The Goonies are Back! ... and so are Aliens
Trailer + Can young people really survive in space? // My new movie rating system! // Gremlins & Ghostbusters turn 40 ◕_◕
This week has been crazy!! I’m about to launch a virtual event that I’m producing and I’ve finally completed the first phase — you know, the hardest part of many hard parts of producing an event is just conceptualizing it and believing in it enough to build it out. But more on that at the end… so keep reading… but first, here’s an image of Luke and Miss Piggy Leia Organa ♡✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡♡˚
This seems like a good transition to the space thing… Check out this trailer for ‘Alien: Romulus’ set to release in August — It’s the seventh installment in the Alien franchise and is set between the events of Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986) — the story concerns a group of young space colonists who, while scavenging a derelict space station, come face to face with the most terrifying life form in space.
I love the trailer, buuuut, I don’t buy the young people in space thing… unless it turns out they were just hitching a ride in that Tesla space transport just to be dropped into doom town 😁 I’m excited to see the Xenomorph and Face Huggers tear into them for sure. Did you know it’s been seven years since the last Alien franchise film?!
Secret: I’m a closet Horror film fan, not the sick gory stuff (i.e., Saw), but more like Halloween/Scream style films, and… a sucker for Alien and Zombie film horror! Anyone else remember, Night of The Creeps?
Ghostbusters and Gremlins just turned 40! Wow!! My wife said “You turned 47, so what did you expect?” ◔_◔ I mean, I can still be a little shocked by it, right? 😅 Ok, so more on that in a bit, the big story here is…
The Goonies are back, and they’re more than good enough!
Friends, I can’t even convey how excited I am that Director Lisa Downs has confirmed that Sean Astin and the folks behind The Goonies film have greenlit "‘Life After The Goonies’ documentary. And listen, Lisa Downs doesn’t make regular old documentaries, she creates cinematic gems, and since The Goonies is going to turn 40 next year, you better believe this film we all love deserves the “Life After” treatment. This will be THE DEFINITIVE documentary film about The Goonies and what the people involved have been up to over the years.
One thing though, independent projects like this require funding in order to be driven independently without studio interruption. You can be a part of making this film happen in time before The Goonies turn 40 next year. Please take a moment to watch this Kickstarter video Lisa created, and I and all the other Goonies out there can count on you to drop your coin in the well of creation. It’s our time…. again, you guys!
Note. This is an All or nothing project. This project will only be funded if it reaches its goal by Fri, July 12 2024 so please head over now and be a part of this historical film. Thank you!
When I was a kid I thought I was going to be like Roger Ebert at the movies. That people were going to read or watch my movie reviews and completely change their plans the same day to run to the movies and watch the film I reviewed. That as a result of my reviews the babysitting industry industry would benefit and cinemas would increase their concession profits. Boy was I wrong— But I swear, every once in a while I am sure that data folks at streaming companies see an irregular spike in their metrics because I posted my recommendation on a film. I have no proof of it, but I’ve got this feeling this statement is true 60% of the time! 🤣😂🤣😂🤣
Well, if you’re ever on Letterboxd… Are you ever on Letterboxd though?? You can check out the films I’ve been watching, or watched, and read my reviews. I decided I needed a new rating system, so here it is, what do you all think?
╰┈➤ THAT 80S DUDE MOVIE RATING SYSTEM
*So Choice* ~ Absolutely amazing, a must-watch!
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*Rad* ~ Really good, definitely worth seeing.
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*Cool* ~ Pretty decent, enjoyable.
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*Whatever* ~ Average, nothing special, best to wait for streaming.
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*Bogus* ~ Boring, not engaging, total pass.
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*Lame* ~ Terrible, avoid at all costs, the world could have done without it.
Pat Sajak says goodbye to Wheel of Fortune
It’s time to say farewell to one of the most beloved tv hosts remaining from our time. Pat Sajak is signing off of ‘Wheel of Fortune’ after 41 Seasons! On the final episode Sajak said it’s been an “incredible privilege to be invited into millions of homes night after night.” The show’s first episode aired on NBC’s daytime schedule back in 1981 and it became a hit. Personally, I’ve watched the show on and off, and who doesn’t appreciate all the hilarious videos of people solving the puzzle incorrectly?!
