"Issue" Number 2
I’d like to say welcome to our second “issue”, but I can’t. The online publishing world doesn’t recognize “issues”. In the hard copy world, issues arrive on the same day each week or month and new material is their point. But online? Everything that has already run remains, articles are as long as they need be- there’s endless space online – and so is the magazine. The online magazine-as-library builds up its stock. The ‘search’ function becomes central to “reading” an online magazine.
That’s good. “Online” always has implied limitless information. But online culture isn’t particularly accepting of old rhythms and magazines are no exception.. Even if the magazines are online versions of hard copy magazines which came out weekly or monthly, they are being pushed to have something every day. No wonder gossip starts masquerading as news. In place of the rigor and research suggested by ‘the latest edition of” or the “October Issue of” , there is a perceived necessity of new, fresh something, anything .every 10 minutes.
So we’re going to choose to accept the limitless information part and reject the pressure to wipe out everything in favor of constantly changing NEW. Every two weeks, we are going to post some new articles, but we’ll leave the prior ones in place too. We’re also counting on the truth that anything you haven’t read is new to you so that whenever you come to the magazine, you’ll find something you want to know about.
We’re going to stick with information, information, information. Traction is about us imagining what information you might want to know pertaining to film, television and media, and you telling us what you want to know either in broad over-views or minute detail. It seems to be working. We’re particularly proud, for instance, of what’s happened with the article on bonding by Marion Spiegelman. A number of filmmakers in countries new to the concept of bonding have distributed copies of it to bankers and investors as they push to make films that can get financing pertinent to the international market. A lot of you have raved about the first article in “Process” – Kirby Dick’s unedited interview with Kimberly Peirce, which he did for his THIS MOVIE IS NOT YET RATED. And, by the way, apologies to the first 1,500 readers – the letter-to-the-editor function wasn’t responding. Now you can add your comments.
We like commentaries – information of the sort that compels more thought and generates discussion. Gloria Steinem’s commentary “A Modest Proposal” from the Women’s Media Center online journal is delicious and a good companion to the article by Grace McKeaney titled God Almighty, Why Did You Let Them Make Evan Almighty? Good movies getting defined derisively as ‘chick flicks’ is a metaphor for a Hollywood problem. We accept the masterfully made prick flicks, the rides, as the only reason to rush out on Friday night; we go further and accept that the only measure of good movie-making is the opening weekend gross and we’re quiet when someone offers the opinion that a movie that earns $25M in US Box Office and cost $8million is somehow not worth “it”.
Food for thought – this and other subjects. Molly Gregory continues bringing us evidence of how closely our experiences in our industry (not necessarily carping, observations .) resemble those of women not in our industry and she has an article upcoming on whether or not Sexual Harassment is still the relevant phrase.
More upcoming – an article on making production green (think about the huge numbers of water bottles generated during production); the mysteries of getting music for the low budget movie or doc; more reviews from particular focusi; more articles on Process.
Please ask for specific articles. We promise we won’t have the ‘latest’ tidbit on our front page.