I would like to see some interviews added to the mix. The discussions between you two are always interesting, but it would be good to read some long form, in-depth interviews with people from all aspects of the industry. Too many film/tv interviews end up being press junket-type nonsense, or suffer from that access-journalism crutch of trying to make an afternoon lunch with an actress seem somehow profound. I get the feeling you guys would handle it all much better.
Me have unrealistic dream that you'll merge with Harris and Handlen's substacks and just gradually rebuild classic-era AV Club under new name and with means of production firmly in hands of workers!
Have a good time off, guys. It's certainly deserved. I'm happy with my paid subscription as is, but just thinking, could we perhaps have more input in terms of what's being covered? Like, say, maybe a comment thread every now and again asking readers for a specific film one or both of you could write something about?
The main thing for me (as a paying subscriber) is just a desperate need for high-quality and wide-ranging movie reviews. With the AVClub completely imploded, I'm hungry for that editorial style. Obviously, you cover what you can cover with only two people, but that is my biggest driver for paying.
I'd definitely feel like I was getting the most from my paid subscription if you shared a bit more about upcoming features with enough time to watch/re-watch anything you're covering. I've really enjoyed the eclectic range of films but I've not always read a piece if it's a film on my watchlist - and the nature of Substack means I forget to circle back to the piece once the email is no longer unread.
More hot tub livestreams. Or, in lieu of that, some recommendations on new discs or rare streaming finds even if they're time or channel sensitive. I purely caught Top of the Heap on Amazon Prime last year by accident after seeing it pop up on folks' social media and Letterboxd. Likewise for home media the July release of Arrow Video's RoboCop 4KUHD has similar special features to their Blu-Ray but completely new ones like the original "edited for TV" cut and " [a] compilation of alternate scenes from two edited-for-television versions, including outtakes newly transferred in HD from recently unearthed 35mm elements." Or Cop Rock. Maybe Sledge Hammer. Or that show with the crippled superhero who gets eaten by an invisible T-Rex in the series finale.
I think it would helpful to have periodic posts on recent releases and where they’re available. There’s so much stuff these days and with theatrical windows shrinking rapidly, it can hard stay on top of everything and lots of worthy stuff slips through the cracks (for me at least). Otherwise it’s been great. Really enjoying it
Super happy with everything so far. I want people writing about what they love without advertising as the primary revenue stream. This and Letterboxd are literally my only remaining sources for learning about new movies.
A Discord sounds fun. I'd also love to be able to vote on movies for you all to watch. Ideally so we can force you to watch terrible movies and revel in your suffering.
This is probably a much bigger undertaking than I think, but I would love (and would pay a few bucks for) some kind of online commentary track that I could synch up with the movie. Maybe for an older film that deserves a scholarly commentary but doesn't have one yet. Combine that with the voting idea mentioned elsewhere: make a shortlist of 5-6 and let us vote on which one you record.
I'm about as qualified to speak on advertising and self-promotion as a lion is about veganism, but over at Defector, they're good about picking up columns from freelancers, including (not sure if this counts in their "freelancer" pool but whatever, I'm going with it) a wider net of outside (sports) blogs. This is how I found out about another former Substack, Sports Stories. Defector doesn't exclusively "stick to sports" - in fact, it's pretty much in their mission statement not to, so a guest column wouldn't necessarily have to stay within that lens. But it could be a chance for a little more exposure among like-minded folk (also refugees from another former GMG site at Deadspin). Again, though, maybe it's a dumb idea. I just want all of these sites/platforms/writers who I've been following for over a decade to succeed and keep posting the very high-quality content I've come to rely on.
It's a big ask, granted, but you could maybe get together with some friends and former colleagues, possibly expand to a full site, perhaps call it something that evokes a form of transition of one movie scene into another... In the meantime though, this is pretty great - those nine months have flown by. I do like the idea of a "Next week on The Reveal..."-type heads-up if that can be incorporated.
