I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, and I think now is the time – to take a step back.
It feels like I’ve been working non-stop for the last 3 years and I’m grateful for each second that I get to do this work, but I’ve reached a point where it’s hard to keep up. I still love movies and the world of pop culture, but I have nothing more to give at the moment. I’m mentally and financially exhausted.
That’s why after the release of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, I’ll be stepping away from The Movie Guy indefinitely. Now, this doesn’t mean I’m just going to disappear, I just need to figure things out. I need to figure out if there’s a way I can turn this into something that can sustain me.
I’ve poured a lot into The Movie Guy, and I don’t regret it – but I can’t keep giving if there’s no growth. The good news is I’ll still try to check in every now and then. I will still publish a weekly column in the Republikein and write short reviews on Letterboxd.
So what does this all mean? Well, I won’t be as busy on social media anymore. No video reviews, blog posts or any other content. The Superman giveaway will also be my last one. I might still share content from other creators and I will definitely still interact with everyone in DMs.
I also won’t attend most film screenings or any events. This unfortunately means I won’t be able to go to Comic Con Africa this year. I will however still cover Die Silwerskermfees and Silwerskermtoekennings in August. I already RSVPed to the event and I’m really looking forward to this.
I’m sorry if this comes as a disappointment to anyone, I really tried to keep going but I just couldn’t make it work. I just don’t have the finances and energy to keep this going. Hopefully this is only a temporary setback, but it kind of feels like it will take a miracle for me to continue this.
That said, I’m grateful that I got to do this. The people I met along the way made it all worth it. I’m thankful for all the support I received over the last few years. Three years ago, I was just some guy talking to himself about movies and now I have thousands of people who listen to me. I’m glad I got to do this and I really wish things were different. This isn’t goodbye, because I hope to see you all on the other side.
