Movies have long been a passion of mine. I remember the first time I watched Citizen Kane I watched it twice. By that I mean, before the end credits had finished rolling, I had already restarted the DVD to re-watch it. Remember DVDs? I don't own anything that can play one anymore. In high school, I used two VCRs to crudely re-cut Pulp Fiction into chronological order. "What the fuck is a VHS?" my kids will ask. I don't know why I put myself through that exercise. I never watched the finished version.
I'm not a filmmaker. Here is my resume: I helped create a weekly school news show in junior high, where I became proficient in PowerPoint as a tool to make semi-comedic intros. I grew up in the country and made glorified Jackass videos, mostly in which I dangerously dragged my friends around in a red wagon behind a four-wheeler. I never got in the wagon myself, ever. My best friend and I made a shitty ninja short, the climactic scene featuring the two of us diving in slow motion toward the same coveted golden frog statue. I'm not a filmmaker.
I experimented (with screenwriting) in college. Who didn't? I did study film some as an undergrad and gained a different appreciation and understanding of the art and science of it all. I had a few great professors in which I can credit to my being an above average moviegoer. Thousands of dollars well spent I say. I worked, ever so briefly, in the film industry after college. I enjoyed it. It wasn't my calling. I simply like watching movies, thinking about them, talking about them, living in them. I often leave a movie but take a character with me for a few days. I don't do it on purpose exactly, but I adopt some emotions or mannerisms or speech of a character. Few people know this.
