When I decided to launch this venture I had to ask myself why I believe the world needs another film magazine. Do we need to talk about films more and, if so, are the ways we currently discuss movies and their creators adequate? As with most things in life, it boiled down to questions of quality and quantity. A quote I read by the chairman of New York Film Critics, Joseph Gelmis, helped me answer the quantity question:

"We are on the threshold of a technological and aesthetic revolution in movies which will inevitably restructure human consciousness and understanding. The independent filmmaker, whether working in Super 8 or 70mm Panavision, will be the nexus of the change to come."

How can we communicate too much about something so significant? Motion pictures are just beginning to be recognized as a serious art form, and more than any other; they define our culture. Movies are who we are, and what we dream of becoming. In short, they are important.

As for the quality question, I wanted to examine what we talk about when we talk about film(apologies to Raymond Carver.) It seems that movie magazines typically fall into one of two categories - those which publish articles with titles like A semiotic psychoanalytic critique of female spectatorship with regard to the New Wave French auteur revivalists, and those which publish articles with titles like A candid, semi-nude exclusive with Drew Barrymore as she bares all about drugs, money and power in Hollywood. Our goal with MovieMaker is to help bridge the gap between the fluffy fanzines, the theoretical journals and the auteur cinema wannabe rags. Moviemaking is becoming an increasingly accessible art form, and there are more people shooting films than ever before. It's been said that film schools are to the `90's what business schools were to the `80's. Yet very little coverage is given to the excellent work being done by independents all over the country. Because of the nature of the medium, interesting and sometimes great movies far too often spend eternity gathering dust on forgotten shelves.

We'd like MovieMaker to be accessible, fun, and sometimes, even thought provoking. Although these are humble beginnings, we believe, as with movies themselves, small budgets and large commitment can sometimes yield excellent results.

We welcome your comments and suggestions. MovieMaker is meant equally for those who create movies and those who simply enjoy them. After all, isn't it really the audience who makes (or breaks) a movie?

Lastly, I would like to dedicate this endeavor to the memory of my best friend and brother, Matthew Oliver Rice (Oct. 27, 1968- Oct. 16, 1993). Matt was himself an artist, and he and

I spent many an evening hoping and ''dreaming and talking about films. The world is poorer for his passing. MM