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.
Matt Linderman wrote this on Dec 04 2006 There are 12 comments.
Jamie 04 Dec 06
This 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 04 Dec 06
Sony 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 04 Dec 06
I 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 04 Dec 06
Don’t forget about Earl Dittman!
Don Schenck 04 Dec 06
I remember “Sixty Second LP” from my high school days some 30+ years ago. I rather liked it.
Thirty years … dayum.
Alan Wallace 04 Dec 06
My 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 04 Dec 06
Most 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 04 Dec 06
ahahah, what a freakin pimp
Jeff 04 Dec 06
Wow, 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 04 Dec 06
If 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 05 Dec 06
Lol, to the first poster Jamie – I was thinking the same thing when I read this.
Giles Bowkett 07 Dec 06
I 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.