Fade In:

The purpose of the blog is two-fold. First it will help me to organize and catalogue my thoughts on the year in film. Already my reactions and thoughts on last years crop of films is slipping away. It's actually vital that I do this in 2009. I'm on the Screen Actor's Guild Nominating Committee, a task that I take very seriously (some of my friends say too seriously). And secondly, I would like to gather and compile from friends and readers as many Top Ten film lists as I can. I'll be asking you to submit a list of your ten favorite films and maybe the top ten for any given year (beginning with 2009). I'll be posting the criteria for the top ten lists on this blog soon, that is as soon as I come up with said criteria. There may be other purposes that I can explore as I go, things to keep you informed on the art and business of film (current boxoffice numbers, award show picks, film festival updates etc.) And since I expect to hear from friends first, I'm sure that my arch nemesis, The Great Sage of Azuza, will be chiming in periodically with his ludicris comments and observations. Well, everybody needs an arch nemesis. That's it for the first post. -----Rich's Cine-File.