Sundance out of it. Other than that I'd say it would have to be between TIFF and Venice. I was actually planning on going to TIFF this year, but...yeah know, life. Honestly, I think I'd choose Venice because I want to be a part of that chaotic film crowd I keep hearing about. Standing ovations, booing, hissing, just the craziest things that I feel like I need to be there to experience. So, yeah, I think I'd choose Venice.
Thank you for all you're support. Thank you James and Mike for sending in some wonderful questions. I can't wait to share with you all what I have planned.
