Please send letters.

Eric Writes:

I
know you always are looking for feedback on your articles, so I’m dropping you
a line. Once again, another thoughtful well written piece. I’ve been around
here just long enough to watch everyone involved with the site really develop
their own voice writing wise, and it’s been a great ride. Most importantly,
I’ve been able to see some really GREAT movies which would have gone completely
under my radar were it not for CHUD. Much like the rest of our community, I’m
very sorry that MEG didn’t work out for you (I remember you talking about it in
Vancouver and
you were pretty stoked.) but I’m sure we’ll see your name up there one day
soon!

Nick Replies:

My name will be popping up in a major motion picture to hopefully be released in 2009. I am confident of it, and that’s before even mentioned Grizzly Park, which will get some sort of release next month. Not too sure of what kind of release, but I hope it’s a decent enough one to allow some folks to see it on the big screen. Either way, it’ll be a fun movie for folks regardless of what venue it reaches. I appreciate the note and hope you find the new and improving [many tweaks still to do] CHUD.com experience. Also, next time you’re in the Chat  Room, type EILEEN.


Michael Writes:

Read the steadyleak this morning. Enjoyed it. Now I’ve a
question for you. I’ve been getting my girlfriend up to speed on Godzilla
movies. She loves Baragon. Any Godzilla movie I show her is prefaced with the
question “Does it have Baragon in it?”, followed by a slight frown
when I tell her things like “no, Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster doesn’t,
but should.” I guess my question is, should I marry this girl?

Nick Replies:



Easiest question ever. Marry her twice, one for each Baragon loving breast.


Jacob Writes:

Hola Nick. I’ve been wondering this for a while
and would like to know if you’ve heard anything.

With the success of TMNT and Transformers, I assume there’s several older kids
shows that are up for a movie renewal — at least I’m sure someone’s trying to
do some of them, like Voltron and what not.  But, have you heard anything
regarding a Mighty Morphin Power Rangers movie?

I ask because I have this idea (I know you’ve heard that a thousand times, and
I know most of them blow whale vagina.  Hopefully this one does
not.)  The idea centers around a changing of the guard style movie. 
20 years after the events of the original Power Rangers run (we lose everything
after that, including the movies) Rita, Lord Zedd, Zordon are all gone. 
Rita and Zedd were imprisoned and the Power Rangers base destroyed in an epic
be all end all battle.  The six rangers have moved on with their
lives.  Tommy married someone other than Kimberly, has an estranged son,
became a workaholic businessman and had a divorce.  Kimberly has become a
famous actress.  Jason is an MMA trainer.  Billy works for a
cutting-edge technology firm.  Trini is an ambassador to China.  And
Zack owns the Angel Grove juice shop. 

Well, shit goes down Rita and Zedd escape from their prison to send an unrelenting
slew of monsters to attack Angel Grove, hoping to bring the Rangers back into
public eye so that they can get their revenge.  When Tommy returns Rita
and Zedd put a trademark spell on Tommy’s son and use him as a spy.

Everyone comes back, but with their aging bodies they’re no match for Rita and
Zedd even with their powers.  It becomes apparent that they must seek out
six new teenagers with attitudes. 

New Rangers are selected, one of which is Tommy’s son.  Tommy gives his
son the White Ranger power.

The new teens fight Rita and Zedd’s monsters and are winning until Tommy’s son
turns on them and comes dangerously close to destroying the Rangers before they
retreat.

The White Ranger problem would come to a head in the second act with an epic
battle when Tommy uses the Dragonzord (green Ranger) coin to morph one last
time to break the spell his son is under.

The film would culminate with the new Rangers powering up the original Megazord
and destroying Lord Zedd in battle.

Power Rangers win, Tommy fixes things with his son and finally ends up with
Kimberly.  Everyone goes home happy.

Excuse the poor grammar.  I was in a hurry and am not inclined to avoid
run-on sentences at this point.

What do you think?  Power Rangers really is ripe for the picking in my
opinion and has potential if done with less hokeyness and more of a edge to be
a great franchise in the same vain as Transformers.

Nick Replies:

I think that there will be a Power Rangers movie that’s live action and with a fancy pants budget. I don’t know anything else about the show at all. Here’s hoping some executive reads your idea, doesn’t steal it, and contacts me for your name and email address. I’m baffled, but I wish you all the best.


