The 2017 Movie Challenge

Do you see what I see here?

The 2017 Movie Challenge

If you can look at the banner I made above and not become super angry then congratulations: either you are brain dead or have already been driven insane by today's political climate. Either way, the alive and sane envy you now.

Cabin Fever (2002) was a somewhat successful Eli Roth movie that was remade in 2016 using the same script as the original version. The outcry over this fuckery was pretty pathetic, though the remake was at least totally panned for being what it was: lazy and unnecessary (and bad). Of course it's hard to be too shocked over the lukewarm outcry when so many us spent 2016 eagerly searching for new info about the upcoming THIRD re-imagining of Spider-Man to debut since only 2002. (Or the next Star Wars, or Star Trek, the next Alien movie, and etc, etc.) Apparently, laziness is the agreed upon norm for the film industry currently.

What has so degraded in the movie going public (of which my hands are not totally unclean) that this has become acceptable, let alone commonplace? Now, I'm not saying that we should abolish remakes or sequels totally- they are a legacy of movie-making going back to the very beginning of the art form. But never has it seemed that so much of the funding available to filmmakers has gone to so few new ideas and concepts.

So now the challenge. I challenge myself and others to stop the madness this year. Stop giving money to every studio that just wants to do the same thing over and over again. Stop allowing our nostalgia to be endlessly recycled and used as a weapon against our wallets. Let's stop convincing ourselves like a person in an abusive relationship that this time will be different. Moreover, let's think about what different even means. Even if the next Star Wars and the Star Wars after that are acceptable or even good, do you still want to be seeing Star Wars and Star Treks and Avatars when you're in your forties, fifties, sixties? 

I pledge to not watch any sequels, prequels, or remakes this year. I pledge to make 2017 a year about new ideas, since lord knows we could use some new ones right about now. The rules are simple.

1. No sequels, prequels, re-imaginings, remakes, or extended universe movies.

2. Across all platforms: in the theater, but also on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, etc.

3. Release year doesn't matter. You're probably not going to enrich your life by going back and watching all the Hobbit movies at this point, trust.

See what is out there that is different. Find something new and challenging. Explore the works of other cultures. Go back in time and see how fresh the old can seem to modern eyes. I will be doing it and you can too.

Be the change you want to see in the world and use your spending power to send a message: we want new ideas, new worlds, and new voices showing up on our screens in 2017!

Welcome to . . . the FUTURE!

Hello there, loyal non-existent readers. Welcome to 2017. I made it. Barely! I have made some changes in my life and I want to share them with you. Join me, won't you? Thank you.


1. Accidentally Awesome is no more. Whuh??? Yeah. From now on my art and crafts and stuff will be sold and produced under the wildly creative header of "Haley Newman Art". So bold, I know. I think the AA name was off putting and confusing to people, as well as awkwardly long. Also, though the intent was good when I came up with it, it's a little stupid to call what I do accidental at this point. I may always be an outsider artist but I do know what I'm doing.

2. Therefore, the AA Facebook page is gone. Which is good because guess what: I don't know how it ever got 1500 likes anyway. Because it behaved pretty much the way a page with only a few likes would. Were they bots? Confused people? Confused bots? Too late now to ever find out- bygones!

3. The Etsy shop has changed names also. Big loss, I know. I made literally ONE sale in 2016. One!!!! That is bananas. The crafts I make are good stuff so this is pretty frustrating. BUT. I have a plan.

4. Worry less about what others want and more about what I want to do. The world doesn't need more goddamn products right now- it needs ideas. 2017 is going to be one terrifying ride and the people who it effects the most are going to need to know they are not alone. Art is one way to help accomplish that.

5. Things will no longer be published on a schedule. I have chronic mental health issues and trying to maintain a rigid schedule is just not ever possible for me. (See: my lost post on this blog being from Sept 2016.)

6. By making my business more about ME and less about A BRAND I hope to be able to be a bit more personal in my writing. I HAVE A LOT TO SAY.


So there you have- a total re-branding by de-branding. Welcome to 2017! It's gonna suck!