2013 was a year of big change. I think that’s what everyone at one time or another aspires to at the beginning of every single year. They want big change for the better. For a long time I subscribed to the theory that if it ain’t broke, just don’t fix it.
For a long time I stuck with my HTML Cinema Crazed website. Frames, thumbnails, windows, oh my! For a while I was like a guy driving a solid and comfortable automobile. It took me to work everyday and I had no problems with it whatsoever, so I never thought it was necessary to upgrade the automobile.
But thankfully I have a younger brother who isn’t just miles ahead of me in terms of internet development and trends, but has told me for three years to change Cinema Crazed. After a failed attempt in 2011, I opted out of it, and then took the plunge in 2013.
It wasn’t just that complacency that kept us from updating our layout, but goddamn, we have almost three thousand articles on our database. Reviews, lists, articles, it’s all so fucking exhausting. I’ve been upgrading and posting updated versions of our archives since February 2013, and I still have such a long way to go.
Simply, the old layout just wasn’t doing it for me anymore. To survive, Cinema Crazed had to change and adapt, and the change wasn’t as harrowing as I thought it would be. Not only has Cinema Crazed’s change been beneficial, but things have become so much better since we completely revamped the site. We have more readers, more Facebook followers, more Twitter followers, more agents are contacting us, and surely enough we’ve been overwhelmed with movie review submissions all year.
It’s a one man operation currently, and we just have no faith in hiring contributors anymore. We’ve been fucked over twice in the past by contributors that were just promoting their own films, and we just decided to get tough and get serious once and for all. Our old contributors went on to huge things this year, so basically it’s been just me, your good ol’ Pal, Felix, doing everything on the site.
It’s tough, it’s time consuming, and it’s so much damn fun. I’m not really making much money but I’m helping people. And that’s not too bad a way to spend your year. Cinema Crazed is better than ever. Thanks Rob. We have a new logo, a new lay out, new Facebook users, and upgrading the site is easier and faster than before, so I can literally just lay back and let the site update itself. That’s what I mostly did for October 2013.
The new site has a new logo with our new mascot, The Cinema Crazy. He’s a bonafide creepy monster in the vein of classic horror silent cinema who will preside over Cinema Crazed from now on and appear every so often for big events. We love him, and thanks to Basil Murad, he’s alive and lurking about.
Cinema Crazed is just showing no signs of ending soon. The only way I can see the site slowing down and closing down is if I get the opportunity to be paid ridiculous sums of cash for writing, if I die, or if I get published and have to do a world book tour where I am able to woo people with my anecdotes and book ideas a la Ethan Hawke in “Before Sunset.” Except most of my ideas involve zombies, superheroes, and boobs.
Currently yours truly, Felix Vasquez Jr. is working on two web comics (premiering in 2014), and three novels, one of which I’m trying to get published as we speak. Through all of that, I’m also trying to uphold a life, find time to sleep and eat, and service the independent film community. I am also serving my own selfish needs to explore cult and art house cinema, so I am hopefully going to begin delving in to the films of Ingmar Bergman, Roddy Piper, and Troma very soon. Man, talk about opposite sides of the spectrum.
As usual, 2013 had a year filled with people that helped us, so for your help, thanks my brother Robert, Phil Hall, Neal Bailey, Doug Brunell, Vic Zimet, Stephanie Silber, Basil Murad, Larry Longstreth, Duane L. Martin, Brian Pittman, Rondall Scott III, the people at Sound on Sight, Steven C. Miller, the guys at Binge Media, Marcey Papandrea, my new niece and nephew Bella and Gio for giving me inspiration to keep writing and keep positive, independent filmmakers for coming to us for critiques, and of course our fans!
We had no idea until 2013 that you were out there, but you made yourself visible, and I am touched my writing and work hasn’t been for nothing.
If I left anyone out, apologies, but thank you! Here’s to a wonderful 2014. May we reap many rewards. None of which are capable without hard work. And our generally excellent writing.
Onward and upward!
– Felix Vasquez Jr.