Welcome To The New Look Of Upcomingdiscs!

On Dec 1st, 2008 after eight years working at Upcomingdiscs as a writer, I became the owner. It’s been 10 years, and in that time I’ve found a few ways to make my mark upon the site. In that time I was able to gather a wonderful local Tampa staff that has allowed the site to grow while freeing me to discover new ways to serve our faithful followers. We added an October Halloween celebration called 31 Nights Of Terror. We started to bring you interviews with the folks that work to make the films and television shows you guys love so much. We’ve tried to keep up with tributes to lost industry giants and provide you with a weekly roundup of what you can expect each week here at the ranch. We expanded our contests and giveaways by working hard to maintain good relationships with the studios that provide all of our review and contest material. Of course, those relationships never got in the way of honest reporting with every review we write. We were the first home entertainment site to bring you a UHD 4K review. I was invited to join the Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA).  I managed to score a player before the guys at Best Buy had even seen one before. Every year I would ask you what we could do better. What changes you would like to see here at Upcomingdiscs. I have read each and every one of your answers. Most of you have been happy with our appearance, but it’s gotten a little old, and you deserve better. So I welcome you to the new look for Upcomingdiscs. I hope you’ll take a look around and let us know what you think.

We didn’t make it more complicated. I always hated when a favored web site changed for the worse. Why do some folks think new and improved means harder to navigate? I hope you find this new site as easy to use as the old one was. So what has changed?

We did away with all of that wasted space developed for square monitors that no one uses anymore.

We did away with those drab colors and added some life into the palette.

We used some of that space to give you better and more user-friendly navigation buttons.

We added profiles and pictures of our staff, because we want you to get to know us better.

We’ve added a place where we can now highlight some of our best stuff without taking over too much room on the home page.

We’ve given ourselves room to grow and pull in some sponsors so we can bring you more of the contests you want to see.

There’s so much more to be discovered, and we’re not finished yet. Each of our writers will begin to deliver monthly columns to our content. Look for Brent to start giving you an update on the world of streaming material. I’ll be writing a monthly column on some of my gripes with the home entertainment industry. We hope to create a new and improved forum so that we can all have some great conversations about the things we are so passionate about.

And that’s really what it’s all about. Everyone here does this because we share your passion for movies and television. That’s why we’re here. That’s what has fed us for these 10 years of Upcomingdiscs. I couldn’t have done it without the wonderful support and staff that I’ve built over that 10 years:

Michael Durr was here back when someone else owned the site. While he doesn’t contribute on a regular basis, he stuck with me when I took over and gave me the faith and support I needed to make it all work out.

Brent Lorentson was my next find, and his insight into filmmaking has been a huge contribution to the site. He’s come through in a clutch more times than I can count here. He knows more about filmmaking than I ever will, and he’s a solid part of this team.

Jeremy Butler was the last good find here in Tampa (so far). Jeremy is the only one of us with a child, so he can offer a unique viewpoint on the various kiddie titles. We hope that Jeremy is just now hitting his stride.

Ellen Sassani is the one who edits the posts and makes sure the ship is functioning from day to day. It’s no coincidence we share a last name. We’ve been married for nearly 30 years, and she’s made it possible for me to even be involved with Upcomingdiscs.

Over the years we have had some wonderful contributors.

Bob Ross is a legend in Tampa as a film reviewer. When he retired and approached us to write a few reviews, it was a heck of an honor, and while Bob’s schedule made it difficult to do much writing for us, he introduced me to the local review press corps so that Upcomingdiscs could expand its coverage to current box office films. Even though he’s not writing for us these days, Bob’s continues to be a great friend to the site.

John Delia actually works for the folks at ACED Magazine, and we share a wonderful friendly bond that allows us to help each other out from time to time.

Deb Kelly started as a writer but ended up creating our wonderful logo.

There are a ton of other people to thank: The great studio reps who work with us to get review and contest copies of titles; Davood Denavi, the developer who created the new look; the moderators and security folks at the press screenings who make sure our experience is always a good one.

Here’s to 10 years at Upcomingdiscs. Today we start the next 10 years, and we all hope you’ll stick with us for the ride.

Be sure to tell us your Upcomingdiscs story. We’ll have a mystery prize to giveaway The winner will be randomly selected from anyone who shares their Upcomingdiscs story in the comments.