Truthfully, another reason I wanted to start this blog was because I love writing. Writing has been a hobby of mine since I was a young kid. In fact, one of my earliest memories was when I drew and wrote a story called “Fe” about the giant in “Jack in the Beanstalk.” I do not remember many plot details further from that but I showed my librarian in town the finished product and she displayed in the children’s storytelling area for a month. Ever since then, I wrote for my high school newspaper as a film critic, wrote a couple of unproduced feature scripts, wrote two unpublished novels, and am an avid amateur critic on Letterboxd. My writing style for this website honors two very popular, excellent writers that discuss totally opposite subjects.

The first writer that influenced me was Roger Ebert. As you might have figured out from my other articles, I am a huge film buff. While most kids liked going to the movie theaters growing up, I really enjoyed film and wanted to know everything about it. So, I spent my Sunday mornings watching “Ebert and Roeper” in elementary and middle school to learn more about all types of film, not just the ones I wanted to see at the time. I felt of the two that Roger Ebert was the more fair and the more concise critic. He was always passionate about film, whether he liked or disliked a particular film he was discussing. The fact he was able to make his passion so accessible thanks to his well written reviews. He was also an excellent storyteller. I loved reading his review of a rerelease of “E.T. the Extra Terrestrial” where he addressed it to his grandchildren who just saw this film for the first time. It showed a more human side to film criticism and showed how he was willing to share his gift and passion with loved ones and strangers. Even though my Letterboxd reviews are much more casual nowadays, I really strive to show my passion of film just like Roger did and I plan to show that passion of Oscar statistics through articles and podcasts. I think of his writing often and I hope he is resting in peace.

The second write that influenced me was Matthew Berry. One of my hobbies outside of watching film is fantasy football. I am an avid Patriots fan and have been a fantasy football player for over a decade now. Matthew Berry was the first fantasy writer that I discovered while researching players to draft in the offseason. The way he writes about players and statistics is so intelligent and humorous but makes it so easy for even a novice at the game to fully understand the game. Like I mentioned above about Roger Ebert, I also admire Berry’s storytelling and human side to his writing. One article I remember was the first week of the 2023 season and he started off the article with a tribute to Jimmy Buffett, his favorite musical artist. I found this article very relatable as a fan of music and very familiar with many of my favorite artists passing away over the years. The way he grabs his audience before diving into statistics is so genius honestly. While I do not always agree with his takes (I am still burned from the “Royce Freeman is the next rookie sensation” take), I admire him as a writer and am inspired to do what he did with fantasy football for Oscar statistics.

These two men have inspired me as a writer for very similar reasons despite their difference in subjects. One reason is the fact these men have enough passion for their subjects to want to make it accessible for regular people to understand. Another is their ability to grab audiences through their storytelling ability from the first paragraph. The most important reason is the fact they made their subjects more popular and well known due to their name brand alone. I am unsure if The Oscar Code will live up to these two men’s status, but I look forward to sharing my passion with you all as these two did.