Star of the silver screen(ing) room

Gregory M. Lamb

Did you go to the movies over Thanksgiving weekend? I did. Our family group wanted to see "Toy Story 2" but switched to "Sleepy Hollow" (a bit too gruesome for most of us) when Buzz Lightyear and his buddies were sold out.

We were hardly staring at the screen alone. Overall, moviegoers set a new Thanksgiving box-office record, more than $200 million. If my group of siblings, spouses, a niece, and two nephews (a dozen in all) had made it into "Toy Story 2," we could have added to its unheard of $80 million haul.

Analysts say that the year 1999 will set an all-time box-office record. Since the dawn of TV, pundits have been predicting that the age of moviegoing is over. In the years since, cable TV, satellite TV, VCRs, and DVDs have all been added as ways to watch movies. But we still keep heading to theaters to munch popcorn and rub elbows with other movie lovers.

With film so important an entertainment medium, we're glad to have someone like David Sterritt covering it. In January, David takes over for a year as chairman of the New York Film Critics Circle, which includes some of the top critics in the United States. He was chairman previously in 1987.

In addition, he's a frequent guest on MSNBC, Fox News Channel, and other TV outlets, who seek out his three decades of movie knowledge. And he's a frequent speaker at film festivals and other gatherings of movie buffs.

David's top picks for 1999 will be part of our Fifth Annual Mega Movie Guide Dec. 24. It will also include capsule reviews of the 1999 new releases and some fun features. We hope you'll enjoy it.

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(c) Copyright 1999. The Christian Science Publishing Society