take one

ok, i give up. i've promised a bunch of friends and family that i would start a blog about movies. they've been yelling at me to do this for a while, and so, here i am...

i admit to being a seriously hardcore cinephile (n.b. not a cinephile of hardcore). i love movies. i can't live without them. seriously, if i were ever held at gunpoint and the gunman said to me: "ok, if you wanna live, you can never watch another movie for the rest of your life, OR i can blow your brains out right now. what's it gonna be?" (btw, i do realize that this hypothetical and highly hyperbolic scenario most likely would never happen; however, let's just go with it so i can make my point, yes?) i would tell the bastard (after peeing my pants and maybe begging for my life for a minute or two) to go ahead and pull the trigger. 

i honestly (think i) would. 

i need movies. 

 

i. need. them. i crave them. at home i watch maybe six a week, and then i try to go to the movies at least twice a week. oh, and if i'm dying to see something, i absolutely need to go on opening night. then if i loved it, i'll need to go see it again, and sometimes again. i tend to feel guilty if i go away on vacation and i miss opening nights to certain movies i've been waiting for and i know i won't be able to catch them where i'm going. if it's a longer trip (anything more than two weeks) oh, lord. i begin to feel disjointed and even a little, um, dirty? as if i'm cheating or something - like i gotta run home to the movie and beg its forgiveness. i'm also a total movie theatre snob. i'll only go to a select group of movie theatres that i like in the city (and you won't catch me at a bunch, including any shopping mall cinemas). i also need to get the yellow popcorn every time, even if i'm full from a pre-movie dinner and not hungry. and after liking a movie at the cinema, i need to buy the dvd (or blu-ray if i loved it) the day it's released. and i can't rent. or even borrow. i need to OWN. sometimes i don't even watch my newly purchased dvd for weeks, or months, or even years. i actually probably have a few dozen on my shelves still in the shrink wrap, but i'll get to watching them again eventually. this blog is actually a good excuse to...

but there're other reasons i'm starting a blog about movies.

1. i needed an excuse to talk obsessively about my love for Bill Murray (although, does one really need an excuse?)

2. i own over 1000 dvd's (all of which i've purchased - NOT ripped - so i've actually kinda paid for the right, non?)

3. i've held glamorous positions in the film industry, including working as a concession and box office girl, gum seat-scraper/sticky floor-mopper, usher, production company receptionist, and (one-time) chauffeur to the stars

4. i have a 10 seat movie theatre in my basement (thanks dad!) and have frequent screenings with my cinebuddies (hi guys!)

5. i watch Silence of the Lambs when i have trouble sleeping (honestly, it's like a cuddly blanket for me. the music and Hannibal Lecter's voice? please. it's so f-cking soothing)

6. i come from a movie-obsessed family (my grandpa owned a movie theatre in a small town in Italy and worked as a cameraman at Cinecitta'; and my great-uncle was Marlon Brando's drinking buddy and refused a career offer to be Steve McQueen's stand-in)  

7. i was (almost) born in a movie theatre (my mum went into labour while watching In the Year of Our Lord, and actually stayed to the closing credits) 

8. i was named after a buxom-blond Italian actress (although i grew up to be neither buxom nor blond)

9. i keep every single ticket stub from movies i go to see (i've been keeping them since i was 12-years-old and literally have hundreds stashed away in a big William Ashley gold box) 

10. i'm currently unemployed so i've kinda got the time

right. so, i can't promise this blog will be any good. or even slightly good for that matter. but i do promise that i love movies and will try to express my passion and obsession for them the best i can. so, if you like movies, like to read or talk about movies, or scream and cry about movies, or just like Bill Murray, i assure you that you will be getting your fix here. 

see you somewhere around the middle row,

MG

"She's sweet, but she's fucked up." Herman Blume (Bill Murray) in Rushmore