The Moviesite Spotlight: Impassioned Cinema

Welcome to this week’s Moviesite Spotlight. For those who wonder what this is:

Every week I read a lot of great movie related blogs and I thought it was time to give the ones I visit regularly a chance to shine in the spotlight, by interviewing its writers.

This week’s interview is with Max, writer of Impassioned Cinema.

What’s the history of your site, why did you start it?
Impassionedcinema was started in Janurary 2011. Having been out of a job for a while, I decided that starting a website would be a good way to show off my videos and talk about my love for the film industry. It has since morphed into a pure joy to work on and I do consider it my full time job, even if it isn’t paying right now.

What makes your movie blog different from the other ones out there?
A few months ago I wouldn’t have been able to answer that. I started by emulating a lot of my favorite blogs writing reviews and posting the latest Hollywood news. Then I decided I needed a lot more original content to keep users coming to my site. Something they couldn’t get anywhere else. 2012 was a starting over point and since then I’ve started new weekly and bi-weekly series and the focus is to bring readers in and keep them around.

What do enjoy most about your site and what is the reason you keep doing it?
Really I love the comments and the idea that people are taking my word seriously. I’m very opinionated and I’ll tell you if a movie is garbage to your face. I also love being part of the industry in some capacity. I have made an effort to go to film festivals and making new friends through The Lamb has been a lot of fun.

In which ways has your blogging changed the way you watch movies?
I’ve watched a lot of movies I would’ve never considered watching before. I was really selective on what movies I watch. I still am, but writing a scathing review once in awhile can be fun as well. I’ve realized I’ve seen some movies by certain directors, but I really need to explore a lot of different films in order to really understand some of them.

What’s your favorite article you have written?

Right now it’d have to be my Top 10 Studio Ghibli films article. It didn’t originally get a lot of attention, but it was featured on a few sites and now it is my second most read article on the site. I’m also a huge fan of anime, so sharing my love for that particular medium in a digestible fashion for the film crowd makes me hope I’ve influenced some more people into watching these amazing pictures.

Do you own any movie related items that you are very proud of?
I have quite a few special editions I love. I bought the Blu-ray briefcase of Blade Runner and a few other Blu-ray special editions like Ben-Hur. Anime is very serious about how their cases and box sets arrive so I have a lot of special boxes in that regard as well.

How many movies do you watch on average each week?
I’d have to put it at a good 3 to 4 movies a week. I never watched this many movies before I started the site, but I really enjoy doing what I’m doing.

Could you name five of your all time favorite movies?
Sure can do:

Lost in Translation

2001: A Space Odyssey

Eternal Sunshine

Almost Famous

Godfather

Anything else you want to tell us about yourself?
Hoping to shoot my own short film within the coming weeks for my final project in my film studies certificate program. If you’d like to see my other videos that I’ve done I’ve featured them on my vimeo page @ http://vimeo.com/maxcovill. Thanks.