I would like to see some interviews added to the mix. The discussions between you two are always interesting, but it would be good to read some long form, in-depth interviews with people from all aspects of the industry. Too many film/tv interviews end up being press junket-type nonsense, or suffer from that access-journalism crutch of trying to make an afternoon lunch with an actress seem somehow profound. I get the feeling you guys would handle it all much better.
Me have unrealistic dream that you'll merge with Harris and Handlen's substacks and just gradually rebuild classic-era AV Club under new name and with means of production firmly in hands of workers!
Have a good time off, guys. It's certainly deserved. I'm happy with my paid subscription as is, but just thinking, could we perhaps have more input in terms of what's being covered? Like, say, maybe a comment thread every now and again asking readers for a specific film one or both of you could write something about?
The main thing for me (as a paying subscriber) is just a desperate need for high-quality and wide-ranging movie reviews. With the AVClub completely imploded, I'm hungry for that editorial style. Obviously, you cover what you can cover with only two people, but that is my biggest driver for paying.
I'd definitely feel like I was getting the most from my paid subscription if you shared a bit more about upcoming features with enough time to watch/re-watch anything you're covering. I've really enjoyed the eclectic range of films but I've not always read a piece if it's a film on my watchlist - and the nature of Substack means I forget to circle back to the piece once the email is no longer unread.
LASER AGE LASER AGE LASER AGE LASER AGE
More hot tub livestreams. Or, in lieu of that, some recommendations on new discs or rare streaming finds even if they're time or channel sensitive. I purely caught Top of the Heap on Amazon Prime last year by accident after seeing it pop up on folks' social media and Letterboxd. Likewise for home media the July release of Arrow Video's RoboCop 4KUHD has similar special features to their Blu-Ray but completely new ones like the original "edited for TV" cut and " [a] compilation of alternate scenes from two edited-for-television versions, including outtakes newly transferred in HD from recently unearthed 35mm elements." Or Cop Rock. Maybe Sledge Hammer. Or that show with the crippled superhero who gets eaten by an invisible T-Rex in the series finale.
I think it would helpful to have periodic posts on recent releases and where they’re available. There’s so much stuff these days and with theatrical windows shrinking rapidly, it can hard stay on top of everything and lots of worthy stuff slips through the cracks (for me at least). Otherwise it’s been great. Really enjoying it
Super happy with everything so far. I want people writing about what they love without advertising as the primary revenue stream. This and Letterboxd are literally my only remaining sources for learning about new movies.
I would love a discord channel! All my film discords have largely become inactive so I'd love a place to talk with people about movies
A Discord sounds fun. I'd also love to be able to vote on movies for you all to watch. Ideally so we can force you to watch terrible movies and revel in your suffering.
This is probably a much bigger undertaking than I think, but I would love (and would pay a few bucks for) some kind of online commentary track that I could synch up with the movie. Maybe for an older film that deserves a scholarly commentary but doesn't have one yet. Combine that with the voting idea mentioned elsewhere: make a shortlist of 5-6 and let us vote on which one you record.
I'm about as qualified to speak on advertising and self-promotion as a lion is about veganism, but over at Defector, they're good about picking up columns from freelancers, including (not sure if this counts in their "freelancer" pool but whatever, I'm going with it) a wider net of outside (sports) blogs. This is how I found out about another former Substack, Sports Stories. Defector doesn't exclusively "stick to sports" - in fact, it's pretty much in their mission statement not to, so a guest column wouldn't necessarily have to stay within that lens. But it could be a chance for a little more exposure among like-minded folk (also refugees from another former GMG site at Deadspin). Again, though, maybe it's a dumb idea. I just want all of these sites/platforms/writers who I've been following for over a decade to succeed and keep posting the very high-quality content I've come to rely on.
It's a big ask, granted, but you could maybe get together with some friends and former colleagues, possibly expand to a full site, perhaps call it something that evokes a form of transition of one movie scene into another... In the meantime though, this is pretty great - those nine months have flown by. I do like the idea of a "Next week on The Reveal..."-type heads-up if that can be incorporated.
I think a Discord would be fun to be able to have general conversations about movies with other The Reveal subscribers.
Would it be possible to offer a second tier of membership, where $2 or 3/month gets you half the posts offered to subscribers?