205.5 Newsletter

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Wow, can you believe it's 2025? I just know it's going to be an amazing year filled with awesome movies. What's your first movie you are planning on watching this year? Will it be an awards winning favorite you missed last year, or will you pick an old classic film you've never had the time to watch? Your best friend's favorite horror movie, a random flick off your shelf, or an old favorite? Or, perhaps, a movie that you were told to watch by one of your friends over five years ago but have yet to do? Yeah, I'm guilty of that one!

Be it western, kung-fu, musical, or drama -- I can't wait to hear what you guys pick for your first flick of the year. Can't figure out what you want to watch? Check out our weekly curated list by member Mike Kenny: Movies Mentioned in 205.5.

To start off our newsletter, as you guys remember we had two winners for our Beau Geste booklet giveaway. One of them sent me some pictures once their package arrived!

He also had this to say: "Thank you guys for the phenomenal Beau Geste booklet! I watched the movie with my buddy today. It really brightened the holiday season for us- we were very impressed with the surprisingly nuanced pre-talkie performances. The Ponyo postcard was also incredibly cute!"

We've loved seeing our giveaway winners post pictures of their prizes. It's awesome to see them in their new homes! Keep an eye out for more giveaways in the future -- each time I do them, I'm listening to your feedback. What kind of items would you like to see in a giveaway? I have a few ideas but I'd love to hear what you think

This expert du jour segment was a little different than our previous two, when we covered The Visitor and The Apple. Both of those movies were ones watched for the show but fell through the cracks and didn't make it to the mic. This time, Marc came on the show to provide additional insights and history on a movie he loves: The Christmas Tree.

As mentioned in the episode, Marc brought a few items relating to The Christmas Tree to our taping. We flipped through this promotional "Showman's Campaign" before we started to get a flavor of how they marketed the film.

Newspapers could simply "copy and paste" one of these articles into their paper. It's basically like a mini press kit, and I thought it was super cool seeing all of the different features that one could focus in on.

Here was one of my favorite taglines:

The story, it's all about a man's love!

You could order posters and accessories through this page.

Here's some options. Which one do you think would have sold you the movie if you saw it hanging up at your local theater?

I also have my box for The Christmas Tree to share with you all! It's the alternate title from the one Quentin has and features a red and green box.

Ummm, but honestly, the front of the box makes it look like a happy movie? Now you can see my confusion when I first watched it -- and the back of the box doesn't make it any better!

Literally, look at that description. And the smiling faces on the back. Again, I would not understand that this is a turgid tearjerker from the box.

As for Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, you get exactly what you'd expect from this movie!

This box feels so "scholastic" to me. As for the back of the box...

Ok this back of the box is much easier to read when a photograph has been taken of it, but in real life it is nearly impossible. I was struggling with it and had a good laugh thinking about dad having to read it on air.

That's all for me this week, but next week we have another full episode being released! The clues have been posted in the community chat, and I think that you guys have already figured out what movies we're watching ... but if you haven't, go ahead and chat with the other members. It's three exciting movies next episode, and this chat is one of our favorites so far.

Happy new year everyone!

xoxo gala