EDITORIALS

Kick the Tires and Light the Fires - FirstShowing.net is 5 Years Old!

by Alex Billington
June 13, 2011

It's almost hard for me to believe that its been this long, but it is indeed true, this month marks the 5 year anniversary of FirstShowing.net, a website I started with my friend Josh out of a love for movies in hopes of spreading and sharing that love. Our first post was written on June 3rd, 2006, aptly announcing the sale of tickets for Superman Returns and Cars that summer. Now we're two weeks from seeing Pixar's Cars 2, so we've nearly come full circle. I'm happy to say that I'm still here, still in love with movies, and still proud of this website and the opportunity I have to share the cinematic experience with fans and friends worldwide.

Its been a long journey - we've published some 12,800 posts over 5 years, collected more than 242,000 comments, featured nearly 1,800 trailers - but we wouldn't still be around today if it wasn't for everyone who reads the site, the fans who come here on a daily basis, every last visitor. And I really mean that, as it's completely true. It's knowing that there's someone out there caring about what we have to say that keeps us running. Plus, it's great movies, those that I feel like I've been waiting my entire life to come across, like Super 8, and even Tron Legacy, that give us something to look forward to and makes every day so exciting.

Our RSS subscriber growth over the years - one of the only stats that goes that far back!

I've learned quite a bit over the years, not only in terms of how to run this business and a website, but I've deepened my appreciation for cinema and expanded my film knowledge in incredible ways. It's this site that has brought me to places like the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, the Cannes Film Festival in France, and Comic-Con in San Diego. Now there's no way I won't return every year to those three events. There's been ups and downs, rough spots and amazing experiences, but no matter what gets thrown at me, sitting in a movie theater when the lights go down is still a magical experience. It still brings a smile to my face every time I watch a movie and I hope that passion continues to be the key driving force of this website.

What I've come to realize about FirstShowing.net is that it's always evolving, day-to-day, not only in terms of the news and the movie industry in general, but with technology and the web specifically. When we first started, Twitter didn't even exist, Facebook was only for college students, and everyone still thought Bryan Singer might've successfully brought back Superman. However, we try to remain at the forefront as best we can, partially because I also love technology, but also for all the new opportunities it provides us. With that in my mind, we're still growing and expanding, and we've got some big plans that I can't announce just yet.

So once again, thank you for being a reader of and thank you to anyone who has helped us and/or worked with us over the last five years. From the numerous writers we've had, including those still working for us today (Ethan/Cate/Jeremy), to all of the publicists, executives, marketers, designers, advertisers and other friends and colleagues who have supported FirstShowing.net at one point in another, we owe you our gratitude. We've already come this far, why not make it another five. "I wouldn't presume to tell you what to do with your past, sir. Just know that there are those of us who care about what you do with your future."

Our beginnings - waiting in line for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

Photo of the birthday cake at the top comes from AndrewEick on Flickr.

Filed under Editorial, Feat, General

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