It's Almost New Year's Eve (2011), So Here's Your Annual Dust On The VCR Recap

Happy holidays, folks! If you’re new here at Dust On The VCR, welcome to the annual year-end recap. We will not be discussing the 2011 film New Year’s Eve, mostly because it is too recent to qualify for the parameters of this newsletter, but also because I have no interest in watching this film. If you’re not so new here, I hope you are enjoying this long-running bit that is now in its fourth year. What a tradition. Anyway, let’s recap 2024!

I’d like to start with a positive declaration: 2024 was the most successful year yet for Dust On The VCR.

In March of 2021, I started this newsletter from scratch with the minimal clout that comes from being a recovering entertainment journalist and a non-professional screenwriter. For the first two or three years, our modest subscriber base was mostly friends, family, and acquaintances. I haven’t mentioned subscriber numbers in these year-end recaps until now because the numbers felt too modest. But modesty is overrated, innit? So let’s get into it.

Because an interesting thing happened over the last several months: 2024 was the year that organic growth began to happen. We started the year with just 282 subscribers as of the January 5 issue; we’re up to 495 subscribers as of this morning, making this the biggest leap yet by far. All of a sudden, the algorithm began to work in our favor, and people I don’t know began following—and engaging with—Dust On The VCR. We’re still pulling in a couple dozen new subscribers every month, mostly through the Substack network itself rather than my own posting to other social media sites. That’s really something, and I am truly grateful to all of you who’ve come along for the ride.

I should note that many of you reading (or at least receiving) this newsletter have your own cinema-centric Substacks! This platform has feels more like a community now than it ever did in previous years, so thanks to all of you who are putting in the effort and giving me good stuff to devour on the regular.¹

Of course, my editor John and I don’t keep this ship afloat by ourselves.² In 2024, we expanded our network by welcoming new guest writers like Craig Ceravolo, Chance Shirley, James Francis (twice!), and Kitty Byrge while welcoming back beloved regulars like Kristin Dober, Nellie Beckett (twice!), Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott, Ryan Kindahl, Audi Barnes, and Ted Kendrick. I always love taking a monthly break to switch from writer to editor and amplifying some really great writing from people I admire.

In fact, Dust On The VCR’s Top 10 of 2024 is full of various kinds of assists. Let’s take a look which issues shined the brightest among the 49 films we covered this year:

1. The Real Tragedy of It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) is Harry Bailey’s Football Career

2. Muriel’s Wedding (1994) is More Than a Time Capsule of My Youth Abroad

3. Hailed By Film Bros Across the World, American Psycho (2000) is Actually For the Girls

4. I Owe My Love of Apocalypse Now (1979) to My High School English Teacher

5. Empire Records (1995) Might’ve Been the Peak of Cinema’s Soundtrack Era

6. Tombstone (1993) is Essentially an 80s Action Movie Disguised as a Western

7. Nicolas Cage is the True Anchor of the Legendary Snake Eyes (1998) Long Take

8. The Biggest Logical Leap in Groundhog Day (1993) Isn’t the Involuntary Time Travel

9. Son in Law (1993) was Pauly Shore’s Attempt at Semi-Normal Movie Stardom

10. I Try to Reckon with Forrest Gump (1994) and Its Legacy on My Home State

A few things to reflect on here. (Aside from the mid-90s dominance. What a time to be alive, right?)

First of all, congrats to Nellie and Kitty for not only cracking the Top 10 but taking the second and third spots! But I should also point out that Tombstone was a subscriber request (thanks Jessica!), as was my piece about Dante’s Peak (thanks Aaron!), which just narrowly missed the Top 10, finishing in 12th. Also, I wrote about Empire Records for the Sleep In Cinema radio show, so shouts out to those guys. And I wrote about both Snake Eyes and Son in Law for events at the Sidewalk Cinema in Birmingham, so shouts out to those guys too (as well as all of you who came and filled a seat!).³

Also, y’all showed me this year that you don’t mind when I write from the heart. My newsletters on Forrest Gump, Apocalypse Now, and It’s a Wonderful Life all delved into personal topics at least in part, which can be a scary, shaky thing to put out into the world.⁴ So thank you for the positive reception to those pieces in particular. (I’ve got another one in the works for January about a lesser-seen film, but I hope it still resonates with some of you.)

Now that we’ve gone over the writing itself, let’s conclude with the real reason for the season: money!

