“Money! The Frankenstein monster that destroys souls!” or, Movies Silently is on Patreon

Over the years, lovely readers have asked me if there was a way to support the site. Well, now there is. As of today, I am on Patreon.

Running Movies Silently is a labor of love but there are definitely expenses. I have web hosting, domain registration and sundry tech expenses and I also have books and movies to purchase in order to assure that my posts are as accurate and informative as possible. Even a small review takes hours of research and writing, not to mention layout. And big reviews? My epic Ben-Hur review took about 30 hours over six months to research and write. And then there are ingredients to purchase for the popular Cooking with the Silent Stars series. As I said before, a labor of love but if you would like to help a little…

Patreon is a site that allows fans to support creators through small monthly payments, you can sign up for just $1 per month. You can also donate more! Lots more! All the money in the world! (You are getting sleepy, very sleepy…) Everything is private and I never see your financial or contact info. You can be my Daddy Long Legs, if you like! (Actually, no, forget I said that. It sounds really creepy.) The point is, it’s a secure way to support the site. All the cool kids are doing it.

As my way of thanking patrons, I will post secret updates for their eyes only. They’ll get early access to my review schedule, be able to vote in polls and even help choose some of the films I review. It’s not much but I think we will have a good time. And all this for a fraction of a latte! (I always like to describe financial matters in terms of latte buying power.) If just ten people sign up for $5 (one good latte or two cheap ones) per month, all my website expenses will be covered.

Thanks in advance for considering becoming a supporter!

“But I’m broke too! What does this mean for me?”

No change at all! You will still get access to daily silent film posts, quirky GIFs and all manner of tomfoolery on this site.

“Does this mean you’ll be covered with ads now?”

Absolutely not! This is my way of avoiding noisy, annoying ads. However, I may add the option for some patrons to advertise on my site if they donate at a certain level. Rest assured, though, that these ads will only be for silent movie-related swag and/or vintage living. Everything will be personally approved by me and none of those awful “one weird trick” ads on this site!

“Why don’t you just rob William S. Hart? It worked for Mary Pickford.”

Alas, modern law makes armed robbery a poor choice for financing a website.

“I am horrified to hear you discuss anything so coarse as money!”

Yeah, not really my thing either.

“Enough of this jibber-jabber! Where do I sign up?”

You can read all the information and sign up here.

Whether you can give or not, I truly appreciate your continued support and lovely words of encouragement. Let’s work together to keep on celebrating the gorgeous art of silent film.

Update: Oh my goodness! Thank you, thank you! Your lovely support is overwhelming!