Renn Writes:

My turn. 

A while back, I sent you a horrific attempt at expressing my
love for CHUD. Unfortunately, when it ended up in Leak Letters I was a bit
ashamed. I had written it on almost 48 hours of no sleep and I sounded like a
fucking idiot. If I remember correctly, you posted my email right before you
posted the responses from the Kubrick article, with all the fine fellows and
ladies expressing their love for your site. All of those genuine notes made me
feel kinda crappy for how stupid my letter sounded (though I will still claim
pride for labeling it your “weird fucking fuck sense of humor”
because that’s what it is). I wanted to give it another shot, but I felt it
would seem a bit hollow and bandwagony to do it immediately after that
outpouring. But tonight’s Steady Leak has sealed that it is time.

The following comes at the risk of being a bit melodramatic,
but I mean every word of it. It may sound like overstating, but bare with me
because I believe CHUD has most certainly changed my life…. no joke. I
related to you in the earlier email, the fact that I got into following movie
news through AICN and then quickly migrated to CHUD – and there I stayed. It
was through CHUD that I discovered a love for movies that I didn’t even know I
had. It made me realize that all I ever daydreamed about in school as a kid was
inserting myself into movies I had seen and loved, or me coming up with sequels
to movies so I could stick myself in as a character. It had
never occurred to me how much I did that, or that it could be applied
to a practical career, or at least hobby. Eventually I realized that it had
been the idea of having control of a story, more than actually being in it,
that excited me. After this realization CHUD was right there, coaching me
along, as I learned what a Director truly was, what a Producer really did, how
movies got started and made. The reviews, more well-written than most of the
pap in magazines and newspapers, taught me that there was a difference between
a Movie and a Piece of Art. I’ve spent a great deal of time since trying to
figure out what it is that  makes that difference. 

I’ve spent so much time on that idea because of one of the
other big affects CHUD has had on my life – it made me decide to be a
filmmaker. I sit, writing this email from my dorm at the Savannah College of
Art and Design, as a sophomore and declared film major (I’m currently in
Preproduction class this quarter!) and Nick, you and your crew can take nearly
full credit for that. I would not be here, doing what I am, if your site hadn’t
been in my life. 

There are plenty of sites that collect all the bits and
pieces from the trades and press releases, to be called movie sites so that
they can run movie banners and make some money or get press passes. There are
plenty of sites that do it with as much genuine love and passion for the medium
as you guys (and gals) do. But there are few, if any, that do it with the pure
intelligence, wit, and skill that you folks manage nearly everyday. The two big
mascots of CHUD, Devin and yourself, represent the intelligence and the
creativity that the best movies and filmmakers possess (GDT comes to mind). All
the crew live up to that same standard as well. Years ago, I had to start
making absolutely sure that I didn’t read CHUD reviews before seeing a movie
because I would end up watching a film and agreeing with every point and not
being able to make up my own mind. Now I avoid that, but I still find myself
agreeing more often than not. 

CHUD, especially in the last few months, has also encouraged
me to write more. Writing is a skill that I’ve
always possessed (which please don’t judge that on this email…) to
some degree or another, at least in the sense that I excelled at it in school.
When the newsletter started taking submissions and I was inspired on a subject,
I said “fuck it” and sent something in. Now, I am proud to say that I
am the only member of my four hundred and something sized senior class to make
a 5 on the english composition AP exam (5 is the highest you can get), but I
was filled with far more pride to see something I had written in a newsletter
associated with CHUD than I ever was about that test. I’ve since contributed a
few more articles, even full-length festival coverage and each one has made me
happier than I can tell you (I do realize it’s open submission, but still…).
Now my latest endeavor has been trying to build a presence in the
sewer (as TheMonsterZero) as I was never a message board kinda guy till just a
few months ago.

