Just Mentioning
A brief salute to 16 year-old Nick Plowman, a pretty good writer who runs a nice-looking film site called fataculture. (Whatever that means.) He's from Johannesburg, South Africa, has been blogging for a year now, and is a member in good standing of the South African press. He even attended last May's Cannes Film Festival. He says he has "big dreams to come to the US some day and continue my film journalism there."
It's always cool to see a 16 year-old getting down to it and...you know, slamming away like he's 26 years old with rent and car payments and utility bills to cover each month. I wish I'd been doing something like this when I was 16 instead of just getting sloshed with my friends. My son Jett, of course, wrote a weekly column for this site when he was 16 and 17, which I naturally admired.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on July 6, 2008 at 5:04 PM
comment #1
kingspiffo
says ...
I tried the film criticism thing when I was about 20 (online, of course - this was back in 1996). I knew I sucked (some misguided people thought I was OK though) and I grew to hate the idea of having to sit down and write movie reviews which I could never bring myself to read, so I gave up. I did stick with it for two or three years though. Some of my reviews are still on IMDB. I pray for the day when someone wakes up and realises they have no place there. I've thought about just doing a straight movie blog but I don't think I have much to say that others are saying better than I ever could.
So I take my hat off to anyone who can do it for a living, especially the kiddies. I wish I had the talent and patience to do it.
Posted by kingspiffo
at July 6, 2008 5:44 PM
comment #2
EOTW
says ...
I suppose that it'd be a sweet life to have for some, and I love movies, but I HATE going to the films I WANT to see. So I can't imagine having to see the shit H'wood spews out every weekend. For every THE LIVES OF OTHERS or I'M NOT THERE, there's a million MEET DAVEs around the corner. I'll pass.
Posted by EOTW
at July 6, 2008 6:31 PM
comment #3
Zimmergirl
says ...
He's an awesome dude already. He reminds me of Kris Tapley who also had it on the ball at that age and continues to exhibit drive and ambition. Don't forget to have a life, though, guys. It all goes by pretty quickly.
Posted by Zimmergirl
at July 6, 2008 6:44 PM
comment #4
Craig Kennedy
says ...
Nick is not only sharp, passionate and better at expressing himself then people twice his age, he's also got a healthier atttitude than most of the jaded so-called professionals who do this for a living but act like they're dying.
Posted by Craig Kennedy
at July 6, 2008 6:55 PM
comment #5
Jeremy Smith
says ...
The world needs more Nick Plowmans.
Posted by Jeremy Smith
at July 6, 2008 9:38 PM
comment #6
Jay T.
says ...
Kid definitely has potential, just writes a little too much like Henry James in his later years (like in The Ambassadors with those endless sentences with about twenty commas). Of course, he's a much better writer than I was at that age, as well as most high school students.
Posted by Jay T.
at July 6, 2008 9:49 PM
comment #7
K. Bowen
says ...
I read Nick's site and he's been known to read mine. Smart kid. Had no idea that he was a kid, though.
Posted by K. Bowen
at July 6, 2008 10:44 PM
comment #8
Sarcastig
says ...
I wish I'd have been able to write like Nick at 16. I have trouble enough at 23! His blog is definitely recommended.
Posted by Sarcastig
at July 7, 2008 12:13 AM
comment #9
nemo
says ...
This guy sounds very cool. Now he needs to get back to work on his math and science courses, and drop the attitude that calculators make understanding some math and science unnecessary for all but a few engineering nerds. (I still hope he was kidding when he said that in an earlier thread.)
Posted by nemo
at July 7, 2008 6:39 AM
comment #10
chocolategenius
says ...
Sorry to be the party pooper but even though I enjoyed his blog and see that he is obviously an intelligent person I don't find him to be that exceptional, based on his blogs. There have always been kids like him around. You just weren't listening and they didn't have the internet to enable them to express themselves to the world.
Posted by chocolategenius
at July 7, 2008 6:59 AM
comment #11
p.Vice
says ...
With a name like that I hope he's gay.
Posted by p.Vice
at July 7, 2008 7:48 AM
comment #12
Daniel G.
says ...
A nice gesture in spotlighting Nick, Jeff, especially as it relates to the other thread and your own experience with your son.
As one of Nick's regular readers, I have to disagree with you, chocolategenius. His film vocabulary alone puts most critics to shame, and he readily admits he only became interested in film a couple of years ago. Nick will be the first admit he's learning as he goes along, and like Craig says, his positive attitude is really refreshing.
I'd direct you to his reviews of My Blueberry Nights or WALL*E for evidence that he's quite an extraordinary talent. Saying that there have always been kids like him around is beside the point, even though I get what you're saying. He stands out head and shoulders above his peers right now, and probably will for years to come. If he can keep it up, imagine where he'll be in 10 years - and even then only 26!
He's only going to get better, I just hope he can handle the pressure. I think he really has a true passion for what he's doing, though.
Posted by Daniel G.
at July 7, 2008 7:54 AM
comment #13
Dave Polands Gut
says ...
Maybe Wells will mentor him and shove the Obama love down his throat.
Posted by Dave Polands Gut
at July 7, 2008 8:30 AM
comment #14
J.D.
says ...
He is, like, the supreme epitome of awesomeness. Yeah.
Posted by J.D.
at July 7, 2008 10:18 AM
comment #15
breadlymoore
says ...
Let's be honest here: the effort is laudable. The writing is repetitive, overtly precious (nothing comes from the heart, just the film studies book), and he has the nasty habit most critics cling to in that he takes two or three paragraphs to explore the plot.
Posted by breadlymoore
at July 7, 2008 10:20 AM
comment #16
Matthew Lucas
says ...
Nick's one of the best, and it's a privilege to read his blog and call him my friend. All the naysayers are just jealous that they can't write as well as he does...and he's only 16.
Just imagine what he will grow into. He's got a bright future ahead of him.
Posted by Matthew Lucas
at July 7, 2008 7:54 PM
comment #17
K. Bowen
says ...
The next person who wants to bag on Nick's writing needs to first post his or her 11th grade paper on The Great Gatsby for comparison.
The other thing about Nick is that he visits more movie blogs than anybody else. Whenever I stumble across a new movie blog, the first post has four comments, three from people I don't know and one from NIck.
At the risk of taking the thread off topic, the reason critics "cling" to plot summaries is that most in their audience expect to be told the basics of what the hell the movie is about. Shocking.
Posted by K. Bowen
at July 7, 2008 8:06 PM
comment #18
Jay T.
says ...
Some of the criticism is valid... jeez...
Posted by Jay T.
at July 8, 2008 4:35 PM
comment #19
Matthew Lucas
says ...
Criticism is valid if its constructive. Most of it on here just sounds bitter. Nick is 16 years old, he's growing, but he's already very good at what he does, and his voice outshines the vast majority of the blogosphere cacophony. What more needs to be said than that?
Posted by Matthew Lucas
at July 8, 2008 4:48 PM
comment #20
janee
says ...
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Posted by janee
at May 17, 2011 5:26 AM