FILM THREAT RETURNS!

Even a month ago, if you’d have told me I’d wind up buying Film Threat during the Sundance Film Festival, I’d have laughed in your face. I know this because, up until the day I bought Film Threat from Chris Gore, that was exactly how I had reacted. In all honesty, I couldn’t imagine a Film Threat that wasn’t owned by Chris Gore. Grander than that thought, though, was the one where I couldn’t imagine a world without Film Threat. Now I won’t have to suffer that nightmare because I’m happy to announce that Film Threat is back!

Film Threat is back to bring you all the independent and underground film you didn’t know you were missing; to quench a cinematic thirst you may not even know you had. We’re getting back to the basics, championing and appreciating the lesser known of the filmmaking community. Film criticism? I like to think of it as Aggressive, Opinionated Film Appreciation. Not saying its going to be all puppy dogs and flowers, but I’ve never gotten off on how insulting I can be with my written word anyway. Finding an undiscovered movie gem and getting it in front of all my friends? THAT’S the ticket!

But I’m rambling. Perhaps you want to know how Film Threat is going to be different from here on out. Save spilling the beans on a number of exciting ideas I’ve got for the rest of 2010, there are a few key differences. For one, we’ve got a new system for accepting films for review. If you’re a filmmaker looking to send us your film, it all starts with the Submission for Review. I have a feeling there will be questions and clarifications on this one, and, to be honest, I’m still wrapping my head around the best way to keep the door open to all filmmakers while simultaneously giving the audience something they can actually use. Start the discussion in the comments below, and we can explore it together.

Will all your favorite writers be back? Depends on who your favorite writers are. We’re going a decidedly “Jerry Maguire” route with this one, focusing on fewer writers, more writing. I think we allowed ourselves to get spread too thin, quality writing-wise, over the last few years and I’d much rather focus on bringing that quality level back up. I think fewer voices, though loud ones, will go a long way towards achieving that goal.

On a technical note, while I don’t want to poison the water, I should warn you that this new FilmThreat.com is a work-in-progress. There was some damage that occurred to the site back in December, and I’m still coming across random issues because of it… which means you’re going to come across random issues too. I request that you remain patient, and help us diagnose the idiosyncrasies of this new web body as you come across them. Drop us a line via our Feedback page, and we’ll investigate.

And I know there’s more to touch on, but I’m going to stop now and see what you have to say. Comment away and let us know what you think of the new site. If you’ve got questions, comment and I’ll respond. There’s a lot of fun stuff coming Film Threat’s way over the next year, and I’m hoping to bring you all along with me!