Who’s Going To Watch 1001 Movies? This Guy
For the past four years, English tutor Alexander Sorondo has helped students at the Kendall Campus speech lab with assignments for their public speaking classes.
At home he puts his writing techniques into practice, posting film essays online. The essays are in response to films featured in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, a film reference book edited by noted film producer Steven Jay Schneider. It contains several essays written by film critics and professors.
Sorondo plans to review all 1001 movies and has dubbed the undertaking the Thousand Movie Project. So far, he has reviewed 189 movies. They range in topic from classic horror like Bride of Frankenstein to film noir like Scarface: The Shame of a Nation.
He has been screening the movies at Tea and Poets, 5701 Sunset Dr 126, a coffee shop located at the Shops at Sunset Place. The screenings began last year in June, with nine films been shown so far. The dates are chosen randomly once a month or to correspond with certain events, such as a viewing that coincided with the anniversary of The Naked Gun.
“So far we’ve shown some older movies, from the 1920s and ’30s, but lately I’ve been bringing it more into the modern era with movies like It [the 1990 mini-series], The Monster Squad, Spaceballs and The Naked Gun 2 1/2,” he said.
Reception to the screenings has been positive, much to Sorondo’s surprise.
“I was nervous, at first, thinking that people might not have much fun with eighty-year-old movies, but I think the environment, Tea & Poets, plays a major role,” he said. “There’s something about sitting around with friends, we feel like we’ve got this big public space all to ourselves, that makes people engage more with the movie.”
Anaelys Bazan, the host of Tea & Poets’ Open Mic Nights, is one of Sorondo’s biggest supporters. She strongly believes in the project and is excited for its future.
“We are so glad to have been part of his growth and can’t wait to see what the future holds,” Bazan said.
Sorondo has been pleasantly surprised by how older films have managed to have an impact on students.
“Somebody cried when we showed Bride of Frankenstein recently, she was so moved by it,” Sorondo said. “People were laughing out loud when we showed a Charlie Chaplin double feature in November. People adored the Marx Bros comedy A Night at the Opera, and The Naked Gun had a pretty good reception too.”
That positive reception has extended into Sorondo’s work life as well. Pavel Klein, one of his co-workers at the Kendall Campus speech lab, is impressed with the ambition of the project.
The two have bonded over their love of films. Klein writes film reviews for the film review site Punch Drunk Movies and has appeared on Sorondo’s film podcast, Thousand Movie Project Podcast. It is available on SoundCloud.
“If Ernest Hemingway, Han Solo and Michael Scott somehow had a love child, it would be Alex,” Klein said. “I look forward to his continued adventures through 1001 films and whatever else he’s going to come up with down the line. Whatever it is, I know it’ll be interesting.”
To learn more about Sorondo’s project go to www.thousandmovieproject.com. The Thousand Movie Project is also on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
