Hardly any!

 Indie-movie success story Kevin Smith dropped out of film school. Smith believes that learning about filmmaking on your own - actually doing it - is the best way to become successful. We here at MinerWerks tend to agree.

 Sure, the success stories of the seventies - Spielberg, Lucas, Coppola - came from film schools, but the climate has changed. The age of the entrepreneur has opened doors for young filmmakers. Robert Rodriquez, Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith, those Blair Witch guys - these are our heroes. Heroes of the Movie Geeks.

 What qualities define movie geeks? First, it's important to distinguish a "movie" geek from a "film" geek. More serious filmmakers will point out that most "product" that fills multiplexes falls under the banner of "movies" rather than "films." The second category is reserved for those works which aspire to treat film as an art.

 A "movie" geek can also be a "film" geek, but a "film" geek is not necessarily a "movie" geek. Get it?

 We do not intend to suggest that one kind of movie lover is better than another - they do coexist. We just want to make some distinctions clear.

 Some things that might identify a movie geek

• A movie geek will quote movies - "Movie" geeks might quote something like Caddyshack, Star Wars, or Mallrats. "Film" geeks might quote Hal Hartley movies, Blue Velvet, or She's Gotta Have It. In between, almost any kind of movie geek might quote Clerks or Pulp Fiction.
• A movie geek finds ways to get into free movies - Some areas have free movie screenings for area critics and media. Sometimes, these screenings are filled with regular moviegoers, to give the critics an opportunity to see the movie with an audience. Movie geeks know how to get to these screenings. See the section below for tips on how to get in to free movies.
• A movie geek owns a lot of videos - Not just a couple shelves of tapes, but a whole bookcase, or even cabinets full. Buying a video as a gift for a movie geek is almost always a good thing.
• Movie geeks decorate their homes with movie memoribilia - Most movie geeks at least have a movie poster. Some even frame their posters. And some, the lucky ones, get to fill their homes with actual props or items used in making a movie.
• Movie geeks populate their home with special video equipment - Many average consumers are starting to buy home theater equipment, but Hi-Fi VCRs, Dolby Pro-Logic receivers, LaserDisc players and other high-end video toys have been in the homes of movie geeks for several years now.
• Movie geeks make movies - In the hands of a movie geek, a video camera escapes it's hellish fate to forever record family holidays and minor sports events. In some rare cases, like The Blair Witch Project , a video camera becomes a whole new filmmaking tool.

 

The essential Movie Geek library

Film school on a disc

How to get into free movies