Not even the whole Crew knows the story of the SOMBies, their aid to Vivian Darkbloom, and the vitriolic rant that Tooda delivered to their Message Board. With our first year behind us, this fun tale, with a true Hollywood ending, can at last be told.

There is a Web Site based in Chicago called Sound Opinions. It is centered around a popular public radio program of the same name. Within the site lies the Sound Opinions Message Board, and its users are called SOMBies. On this board they exchange ideas on music, film, literature and talk about anything else that is on their minds. They are a very literate bunch, and have impressively refined taste when it comes to popular culture.

In his wind up to presenting the Crew with ‘Midnight Cowboy,’ Peter Spoerl (known to the SOMBies as “Vivian Darkbloom”) utilized his friends at Sound Opinions as a sounding board to help him select his pick. In doing so he introduced a bevy of new eyeballs to The Official Wednesday Movienight Website and while some found our merry group to be a cool idea, they responded to our By-Laws and our Database of films with varying degrees of pity and contempt.

What follows is Peter/Vivian’s initial entreatment for assistance and some of the replies:

Peter-

So tomorrow night, after considerable palace intrigue, I will finally be inducted as a "Guest Selector" in Movienight. Movienight is a venerable weekly institution of my friends down in LA. It's a tightly knit secret society, a sort of celluloid Illuminati, with a complicated set of governing bylaws regulating membership, selection order, and viewing etiquette. Basically, once weekly (Wednesday night at 9:30), the regular membership and limited guests assemble in one of my buddy's backyards and use a digital projector to show some time-tested classic on the large stucco wall of his house. The projection resolution is quite good, and they have installed a backyard surround-sound system that makes the experience closely akin to being in a drive-in without all of the making out and light pollution.

So far, picks have been fairly standard, canonical repertory fare, with a few wildcards. (check out the site and blogs at Movie Night). I think I've arrived at my selection (which, due to #'s 1-3 of the governing bylaws, I can't disclose, even in this anonymous online forum which it's unlikely any of the regular membership will ever see, though perceptive readers browsing the "Music Discussion" side of this forum may have informed guesses).

If you were a SELECTOR, what would you screen and why? Posters, links appreciated. I'm trying to develop a roster of potential picks, a slate of selections which negotiates that nonmansland between hackneyed "classic" and total obscure film theory major art house wankery.

Tony? Ben? Raj? Other knowledgeable cineastes?

Here then are some of the responses from the SOMBies to our site:

“Held” wrote-

I sugggest you rent 'Howard The Duck' or 'Ishtar' for these jackasses.

Chick Flicks... Whatever.

Vivian. seriously. How many are in this inner circle and what's so special about it?

Sounds like it's a bunch of dudes who wanna see shit blow up and they want to keep it short and sweet. Any Segal or Van Damme will do.

aw fuck it. Just get 'Ichi The Killer' and be done with it.

“Slackmo”-

Some solid choices, but I don't know if you need a cineaste to weigh in. Might throw off the crowd you're running with.

Peter (first quoting two other SOMBies then replying)-

-“’Strange Brew’? 

Must have been an off-night.” 

-“Oh and 'Joe vs the Volcano' wasn't?”

Yeah, it's a rich tapestry over there for sure. ‘Joe Versus the Volcano’ is a personal favorite of one of the ringleaders. To each their own.

“TJENZ”-

that list of movies shown so far is pretty pedestrian

you need to expand their minds

They need a little Errol Morris, show them ‘Gates Of Heaven.’

After Vivian Darkbloom screened ‘Midnight Cowboy’ for all of us in the Crew, he and I retired to my crib for some post Movienight imbibing and discussing. It was then that he introduced me to the world of the SOMBies, and (somewhat inebriated) I took a great deal of offense to their tone about our labor of love. Never one to sit on my anger (justified or otherwise) I joined their Message Board under the moniker of Tooda@movienightonline.com.

Here is what I wrote:

Hi there,

My name is Ben Davis. I am a friend of Vivian (can't believe I'm typing this) Darkbloom. I am also a friend of Moveinight and serve as the WebMaster of the site. I am pleased so many of you have come to view the site and regarded it as pedestrian or worse. Your vast number of alternative suggestions from 'Spirited Away' to 'Midnight Cowboy' to 'Spirited Away' to "something Jarmusch" or "maybe Altman or Errol Morris" make me think you have forgotten that film was meant to be big.

