I’ve been thinking about things I would like to happen in 2005 related to movies, DVDs, etc. I’ve created a little wish list. These are things over which I have very little control, but they would make me very happy. So if any of the deities whose responsibilities include the DVD market or film programming are listening, here’s a list of things I’d love to see this year:
- Holiday (1938) and A Foreign Affair (1948) released on DVD—Of all the films pending on my twenty gaps list, these are the ones I want the most. I would rush out to buy the DVDs in a heartbeat. I don’t care about special features. Just release them, please.
- A Terry Gilliam movie released in U.S. theaters (specifically Austin)—And I don’t mean a documentary about one of his films failing, either. The Brothers Grimm is in post-production with a November 2005 release date, and Mr. Gilliam is currently filming Tideland, so the odds are good … but I am still wary.
- The Wild Bunch playing in an Austin theater at a time when I can see it—Believe me, I would find the time, even if it played at 3 am when I had to be in New Orleans for a funeral the next day. I would dearly love to see this movie in a theater, more than any other movie I’ve already seen.
- Admission to the annual Butt-Numb-A-Thon—This 24-hour film festival is held in Austin every December and is organized by Harry Knowles. It’s exceptionally difficult to obtain a pass for this event. I’m willing to pay for the ticket, mind you, but apparently many hundreds of people want to go, and the Alamo Downtown theater is not very large. I’d love to try this once. I very nearly got in the standby line this year, but the odds of my getting in were far too slim for me to deal with standing up for that long (stupid sciatica). The lottery for the 2004 BNAT took place in October, so I’ll have to remember to keep an eye out this year.
I also have a film-related wish list for myself, for things that I actually have some control over whether they happen. It’s easy to make fantastic wishes about DVD releases and movies in theaters, but a lot harder to make a list of stuff I have to do myself. I didn’t compile The List of specific movies to watch this year, because I am not even halfway through the 2003 and 2004 lists, and because I feel like I don’t need a list like that in order to see a good variety of movies. But I do have some general ideas of what I’d like to see and do.
- Rent/watch some of the Les Blank and Errol Morris movies that are available only in VHS format. I’m pretty sure Vulcan Video has these available. I think some of the Errol Morris movies may be released on DVD this year, anyway.
- Obtain a multi-region DVD player. I’m not sure I would ever buy movies encoded for other regions, but I want to have that option available. DVD players are so affordable nowadays that this shouldn’t be a problem.
- Follow through on the idea I had last night for a short documentary that my youngest brother and I could make together. It’s a really good idea. I’ll say only that it is related to the food culture in the neighborhood where I grew up. It would also be a good idea for a writing project, so if I can’t make the documentary project work, I could write an essay that might be suitable for publication or for NPR. I don’t want to let this drop, because it’s an ideal combination of personal and cultural stories that is just the sort of thing I ought to be working on.
- Buy the movies on the twenty gaps list when they are finally released on DVD. I need to help show that there is a market for these DVDs.
- Write more publishable material, whether it’s film-related or otherwise.
- Watch more films from other countries. Specifically, I have never seen any films directed by Wong Kar-Wai or Takashi Miike, and that’s terrible, considering I’m a film geek. I’d like to see one film by each of those directors this year.
- Attend at least one film festival. Ideally, Toronto Film Festival, but I shouldn’t overlook SXSW right here in Austin.
I might add more items to this in the next week when I realize that there was some crucial thing I forgot to mention. But so far, I think these are good lists, not too unrealistic. I hope.