Twitter Movie Geeks Collaborate on #TroopFlix Initiative!
Filed under: Fandom, Distribution, Home Entertainment
From the "things we shoulda thought of years ago" department: Our old pal Scott Neumyer recently decided, for fun, that he would donate 100 of his own DVDs to American troops stationed overseas, but then upped it to 200 after he achieved 2,000 "followers" on Twitter. But then the idea got a lot bigger -- and then more people wanted to donate -- and then Scott found himself the ringleader of a very large Twitter movement: Get our troops some movies, dammit! We're now calling it #TroopFlix.I jumped in to donate five Philly-philmed phlicks (Rocky, The Sixth Sense, 12 Monkeys, Trading Places, and Mannequin), but not before Scott netted support from classy outfits like RottenTomatoes, Funimation, Shakefire, and Miramax Films -- and then the movie geek collective spoke up, which resulted in even more digital donations. But, like most hardcore movie nuts, we're just so damn greedy. We want more! Imagine how good it would feel knowing that YOUR old copy of Finding Nemo is making a special ops dude weep just a little. Or if YOUR extra copy of Knocked Up could help take the edge off after a particularly miserable day. Or if YOUR copy of Shawshank could lift the spirits of an unhappy medic...
Anyway, you get the point: To get involved (or just read along with the donation drive), check out Scott's Twitter page right here. And since you're on the site already, look at my Twitter as well. I'm funnier than Scott. And raunchier.
Shelf Life: Fight Club_thumbnail.jpg)
Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
Peter Jackson Says Spielberg's 'Tintin' is Done Filming, but...
Interracial Harmony: 'Ninja Assassin' vs. 'Blind Side'
Spin-ematical: New on DVD for 11/24
_thumbnail.jpg)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-19-2009 @ 2:56PM
Rolando said...
This is a fantastic idea. The cause is close to me, I'm currently working on a documentary about a cross country run done in memorial of our fallen service members: http://www.tothemthatsgone.com
Reply
4-19-2009 @ 5:19PM
lecter323 said...
I beg to differ that you're raunchier than me! LOL Thanks for the write-up, Scott!
Reply
4-19-2009 @ 5:33PM
TearsIntheRain said...
What troops are these going to?
Speaking from experience, for most overseas military installations, there's no need for it. This is what AAFES is for. not sure about the army, but the Navy has the Navy Motion Picture Service, which is partnered with all the major studios.
For most overseas military installations, AAFES does an excellent job of making DVDs available for rent or purchase. Better than any DVD store I've seen since I got out of the military. Plus, most online retailers, including amazon and netflix, ship to APO/FPO addresses.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that these DVDs should be focused on the troops that need them the most, but at the same time, the troops that need them are the ones who are too busy to watch them, because they're deployed.
Here's what I would do. How many people use their "digital copy"? Download & burn the digital copy and send *that* to the troops, along with the code for it. It's much easier to keep an archive of movies or on your iPod while you're deployed than it is to keep track of a DVD.
Reply
4-19-2009 @ 8:09PM
Brent Schmidt said...
Kinda what TearsInTheSun said... there's such a black market over there for ridiculously cheap prices that this is damn near pointless. I have friends that have come back with 4 movies on a single DVD (course the quality isn't the best, but yeah...). And everyone I know never asks for movies either because of such things as AAFES and the illegal trading of the movies that goes on over there. My brother's deploying in a month or so and has heard the same (and has nearly filled his 120GB Zune with movies to pass the time).
Reply
4-20-2009 @ 6:37AM
Peter Hall said...
Thirding TearsInTheRain. Not that this isn't a noble gesture, but access to films in service is remarkably more prevalent than one may think. Maybe my expectations were low, but I was surprised at how well stocked the PX was at an R&R base in Qatar; I can't imagine it is any worse off elsewhere. As Brent pointed out, it also isn't that practical. On base DVDs are fine and they're a good social focal point, but most soldiers would benefit from a digital copy versus an increasingly antiquated - and easily damaged by, say, sand - physical copy. Between what is on base and what is sold in the markets right off base (just like that scene in The Hurt Locker), access is plentiful.
And again I don't want to discount anyone's support of our troops, but I think books would have been a much more beneficial donation. The size of books limits how many can fit on shelves in a PX and there isn't exactly a local market for English text in the majority of our overseas positions. And unless the digital copy is the route for movies, it is a lot easier to throw a paperback in a sack than it is a portable DVD player that'll kick the bucket after a handful of moves in typical enlisted life.
Reply