Movies, Screenwriting & Independent Film
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I spend about an hour a day (at least) reading movie, television and technology news. It’s a nice relaxing way to kickstart my brain every morning.

So I decided that it would be a great to post the list of sites I visit daily.  However, this is not just a list.  These sites are in the exact order I visit.

There are about 2 dozen others that I visit regularly but these are the sites I can’t go a day without.

XTRA: Top 6 iPhone Apps For Movie News

I start with work and social networking:

Then it’s off to my websites for maintenance and updates:

Movie & Television news:

Blogging, Technology and Design:

And this is the ATHLETIC nerd after all…

And that’s it.  After that I usually load up Final Draft, Final Cut, Photoshop, Dreamweaver or WordPress to work on whatever I have planned for that day.

which websites do you visit daily?

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Movies That Changed Everything

I’m an aspiring filmmaker.  Like every filmmaker out there, I have a lengthy list of films that have inspired me along the way.  This series will examine twelve of the films that changed the way I looked at movies forever.  Films that have greatly influenced the filmmaker I hope to become someday…

The Matrix

Movies That Changed Everything The Matrix

The Matrix changed the way we looked at action movies forever. It dared to be intelligent while pushing the boundaries of technology and reality.

I missed The Matrix in theaters and I’ve regretted it ever since. The first time I saw it, I was with a group of friends and everyone kept talking.  You really have to pay attention when you’re watching it the first time.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Is anyone paying attention?”

Finally, we stopped the movie and rewound (yes rewound) it.

This time we paid attention.  I’ll never look at movies the same way again.

What is The Matrix?

“Unfortunately no one can be told what The Matrix is…  You have to see it for yourself.”

The Matrix is one of those movies that raised the bar when it came to action films. The filmmakers literally invented new techniques and visual effects that blew everyone away.

What stuck with me was how these new toys weren’t used simply because they were available.  The Wachowski Brothers used them to enhance their story.

And what a story it was!

When the film was finished, we all sat around talking about what we just saw.  We went back to watch some of the final scenes again and eventually watched the entire film again that night.

“I’ve never seen that before.”

The Matrix stuck with me because of it’s originality. It had so much depth and imagination.  With such a complicated premise it had to be difficult to pull off but they did it so effortlessly.  I have enormous respect for filmmakers who take risks and put it all on the line for an original idea.

I particularly love movies that you HAVE to watch more than once. Movies that demand you give them your full attention so you can immerse yourself in that world.  Films that achieve that kind of connection are rare but The Matrix is definitely one of them.

“It’s almost a miracle that it got made.”

That’s a quote from Laurence Fishburne from The Matrix Revisited.  In it they discuss how ambitious the script was and how difficult it was to get everyone on board.

It must have been challenging to explain the story but The Wachowski’s stuck to their guns and the risk paid off.  I wish studios would take more risks.

Inception is a good example of successful risk taking.

Movies That Changed Everything The Matrix

The Matrix is an incredible accomplishment.

So many films have imitated the film’s style and effects.  For me, The Matrix triggered an obsession with following the development of movies.

I had no idea it was coming out and even then I didn’t try hard enough to see it in theaters.  That became unacceptable and I vowed never to miss an event like The Matrix again.

These days, I’m at least aware of most main stream movies being released.  I spend an hour every day surfing movie news sites looking for information on my most anticipated movies.

The entire Matrix series is a huge success because they dare to be different.  They redefined what a ‘cool’ movie was and I still get excited whenever I go back and relive that amazing story.

The Matrix is definitely a film that changed everything.

Movies That Changed Everything

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This is one of the nerdiest times of the year for me. I’ve always been a pretty big fan of video games and there is no bigger stage than the Electronic Entertainment Expo.

E3

Watching Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo and countless other developers unveil the future of video games inspires me every single year in a way you wouldn’t expect.

I’m not a video game designer or a tech expert but I am heavily involved in creative mediums.  Honestly, there is something inspiring about watching companies launch new titles and technology.

Personally, it makes me want to work on new projects and create new material.  It reminds me that I have the freedom to create virtually any type of script/project I want.

Why not create something new?

Currently, I’m editing our latest short film, writing a feature and putting together a book.  Each of those projects received a significant boost this week as I was driven to make progress thanks to E3.

Beyond that, the show inspired me to sit down and develop some new ideas.  I even added a few new features to this blog.

I’m also really excited for some of the new games coming out this year!

It’s been a good week.

PS: Goldeneye remake!  Sweet.

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The Athletic Nerd Movies Television Technology

The Athletic Nerd has definitely evolved over the last 9 months.

I set out to build a blog that would allow me to write about the movies that inspire me.  It was also going to be a place to keep people up to date on my own film projects and screenwriting adventures. 

A personal look at my professional passions.

