About

A little about the blog:

I’ve been a watcher of movies all my life (My first film in theaters was 1988’s Willow). I’ve been following the Oscars since I was 8 years old. I am now officially spilling this passion on to the internet. Won’t you all come along for the ride?

A little about the author:

My name is Marya and I’m 6th generation Californian. I have a B.A. in Comparative and French Literature from the University of California, Berkeley and an MFA in Screenwriting from the Academy of Art University. I’ve reviewed a few films while working for the Daily Californian in Berkeley. I contributed the foreword to Lew Ayres: Hollywood’s Conscientious Objector. I used to do social media at Warner Bros./Rotten Tomatoes/Flixster, Turner Classic Movies, and FilmStruck. I currently am the Brand and Editorial Manager for NetflixFilm. All opinions are my own.

Where else you can find me:

I am an avid Tumblr user and have been for almost six years. My posts tend to be a sort of stream of consciousness account of my love of film. It was named one of the Top 100 Film Tumblrs by TotalFilm.com and one of the 90 Best Tumblr Blogs of 2011 by Buzzfeed.com. I also post non-film related stuff there as well. I used write about classic film for YAM Magazine. You can also follow me on Twitter, as long as you don’t mind a little swearing. I also have a bunch of film-related lists here on listography. You also might enjoy iCheckMovies, you can find me here. Lastly, you can find my YouTube channel here. If you feel the need to send me an email, my gmail address is maryag7[at]gmail.com.

  1. karel | May 12, 2010 at 10:03 pm

    Hi Marya,

    I just found your blog and will surely check back in a month or … hmmm … eight? 😉

    Thank you for leaving a comment back at The Story Department!

    Cheers,

    Karel

    Reply
    • cinemafanatic | May 13, 2010 at 2:10 pm

      Thanks! I’ve been trying to keep it updated more regularly but it’s still way too early for too many films with Oscar buzz to surface. Hopefully after Cannes I’ll have some things to talk about…

      Reply
  2. jmmnewaov2 | July 23, 2010 at 5:26 pm

    Hi Marya – I just noticed that you have a link to my site – The Arts. Thank you so much for the consideration.

    I’ve added a link to your site as well. (At the moment, my current theme doesn;t display the blog roll but maybe I can fix that, or change themes).

    Good luck with your film watching and your blog. I am enjoying your commentaries. Keep up the good work.

    JustMeMike
    aka jmm

    Reply
  3. Matt Adcock | August 3, 2010 at 7:16 am

    Hey – just stumbled over your site and like it!!
    Wanna swap blogroll links? I’m Darkmatters.co – will be adding you sometime thie week!
    Keep up the good work…

    Reply
  4. MichaelAndTerrance | September 14, 2010 at 12:46 pm

    I love this blog. I just found it because one of your posts was linked to one of mine in the “possibly related” section. I’m adding you to my blog roll. Take care.

    Reply
  6. Dominik | September 24, 2010 at 7:47 am

    Hi Marya!
    Checked your blog cause you linked it via AD.
    Nice to see you like “It´s a wonderful life” as much as I did. And you studied french literature, so you may know Raymond Queneau? One of my favourites!
    Bye, Dominik

    Reply
  7. Chris Knight | December 17, 2010 at 11:27 am

    Just wanted to say, this is a very well-put-together site, and an excellent place to keep up with awards nominations. (The snow is a nice touch too.) Keep up the good work!

    – Chris Knight, film critic, National Post, Toronto

    Reply
  8. Mark Johnson | January 5, 2011 at 9:35 am

    Glad to have found your site and look forward to your posts! Always good to find new Oscar friends!

    Reply
  9. Gabrielle | January 21, 2011 at 8:44 pm

    I think this website, especially the annex, will change your life.

    http://www.doctormacro.com/

    Reply
  10. jmmnewaov2 | January 30, 2011 at 6:39 pm

    Hi Marya – that should be radials – not radios.

    Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials….

    justmemike
    The Arts

    Reply
  11. Jacqueline | February 16, 2011 at 8:12 pm

    Wow, what a great site, I love it! Look forward to reading more.

    Reply
  12. Kendra Bean | April 21, 2011 at 3:30 pm

    Hey chickadee, would you mind changing the link to vivandlarry.com to say Vivien Leigh & Laurence Olivier? I’m trying to work on my SEO stuff.

    Thanks, and fab new layout!

    Reply
  14. Nick Stellini | April 22, 2011 at 4:26 pm

    I am in awe of your Oscar lineup on the side. Your insight is striking and I look forward to your post-college work in the industry, hopefully I’ll join you someday!

    Reply
  15. Ansell | May 1, 2011 at 11:13 am

    Hi Marya!Checked your blog cause you linked it via AD.Nice to see you like “It´s a wonderful life” as much as I did. And you studied french literature, so you may know Raymond Queneau? One of my favourites!Bye, Dominik
    +1

    Reply
  16. Une Cinephile | May 6, 2011 at 9:29 pm

    this is a fabulous site! i posted a link for here on my blog site unecinephile.blogspot.com
    i look forward to the updates and really taking a look around.

