Bubbawheat back again with another edition of Interview with a LAMBpyre. I wanted to showcase some of the Lamb members and what better way than to ask them a few questions about themselves and their sites? I’m starting out by going through some of this year’s Lammy winners and hope to bring back some less active Lambs in the future. This week I’m talking with Stevee Taylor of Cinematic Paradox who won this year’s Lammy for best ratings system.
Bubbawheat: First off, can you tell me a little bit about yourself, your site, and how you started blogging.
Stevee Taylor: I’m a 16 year old girl in her second to last year of high school who lives in a small town called Dannevirke, in New Zealand. My site, Cinematic Paradox, is one that I started when I was 14 as something to do but as the years went on my site started getting better and better. It used to be primarily focused on reviews, but now I only review a film once or twice a week. Now it is a way for me to express my love of film in any way that I want to. Which sounds cheesy, but meh.
BW: What’s the favorite thing you enjoy writing about, next to movie reviews?
ST: I love writing – or ranting – about things that are happening in the film industry. Especially trailers, because I see at least 100 of them per shift at work, so I like to think I’m a bit of an expert on those!
BW: If someone were to only read one of the articles on your site, which one should it be?
ST: Oh wow, I really don’t know! Probably this one which I wrote last year when Shame got given the NC-17 rating, which prompted me to talk a little bit about ratings from an minor’s point of view. The funny thing is, that was written in October, whereas I just saw Shame last week for the first time. Ha.
BW: You won a Lammy for best new blog last year, and for best rating system this year, which was the bigger surprise? The bigger honor?
ST: Best new blog. I remember very clearly not expecting much from that, but when I saw my name I ran around the house screaming, even though I had just had my tonsils taken out so I had practically no voice. It was such a surprise. Mind you, they’re both huge honours.
BW: How did you originally come up with your ratings system?
ST: I originally started them in February last year, because I was getting tired of generic numbers. So I thought little screencaps and quotes would be pretty cool!
BW: Can you talk a little bit about how you chose your current screencaps and quotes you use for your ratings? Have they changed before? Do you think they might change in the future?
ST:I had the original set for a year, but changed them in February this year. I wanted to change them because all of the ratings were from 2010 films. I don’t know if they’ll change in the future, though, since I’m really happy with this set. Who knows? I like to change things around a lot, so there’s always a possibility.
BW: What about some of the many screencaps you use for your main logo, are there any special ones in there?
ST: They’re all my favourite films or actors or actresses – each of them has a special meaning to me. Also, they all are kind of representing my journey through film and the films that have shaped my taste.
BW: Is there anything else you would like to add?
ST: A huge thanks to the members of the LAMB for making up an awesome community and letting me be a part of it. It sure does mean a lot to have a guide to the countless number of movie blogs out there!