Happy Anniversary! The Projection Booth Celebrates its first year

It’s hard to believe, but my movie lover’s blog has lasted a full year. I’ve read that the average lifespan of a blog is usually a few months. So, the fact that I’m still chugging along, posting reviews and other random thoughts a year later, is something to celebrate. And to observe this important milestone, let me share the origin of my altar to the cinema arts.

Many moonlights ago, I was an ambitious comic book writer with a few indie titles to my name. And let me tell you, getting published in the comic book industry, in any capacity, is a minor miracle. If you go to Amazon’s comiXology site and search my name, you will find that I’ve written or co-written titles like Judo Girl, The Odyssey, and Relics of Youth. It was a fun time, and I collaborated with some amazingly talented artists and professionals. But the sad reality is that unless you work for one of the major publishers like Marvel or DC, it’s tough to make a living writing the funny books.

But my original love has always been the movies. Thanks to Blockbuster Video, my first job out of high school, I became a die-hard cinephile. Once I moved to the Los Angeles/Hollywood area, where I started a studio career, my love of cinema grew stronger. Even though I worked for Sony Pictures and Warner Bros in a corporate capacity, wandering and exploring those historic backlots was magical. And it’s a total head trip when you’re having a meeting in the building that was MGM’s old schoolhouse, where Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, and Elizabeth Taylor used to sit and study before filming their classic roles.

I have always loved a passionate discourse involving my favorite movies. And I hemmed and hawed over starting a blog where I could share my thoughts on the movie industry. But building a blog seemed like a herculean task, not to mention my utter aversion to computer programming or coding. (I’m like Sam Neil in Jurassic Park) Then the coronavirus pandemic hit, and I found myself laid off from my cushy perch at Warner Bros.

Now unemployed and with way too much time on my hands, I revisited the film blog idea. But while I was a (mildly) talented comic book scripter, could I transition to writing movie reviews? In late 2021 I wrote several test-run reviews and discovered that I enjoyed the opinion prose style. After sharing the reviews with colleagues and friends, who gave me honest feedback and enthusiastic thumbs up, I decided to plunge into the blogging world.

The following few months of putting together my site were tantamount to torture. I read too many “how to start a blog in three simple steps” articles and entered the frightening labyrinth of you-tube WordPress tutorials. Any article telling you it’s easy to start a blog is lying. But after many weeks of fits and starts and the crazed spectacle of me yelling angrily at my computer (my poor roommate thought I went insane), I was finally ready. In late March 2022, I unleashed my proud baby, “The Projection Booth,” into the blogging universe.

My blog has undergone minimal changes over the past 12 months, and I’m constantly fine-tuning things. I’ve recently discovered the tedious art of getting your posts indexed on Google. One of my goals was to have some unique categories in addition to the standard reviews, like “Stage to Screen,” where I share my love of classic Broadway musicals and their resulting movie adaptations. I’ve been revisiting my favorite franchises like Star Wars, Batman, and the MCU (comic books again!). I have (very) slowly been reviewing the “Oscar Best Picture” winners, starting with last year’s CODA and moving backward year by year. I will add the 2023 winner, Everything Everywhere All at Once, to the list soon. 

And yes, I even review music videos in the “Music Video Jukebox” section. I pick a random song and its corresponding video, look at the album and its place in music history, and review the video along with behind-the-scenes facts and trivia. Why review Music Videos on a film blog? I don’t know, but it’s fun, and it’s my site, so I can do what I want.

I’ve even spread my wings to another blog, where I’m now part of the stable of “mutant” reviewers for the Mutant Reviews site. There my fellow talented critics and I analyze films of the cult, offbeat, and B-Movie variety. If you like those quirky, non-mainstream gems, then the Mutant site is for you. Please go check it out and look for my name in the byline. 

If you made it this far, thank you for reading, and I hope you continue to check out my site. Take some time to click around and explore; there is some great stuff here, including various pieces from my guest contributors, Christian Johnson, and Scott Duvall. We have some fun things planned, including a special theme for April (stay tuned!) and more non-review articles in the “Random Thoughts” section.

Until then, stay safe, and see you at the movie theatre!