Hello
fellow readers and bloggers!
Some
of you who occasionally visit the blog may be wondering why is it
that no updates have been provided since last summer. That is indeed
a very long stretch of time without any news and worthy information.
For that I humbly apologize. Work, social life as well as the energy
invested to be the best movie commenter I can possibly be for Sound on Sight have taken up the majority of my time, much of which used to
be for writing fun articles for this little blog here. Between the
Seats operated on a consistent basis for four years, from September
2008 to September 2012, delivering the best content feasible given my
capacity for heading out to the multiplex, attending festivals and
delving into an extensive DVD and Blu-Ray shelf to explore the gems
of cinema's past.
Some
months were ripe with a great many articles, others saw a dip in
quantity. In my real life (not reel life! Ha!), there was a job
change, new friends made, new challenges met, but through it all I
tried my best to deliver a sizable amount of content that was worthy
of the readers' time. I wanted the analysis to be comprehensive,
remotely intelligent, but also fun to a degree. Pomposity was not in
the cards for Between the Seats but nor did I ever want the articles
to be too colloquial either. I hope to have achieved that and,
judging by the warm comments some of you left me over the course of
the four years, I believe I succeeded, which makes me very proud.
However,
the time has come to move on to bigger and better things. Yes, as
much as it was fun to sarcastically pretend sometimes that Between
the Seats was the be-all and end-all of online film criticism, the
reality of the matter is that there are other venues out there which
can and hopefully will offer even better intellectual and, who knows,
monetary rewards at one point down the road. I cannot and certainly
will not hide that fact that joining the Sound on Sight team in
December of 2011 was the start of a lot of changes with regards to my
movie habits. Two columns to call my own for which the
editor-in-chief has given me carte blanche, coverage
of three different Montreal based film festivals in 2012 as an
accredited member of the press (unlike in 2011 when I paid to see
every Fantasia, World Film Festival and Festival du Nouveau Cinema
film you all read reviews for) and now, as of last October, co-host of their Sordid Cinema podcast.
Needless
to say, Sound on Sight is where I shall be concentrating all of my
movie reviewing habits for the foreseeable future. In other words,
with this article here, published on the 1st
of January 2013, the Between the Seats project is complete. I never
knew what exactly would come of it, but in the back of my mind, if
other, more stimulating opportunities arose, I knew that the blog
would take a back seat. I would be remiss not to mention some people
who, either because they actively helped me with my blogging, left
comments in the designated section or simply inspired me to strive
for more with their own top quality work, played a part in making
Between the Seats happen and last as long as it did.
-Bill Thompson from Bill's Movie Emporium. Those joint marathons were a
thing of beauty. I don't know which one I enjoyed the most, but each
was a fantastic experiment in its own right and helped me really
appreciate the notion of not just writing in a vacuum, but
interacting with others. Actually, I can choose one. The Star
Wars marathon, and more
specifically the A New Hope
debacle. It was infuriating in the best possibly way. Of all the
bloggers out there, you are the one the really made this damn thing
the most fun. Buddy, keep on hating Episode IV.
It shakes things up a bit, you know?
-Ryan McNeil from The Matinee. This man writes like mad. I don't know how
exactly he finds the time to write as much and as well as he does,
but kudos to him for pulling off the trick. He went from common
blogger to a legitimate .com in a couple years and his podcast is one
of the best around. A really slick website that consistently provides
wonderful content. If you love the Toronto International Film
Festival, then you must check out his website and podcast in the
month of September. For a one-man show, this guy provides stupendous
coverage.
-Corey Atad from Just Atad. Here is a guy who has strong opinions on just
about everything film related. You might not agree with him, but he
always takes the time and makes the effort to fully explain why he
stands where he stands, and that's a quality not enough movie fans on
the internet possess. There was a time, some years ago (time flies)
when I actually wrote some articles for a website Corey hosted, The
Reelists. While I wasn't part of the team for too long, maybe a few
months at most, that small period genuinely helped me, in some
capacity, to become a better writer. I wasn't writing for myself. I
had to impress other people too, otherwise the material would not see
the light of day. That was a lot of fun, and although I don't write
for him anymore and have not for some time, I still strongly support
his work.
-JamesBlake Ewing from Cinema Sights .Here's another smart, talented writer
who went from running a simple blog to getting his own .com. His take
on film is a little different from most. For than once he'll have a
startlingly different take on a film than the majority. His article
on what Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy lacks is a fine
example of that. Some of you might know that he and I are working on
a project right now, Batcave Debriefs, which might not have too much
to do with film, but certainly reading his movie articles over the
years was an inspiration for Between the Seats.
-Courtney
Small and his team of writers at Big Thoughts From a Small Mind. Yet
another .com which began rather modestly. True enough, this is not
one I have visited on as regular a basis as the aforementioned sites,
but every time I check in there is something of note, especially the
articles which encourage active participation from the readers, like
the recurring 'Which is Better' segment.
-Cinema on the Road, hosted by Seema and Jhon. Two well spoken, extremely
articulate film connoisseurs who explore cinema from all corners of
the planet. Half the time I have never heard of the movies they
choose to discuss on their show, but that is part of the pleasure:
the discovery. Why remain content with what one is already familiar
with? The tag line is 'A Journey Through the World of Cinema' and
Seema and Jhon are mighty good companions for the trip.
-Finally,
I don't think I would be doing what I am doing now without the
Filmspotting message boards. I haven't been there in some time for a
variety of reasons, but the eclectic bunch of participants over there
are really what got me going. In 2007 when I became a member, I
certainly watched a healthy amount of films, but not always of the
quality and, more crucially, of the variety that some Filmspotting
forum members were exchanging ideas about. My interest in film
festivals, which play a lot of stuff one just does not see at the
local multiplex, is greatly of their doing, as is my love for films
of the 40s and 50s (hence, my Friday Film Noir column at Sound on
Sight). Without them, there is no Between the Seats, and by
extension, I am not writing for and co-hosting a podcast at Sound on
Sight.
And
there you have it. I encourage everyone to keep on blogging and
writing online for as long as they can. One can never predict with
certainty what might come of it. There are undoubtedly times when it
feels like it is not worth the effort, but every now and then, be it
because someone had the generosity to email you, leave you a comment
or offer you an opportunity elsewhere, one is reminded why it is fun
to engage in this terrific blogging experiment.
Thank
you all.
Regards,
Edgar
Chaput
3 comments:
Many thanks for the kind words, and best of luck on the future efforts!
I actually tossed my name in to contribute for SS, so if you have any sort of pull, put in a good word for me, yes?
Don't be a stranegr around The Matinee, and be sure to get on that train to Toronto sometime soon, eh?
Sorry to see this blog end, but all good things must, I suppose.
Fun whilst it lasted!
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