The point of Movienight is not to demonstrate relative intelligence based on appreciation of esoteric garbage, it is to demonstrate appreciation of your fellow friend by choosing something that speaks to you as it speaks to them.

I am proud that I have a group of friends that collects to view films as they were meant to be seen rather than play poker or drinking games (not that there is anything wrong with that).

While you may call 'First Blood' or 'The In-Laws' pedestrian I would suggest that Robert Altman is a windbag, and Jim Jarmusch is more interested in his own reflection than anything that you might read into his overblown work.

Our canon is far from unique and far from exclusive, but it is in fact a record of the films I and my friends have sat together and shared. We are connected by these films, and to each other and all you haters can wish for 'Fire Walk With Me,' but I'll be quoting the "Rudy the Rabbit" speech from 'Meatballs' this time next week, glad I have friends left to remind me that film is fun. Not graduate school.

BBD

Granted, I may have overreacted a little, but I was pissed. The next morning I checked back in with the page to see what, if anything, my vitriol had wrought.

Here are some replies from the aftermath:

“SEAMUS”-

Well excuuuuuuuuuse us for offering some suggestions for you little club there. Yeah, I enjoyed 'First Blood' too. God, what a disgusting post. I'm not the one being defensive...it's him, right?

“THEREMIN”-

How strange! Someone is very touchy.

I don't think Jarmusch has ever filmed his own reflection. Can anyone help me here? am I wrong? I had a year or two of movienights when I was still a bachelor. (Sunday night after ‘Futurama’). There isn't anything that's not crowd pleasing about ‘A Better Tomorrow,’ ‘Hardboiled,’ ‘Dead Man,’ ‘Fast Cheap & Out of Control,’ etc. etc. etc. People like this just think they don't like them because all of their friends are talking about them. Certainly, one of the points of Movienight (and now, the film festival), is to share with each other something that not everyone has seen.

And finally, isn't there an age where you stop making fun of people for being smart? I know people like to make fun in high school, but after that, don't people strive to be smart? Is this a Generation Y thing?

“NOBODIES”-

I actually kind of see his point. I don't know which post said it (and I'm too lazy to scroll up)....but someone did call the list "pedestrian," when the fact of the matter is that this group has gotten off its collective asses and formed a pretty cool club.

I think any time you put the choice in the hands of one person, your bound to get some stinkers (for example, my wife's book club where recently everyone was forced to read Jimmy Buffet's latest tome where he talks about flying his planes for 250 pages).

On the other hand...there's no reason to put down Jarmusch or Altman just because he thinks they’re too esoteric.

“SEAMUS”-

Yeah, they're kind of uptight over there at Movienight. Simakos, read the rules, man. Do not taunt Movienight.

“HELD”-

Dear BBD,

I'm glad to hear you guys are having a good time. Not sure whether we hurt anyones feelings here..Vivian? My take on your club 'rules' is that they're kinda silly (even tongue in cheek perhaps?) and by reading between the lines here I think the quote above spells out what it is you guys were looking for. However, the esoteric garbage you speak of might just be something you'd never see at the multiplex and well worth a look.

As for the pedestrian comment I think we'd agree that none of the choices in the catalog thus far has really jumped out exactly and yes ‘Rear Window,’ ‘Chinatown,’ ‘Dr. Strangelove,’ ‘Breaking Away’ & ‘Raiders’ are all classics but you'd think that if you were showing a movie to friends. You might want to pick something that they haven't seen? 'City of God' being the closest thing that I'd think would be the least likely of having been viewed might have been more pleasurable overall than say 'Executive Action'?!

I think Vivan was trying to come up with something to impress you but it sounds like you're a little wound up about us so I'll just leave it at that.

and enjoy yer

AFTERSHOCK-

Why would anyone want to do a movienight with films you've seen 1000x on TV?

I mean, sure - it's fun to sit around with friends and swig a beer everytime Bob 'n' Doug say, "hoser", "take off" or "eh?". But that's not something you plan... it's something that just sorta happens when everyone's already drunk, and the film is merely a blablabla in the background.

What's next - ‘Revenge of the Nerds’?

Upon reading the relatively measured and reasoned response to my online outburst I was compelled to post to their board once again:

“TOODA”-

It's Tooda from Movienight again.

