YouTuber Chris Stuckmann has been reviewing movies for over 10 years and has amassed a following of almost 2 million people. Many movie fans over the years have often looked to his channel as a way to find out if a new movie was worth watching or not, and now they may be wondering the same about the project Stuckmann announced just over a month ago.
As the YouTuber has said, he never intended to do movie reviews his whole life, as his first passion was always filmmaking. Instead of reviewing other people’s movies, Stuckmann will now be making his own feature-length film. Stuckmann has made a few short and no-budget films in the past, but now he will be working on a new project with an actual budget and a team of other creatives. He announced his plans to redesign the way he runs his YouTube platform on July 6, 2021, as it would no longer be fitting to critique others and their work, given how hard it is to make a film.
Instead, he decided to use his channel to advocate for and promote other movies (whether they were popular or not) to build hype for filmmakers who might be getting overlooked in light of big-budget Hollywood movies like Marvel Studios' Black Widow. It’s always great to see someone follow their dreams, no matter how long it takes them. And after a long-awaited debut, Stuckmann will finally make his transition from film critic to filmmaker.
Very befittingly, Stuckmann’s “first” movie will be about a group of paranormal investigators who were part of a YouTube channel in the mid-2000s called The Paranormal Paranoids. Stuckmann will be writing and directing the feature-length film entitled Shelby Oaks. No release date has been announced, as the movie is still in preproduction, and no cast members have been announced either. The story will follow the mysterious disappearance of the paranormal researchers, whose last known video ended in a creepy and unsettling way.
Stuckmann said he has been waiting for this moment since he was just 14 years old when he was given a camcorder from his mother as a gift. Viewers of Stuckmann’s channel may have been noticing the lackluster tone with which the YouTuber had been reviewing movies over the last couple of years. But now that he is finally achieving his dreams, he couldn’t keep the smile out of his eyes or voice.
Stuckmann said in his video that oftentimes, other filmmakers will talk about their movies as if they are some magical and unattainable thing—but they aren’t. Instead of reviewing movies and pretending that they are made from fairy dust, Stuckmann said he plans to give actual and practical advice for aspiring filmmakers to put into practice so they too can achieve their life’s purpose. Like Stuckmann said, filmmaking is hard work, but if someone is passionate enough, they should keep going no matter who is telling them no—as many people will be doing just that. For any aspiring filmmakers out there, this is a great video to watch to give them motivation for success.
Source: Chris Stuckmann | YouTube, Deadline