Sometimes when I watch my two and-a-half year old daughter I'm utterly amazed that she's come so far so fast. My sweet, helpless infant has become my adorably vain little lady in what seems like about a week and a half. I have that same sort of feeling as we're about to ship our fourth issue of MM to the printer--our little magazine is already growing up. This month we've added more pages, a color cover, and over a hundred distribution points in greater Seattle. We can also now be found on newsstands in L.A., Vancouver and New York. The response from readers has been tremendous.

None of this rapid growth could be accomplished without the complete dedication of the best little staff in the business. Special thanks to my friend and Art Director, Tim Gabor, this month for his terrific cover illustration. Tim's work is regularly found in the pages of magazines like Time, New York and Washington Post, and we're proud to publish a T.G. original in MM. Thanks also to "Dr." jean Kincaid for singlehandedly applying a financial tourniquet and never failing to go beyond the call of duty.

Contributors this month include Peter Morada, who designed the Ben Stiller piece, and new staff photographer Duncan Price. We're pleased, also, to publish the work of freelance writer and KCMU film critic, Kathleen McInnis. Kathleen, founder of the Seattle Cinema Co-op, is working on several pro i`ents for us, including interviews with Peter Coyote and the cast of the new movie, Backbeat.

We'd like to welcome all our new advertisers this month, especially TheWherehouse and The Hollywood Film Institute. And continued thanks to advertisers such as Hart Brewing, Scarecrow Video, CPS, and My Turn Productions, who have believed in us from the beginning.

In this month's issue we talk with first-time director Ben Stiller, and take a look at film programs in the Northwest. In future issues we'll examine film education options from around the country in greater detail. As Dov S-S Simens of the Hollywood Film Institute says, "The industry grossed over $18,000,000,000 in theatres alone last year and 70% of all features were financed and shot independently. A full 50% of those were by first-timers. Film school is the gateway to the new American Dream."

So, whether you're a moviemaker or moviegoer or both, we hope you enjoy the magazine. We're growing because you're responding well to what we're doing here. If there's anything you'd like to see in these pages, please let us know. In the meantime, keep your dreams alive, take your vitamins and your microbrew, and maybe we'll see each other on one of our escapes to the movies. MM