Held got it just right, most of what we do is tongue in cheek on some level or another. My vitriolic rant last night was somewhat liquor induced, and I was mostly just eager to provoke more discussion about the group we have put together. "Touchy" is fair, and for the record I don't hate Jarmusch - I like starting an argument.

As for Aftershock, 'Strange Brew' was from a Guest SELECTOR and not an official pick, but there is something to sitting outside with surround sound speakers hanging in the trees and a 10 foot wide image that transforms, or even elevates films you have seen 1000x on TV.

Among the reasons we have so many 'standards' if you will, at least early on, is that the format itself was being celebrated. Going to the movies isn't what it used to be, and watching at home with friends has become like multi tasking. The internet is on, people are text messaging other people, there is no focus left in people’s lives for film it seems these days.

Movienight is our own personal antidote. We focus on the films, and we try to select films that appeal to all the members (no small task when the age range is 21 to 36 and some Members are cinephiles and others think 'Fast Times' is movie perfection.) As the whole website side of things have grown, the selections have become more considered and surprising, and focus has increased ten fold since we began reviewing the picks each week.

I don't mean to intrude on this board, but wanted to let you all know how gratified I am that you guys have taken a look at what we have put together. I highly recommend finding a way to watch a projected image with friends once a week. The key to Movienight, and maybe to film watching all together, is camaraderie. That seems to be a word this group of yours can relate to. Thanks for checking us out, and helping Vivian Darkbloom get his pick together. The Crew's reviews of 'Midnight Cowboy' should be posted this time next week, and we will see if Darkbloom scored with the crowd.

-Tooda

This went over a bit better with the fine folks at the SOMB:

“HELD”-

Yeah I figured that before I went and got all venomous on ya I'd get to the core of the issue instead. Kudos for coming back to check in.

“SLACKMO”-

Yeah, big ups to Tooda for coming back and being cool. That makes more sense for a friend of Vivian.

“SEAMUS”-

Man, this is a total Hollywood ending...saw this coming a mile away. Movienight guy posts under the influence, angers SOMBies. SOMBies get kinda worked up, words are exchanged. Movienight guy sobers up, comes back and eloquently explains his group's je ne sais quoi. SOMBies, realizing such a group sounds totally rad, make nice. Everyone lives happily...ever...after. Viva la Movienight!

Projected movies outside on buildings--in the company of friends--sounds like a blast.

PETER-

Yes, I was very glad to see Tooda re-visit his overly-defensive opening salvo. I certainly felt he was justified in feeling a little protective of his baby, and of defensing it against charges of being pedestrian with uninspired choices, but as he rightly notes, the missive was fired out in the wake of much hootch-fueled late night merriment in the ‘Midnight Cowboy’ post-game wrap-up chez Tooda. Tooda is a scholar and a gentleman and I wasn't surprised to see him come back with olive branches and magnaminity. Just for the record, though, let me be clear: Tooda knows one HELL of a lot about film and movies, and the fact that some of the picks haven't been underappreciated obscure masterpieces should in no way suggest that he hasn't seen and appreciated same.

I was honored to be granted a pick, and was very pleased with how it went. ‘Midnight Cowboy’ is hardly obscure, but it is a great film that many at MN hadn't seen, and if I'm reading the tea leaves right, it was well-recieved by the membership. I will be posting my reflections on being a SELECTOR in the database forum soon.

I'll occasionally revive this thread to provide updates as to future picks. I hope to have another shot at a pick sometime in the future.

Well there it is, one of many heretofore untold stories from the annals of Movienight. Some of the SOMBies even started bouncing around the idea of a Chicago based version of Movienight. If such a thing takes shape I hope we will find a way to link our two efforts as I found the folks on that message board to be a lot of fun.

Vivian Darkbloom let me know as I was prepping this page for publication that some of the SOMBies have been keeping their eyes on our Selection progress. “Slackmo” even stated that ‘House of Games,’ ‘Time Bandits,’ and ‘Gallipoli’ represented a strong run for us. I wholeheartedly agree.

Thanks to Vivian for introducing Movienight to his own great group, and thanks as well to all my new friends at the Sound Opinions Message Board for taking the time to look at our stuff and for suffering me so well.

With Year Two under way we will still find time to reflect back on our first 365 days of Back Yard shenanigans in the continuing coverage of “Movienight: Year One.”