Well, it’s been 9 months and The Athletic Nerd is exactly what I had hoped it would be.  I’m still posting daily original content while constantly increasing my knowledge of the blogosphere and how to survive it.  Slowly, the traffic is coming and I’m more passionate than ever about my blog, my websites, my company and my career. 

But I’m not done yet…

I dont’ think a website should ever become stale and hopefully that hasn’t happened yet.  So I wanted to kick off my 9 month celebration by going over what’s coming for the rest of 2010.

The Climb

17 West’s latest short film

As I continue to edit the film, I’ll be updating my Editing Short Films series regularly with articles about the entire post production process.

Strings

17 West’s Co-Production

A new short film being produced in Sudbury, Ontario that I wrote and will be co-producing.  The film is currently in pre-production and I’ll be updating often as the production progresses.  Visit UnoPark for more.

Screenwriting

Shorts & Features

I’m still writing as much as I possibly can.  If everything goes according to plan, I’ll have my new feature done by summer’s end.  I’m also planning a series of new and ambitious short scripts for both competitions and 17 West Productions.

Screenwriting is my number 1 passion and I write about it here often.  That will continue.

Product Launch

New eBook in the works!

I’m going to be keeping this project a secret for a little while longer as it is still in the planning stages.  I’m pretty excited to tackle a project like this.  I’ve never attempted to package a product before and I’m loving the challenge so far.

The Athletic Nerd

New Features…

Over the last 9 months, I’ve launched several regular features that have gained me a lot of traffic. 

These include:

Recently, I added 2 NEW features:

These are still in the early stages of evolution but I’ll be continually adding new and useful content in the coming months.

Anything new coming?

I spent some time tinkering with my design this morning and I’m in the planning stages of some new graphics and an updated look.  I tend to revise my websites often.  I enjoy Photoshop.

I’ve learned that the best way to attract people to my site is to continue to write new and fresh content about the movies I love.  10 Flicks and Rainy Sundays are among the highest ranked pages I’ve written and I’m planning 2 new features on this site to hopefully increase momentum and really boost my traffic numbers.

The first will not surprise those who visit my blog often.  I started the All Time Best feature to write about the little moments we remember in films.  So it makes perfect sense to start a brand new feature to examine the opposite. 

Today, I’m proud to announce: All Time Worst

This new feature will launch in the next few weeks.  I’m pretty excited about it. 

I’ll be keeping the second new feature under wraps for now but it’ll be launched before the end of the summer as well.

Lessons Learned

I love writing.  Until September, most of my writing took place inside of Final Draft.  While screenwriting will always be my favorite writing discipline, I’ve learned that having a blog and writing every day is just as satisfying.

As I get closer and closer to the all important 1 year mark, I’m thankful that I haven’t let The Athletic Nerd fall into a blogging black hole.  It’s still very much alive and gaining momentum.

I still have a lot of work to do and it’s not going to be easy.  However, the more challenging it gets, the more fun I have.

Stay tuned…

PS: This is a giant post…

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The Athletic Nerd by Jason McKinnon

This week, The Athletic Nerd celebrates 6 months of movies, television and technology.  I don’t plan on writing anything enormous to commemorate the occasion as the blog is still in it’s infancy but I think it’s important to acknowledge the milestone.  Expect a gigantic post on the 1 year anniversary though.

I decided the best way to reflect on 6 months of blogging is to look back at the most popular posts.

Much of this blog is about my company 17 West Productions. Since no one is really searching for us yet, those posts haven’t exactly sky rocketed up the traffic standings.  This doesn’t mean you’ll see less of those posts though as this blog’s primary function will always be to promote 17 West and my love of filmmaking.

However, I’m also a massive fan of the production process and movies in general.  Over the last 6 months, I’ve written a lot about both.

Here are the best of the best during the first 6 months of this blog’s existence.  Enjoy!

The Overall Top 5 Posts

  1. 10 Flicks: Pre-Drinking Comedies
  2. 2009′s All Time Top 5 Movies
  3. The Bottom 3: 2009′s Worst Movies
  4. Spotlight: ScriptWrite vs Screenplay
  5. 10 Flicks: Bad Ass Movies

Top 5 Screenwriting Posts

  1. The Screenwriting Balance
  2. Screenwritng: Portable Writing
  3. 10 Flicks: Movies That Make Me Feel Like Writing
  4. iPad And The Screenwriter
  5. 10 Screenwriting Books That Inspired Me

Top 5 Movie Posts

  1. Rainy Sundays: Cool Runnings
  2. 10 Flicks: Christmas Classics
  3. Rainy Sundays: The Sandlot
  4. 10 Flicks: Terrible Movies I Own
  5. All Time Best: My Favorite Laugh

Be sure to check some of them out if you haven’t already.

I’d also recommend checking out the categories that interest you by clicking the ‘Categories’ section in the sidebar.

If you have any comments or suggestions for posts you’d like to see or just a general comment about the site toss me an email jason@17west.ca

PS: I recently posted Pre-Drinking Comedies 2. Just saying…

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