movies

Farewell (For Now) From The Movie Comeback

/ Claire / Leave a comment

It has been a wonderful semester and I have greatly enjoyed writing this blog. However, for now I am saying goodbye to The Movie Comeback.

I might come back over the summer and create more posts. After all, there were a lot of things I wanted to cover over the past few months but was unable to due to the cold weather.

I might use this experience to create another blog, possibly a blog to review movies and tv shows. But for now I am taking a break.

This has been a great experience for me. I have learned a lot about what goes on behind the scenes of the film industry. I learned that I should not buy a moviepass until that company figures their stuff out. I learned about the importance of Hollywood sending movies overseas. Got to visit a museum and explore a movie tavern. I interviewed a blogger from the Netherlands and an independent filmmaker who was raised in Iran.

I started this blog based on a single question: How long are movie theaters going to last with all this new media coming out? I thought I would spend the semester talking about the changes theaters have made to stay relevant. Instead I broadened my topic, covered my original question in a single post, and  learned so much more about the film industry as a result.

As a Radio Television Film major, covering this topic has been really beneficial for me and my future.

I hope to eventually see you all again.

-Claire McKissick

I traveled to Astoria, New York to Visit the Museum of Moving Image. Check Out Everything that I found!

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New York is home to hundreds of museums. This week I got to visit a museum dedicated to film as well any media displaying moving images. This museum is called The Museum of Moving Image and is located in Astoria, New York.

While visiting I got to explore exhibits on Jim Henson, merchandising, special effects, and so much more.

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JIM HENSON EXHIBITION 

The first exhibit I got to explore in the Museum of Moving Image, was the Jim Henson Exhibition.  Many of the objects featured were donated by Jim Henson’s family.

Henson is most famous for creating The Muppets and his work on Sesame Street. Featured in his exhibit are multiple Muppet and Sesame Street characters, including Kermit the frog and Elmo. Multiple drawings of early designs for the Muppets are placed around the room. There is even a section that allows people to design there own Muppets.

Henson had a major influence on childrens’ entertainment. He created groundbreaking techniques and inventions for his Muppets. Almost everyone has, in some way, experienced his work.

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TUT’S FEVER

Created by Red Grooms and Lysiane Luong, Tut’s Fever is both a working movie theater and an art installation. It was inspired by picture palaces of the 1920s.

The small theater is placed in the middle of the museum, right outside the Jim Henson Exhibition. Although there are occasionally special showings in the theater, the day that I visited it was playing the muppet show.

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SELLING THE PRODUCT

Movies about giant gorillas, super heroes, and spaceships. Do they make money in the box office? Oh yeah. Do they find even more ways to get money out of you? You bet. Merchandise.

Shown in this section of the museum, were various toys and other products. Games and toys from kids shows such as Howdy Doody. The biggest section though, was for Star Wars and their merchandise.

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BEHIND THE SCREEN PT. 1

On the second floor of the Museum of Moving Image is the first part of their most famous exhibit, Behind the Screen. Part One focuses on production  design, makeup, photography on set, and prosthetics.

Production Designers in film are in charge of the films overall look.  Featured in the museum were set models from movies such as Carlito’s Way, A Midsummer’s Night Sex Comedy, and Turk 182.

Prosthetics from movies such Mrs. Doubtfire, the Mask, and Chewbacca were on display. Those were very creepy to look at due to their resemblance to the actors.

 

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A WHOLE DIFFERENT BALL GAME

What appeared to be the busiest exhibit, at least on the day I visited, was the exhibit dedicated to 60 years of sports games. The best part of this exhibit is that everything on display is a game that you are encouraged to play with.

Fun fact: video games typically revenue about twice as much money as the film industry every year.

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BEHIND THE SCREEN PT. 2

In Part 2 of Behind the Screen, they focus on the history of film as well as special effects.

Featured are Thomas Edison’s Kinetoscopes and other devices that used to be used to watch films. They work similar to the way flip books work. They use a series of photographs and move then quickly to make it look as if it were a single movement instead of various pictures.

The other area focused on special effects you would see in movies today. On display there was a doll used to replace the actress while filming the Exorcism. This doll was designed to move its head in a full circle to show that the character had been possessed. There was also a large version Freddy Kruegar’s sweater, a miniature model of a Skyscraper used in Blade Runner.

 

In conclusion, I highly recommend visiting the Museum of Moving Images. It was a great experience and I learned so much about films. I especially recommend it for the people who really enjoy behind the scenes stuff and want to learn more about the progression of film as well as media in general.

Maaman Rezaee, An Independent Film Maker, Speaks about Pursuing Film While Growing up in Iran

/ Claire / 1 Comment

Maaman Rezaee is a writer and director for six Independent short films. Her most recent film is titled “A Family of Too Many” which won the award for Best Short Screenplay at the Diamond Film Festival. She is currently working on her first feature script about an Iranian woman who seeks to find her birth parents.

Rezaee received her MFA in 2016 from Temple University and has been teaching since 2013. She currently teaches screenwriting at Rowan University.

Below, Rezaee talks about growing up in Iran and the challenges she faced with her gender and religion while in pursuit of her artistic passions.

Check Out MyFilmviews’ Nostra For Some Compelling Thoughts on Recent Movies

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Earlier this week I reached out to the writer of MyFilmviews and got in touch with Nostra from Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Nostra is 43 years old and began blogging in 2010 after spending time on Facebook commenting his opinions on movies. “One day I was a bit bored and read about blogging and decided to try it on WordPress. I really liked it and have been doing it since”.

Nostra’s MyFilmviews blog, like mine, revolves around a passion for movies. It consists of 8 years worth of movie reviews, interviews multiple directors, and a weekly segment where he looks through the careers of different actors and actresses.

Nostra stated that his biggest challenge of maintaining his blog is to keep himself motivated, since viewers have stopped responding as much as they used to when blogging was more popular. “During the height of blogging I had half a million views a year. That number has decreased dramatically. The sense of community that used to be there isn’t as strong anymore, unfortunately”.

I also asked Nostra what is most interested about running his blog. Nostra said that the most interesting aspect is the opportunity to interview people such as Paul Verhoeven, the director of the 1987 film RoboCop. He also expressed his excitement for the invitations to receiving and press screenings. He loves the fact that you can find people from around the world with the same passions and reach out to them. For example I emailed Nostra, who lives in the Netherlands, from Glassboro, New Jersey in the United States.

“My advice would be to not do it if your goal is to make money or get lots of views. Do it because you love to share your thoughts and like to talk to likeminded people…That will be the most rewarding”.

Welcome to the Movie Comeback

/ Claire / 1 Comment

My name is Claire McKissick. I am a Radio Television Film major at Rowan University with minors in Journalism and New Media. I have had a strong passion for movies my entire life and wanted to create a blog to discuss how the movie industry has been progressing within the past few years.

I plan to attend drive-in theaters as well as movie taverns to review unique ways to enjoy movies outside of a traditional theater. I will also be discussing different movie apps, movie passes, and the effects of streaming sites on theaters. I will have posts dedicated to diversity in modern films and posts about how female characters are represented. Something I will continuously bring up is where movies were, where they are now, and where I feel they need to be.

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