I know this is getting monolithic but I’m not finished and
I’m actually finding this to be pretty important. I have to get at least this
last thing across, because this is the most important point and the entire
reason I wrote this. Nick, Devin, Jeremy, Russ, everyone…. know this; I’m
working hard to become a filmmaker. “I will make movies that people will
see,” this is what I tell myself everyday so that I won’t shiver with fear
at what I’m getting myself into…  But if that becomes true, if I am
successful and get to make movies, know that they will be better because you
folks have been apart of my life at such a pivotal time. You folks and your
couple-of-hundred-words every day, helped shape me at my most malleable;
and I’m better for it. If I ever make a genre picture as beautiful as Pan’s
Labyrinth, or capture a poem on screen half as stunningly as The Fountain, or
make people laugh as hard as Shaun of the Dead, or make people vomit in that
special Cannibal Holocaust way…. take pride that you made it possible. You
and the crew have a stake in me, whether you know it or not. I hope one day I’m
super successful and can grant CHUD every exclusive interview and every first
tease image the studio would let me. I’ve never put this on paper before, for
you or myself, but I mean it. 

Thank you, Nick and CHUD.com  – thank you.

There. Now that the weepy-eyed, pussy lipped fellatio is
done with, a few more business items.

First of all, congratulations! I played for my best friends
some clips from the podcast, and Mr. Handsome has become the stuff of legend.
The “AIDs car” brings it down every time. You though, have the
honorable position of having added to our nomenclature. I’ve heard my friends
die with laughter few times more than when you made the “noise in her
face” comment. Now I hear “noise” used by one of them every day.

Secondly (and fucking finally) – what the fuck happened to
“Late to the Party”? That column was one of my favorites because I
could relate to it. I’m younger, I think, than most chewers and most of all I
had a hideously neglected childhood when it comes to film. My life was devoid
of almost all classics and all horror movies till I was almost 13! Seriously,
if that column isn’t owned, I would love to apply to take it over. I have a
giant list of important shit to see for the first time (Goddamn could I do a
doozy for Barton Fink, which I saw finally last night). If there is any process
or way to try out for that, let me know – I’d be on it!

If you’ve gotten through all of this, thanks Nick. I’m going
to make it a point to more often and more vocally respond to content I enjoy.
In fact, I already did for this new Steady Leak, on the boards.

PS: My session timed out twice in the time it took me to
compose this!

Nick Replies:



Bravo. Seriously, thanks. We have spent the last week HATING this site. From the technical glitches of the redesign to the lost MB posts to the way that some data moved over to the reason we had to rush it in the first place [let’s just say there’s a couple of people I wish I could disembowel]. Words like yours mean a lot. We’ll keep it up, whatever “it” may be…


Matt Writes:

WHERE THE HELL IS THE 11 COLONELS MOVIE??????  I talked to The Wizard of Kroz (Dave) earlier
and asked him the status.  I’ve been
excited about getting to someday watch the film for a couple of years at this
point.  Just wondering what the status is
and if it will ever reach the screen.

That is all.

Nick Replies:



I’m 3/4ths done with the completely overhauled script. A lot of what was in the old draft is part of 11 Colonels EXIST! now, so some characters got excised. It’s been a fun process and Sam Balcomb and Barry Opper are going to be the guys getting us in position to shoot at some point in the near future, if all goes well. Andrew Sweeney and I are co-directing, though there’s another horror project we have which may have to come first. Either way, we WILL make 11CA! before we die unless we die really soon. We’ll have a new promotion site ready for you around Valentine’s Day.


Richard Writes:

Even sending this
email is technically an example of the non-best uses of our time that I’m
talking about in these sentences here. You know ol’ Jim Emerson from Ebert’s
site, his Scanners blog. Golly, there’s a lotta back and forth about other
movie reviewers and peripheral chatter regarding films. What’s the point to
this. Shouldn’t we not so much give a shit about what the other thinks of a
film(, unless it’s enlightening). These sorts of endless diatribes are
business-oriented. They’re all about the mid-level barnacles of the industry.
It’s like the movies aren’t even essential anymore, like they’re secondary at
best. There are great conflicts we can perpetually discover that enhance
ourselves but the subject of talking head peerage is rarely one of them. (I
know the idea of slow news days, but who gives a shit is who gives a shit.)
Regards.

Nick Replies:



I think this was in response to my bashing of David Poland’s Cloverfield review. Yes, I should probably not say anything but I think he set himself up for that one.



