Happy 2016, Sniderinos! My deepest apologies for addressing you with a racial slur, but I needed to get your attention.
Just wanted to check in and let you know what’s hoppin’ over here at EDS headquarters. First, we had the usual bombardment of end-of-the-year stuff, as follows:
The Best and Worst Movies of 2015
My media inventory (everything I watched and read in 2015)
A handy list of every wide release of 2015
A handy list of everything I wrote in 2015
Miscellaneous data about the films of 2015
(The miscellaneous data is at Thrillist this year. I noticed it had been somewhere different each year since 2012 — Pajiba, then Film.com, then Movie Mezzanine — and decided I liked the nomadic tradition.)
The Patreon movie critic thing
You may also be aware that I’ve embarked on a new scheme for writing movie reviews, one where I am paid not by “legitimate publications” or “editors,” but by You, the People. Like the artists of the Renaissance, my movie reviews are now supported by patrons!
It’s going well so far. At the moment, 164 people are pledging a total of $436.05 a month, which works out to about $40 per review. Most patrons are giving the suggested $1 a month. A buck a month ain’t no thing. Others are pledging amounts that are more than $1 a month, and I’ve come up with a couple of rewards for those who do:
– At $10 a month, you’re entitled to politely demand that I review a particular movie that I haven’t gotten to yet — anything released in the previous 365 days. So if you want to make me watch and review “Pixels,” for example, this is your chance.
– At $15 a month, you get the $10 privilege, plus Eric’s Personalized Movie Recommendation service. This is basically my phone number. You can text me questions like: “I know you haven’t posted a review, but have you seen ‘Such and Such,’ and if so, how is it?” Or: “Is ‘Whatever Movie’ suitable for my children, ages whatever and whatever?” Or: “Here are the three movies we’re considering tonight. Which one should we choose?” This service is already used extensively by friends and family, and for $15 a month you can pretend to be one of them.
I’ve also set a “milestone goal.” Once monthly pledges reach $1,000, I’ll guarantee reviews of every single movie in wide release (plus the handful of indies I review, too). As it stands, I have to skip some in order to work on other things. At $1,000 a month, I can say, “Bug off, other things! The People need their reviews!”
To those who have already become patrons, I give my wettest, most heartfelt thanks. I hope you feel you’re getting your money’s worth. I’ve written 20 full-length reviews since announcing the Patreon 57 days ago. In the 100 days before that, I wrote about 10. It’s nice to be back in the saddle again, metaphorically speaking (I would not enjoy being in a real saddle).
Now I’d like your input. I’d like it so much that I’m turning on the comments. What are some rewards I could offer for different pledge levels? What are some other milestone goals I could set? In short, what are the fondest dreams you’ve always had for EricDSnider.com and movie reviews? We can make them come true (unless they’re dumb)! Let me know.
