I’ve long been fascinated with movie reviewer Jeff Craig of Sixty Second Preview, a man who seems to love bad movies. About “Swordfish,” he said, “One of the most breathlessly entertaining releases of the summer. You’ll be pinned to your seat by Swordfish.” “The Chamber” was “an explosive, gripping drama!” And “Free Willy III” was breathtaking.
So who is Jeff Craig and what is Sixty Second Preview? NPR tried to track him down but couldn’t.
The Kevin Pollack/Sheryl Lee Ralph vehicle, titled “Deterrence,” wasn’t one of the top ten of the year, it was one of the most important films of our time. Now, there’s a movie lover. So we naturally wanted to speak to him, but we couldn’t find “Sixty Second Preview” — not any trace of it anywhere we looked. We don’t even know what medium it is.
Roger Ebert also asked, “Has anyone ever actually seen Jeff Craig of ‘Sixty Second Previews’ at a movie? For that matter, does anyone know what ‘Sixty Second Previews’ is? I ask in all sincerity.”
Little Rock native Ron Breeding has an answer:
I once worked for a radio station that aired “Sixty Second Previews,” a daily modular program one minute in length. Jeff Craig is the host of the thing, but since the program comes on CD a month at a time, he apparently hasn’t actually seen most of the movies — thus “previews,” not “reviews.” Still, his gushing about an upcoming movie he hasn’t yet seen ends up being used as blurbs in movie ads.
Jamie
on 04 Dec 06This reminds me of that fake reviewer that Sony used to plaster on their movie posters. Gushing reviews about bad movies. What was that fake name again?
ML
on 04 Dec 06Sony pays $1.5m over fake critic
Another famous fake movie name: Alan Smithee (fake name used by Hollywood directors who want to dissociate themselves from a film).
Michael Moncur
on 04 Dec 06I believe Jeff Craig also used to do “Sixty second LP”, a mini-review of an album, back in the 80s. I generally found it annoying, but I still remember the lovely turn of phrase he used to describe a Fixx album: “Pseudo-psychadelic psychobabble.”
I used to hear it on a local NPR affiliate, so I’m surprised nobody around there has heard of him.
steve
on 04 Dec 06Don’t forget about Earl Dittman!
Don Schenck
on 04 Dec 06I remember “Sixty Second LP” from my high school days some 30+ years ago. I rather liked it.
Thirty years … dayum.
Alan Wallace
on 04 Dec 06My favourite box quote was on the UK DVD release of Alien versus Predator, directed by Paul W Anderson. “The greatest face-off movie ever” Paul W Anderson
You know it’s bad when the only good quote is from the director.
matthew
on 04 Dec 06Most people triangulate reviews-movies, products, candidates, whatever-in order to make a decision, right? They must.
In as much as this is true, stuff like this doesn’t bother me. Frankly, I’m fairly confident when I say that there are tons of Jeff Craig’s out there yet to be uncovered.
Worse, companies and governments allegedly feed news stations fake news stories, so pick your battle:
http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=06-P13-00048&segmentID=1
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article621189.ece
chriskalani
on 04 Dec 06ahahah, what a freakin pimp
Jeff
on 04 Dec 06Wow, I remember that from my radio days. I had to air it when I covered for midday shifts. Yeah, what a bunch of crap that guy put out. I too often wondered how he could see movies many weeks before premiers and press screenings.
Joe
on 04 Dec 06If I see an incongruously gushing review about a movie I suspect is bad, from someone I have never heard of, it makes me less likely to watch it. It’s a nice heads up.
Bob King Neverland III
on 05 Dec 06Lol, to the first poster Jamie – I was thinking the same thing when I read this.
Giles Bowkett
on 07 Dec 06I believe movie reviewers get paid for every poster or ad they’re quoted in. There’s a huge economic incentive to approve of every movie they see.
This discussion is closed.