Mike Writes:

I
finally got to see Golden compass this weekend. Me and the old lady figured it
would be the last week it would be out and wanted to throw it some money hoping
that they will still make the sequels. Well…I was disappointed as you probably
were seeing it on your honorable mention list for worst movie of the year. I
wish you had done a review but I think we might have the same feelings about
the movie, maybe. It looked awesome, the whole book was there, yet, I don’t
understand so many things they did to do it. No blood during the bear fight?!
No killing the seal and using the blubber to clean his armor?! Chopping off the
ending of the book??!! No pacing, no feeling, no time to breath. Why did New
Line invest a $175 million flagship movie to the producer of American pie??! I
thought maybe the poor turnout was a little to do with the Christian backlash
(which is totally useless b/c they cut all the religious stuff out of the
movie), but after seeing it, I couldn’t understand how they expected people who
didn’t read the book to understand ANYTHING in the movie. The movie was less
than 2 hours long, they could have easily added more explanation and more, I
don’t know, drama? Pacing? Feeling?. Totally confusing, since the cast/acting
in it were outstanding, especially Eva Green was it me or was she coming on to
everyone in that movie? This is one of those movies that is more disappointing
because the had all the key pieces to a great movie and just failed. Here’s
hoping if they make the Subtle Knife they get a new director, grow a set and
make it more adult, have some blood and leave in the religious overtones.

Thanks
and have a good one.

Nick Replies:


Simple answer? The regime that has been running New Line… has made a lot of dumb decisions.


Chris Writes:

Seriously, no reviews for There Will Be Blood?
I’m calling you guys out. It is now officially released all over the country,
and no one has taken a stab at putting up some paragraphs on the mother?

I do this cause out of love. Cause I love. The film reviews on this site are
exemplary. If you can give us three reviews of Cloverfield and three of Halloween,
you can do better than one of No County for Old Men and none for There
Will Be Blood
.

I started reading this site because of Devin’s review of The Fountain. I
can tell ya I ain’t sticking around for the reviews of Mr. Woodcock and One
Missed Call
. Dig?

Nick Replies:


It all depends on when we can see the films. I’m not a big proponent of reviewing films a few weeks into their release. Typically, the reviews are for Devin and Jeremy to handle, and they both had There Will Be Blood on their “Best Of” lists. So, the site obviously dug the film. Obviously, I don’t review a lot of theatrical reviews, though I’m pretty glad I got ones for Rambo and Cloverfield up already in 2008. Maybe that’s a sign of things to come. Anyhow, if you really feel we’ve missed a big review, pop Devin a note.



Ramesh Writes:

So been reading Chud
for a decade now and am a big fan of your articles etc…Actually no, I got into
Chud maybe 2 or years back when you guys went “mainstream”. I love
the content, but the site interface has been progressively getting worst.
Pop-ups, ridiculous ads with loud sounds, entire site filled with multiple ads
for the same terrible movie, archival setup that made finding older articles a
pain in the ass etc.

So let me be the first one (hopefully) to say that the site redesign and the
smoother interface has been a very welcoming change that the site sorely
needed. I love how you guys finally have a much sensible archival method that
allows finding older content easier. Also the reduction of obnoxious ads makes
the visits to the site more enjoyable. Though the overall quality of the design
leaves a lot to be desired, it gets the job done. Hopefully you guys will
continue to improve the website design and make it more visually appealing
too.I doubt you guys will print an email like this, but I hope it’s at least
read.

Nick Replies:


We don’t make the ads, choose the ads, or intentionally ask for annoying ads. We need the ads and defer to the company that handles our advertising to sell them and provide us with opportunities to pay the bills, the staff, and create income to grow the site and support my gay porn career.



Jason Writes:

Long time reader and all that good stuff. Just chiming in
on the site re-design. Can’t say I’m a huge fan of it, I’ve got sorta mixed
feelings, but it’ll probably just take some getting used to.

One request though, with the Reviews column: is there any
way you guys could re-organize that so the reviews are available alphabetically
again? Sometimes I’d wait on reading the full review of a movie until after I’d
seen it, but it’s really hard to find older reviews with the way it’s setup now
(the search kinda sucks). Example — I tried searching for Devin’s review of
Once (queried Once review), and it took awhile (after a whole bunch of
filtering options) but I was finally able to find it.

Also, did Devin actually review First Snow? It comes up
blank with a publish date of 2011

(http://chud.com/articles/articles/9469/1/REVIEW-FIRST-SNOW/Page1.html)

Anyhow, just some thoughts. Keep up the good fight.

