Four Years Later...

Can't believe it's been four years....yada, yada, yada
Seems like only yesterday....yada, yada, yada
728 movies later....yada, yada, yada

It's been four years, I think anyone who knows the blog can fill in the "yada, yada, yada" and I can get this show on the road. It's not that I want to undermine those sentiments, it's just that I've said all that stuff before, multiple times and to repeat myself here would be redundant. So...what to talk about....

THANK YOU

Well, I definitely want to say a few "Thank You's", as I never get tired of thanking anyone and everyone who shows support. First and foremost my lovely wife Ruth for giving me the time and being patient when I have "just twenty minutes left of Mean Streets" or "just need to type up this review real quick, babe". She's super supportive and has been onboard since day one and for that, I am forever grateful. Thank you Ruth.

Of course I am ALWAYS grateful to the wonderful people who come and leave comments. If you're willing to take the time to ponder my opinions, heed my suggestions or just read something I wrote, I think that is awesome and I am grateful. I want to especially thank Ray from the UK, not only a commenter, but also someone who took the time to mail me out a few of the harder to find titles, on his own dime. Also a big congratulations to Ray who is only steps away from completing THE BOOK himself. Thank you Ray.

Thank you to Karen Burroughs Hannsberry, who not only collaborated with me on "Seven Shadows Week" last year, but also invited me to take part in The Dark Pages Newsletter: Giant Issue that comes out this December. I'll let all of you guys know the details when it gets closer, but I spent a good week hammering out a pretty extensive biography of Burt Lancaster, which I was pretty proud of, that will appear in that issue. Thank you Karen.

Also a big thank you to Barron's Educational Series and notably Eric for making sure I got a copy of the newest edition this year. I meant what I said about the new book and despite my dislike for some of the choices, it really is a beautiful copy of the book. Thank you Eric.

Thank you to the boys of The Big Kahuna Burger Podcast for welcoming me as a guest. I was super excited to get the call to come and do the show and I look forward to going back. Thank you Thomas.

And I hope I didn't forget anyone...

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I'M DONE?

By this time next year, I plan to have less than 100 films to go. I figure I'll get to 800 watched by the end of this year, 900 watched by the middle of next year and start the final 100 somewhere around next August or so, finishing up by the end of 2014. So what happens to the blog when everything is said and done? Well....I'll tell you, but it's going to take a lot of explaining....so buckle up.

STEP ONE: 1000 MOVIES YOU REALLY MUST SEE BEFORE YOU DIE: A PERSONAL, ONGOING CANON OF MY 1000 FAVORITE FILMS

So that's not really STEP ONE, but rather, the ultimate goal for me. You've heard me say since day one here at the blog things like "Man, this should really be in THE BOOK" or "WOW, can't believe this isn't in THE BOOK". Well now it will be my turn to take matters into my own hands and make my own BOOK. No, I'm not actually publishing or even making an actual book, but I am making a list and so far that list houses 210 movies. The 210 movies that it houses is EVERYTHING that has ever appeared on a TOP 20 list, including the "Ten Worth Mentioning" movies. I will continue to add to that list as I finish THE BOOK and when I'm done with THE BOOK, the list should have 300 titles.

To view that list in it's current form, click here

STEP TWO: SECOND CHANCES

Okay, so in this glimpse into the future, I've just finished watching every film from THE BOOK. Now what?

Ever since I made my first TOP 20 list, after I was finished picking out the twenty films and the ten honorable mentions, I would go through one more time and set aside another ten films that I would've liked to have taken one last look at or films that were REALLY good, but just didn't have enough "oomph" to make the list. Well, I'm going to give myself the opportunity to take one last look at those films. When I'm done with THE BOOK, I plan to go back through and re-watch 125 movies from THE BOOK: The 100 that I set aside (ten from each set of 100 films that I watched) and 25 wild cards or films that even after setting aside an extra ten, still needed a second look. From there, I'll make an 11th TOP 20 list from those films and those twenty (NO "Ten Worth Mentioning") will go onto the list in STEP ONE. So that's what I'll do immediately after finishing THE BOOK. I haven't worked out EVERY detail yet, but I highly doubt I'll redo any reviews, maybe just some quick thoughts and new ideas. Everybody on the same page so far?? Okay, lets continue....

To view the "Second Chance" list in it's current form, click here (Please note that the wild card films have yet to be selected and WILL NOT be selected until I am completely finished with THE BOOK.)

STEP THREE: 1000 MORE MOVIES

I think this one's pretty self explanatory. I have a list of 1000 COMPLETELY DIFFERENT films lined up and ready for my eyes and when the Second Chance movies are gone through, my journey will restart, TOP 20 lists will continue to be made & added to my personal list and full reviews will be written, just like I've been doing. What is this list you ask....

*Every movie on The New York Times' Best 1000 Movies Ever Made list, that didn't appear in THE BOOK.
*Every movie on the They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? Greatest 1000 Films: 2013 Edition list, that didn't appear in THE BOOK.
*Every movie that has appeared in other incarnations of the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die book, that weren't in the 5th edition that I've been working out of.
*Every movie that won the Academy Award for Best Picture, that wasn't in THE BOOK. (Just needed this one to round out the list).

With those lists, including everything that wasn't in THE BOOK, that brings the total to 991 (It says 998, but there's one on there in eight parts that counts as one). I'll probably finish off the last nine spots with everything that is nominated for Best Picture this year, just to get some 2013 stuff on the there.

To view that list, click here.

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So that's about as far ahead as I've thought and that's the plan moving forward. Of course, I'm not finished by a long shot, so I don't want to get ahead of myself and you probably won't hear me referencing this stuff too much, as I want to focus on the task at hand, which is finishing those last 273 movies from the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die book. I just thought that the fourth anniversary would be a nice time to unveil these plans and let you guys in on what I'm thinking and where this blog will go in the future. I'll probably create some new links, either at the top of the page or on the side, so that all of these lists are readily available. Thanks for reading, as always and I hope I continue to have everyone's support.

September 14, 2013  11:26am