My movie blogging journey has taken a serious turn.
I started What Would Toto Watch? in 2007, hoping to secure some Internet turf and share my love for the latest, greatest movies.
Turns out I enjoyed blogging about film as much as seeing the latest Oscar contenders. A few years later that passion helped me score a full-time gig as assistant editor at Big Hollywood.
I was thrilled, but something still gnawed at me.
I felt like my work at WWTW wasn’t finished. I started this blog with modest intentions, but by the time it landed me a “real” job I was sorry to see it go. Wouldn’t it be great to blog full time, call my own shots and make a career out of it?
A steady paycheck dashed those dreams.
Earlier this year, that bug started biting me again. Now, I had more web experience under my belt. I had been studying social media methods in earnest, and I felt confident I could leverage Twitter and co. to my benefit.
Most of all, my devoted wife thought now was the time to go for it.
So last week I launched HollywoodInToto.com or HiT for short. New name, a more elegant design, but it’s still my take on show business. I remain one of the few openly conservative entertainment journalists in the country, but I’m smart enough to stop ideology from blinding my vision.
So please give HiT a look. You’ll find story angles not covered elsewhere, film reviews which keep the consumer firmly in mind and, best of all, a blockade on tabloid fluff.
Even wallflowers might feel the need to cut “Footloose” this week.
Not only did the Blu-ray version of the 1984 film hit shelves on Sept. 27 – complete with star Kevin Bacon’s screen test – but the upcoming remake is getting a one-day sneak preview. The film doesn’t officially hit theaters until Oct. 14, but on Sept. 30 26 select theaters across the country and Canada will give audiences a chance to see the film first. And, if you dig what you see, you’re encouraged to Tweet your praise using #footloose to join the conversation.
Of course, none of this works if the remake fails to capture the magic of the original. Said magic mostly escaped this film critic who caught up with the 1984 version – finally – earlier this year. But never underestimate the power of dancing.
In the late 1980s I worked at a Mom and Pop video store, and “Dirty Dancing” was the biggest renting title from that era. Our store had to restructure its reservation policy because of it.
The new “Footloose” stars screen newbies Kenny Wormald and Julianne Hough in the roles immortalized by Bacon and Lori Singer. Dennis Quaid plays the reverend who doesn’t want dancing in his town. Good luck with that, Rev.
Here’s a list of the chosen movie theaters playing the film at 6 p.m. PT, 7 p.m. CT and 8 p.m. ET this Friday.
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Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane tried to reinvent the national pasttime by casting aside a century of sports wisdom.
The new “Moneyball,” based on Beane’s tumultuous tenure with the California club, sticks to the basics. Fine acting. Whipsmart dialogue. A Cinderella team rewriting the history books. Yes, the tale of the 2002 Oakland A’s doesn’t supply a ticker tape ending, but for most of “Moneyball” reality provides more than enough dramatic oomph to power one of the better baseball films in recent memory.
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A ‘Big’ change, and a hearty thank you
I didn’t know what to expect when I bought the domain name WhatWouldTotoWatch.com back in 2007.
My wife and I had just moved to Denver from D.C., leaving behind Beltway traffic, exhorbitant home prices and a great gig at The Washington Times. I simply figured I needed a nook on the Web to call my own, and perhaps one day I’d wrangle a full-time gig out of it.
Who knew it would take four years and hundreds of blog posts before that happened?
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