If you have ever owned a car for a longer period of time then there is a fair chance you understand how expensive maintenance is. Luckily growing up we had a guy. He was efficient, honest (so he didnt overcharge us for stuff we did not need) and most importantly he always did good work. If something was not working correctly he fixed it, and fixed it proper was it was not a problem 6 months later. This was just a regular guy with a backyard garage, nothing fancy, honest fellow who always did good work. If there was a car related problem I always told people to call my car guy.

Now I would make the argument that most every one who identifies as a movie fan (and there are a lot of different types of movie fans) has a person when it comes to movies. This person might not always work on the best projects but generally and fairly reliably they tend to be associated with good projects so when you see their name you know there is a good chance you will enjoy the movie. Maybe an actor who always seems to choose good movies, or a director who can make those great shots, a composer whose music moves you. Someone when you look at their body of work the majority of it is good if not great. Now I am not talking about merely being good in their movies, I am talking about individuals who consistently are associated with movies you enjoy. I am talking about trailers you may have been lukewarm to, or concepts that sound mildly interesting until you see your person show up, or until you see their names associated with the project. Now you are giddy, you are happy and looking forward to this. You are in anticipation of the many ways that you may enjoy this project now. Your movie person being like my car guy gives you the impression that you will enjoy this due to involvement. You have now been upgraded from “I’ll probably be seeing that sometime” to “Oh this is a theatre movie” and perhaps depending on the level of faith you have in your movie person even “I am there! Opening screening! IMAX! Magic Houdini Ticket that sucks me into the movie!”

Preamble completed (with less ramble to the amble then normal no less) this weeks prompt is a simple one: Who is a person(s) in movies that can make you believe a project is going to be good or better? Again this can be any profession in movies, the ones listed before, or perhaps you even have a favourite cinematographer, maybe you think there is just some badass grip out there… or best boy… For me, I noticed this in the mid 2000s but I think mine might actually be Tom Cruise. He is off putting with his fervent religious attitudes, and can be really weird but he has had a string of good and even great movies. Even the ones I liked less such as War of the Worlds or Oblivion are still okay, due to hype I did not want to like Top Gun: Maverick, but it was a thrill ride that lived up to the hype. Like I am surprised by this, but it’s true, when I see his name on a project I do think it elevates the chances it will be something I enjoy.