Cult of Personality

As a self professed fan of Harry Potter, the subject of which movies are “cult movies” or not is a recurring topic on our show.  My co-host Jesse seems to be under the impression that it includes any movie in which he has no interest that makes lots of money.  LOL.  Let’s take a second to clear up the confusion…

From Wikipedia: A cult film is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but relatively small group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside of the small fanbases Cult films often become the source of a thriving, obsessive, and elaborate subculture of fandom, hence the analogy to cults. However, not every film with a rabid fanbase is necessarily a cult film.

The term cult film is used to describe a film that has had little to no success commercially and critically upon its initial release but has later spawned a small, but devoted and usually obsessive fanbase.

So movies that Jesse considers cult movies
Dark Knight – $158 million opening weekend – $997 million total.
Harry Potter (we’ll just the first movie) – $88 million opening weekend – $878 million total.
Lord of the Rings (again… just the first one) – $47 million opening weekend – $870 million total.
Pirates of the Caribbean (yep… 1st one) $46 million opening weekend – $654 million total.

Movies he digs:
Friday Night Lights – 20 million opening weekend, 61 million total.
Road House – $5.9 million opening weekend – $30 million total.
Animal House – $276 thousand opening weekend.  141 million total.

So, if we are sticking to the definition of what cult films are rather than what is perceived to be cool… I don’t appear to be the one in the cult.  Ha ha ha…

I’ll check in with you next week, I have to go pick up my Hogwarts uniform from the cleaners.  Grif-fin-dor!

Great Read!

May 9th, 2008 – I had an unexpected pleasure last week.  A new author from the Denver area sent me an email about a new book she’d just written.  She mentioned in her email that – like me – she was a big Harry Potter fan, and thought I might be interested in reading her book that had just been published.  I told her I’d be happy to!

“The Secret Prince of Tir-na-nOg” arrived a few days later.  M.J. Bell has written a wonderful book and I encourage anyone who loves young adult fiction as I do to read it.  Here’s the description from the website:

“When twelve-year old Deston Lespérance stumbles into the magical realm of Tir na-nOg, little did he know that his greatest adventure was about to begin. Together with his friend, Margaux, they embark on a dangerous quest to find the seed of the universe and return it to Tir na-nOg before the full moon rises. His courage will be tested as he battles horrifying creatures, comes face-to-face with a monster of profound evil, and discovers a hidden truth along the way that will change his life forever.”

I personally like young adult fiction because in my opinion, it moves faster than many adult fiction books.  I also find that you don’t have to digest so much background information in order to enjoy the story.

This book was terrific!  It’s a great story about a boy trying to find his mother who had disappeared mysteriously.  Along the way he discovers the truth about who he is and where his destiny lies.

It should be at the Tattered Cover and Barnes & Noble around the 1st of June, so look for it there.

M.J. Bell has started a great trilogy, so go get this book so I can find out what happens in book two!

Happy Reading!