The following interview with Christopher Null was conducted by: NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures &CLICK TO VIEW  Norm Goldman's Reviews

To read Norm's Review Of The Book CLICK HERE

Today, Norm Goldman, Editor of Bookpleasures.com is honored to have as our guest, Christopher Null. Chris is the author of Five Stars! How To Become A Film Critic, The World’s Greatest Job.

In addition, Chris is Editor-in-Chief of Mobile magazine, as well as being founder and Editor-in-Chief of Filmcritic.com.

He has been profiled in dozens of publications and programs, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, ESPN, and National Public Radio's All Things Considered. He was even quoted by the renowned Roger Ebert in his review of the film Emma.

Good day Chris and thank you for agreeing to participate in our interview.

Norm:

How did you learn to become a film critic, why do you review films and what keeps you going?

Chris:

Like most film critics, I learned on the job. There's no class you can take that can teach you how to review movies -- you have to pick it up from reading reviews, learning how to structure a critique, and learning everything you can bout filmmaking.

 I got to the point where I was so fed up with the reviews in my local paper (then, The Houston Post) -- which gave away every detail of the plot of every movie, then didn't say whether or not the movie was any good -- that I started dabbling in writing reviews myself.

At first, my reviews were published online at a large bulletin board service (no longer around), then I moved into a couple of local weekly newspapers. By 1995 I got together with a friend to look into this new Internet thing, and from a list of about 20 domain names we decided "filmcritic.com" was the one for us. If we'd bought all 20 of those domains, we'd probably be millionaires by now.

What keeps me going? At this point, filmcritic.com is a major business for me, and I have contracts to uphold and staffers to honor. More than anything, that sense of duty keeps me going. I still love movies, but after writing about 3500 movie reviews, it does start to get a little old.

Norm:

Why did you want to write Five Stars! How To Become A Film Critic, The World’s Greatest Job?  What challenges or obstacles did you encounter while writing your book? How did you overcome these challenges?

Chris:

I get at least a couple of emails a week from aspiring critics, kids in school, college students, and grown-ups who want to take a stab at reviewing movies. They ask for advice. Eventually I got tired of typing the same, cursory 600 words to them over and over. So I decided to write a book to digest all that advice into one tome. It took me two years to finish it, and it's the longest thing I've ever written.

The book, however, was relatively easy to write. Organizationally it was tricky, but writing a movie review isn't rocket science. It just requires a keen ability to structure your writing logically, plus knowledge of what you're writing about. Jumping between the history of cinema to how to write a plot synopsis to how to start an online business was tricky.

Norm:

How do you intend to market your book?

Chris:

I have the good fortune of running one of the most popular movie review websites on the planet, and the book is heavily promoted on the site. I also owe a debt of gratitude to the numerous folks who have reviewed the book so far, and we're advertising it online too. I hope the book picks up some word of mouth, but Five Stars should have a long shelf life -- I hope it will enjoy modest sales for many years, unlike, say, a novel, which quickly flames out.

Norm:

After I read your bio that is posted on Filmcritic.com, I noticed that you are a man of many talents. Which one of your various experiences would you say was the most satisfying and why?

Chris:

Well my most satisfying job is being a parent and husband. I have a lovely daughter and wife, and everything I do, I do for them. After that, of course, I'm a writer at heart. I think my novel Half Mast is probably the best single thing I've ever written. But I don't know how many more novels I have in my. I'm honestly probably not the best film critic on the planet, but I'm probably the longest-running one online and have a small amount of satisfaction from that.

Norm:

Who are your favorite actors, and why?

Chris:

I like redheads. Julianne Moore and Alicia Witt can do no wrong. My interview with Ms. Witt is probably the single best thing you can read on filmcritic.com. But seriously, I'm a fan of Peter Sellers, Sterling Hayden, Jimmy Stewart, Harrison Ford, Orson Welles, Jack Nicholson, and Ewan McGregor… I have to stop myself because the list goes on so long. I can't really say why I like them so much, only that they keep my mind from wandering when I see them on the screen.

Norm:

Do you find that today’s movie audiences are more demanding than in the past?

Chris:

Far from it. Today's audiences are far more forgiving of awful plots and bad acting, as long as their favorite musician makes an appearance in a film. Too many movies are youth-driven at the expense of having anything good to say. Look at the career of Hilary Duff. She's made one movie, over and over and over again. Yet she's still around because she's cute.

Norm:

Could you tell us something about Filmcritic.com?  What advice would you give to someone who is considering reviewing for your site?

Chris:

Well that's why I wrote the book. All the secrets of joining the filmcritic.com clan are revealed within. But here are two of the big secrets that many applicants don't seem to grasp: 1) Be funny:  2) Grammar and spelling count.

Norm

Do you believe that the craft of acting can be learned?

Chris:

Yes, and in fact I think most of the greats weren't "born" actors. Paul Newman, Sidney Poitier, and Robert de Niro are all alumni of The Actors Studio, for example.

Norm:

I notice that you are a novelist, screenwriter, and filmmaker, can you explain some of your research techniques pertaining to each of these different crafts.

Chris:

My research is invariably topically focused. My book Half Mast revolves around a poisoning, and I spent weeks understanding the exact physiological effects of the agent used by the killer. In my short film Pressurecooker I had to learn about mental illness and the Texas legal system. I don't have any great tricks to share. Google and Amazon are your friends.

Norm:

Do you set yourself daily, weekly, yearly goals? If so, what are some of your goals?

Chris:

When I'm working on a project I set specific goals so I can actually get the thing done. Half Mast was done under a strict 2,000-words-per-weekend system. The book was done in 9 months thanks to that system. I didn't have so much a system on Five Stars, and it took 2 years. So goals help in writing. I have personal goals, too, but honestly they're far too petty to mention here.

Norm:

When you leave us to enter to next world (although you are not leaving us just yet), how do you want us to remember Christopher Null?

Chris:

I like to think that the best is yet to come, but if people remember me for Half Mast or for one or two of my especially well-written movie reviews, that'd probably be fine. Hopefully my daughter Zoe will grow up to keep the Null legacy alive, though God help her if she wants to go into writing.

Norm:

Is there anything else you wish to add that we have not covered?

Chris:

If you want to become a film critic, it can be done. Just don't set your expectations too high. You have to really love the movies if you even want to try to do it for a living!

 Thanks Chris and good luck with all of your future projects.

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