It was my mission from the start to make Dust On The VCR a free newsletter. I’m a gainfully employed (copy)writer, so there was no need to pass the hat for a few extra bucks. Which means everything we’ve published here can be read (and maybe even enjoyed!) by anyone. But I went ahead and set the lowest paid subscription tiers that Substack will allow ($5 a month or $30 a year) and threw in some perks like requesting a weekly issue or some neat merch featuring our beautiful lil’ Dusty logo (designed by my talented pal Courtney LeSueur).⁵

And some of y’all paid for this free newsletter. Some of y’all are still paying for it almost four years later. That’s some remarkable generosity. So, as I pledged at the very beginning, I’m going to throw all of those dollars at cinema-related causes.

Continuing with this year’s theme, 2024 was also the biggest financial year for Dust On The VCR. After hitting four figures last year with $1,082.74, y’all poured in an impressive $1,214.10 this time around. What a beautiful thing. Now let’s distribute that wealth.

Truthfully, part of that chunk of change is already gone. That’s because I’ve been funneling some funds into Sidewalk-related activities throughout the year. There was a donation for screening host privileges in January as well as the Bad Movie Marathon entry fee, and then there were several Tapesgiving expenses like ticket vouchers and gift cards to KBSVHS (my co-host for the evening) to give away to attendees. All told, I spent about $450 on these endeavors. The Sidewalk staff thanks you for your service.

After rounding up slightly, that leaves us with $765 to put toward sharing the joys of cinema. I decided to keep it in state this year and split it three ways to help out some small businesses in three of Alabama’s major cities.⁶ Here’s what that looks like:

• I’ve supported them throughout the year, but I have to keep showing love to the Sidewalk Cinema/Sidewalk Film Festival in Birmingham. But their Bad Movie Marathon is coming up next month! If you’ll be “running” this year, please let me know and we’ll support you with some of these funds. (And tell Chloe I sent you.)

• My beloved Capri Theatre in Montgomery has received Dust funds in the past, but they need help more than ever (especially after they just upgraded their beautiful marquee). So they’ll be getting a nice donation from y’all again this year. Please go catch a movie there if you’re ever in town. (And tell Anton I sent you.)

• Lastly, I couldn’t have done Tapesgiving without my comrade KB, so the final pile of cash is going to KBSVHS in Huntsville. Starting a business from scratch is really hard, and that’s exactly what KB did in 2024, so we’re doing our part to keep the magic going. If you’re in the Rocket City, please swing by and pick up some physical media. (And tell KB I sent you.)

I love these year-end recaps, reader. It brings me joy to not only think back over all the film conversations we had this year but to leave a few gifts in some deserving stockings. So thank you for making all of that possible.

Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, and we’ll see you in January!

1. A few film/pop culture Substacks that have shown love and done great work this year: The 90-Minute Movie, From The Yard To The Arthouse, Joe’s Video Club, Material Ghosts, Microfascination, Non Films, Persistence of Vision, Popped, Stephen Follows, Textual Variations, That Final Scene, The Treatment, To Each Their Own Cinema, Under The Influence, Underexposed (which was kind enough to feature me not once but twice this year!), Yoo New York, and any others that I’ve shamefully failed to mention. And a special shout out to my sister newsletter, Obsolete Media, which sent many of you my way this year. (I know, I know, that was more than “a few.”)

2. This was the first year John didn’t write a guest piece for the newsletter. But he did welcome a second child into the world, so I guess he can be excused and forgiven.

3. A truly warm “thank you” goes out to all of you who made Tapesgiving a huge hit last month. It was so successful that Sidewalk is letting me run it back in February. Stay tuned for more info on that screening!

4. I was blown away that my piece on It’s a Wonderful Life hit the top spot of the year after being published just two weeks ago. Here’s a brief peek behind the Substack curtain: Your newsletter is officially a banger when the Google traffic outweighs the email traffic, and this one is already up to 44% in the Google metric. It’ll be the top source in another week or two.

5. Those of you paid subscribers who don’t live near me probably haven’t received your merch yet, and one of these days I will get around to mailing those out. If you’re one of those people, please continue to bother me about it until I give you what is rightfully yours.

6. I promise I have nothing against Mobile, our fourth major city here in Alabama. I just don’t know anything about their film scene. (Other than the numerous features that are shot down there. Shouts out to Mike Flanagan.) If you live in Mobile and you know of film organizations I can support in the future, please let me know!