    Reply
  18. Andina | November 15, 2011 at 11:03 am

    I just checked out your blog 🙂 I work as a video editor couple of years now, nice to know that you studied it. Nice to know you

    Reply
  19. James McNally | November 19, 2011 at 3:03 pm

    Hey, found your blog through a comment you made on The Matinee, my friend Ryan’s blog. I’m going to be featured on his next podcast, too! Anyway, I’ve been looking for other people using ICheckMovies.com so don’t be surprised when I start following you!

    Reply
  20. Andrew | January 20, 2012 at 10:05 am

    Hi Marya,

    You have a great blog. I am hoping to find a classic films blog that is a few years old. I AM NOT a stalker of the blogger. I am only a stalker of the classic films. A few years ago, there was a youtube channel called something like ‘shana’ or ‘shana1509’. She always uploaded movies in multiple parts. She had fantastic taste. She had the Good the Bad and the Ugly, the Thin Man, King Solomon’s Mines, Mondo Caine, The Lady from Shanghai, The Swimmer, The Most Dangerous Game, and a bunch of other classics. Her profile mentioned that she was a student at NYU, and I think that it said that she is Swedish. If you know the youtube channel, or it you know Shana, could you please post the name of the old youtube channel?

    Thanks, and enjoy your movies!
    Andrew

    Reply
  21. iluvcinema | February 4, 2012 at 4:44 am

    Great blog … and thanks for posting on my site!
    ~iluvcinema

    Reply
  22. Tristan Teshigahara Pollack | April 4, 2012 at 8:37 am

    Hi Marya,

    Your blog seems like a fascinating arena for film lovers and writers alike! Congratz on being voted one of the top film tumblrs. I know this is rather silly, but, if you had to pick a favorite film what would it be?

    My favorites shift depending on my erratic moods, but for now I would say mine is Kiarostami’s Where Is the Friend’s Home.

    Good luck with your post-graduate studies!

    Best,

    Tristan

    Reply
  23. Jeremy | May 16, 2012 at 7:58 pm

    Hey I really think your blogs amazing and I was wondering if you could tell me what your favorite french films and directors are

    Reply
  25. unitedcba | June 26, 2012 at 5:46 pm

    I accidentally came across this site and glad I am not the only one whoz mad about movie like u r 🙂 Please check out my page and I am sure u will enjoy and I will really appreciate if you may like my page:) here is the link; https://www.facebook.com/unitedcbaMR

    Thank you.
    Vivacinema!

    Reply
  26. Paul Zies | May 22, 2013 at 3:28 pm

    Marya:
    I hope you have made it down to Los Angeles from San Francisco and find our city tolerable. I would like to serve as an official ambassador of Los Angeles and invite you to El Compadre (Sunset & Gardener) to sample some nifty tacos and also record an episode of the World’s Most Dangerous Dad Podcast. I focus mainly on women in the creative fields, as the father of an eight year old daughter I find it important to profile women pursuing their passions. So far I have sat down with Kristie Etzold (professional wrestler) and Rebekah Nazarian (iScreamGarbage & Filly Films). I am an actor and podcast host (Live From Sunset Podcast) living in Los Angeles.

    Reply
  27. Patricia T | October 27, 2013 at 12:04 am

    Hi Marya, just letting you know I’ve nominated you for the Versatile Blogging Award, cos you’re cool and your blog is great! http://screenappeals.wordpress.com/2013/10/25/versatile-blogger-who-me/

    Reply
  28. Nilofar Bazofti | November 18, 2013 at 7:31 pm

    Hi! I was wondering if there was a way to contact you with questions I have? You don’t have your ask box open anymore on Tumblr. This is stagioni!

    Reply
  29. Salty Winters | December 5, 2013 at 10:52 pm

    Great blog! Just stumbled on it and I feel like I’m home. Nice to see somebody with great taste in film. Thanks and keep it up!

    Reply
  30. atempleton | December 29, 2013 at 6:10 pm

    Wow. Could spend a lot of time happily poking around your posts.

    Reply
  32. Warren W. Spencer | January 20, 2015 at 7:52 am

    Seeing a movie (Disney’s animated Peter Pan) for the first time and starting to follow the Oscars both at the age of seven, I share with you sixty-two years later fascination of movie matters, Ms. Marya. As another Cinema Fanatic, I enjoy your blog and commend you for it.

    Reply
  33. ~vanessa (@sfmovingroovin) | March 17, 2015 at 10:26 am

    Hi Marya! My name is Vanessa and live and work in SF. Jeremiah Leung is my co-worker at AAU and he said you two went to school together at UCB. We advise film students and your name came up. I am the Lead Advisor in MPT (Motion Picture & TV) and WRI (new major: Writing for Film, TV, & Digital Media). I subscribed to your newsletter 🙂 and will follow you on Twitter. Yay! I love seeing women follow the film industry. 🙂
    ~vanessa
    Hope to meet you one day I’m in LA.

    Reply

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