The Yellow Brick Road

Welcome

My name is Steven Whitaker. I have been a cinephile for longer than I can remember. I love movies of all genres - drama, comedy, action, science fiction, art house, foreign and, especially, horror. As long as it tells a great story with a unique vision, I do not not care where the movie came from or which genre it falls under. My personal collection is in excess of 1,100 movies and is still growing. I have enjoyed long talks/debates with my friends regarding movies and the industry of filmmaking and have been encouraged time and time again to start a blog to put my ideas and opinions out there for the rest of the world to hear. This is my first blog, so please bear with me.

The Yellow Brick Road

For those of you who do not know me, I should probably start with an introduction so that you may have a context for my opinions. My love for movies started when I saw The Wizard of Oz as a child. I was obsessed immediately. I used to watch The Wizard of Oz just about every day. I must have driven my family and friends crazy, but I didn't care. All I wanted to do was watch Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion skip down the Yellow Brick Road. This was a magical path through the wondrous, sometimes scary, always captivating Land of Oz to the Emerald City by which one could seek the wisdom of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

As a young child, I began my journey down my own personal Yellow Brick Road. Only my road was leading me here - "The Emerald Cinema".

This is a bright, sparkling, wonderful place where I can explore the intelligence, heart and courage of cinema. And, thanks to Netflix, I never have to go looking further than my own backyard.

While Dorothy had her three companions, I have met my own companions who have taught me about life and art along my journey. However, my companions did not come in the form of a brainless scarecrow, rusty tin man or cowardly lion. They came in the form of Tim Burton, Quentin Tarantino, and Dario Argento, just to name a few. And, I did not travel from the Munchkin City, through the cornfields and the Haunted Forest of Oz. I traveled from San Jose, through Long Beach and Burbank - in the land of California.

Towards the end of high school, I realized that I was no longer content just watching movies. I wanted to make them myself. I was bitten by the filmmaking bug after making a few short films for some of my classes and went on to enroll at C.S.U. Long Beach where I majored in Film & Electronic Arts. Along with writing, directing and editing my own films, I ended up doing some minor special effects makeup for a couple of my films as well as some of my classmates'. After completing college, I decided to pursue an education in makeup. I attending school in Burbank, CA at Make-up Designory (aka MUD) where I was trained in beauty makeup, character makeup and special FX makeup.

Two days after completing my makeup courses, I was in an FX shop working on my first feature film. The movie was called Night Skies and went straight to DVD. But, the experience of working on a "real" film was pretty exciting. After all, it was going to be seen by a lot more people than just my classmates and friends.

So, fast-forward a couple of years. I have several other credits under my belt. I am sitting in a movie theater, by myself, watching Mel Gibson's Apocalypto, and I am waiting. The film ends and the credits start to roll. They seem to go on forever, but finally, we reach the special FX teams. And there, stuck right in the middle of the credits, is my name. I cannot describe to you how it felt to see my name up on the big screen. It was the moment I had been anticipating for almost ten years!

The Emerald Cinema

Hopefully this gives you an idea of my background and gives you a context for my opinions, which I will be expressing through this blog. I intend to use "The Emerald Cinema" as a forum to express my ideas and opinions regarding movies and the film industry. I will also include reviews of films, which I may view in theaters or on DVD.

I hate one-sided conversations. So, I encourage you, my readers, to respond to my blog entries and I will do my best to reply to counter points and constructive criticism. I love a good debate.

Also, if there are films or topics that my readers would like my opinion on, feel free to ask. I take requests. I will do my best to post an entry every week - most likely on Sundays.

Come along on this adventure and let me share with you my point of view and some of the things I have learned along my Yellow Brick Road. If you return often, you will see that "The Emerald Cinema" is not the destination. It is only the beginning.