No Spoilers, Please.
I don’t watch previews.
One of my most favorite perks of
being involved in the entertainment industry is screening season. Every fall, I
am afforded the opportunity to attend as many film screenings as I can cram
into my sometimes-ill-conducive schedule.
I usually keep a running list of every film that every studio has
nominated in a season and tick them all off as I go. However, fortunately or
not, I’ve been too busy to dig into the nominations this year. C’est L.A. vie…
I’m sure it helps that I don’t have
TV. Movie ads aren’t randomly repeatedly propelled at my unwilling eyes
during reruns of X-Factor American Idol’s Got Talent generic
network programming. Even still, I purposefully don’t seek them out after I RSVP
for something particular. This results in my showing up to the Fox Lot purely
because I happened to be close and they had a screening in half an hour, and
seeing a little thing I had never heard of called The Revenant while curled up in my seat, mouth agape, relishing in
my accessibility of house power.
Maybe it’s that I don’t like
spoilers. I’ll take my emotional roller coaster without the training wheels,
thanks! Humans are masochistic that way. Could be that trailers, inherently
being a tool to get people in the door, almost always grossly exaggerate or
flat-out recreate a plot altogether. Trailers are their own business. Perhaps it’s the fact that I’ve grown weary of
being disappointed when the reality is a letdown compared to what my
imagination has conjured in my mind’s eye. How often is that the case… Turns
out, there’s some pretty fantastic stuff going on in there. Often times I am seeing these films in
exchange for a review or vote, and to truly formulate an opinion, I try to give
myself the unbiased freedom to do so.
Mostly I think that I like being
surprised. I enjoy harnessing a genuine sense of wonder for what is to come for
however long that lasts. The result might be amusing or amazing or abominable.
But for a short time, it’s new.
This is not some self imposed rule I've placed on myself. It's an observation more than a stance. I've nothing against a solid trailer. It started without me knowing it, really. I recently got to thinking about this benign
phenomenon as it relates to how I interact with the rest of the world. Most
specifically, how I travel, as I happen to be preparing for an upcoming trip to
visit a friend at her new digs in rural Utah. Burnt out and run down, a trip to
the high desert revealed itself like a mirage. So it was conceived and enacted
at the spur of the moment, and left fully entrusted to my dear friend and Visitee to make the plans. “I’m down for
anything!” I said as she thrust a series of possible itineraries my way. And
that’s true. It’s not me being noncommittal or disengaged. I intend to find
enjoyment in any activity, whatever that entails. But I have not done a lick of
investigation.
As you might have imagined, I am a
researcher. I have literally written chapters on the subject. I have an
agenda to seek out and experience everything a destination has to offer. I read
reviews, I make lists, I educate myself to the point of being called a walking
encyclopedia.
But Brie-tannica is
taking a break, skipping the trailer, sitting back and letting the world unfurl
before her tired & bloodshot widened & hopeful eyes.
I’ve covered the important bases. I know things. I know how and when I’m getting to where I’m going. I know that I am going to a beautiful locale with company I enjoy. I know I’m going to be cold... Beyond that, I’ve got boots and a camera, so what else can a girl ask for? A place is just a place, after all. It will provide anything we need. We will supply the laughter, experience, and memories.
At the root, there lies the essence of
living TEACHABLE. Approaching every interaction as opportunity. Constantly
seeking new. Invigorating routine.
Avoiding the preview in favor of savoring the main event.
Sometimes not knowing is exactly
what you need.
What do you want to learn today?
Xx
B