Farewell Pat, thanks for the memories!
Btw, Michael J Fox turned 63 this week!
Follower Question: What’s your favorite 80s movie?
A. Wow, that’s such a difficult question to answer because, I mean, let’s face it, the 80s had so many incredible films. To keep it brief, it’s fair to say I absolutely adore The Goonies (1985)— Safe to say this was my favorite 80s movie as a kid. As I got older, I fell in love with John Carpenter films. If you’ve followed me long enough you know Big Trouble In Little China is a favorite. In there also is a deep love and appreciation for this little cult film, The Last Dragon. Check out this in depth, behind the scenes of The Last Dragon interview I did with Craig Sutton from The Last Glow ⤵
Note. In the future, this section will be available to patron Subscribers only. Rather than creating a different newsletter that I have to manage, I wanted to roll The ‘Content Creator Section’ into Nostalgia Nation as I receive a ton of emails and DMs from other content creators that are looking for help growing their follower base, engagement, and brand online — anyone that follows me can find my tips and how-to right here, as well as enjoy nostalgic content. If you’re interested in content geared toward this sort of stuff, and you wish to enjoy more than four choice articles a month, please consider becoming a subscriber and supporting my content goals. Also, “subscriber only” perks such as giveaways will be in order soon ;) 🍻
What’s The Max Number of People You Should Follow Before You Can’t Keep Up With Your Social Feed?
Several thousand of you voted on my Instagram Stories poll last week and my hypothesis was correct— the majority of us should be following fewer than 1000 profiles in order to really enjoy and receive all the content we desire. Ideally, that number should be under 500.
As of the publication of this newsletter, I’m following 610 people, quite a few are brand accounts that have either sponsored me in the past or I continue to work with from time to time. I make time every quarter to scrub through the accounts I follow. I’m loyal to the early friends I made when I started my profile— these are folks I’ve messaged and feel like I’ve had more than a passing ‘like’ with. So here’s the point of this—
As content creators we sometimes complain about “the algorithm” … I do this sometimes too. While lines of code do impact some posts, we have to remember that a lot of our followers are following over a thousand other accounts. They are going to see the posts of the accounts they engage with the most. That is why I like to remind my followers through live video or stories that I appreciate their engagement/comments on my posts (which I absolutely do), because when they comment, that algorithm we like to complain about thinks, I better show "John’s” recent post in their feed sooner then later.
Best case scenario for those of you trying to keep your feed more manageable and relevant to your interest— the ideal number of profiles you should follow is between 150-300… just make sure That 80s Dude is one of them 😉
If you are an outlier, i.e., celebrities, influencers, and highly active social media users, you might follow a significantly higher number of accounts to maintain engagement and network within your community. Just be sure to scrub your list from time to time. I also highly recommend you click the “bell” notification button for your favorite profiles so the app knows those posts are most important to you. If you’re interested in learning my criteria for how I manage who I follow (it’s not perfect, but it works really well for me"), let me know in the comments below.
So what about this event I was talking about at the beginning of this post? Well, let me tease this… how cool would it be to bring collectors and nostalgia junkies together for an event, doing room tours, and some even doing shop tours, and the audience being able to ask questions and engage with them on the fly? Think IG live or YouTube Live but highly organized and curated for you? Well, stay tuned… because I’m announcing something like this very soon!
Stay rad!
~ John
Yeah, we shall see. I like the fact that they decided to skew younger in order to introduce the franchise to a new generation.
Plus if it's really more of a horror movie, that demo also skews younger.
But like you said, if it's Mazerunner in space, maybe not.
But Sci-Fi horror is probably my favorite. So I will give it a look.
So Ripley and Jonesie are floating through space and meanwhile this ia going on? I like the premise. We'll see if it pans out.
Kickstarter link isn't working, btw.