A Guilty Pleasure...

Movies – enjoyed by most, tolerated by many, and unfavored by few. Movies themselves have a way of enticing their viewers by creating stories or bringing books to life in short intervals of time. Now, the majority of humans will watch a movie strictly for the entertainment purposes of watching it, however, there are a few of us that will watch a movie with the excitement of researching and studying them pre, during, and post. I am one of those. Now I am not a die-hard who makes a living creating videos of the behind-the-scenes or hidden things the viewer may have missed. But, I am the one who will find those videos and watch them all. Learning how a movie was created, what the director was thinking, why the costumes looked a certain way, and of course watching clips and bloopers to unlock the ingenious ways false realities come to life gives me great joy. Let me explain…

Stage One

I don’t know if maybe it’s because I grew up behind the stage with the ability to watch a production start at nothing, and then take life. If it’s the creativity that is the backbone of that process, or simply the fact that, to me, it is really fun research. But, when I see a trailer or hear word of a new or enticing movie, I’ll stalk and scour different platforms until I can watch as many different forms of teasers and trailers as possible. Some might wonder, why not just wait to watch the movie? But for me, I like to pre-game. I will watch those videos and piece together a compilation of what I think the movie will be and the main agenda of that said film. Alongside that, like the perfect wine for an entree, I enjoy learning the pre-BTS (behind the scenes). To see the “first look” photos of them shooting the film. To see the first sneak peeks of the costumes. Also, to acquire a more well-rounded understanding of the cast list. After the full pre-movie stalking, I enjoy watching the endorsement interviews. Learning as much as I can before I am able to fully compare my imagined movie to the real deal so when the time comes to watch the film, I am aware of certain aspects they took in creating it.

Stage two

I feel as if I am exposing one of many quirks that only I find fascinating. But, I’ll continue because it’s interesting. Stage two is the easiest of the three stages. It consists of watching the movie and then either fighting the urge to re-watch, giving in to the urge to re-watch, marking it low on the list by only being interested in how they filmed and created certain shots, or completely scratching it off the list. It’s a system put in place for stage three. And after finishing the film, if a character stuck out to me or a face looked familiar, going to google helps me to rediscover them. From there, I have been known to then follow the journey of different actors and to compare roles simply because I enjoy their work. This can lead to a spider web effect. Movies containing this actor may wedge their way between the original movie and stage three. Causing only a minor delay.

Stage three

Stage three is the most tedious and time-consuming of the three. It takes many rabbit holes and screen time. Yet, it is the most rewarding. It’s as if one was deep into a book in their chosen field. I will clarify. I don’t partake in my research on every movie watched. Typically, I will only be this intentional with action movies where it is clear a lot of training and special effects are used, and a handful of other movies that may be of interest. And with some movies, it is fun to have the element of mystery while watching them. Popular movies tend to have the most research to select from; opening a broader range of which movies I choose between. What exactly do I mean by research…

I enjoy learning how a movie was created by finding as many behind-the-scenes videos as I can. By scouring Youtube to watch blooper reels, the special effects and makeup artist videos, director walk-throughs and cuts (Vanity Fair is a favorites for this), interviews of the cast and crew, and even edits or “things we missed” videos created by those far more invested than I am. Giving one a fully immersed learning experience. I go into what some might call “full stalker mode”. I watch videos on how they trained for the part, the interviews and talk shows the cast take part in after the film airs, clips of the movie's premier, videos on the costume designs, set designs (Watchmojo or Msmojo are another top used source), audition videos, and sometimes choreography videos for dancing or fight sequences. Yeah, it’s a lot. But it is so fascinating to me how worlds are created and how actors can get into character. Learning how the sets work, what is edited or what is not. Others say it ruins the movie to know that kind of information, but to me, it adds to it.

Guilty Pleasures

Ok, so I am very aware that this level of Hollywood interest is by no means for everyone and it sounds a great deal more extreme than it is. It’s a hobby or as some may categorize it… a guilty pleasure. We all have something up our sleeve. I think it is fun to have something to enjoy that adds to our one-of-a-kind charm. It creates another level of depth to our personalities; an exciting seasoning to our plate, and an amusing way for us to acquire new conversations. And although, at times, what we find fascinating may seem unnecessary or dull to some, it allows us all to practice that confidence that likes to play hide and seek so often in our minds. Some may find what we find interesting as unusual, but there may be someone else who is either fascinated by the same pastime or intrigued by our enjoyment of that pastime. Guilty pleasures can look as diverse as building Lego sets, learning the depths of chess, watching Youtube, “what I eat in a day” videos, reading theology books, listening to songs on repeat, being interested in celebrity drama, obsessing over recipe blogs, or reading my blog. This list could go on and on. Mine, amongst others, is learning the ins and outs of how movies are made and random facts about the actors themselves.

This was unlike most of my blogs, but at a request, why not share with everyone another crazy interworking of my mind? I love hearing requests and suggestions on topics you all would enjoy reading, so leave a comment of a fun interest topic or a fun guilty pleasure you have! As always, don’t forget to subscribe and share my blog with someone. You can follow along on Instagram (@Theallie.way) where I try to share a variety of different things from my daily life. I hope you all have an amazing weekend. Thanks for reading Allie-cats.

• Dru Allie