Friday Night Law: The Quote of a Lifetime

I’ve been doing this shit for over eleven years. Hunched over my computer writing about movies. I started out doing it for free and for the fun of it. Then I got paid. Then I started doing podcasts. Then Moreno. Then we started our own site. Now we do it for free again. That’s my online journal in a nutshell. It was fun watching the emergence of JoBlo.com from the inside. The first time I saw the site quoted on a TV spot for a film I almost dropped a deuce. My friends and co-writers were being quoted on posters, on DVDs, on commercials, and various online advertising. It was surreal. I was proud to be a part of the site and always happy for them but couldn’t help but wonder what it must feel like. I was never a reviewer for the site. I did news, columns, and podcasts, none of which led to any distributors asking to use my lines for their marketing. When TOY STORY 3 came out I made a plea to JoBlo, himself, to have the opportunity to review the film for the site. Because of my passion for Pixar and the fact that we were all drunk led to an agreement. The movie came out and I poured my soul into the review. For some reason though, signals were mixed and it was presented as nothing more than a link on the front page of the site. Even worse, I just tried searching for it so you could take a look and it’s completely wiped from the site because I was banned from their little movie community. It was my one true opportunity to fulfill a dream. It failed.

I’ve got to do a lot of cool stuff over the years. I’ve partied with movie stars, interviewed celebrities, screened a Judd Apatow film sitting next to Judd Apatow, played beer pong with Broken Lizard, and rode a fucking elevator with Samuel L. Jackson. I will never overlook the awesomeness of each and every occurrence. However, without trying to sound spoiled or unappreciative, the one thing I have always wanted, more than anything, was to get one of my quotes on a DVD/Blu-ray.

Skip to October, 2014, when I was in the midst of watching 101 first-watch horror films for the Halloween season. It sucked. Shitty movie after shitty movie filled my nights as I slowly crept into some sort of weird film-watching depression. A couple weeks in, as I was ready to throw in the towel, and old friend of mine, Gavin Booth, invited me to the world premiere of his new horror film, THE SCAREHOUSE. Filmed in my hometown of Windsor, Ontario, my interest was piqued. I watched the film, loved it, found the inspiration to finish my challenge, and got to be one of the first people in the world to review it. THE SCAREHOUSE went on to get into many film festivals and even won Best Feature at the New York City Horror Film Fest. It was getting the recognition it deserved and I could only hope I helped with that.

Last month Gavin sent me a picture of the poster for the film as it hung in Toronto for the city’s premiere. There, at the bottom of the one-sheet was a line from my review of the film followed by “Binge Media”. I played it cool in my response but was secretly jumping for joy. A few weeks ago I heard form Gavin again, this time to tell me that my quote was one of a bunch he submitted for the DVD packaging. “Thanks”, I replied casually whilst really thinking, “Are you fucking kidding me?”

Early this week, Gavin sent me this, the official first look at the cover art. Click to enlarge.

And there it is. Eleven years later and my bucket list just got a little bit lighter. I love seeing it there. I love that it’s silly and seductive. I love that it exists. Is it cheating because I know the director? Probably a bit but he swears he had nothing to do with the final decision by the distributors. I don’t give a fuck either way. That’s my quote on a film I legitimately enjoyed. And that’s my site, the one Moreno and I built from the ground up. I couldn’t be prouder.

The. Best. Christmas. Ever.