I don't know if any of you are aware but Cinemarati, the film critics organization that I belonged to, has folded. I never joined any other. I don't write enough traditional reviews for OFCS membership requirements (one a week last time I checked...which was a loooong time ago), favoring free form movie thoughts and the specificity of various cinematic obsessions. The other organizational option was the NYFCO which creeps me out a little --primarily because I suspect they purposefully (one might say smartly) named themselves that to ride on the coattails of the NYFCC, knowing that the media and public would get lazy about telling the difference. So now I am a lone wolf again. No stamp of approval from any organization. Just Nathaniel doin' his thing.
It's weird how new membership in a group can do things for you --even though you're exactly the same writer with or without it. My Cinemarat' status gave me access to post reviews on rotten tomatoes way back in the day --even though I didn't use it much. Far more crucially it provided me with a wonderful set of peers and insta-friends, many of them conveniently located right here in NYC. I'm not exaggerating to say that I don't want to imagine my life without having met some of these people, particularly Gabriel (whom you know as ModFab) and Nick (of Nick's Flick Picks who left the Cinemarati party before everyone passed out. That boy got good timing). I lurve those guys.
But all good things come to an end. Particular good things which have long since lived out their initial purpose. Cinemarati's was to build a film community on the web (now they're a dime a dozen!) and raise the reputation of online film writing (which is no longer a bastard child given the fact that it's now new media). So bye bye!
Friday, June 08, 2007
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3 comments:
Yep, I read MaryAnn's blog on a regular basis and she wrote about it. It's a shame Cinemarati will cease to exist very soon. But, as you mentioned, all good things come to an end. I'm glad you benefited from the organization. I particularly enjoyed the lively discussions, and I even participated in a few. It was a great endeavor.
I liked it once, but stopped reading the website a long time ago. Oh well
Hi Nathaniel
I like your writing style...your "compliments to the chef" in your review of "Ratatouille" along with
commentary about the kids in the audience.
You say in your blog that NYFCO creeps you out because you suspect the group chose the name because of its similarity to New York Film Critics Circle--as though we were trying to confuse the film community, making its acolytes think we were the prestigious print critics' group (though how anyone
could think that given the last word of our name is difficult to see).
A little history. We originally called ourselves NYOFCS, i.e. New York Online Film Critics Society, and intended to remain a local chapter of OFCS. When management at OFCS complained about that
nomenclature, we went along with their criticism and discussed the options, figuring a name that would
show that we were not actually OFCS. New York Film Critics Online sounded like a possibility, a name
that people would not associate with OFCS. It was only now, with your blog, that someone even pointed
out its similarity to NYFCC. So far, at least during the past seven years of our existence, no one at the
print group has taken issue.
I'm sorry to see that Cinemrati folded and can't figure why. To the end, the 21 members were chatting with one another and by extension with the entire film community. Surely the dues were not onerous. What was the harm in continuing?
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