Introducing The Movie Wingman
The new film newsletter from the team that brought you Total Film magazine
Hello!
We’re excited to introduce you to The Movie Wingman, a film-focused newsletter that we hope will be your dream cinemagoing companion. It’s the new venture from Matt Maytum, Jordan Farley and Matthew Leyland - three seasoned film writers and editors with a combined experience of more than 45 years working on Total Film magazine.
1. Our story
When our beloved print edition of TF closed, we weren’t ready to stop sharing the kind of authoritative but irreverent, sharp but accessible film writing that we’d had such a blast pulling together with TF’s staff and contributors over the years. Following the outpouring we received at the announcement of the mag’s closure, we’re hoping there are a fair few readers who feel the same.
A newsletter seemed like the ideal way to go. One of the best things about working on a print title was not being beholden to the outside factors that drive so much online writing (like having to appease the fickle SEO gods or being forced to focus purely on the titles that’ll do traffic). While The Movie Wingman is absolutely going to cover mainstream releases, we want space to share things that we think are interesting, and bring hidden gems to a wider audience.
2. What to expect
There will be two editions per week: enough to keep up with the ongoing movie conversation without ever making you feel you’re being spammed. On Tuesday mornings you’ll get a mix of think pieces, lists, recommendations, interviews, quizzes, and funnies, while Friday will be review day, with our measured take on the biggest releases of the week. Our focus will be primarily on cinema, but of course, we’ll also cover the biggest TV shows that we think film fans will be watching. We welcome any and all feedback.
Our hope is for Wingman to be as epic as IMAX but as intimate as watching your smartphone in bed. It’ll have the quality writing you’d expect from a top-tier print publication but with the convenience of having it delivered to your inbox. Like the best wingmen, we’ll have your back when it comes to anything movie-related you need to know about.
3. Why sign up?
While we will offer a free subscription plan with limited access, to get the most out of The Movie Wingman we urge you to sign up to be a full member. For £6 per month, you’d be supporting independent film writing at a time when it’s looking ever more dicey for the industry (RIP Total Film magazine), and you’ll receive a minimum of eight newsletters a month. You also have access to a thriving community chat for like-minded film fans, where there will be healthy debate without the toxicity you get on so much social media.
This is a brand new venture, and we have ambitious plans - if it really soars, we’d love for it to be successful enough to enable us to pay good rates for some of our favourite film writers to contribute. And we’d also love to expand to bonus editions, events, audio and more. But we can’t do it without your support.
For a limited time we’re offering a 25% discount on your first year, for monthly and annual subs (offer ends 30 November 2024). We hope you’ll give us a chance. Ultimately, we’re chasing that feeling that being a film fan is fun. Join us.
Matt Maytum, Jordan Farley, Matthew Leyland
(Co-founders and editors, The Movie Wingman)
The Movie Wingman logo design by Mike Brennan