Nick Replies:


Yeah, these are all kinks I’m trying to work out. I mean, Ray Davies has no muscle tone.


Gustavo Writes:

Nick, is it posible to publish a Chud Blog not in English? I
know you are encouraging the chewers to make blogs about all kind of things,
not only movie related. But, what about blogs in another languages? Have you
think about that?

If you are interested in a blog in spanish, or in
english/spanish, let me know…

Greetings from Spain!

Nick Replies:


Wait, people still speak Spanish? Like, intentionally? To answer your question, sure! Just so long as you don’t trash talk me personally, ’cause I’d see it as jibberish jibberish jibberish Nick Nunziata jibberish jibberish jibberish and feel like a King among men while all the literate and bilingual chaps laughed like crazy Spaniards.


Joseph Writes:

I was wondering when
the rumored site changes were going to take place.  I’m sure you’ll get
tons of comments good and bad, but I’ll just say it works fine for me. 
I’m not moved to convert to Christianity because of it, but I’m not going to
leave the site for it either.  As a general rule, I’m a huge fan of the
site (no matter what it looks like) and appreciate all the great movie
recommendations I’ve received from you guys over the years (and I’ve written in
to say so on a few occasions).

I really just wanted to throw in a little defense for Atonement.  I get
that you not seeing the movie but still disparaging it is the joke, a sort of
character trait for your online (and possibly real life) persona.  I would
just like to say on the behalf of the readers on this site who might not care
if Rambo is the bloodiest movie this decade (I’m sure there’s a few others out
there), Atonement was a solid, engaging film.  It is probably not
deserving of any Oscars (though James McAvoy would deserve a nom in other
weaker years), but that doesn’t make it a bad film.  Quite the opposite
actually.

The second half of the film (which has a huge tonal shift from the first and
has been the focus of most negative reviews) is actually quite stirring and
pretty brutal (if you really wanted to see a horse take a bullet, there’s a
couple choice shots).  As much as it’s sold as a romantic Pride and
Prejudice type movie, it’s really a war movie at heart and brought to mind
Saving Private Ryan on more than a couple occasions (not the fighting, the
desolation of the characters).  Their are strong performances from all the
actors and despite an ending that was a little too proud of its twist (yes,
there is one), the movie worked surprisingly well for me (surprising because I
really had no interest in seeing it, I just went with a friend).

It’s odd that you would say you don’t want to “sleep for two hours”
while watching this considering that one of the movies that seems most beloved
on the site (at least by one or two voices) is Gerry, a movie that meanders and
is as slow as grass growing (which, if I remember right, is actually thirty
minutes of the movie).  Certainly it can’t be the pace of the movie that
you are turned off by, so it must be the assumed subject matter, which again, I
assure you is not just some trad British Romance movie (Anthony Hopkins is
nowhere in sight).

Again, does it deserve the Oscar Noms over films like Zodiac?  Well, in a
perfect world, likely not.  But I think enough of your readers who would
actually enjoy Atonement will be deterred from seeing it because they respect
your tastes (hell, that’s why we are readers, because we trust you and the
others’ opinions), and that’s a shame.  I’m not saying you have to go see
it, just saying from a site that is clearly devoted to the love of film, maybe
these random snarky comments about a movie you’ve not seen is antithetical to
your goal.
Just my thoughts.  Back into the shadows.

Nick Replies:


I’ve been pretty upfront about Atonement. I haven’t seen it and don’t plan to, but am simply using it as a focus point for rage. It’s kind of a running joke. No harm intended. Except to Atonement. Fuck Atonement.



Andrew Writes:

CHUD looks Fucking Great.

GREAT.

Good job, spectacular.

Question: it’s really slow loading everything now – is
this still part of the transition? Certainly it will be smoother in the future,
yes?

Again, well done.

Nick Replies:


Thanks. We we will be improving and tweaking and massaging this site for the next couple of months, until it truly is in a place where it’s simply about the content and lots of it. Bear with it. I have a feeling most of people’s concerns (archiving reviews alphabetically, a community section that’s robust, quick loads times, etc.) will be addressed and handed a messy death as if by Sven-Ole Thorsen himself.