A NOTE OF THANKS

With Thanksgiving on tap for tomorrow (and with me traveling over the next 5 days), I thought I'd offer up a bit of thanks. First, the important ones:

I am thankful that I have the best parents and sister that any guy could ask for.

I am thankful that I have the best fiancee that any guy could ask for.

I am thankful for the good health of everyone nearest and dearest to me.

I am thankful for all of the good will that has been spread my way these last few months.


Now, here's what I'm thankful for when it comes to my favorite obsession:

I am thankful that there are so many great-sounding films on the horizon these last six weeks of 2008.

I am thankful that next year, we'll see new films from Terrence Malick, Martin Scorsese, Michael Mann, Tony Scott, Michael Bay, Paul Greengrass, Terry Gilliam, Steven Soderbergh, the Coen brothers, Werner Herzog, Quentin Tarantino, and Zack Snyder.

I am thankful for the fact that I will be able to see giant fucking robots destroying each other on an IMAX screen next June.

I am thankful for this blog, which has introduced me to a variety of cool, movie-obsessed people like myself.

I am thankful for the fact that there are people like Charlie Kaufman who are able and willing to go over the cinematic edge and produce work that lingers in the mind days after you've viewed it.

I am thankful for the cinematic lunacy of Werner Herzog, who keeps getting better and better as time progresses.

I am thankful for a filmmaker like Tarsem, who with THE FALL, has made one of the most unique films that I've ever had the pleasure of viewing.

I am thankful that we got a whacked-out superhero film like HANCOCK, which shatters genre conventions and dared to be different.

I am thankful for the ability to pop in DVD's of my favorite films and just sit back, relax, and enjoy 'em all over again.

I am thankful for someone like Christopher Nolan, who took the comic book film to new heights in THE DARK KNIGHT.

I am thankful for the eclectic output of David Gordon Green, who made two of the best (but very different) films of 2008, with SNOW ANGELS and PINEAPPLE EXPRESS.

I am thankful for Netflix, which furthers my appreciation of all genres of film, and enables me with the opportunity to see films that I have never heard of or otherwise would never have had the chance to see.

I am thankful that after living in Los Angeles for six years, I was able to meet (and work with) my idols: Jerry Bruckheimer, Tony and Ridley Scott, Michael Bay, and Werner Herzog. I met a lot of other people, but those were the key players.

I am thankful for the brilliance of Shawn Ryan, who knew EXACTLY how to end the greatest cop show of all time, THE SHIELD.

I am thankful for the brilliance of Matthew Weiner, who with MAD MEN, has created one of the finest television shows ever to air.

I am thankful for everyone who continues to create films and expand the language of cinema for my enjoyment and the enjoyment of others.

Happy Thanksgiving and thanks to everyone who has ever read this blog.