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What is the Movie-Fanatic? The Movie-Fanatic - also known as tMF - is an independent website maintained by a group of movie fans from around the world. We focus mainly on up-and-coming young actors in our Spotlight and Emerging Talents sections; we publish film reviews, mainly of independent films (often known as 'indie films') but occasionally of mainstream titles as well, and we promote foreign films - we've never been afraid of subtitles!

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What do we want to be? We want to build a community of movie fans who can interact with one another and contribute to the website by submitting film reviews, or writing articles about the featured actors, or simply by contributing news regarding upcoming movies.

Is this just another fan site for young actors? While we admire many of the fan sites that feature our favorite actors, tMF focuses more on discussing, analyzing and showcasing the work of these actors. We want to celebrate their achievements in the world of cinema and write our own profiles and update these profiles with the latest news - but without going overboard. While we want to know more of these actors, we respect their privacy and prefer not to intrude into their personal and private lives.

If you are looking for juicy gossip or revealing pictures taken by paparazzi, then this is not the site for you. We will, from time to time, feature in our gallery specially selected photos and images related to their work, even including some candid shots, but all will be done in good taste. Only at tMF will you see critically acclaimed actors from Hollywood side by side with award-winning actors from European, Australian and Asian cinema!

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Who are the people behind the Movie-Fanatic?

Jed Medina, webmaster and owner: Jed is a financial analyst who once worked for the biggest auditing firm in the world. He plays competitive table tennis and is into java programming. After six years of writing on modeling for ModelWatch and interviewing top male models like Tyson Ballou, Boyd Holbrook, Jeremy Dufour and pretentious bitchy talent agents, he finally got bored and moved on to a more challenging arena. A novice in film reviewing but passionate about the movie industry and independent film in particular, he launched the Movie Fanatic in 2007.

Kathleen Sydenham (Kat), partner: Kat works as a marketing executive and is a frequent traveler. Based in Chicago, she enjoys indie films and doing research. A collector of Wallpaper* magazine since the late 1990s, she is obsessed with design and constantly argues with the site's webmaster as to page layout, as she insists that the 'look and feel' should be unique. While doing much to improve the site's features, she also looks forward to adding more DVDs to her collection of over 400 films (50% of which are French) and plans to start doing film reviews for most of them.

Linda Bennett, partner and editor-in-chief: Linda is a freelance writer and editor based in Cape Town, South Africa. After working in healthcare for many years, she started freelancing in early 2004, a move she describes as “the best decision I ever made.” The author of several unpublished novels and short stories, she now writes for a wide range of commercial clients and also offers online and print editing and proofreading services. Linda is a strong supporter of independent film and was part of the administration team of the I'm Not There movie support site as well as online news editor for the Ultimate Brokeback Forum. She is currently in the process of emigrating to the USA and once there, she plans to further her studies in both writing and film.

Jan, research administrator: Jan lives in rural Nova Scotia, Canada where she has worked for the school board in the library as an information processor/data capturer and as a volunteer treasurer with a local community group. She has also volunteered at the campaign office for a local politician and at a children's hospital. Jan's interest in independent films and actors led to her discovery of and subsequent involvement with the Addicted To The Movie Candy campaign, where she held the position of assistant admin and researcher.

Jeremy Welsch, film review administrator: Jeremy is an online movie critic from Des Moines, IA. His reviews lean heavily towards new studio releases, but he recently began dabbling in short independent films as well. Growing up, he used to think there was a disconnect between the critics and the average member of the movie-going public, but has lately realized that a lot of his taste has aligned with those of conventional critics. He has a fondness for B-movies like those he used to watch in the middle of the night on cable years ago. Now, all he wants out of movies is to be entertained. He also believes that not every movie is designed to win awards - nor should they be. His motto is "If you can't appreciate the trash, you shouldn't be watching movies in the first place."

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Deana Martin, Features administrator: Deana is a Theatre Arts graduate from Virginia Tech, is a self described movie fanatic. Since the age of 5 she has seen countless films and loves to talk about them to anyone who will listen. In addition to her love of film, Deana is also a live music junkie who works for various musicians to help promote their online marketing efforts. As a self taught graphic designer she has taken on the web graphic duties for Marc Broussard and Sons of William, two Louisiana based acts. All of this is done in her free time, as her "real job" is in trade show sales and web content development for an international association based in Alexandria, VA.

R.J. Keller, assistant editor and columnist, is a writer from Central Maine, where she lives happily with her husband, two kids, and the family cat. She is a self-proclaimed film geek, who makes a point of watching the screenwriter's/director's commentaries on every DVD she purchases. A passionate enthusiast of independent films, she worked as a correspondent for the I'm Not There movie support site. She is the author of three unpublished novels, one screenplay, and currently supports her out of control iTunes addiction by working from home as a proofreader.

Rina H, directory administrator: Rina lives in Germany and plans to enter film school soon to study directing. Her greatest passions are movies and the theatre. At school she was part of a theatre group where she directed and acted in some musicals with some friends. In fall 2006 her first self-written and self-produced play called "Tango del Morte" had its premiere. She was also assistant to the assistant director in a youth project at a local theatre where they produced "The Rover" by Aphra Behn, which was quite a success. She loves watching all kinds of movies but there will always be a special place in her life for heart-breaking dramas. In her free time she tries to support indie movies as much as possible.

David DiMichele, film reviewer and columnist: David is 21 years old and lives in Pittsburgh, PA. If there is one thing that he's passionate about, it is his love for movies. He tries to get out to the theatre every weekend to see the latest releases and then reviews them. When he find something he really loves to do, it's hard to imagine life without it, and movies is that one thing. He is also a talented musician. He has been playing the piano for twelve years and is currently finishing an Associates Degree in the field. He is also a model. Having music and modeling in his life is such a blessing but what takes his breath away is the cinema. He's so thrilled to have the opportunity to share his input on movies here on tMF and says: "I shall not disappoint! "

Jorn Tillnes, soundtrack and film reviewer and writer- is a helpdesk analyst working for Shell Oil in Manchester, England. This Norwegian-born movie lover is a creative soul, and worked as a graphics designer for many years. His hobbies include writing, art and music. He has written one book and is composing music in his spare time. His dreams are to travel around the world and he has lived in several countries, including Ireland and China. He has a particular passion for the music in movies and decided to start his own blog about movie scores and soundtracks at soundtrackgeek.com.

Daphne Laura, film reviewer and columnist: Daphne is a certified former diplobrat who has lived in five different countries. She has curbed her wanderlust tendencies and is now based in Manila where she works on a freelance basis. A well-traveled, voracious reader, her main passion is watching movies and her quest to continuously explore different cultures is fulfilled through the art of cinema. She doesn't mind reading subtitles and makes it a point to catch a few foreign languages films once in a while or if and when they make it to her neck of the woods.

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How do I become a tMF member? Membership and registration is free. However, we have different levels of membership with unique privileges and degrees of access to the site.

1st level. Regular members can post comments on the news and articles, submit links and recommend actors for possible feature articles. They can also participate in contests and win goodies and giveaways! They can join our forum and view our galleries.

2nd level. Writers, film reviewers and columnists can submit new content, edit and update existing articles. They also enjoy special privileges including access to exclusive features and more. They usually start out as regular members and through regular contribution to the site, they can be promoted to this level.

3rd level. Administrators participate in the over-all concept and direction of the site, and can even introduce entirely new sections for all to enjoy! They judge contests and select the winners. They might start out as regular members or writers/columnists and through intensive involvement in the site may be promoted to administrator level. Administrators generally nominate regular members to become writers/columnists or even to become co-administrators.

But you need to register and become a member first!