In December, I’ll be celebrating 14 years of being a film fanatic.
I was undoubtedly a film fan in my earlier years, following trips to the cinema to see the likes of The Little Mermaid and Aladdin, but I became a film fanatic in December 2001 after watching The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and falling head over heels for the film and the magical way that its director transported you into this exciting, beautiful world.
The more films I watch, the more I form an opinion on what I do and don’t like watching.
I like being (sometimes literally) on the edge of my seat and getting totally wrapped up in what’s happening.
I don’t like macabre horrors like Saw, as it scares me that a supposedly sane person with no criminal intent has written it.
I like being moved to tears, especially if I’ve already predicted the plot; that’s shows the capability of the actors, in my opinion.
I don’t mind some romcoms, but I’d pick a sci-fi or fantasy first.
One definition of ‘hobby’ is the following:
“An activity done regularly in one’s leisure time for pleasure.”
If someone asks me what my hobbies are, I explain that I enjoy spending time with my friends and family, being outdoors with my dog, and watching films. The first two have been true throughout in my life, but the third is again since becoming a film fanatic.
Feeding the fanaticism
In December 2001, to feed my new found appreciation of film I started going to the cinema regularly with school friends and bought a subscription to Empire magazine; I had a cull of my back catalogue recently, recycling everything apart from the LOTR ones, naturally.
As I got older, my interests changed, as socialising with friends became more important. I swopped Friday nights at the cinema for Friday nights at a nightclub. The Empire subscription was cancelled.
As a 27-year-old woman, having a passion for film isn’t a traditional hobby. Empire, which I’ve subscribed to on-and-off for nearly 15 years, says its readers are 23% female and 77% male, with the majority of the readership (34.8%) falling into the 15-24 bracket.
It wasn’t until I completed my university education in 2010 that I really got back into going to the cinema. I moved to a new town 95 miles from my hometown and going to the cinema to take advantage of the Wednesday 2-4-1 offer provided by a mobile phone network was a semi-regular occurrence. The Empire subscription was renewed.
In January 2012, I signed up to Letterboxd, which was founded in October 2011. In 2012, I went to the cinema 24 times. In 2013, it was 17 times. In 2014, it was six times, and I know full well why my cinema-visiting habits changed in 2014 and the latter half of 2013.
I bought a dog.
Still a signed up member
Today, cinema trips are a rare occurrence, taking place when I’m particularly eager to see something. This is because when I come home from work, my priority is to spend time with my dog. I’m still a signed up member of the Film Fanatics Club, though.
The renewed Empire subscription is still going and I enjoy reading it from cover to cover when I have the time. I watch a lot of films at home, read other film fans’ blogs, follow movie news through Empire Online and other sources, and write this blog.
As explained in my ‘About this blog’ page, it’s a collection of my film related thoughts. Really, though, it’s become more than that. It’s my space of the internet to express my opinion; a creative outlet to record my observations and ideas. Writing this blog has given me a lot of enjoyment and direction, and I thank everyone who takes the time to read it.
Can you pinpoint when you went from film fan to film fanatic?
Cinematic Delights 
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