Most people know what it’s like to sit through a bad movie once. Communication sophomore Lawrence Dai will do it 365 times this year.
For a year Dai says he will watch the movie “Julie & Julia” – one he struggles to finish – and blog about his experience. The blog has already received some national media attention.
The film, based on a true story, details how one woman, Julie Powell, attempts to cook her way through the famous Julia Child’s cookbook in one year. Powell also blogs about her progress.
Dai, a Daily staffer, did not intend to start a blog when he first viewed the movie. To his surprise, he found it amusing.
“I had never seen a film structured around a blog and I thought that was interesting,” he said. “I sent my friend a joke text saying I should watch the movie every day for a year and keep a blog. I think she was fed up with my half-baked ideas so she told me to do it. So I did.”
Dai’s blog, titled “The Lawrence/Julie and Julia Project,” includes posts on an assortment of topics related to the film. In one he compares Julia Child to Jesus Christ.
The blog received little Internet traffic until a friend posted it on the social news website, Reddit. It was subsequently picked up by the Huffington Post and other national news organizations.
McCormick sophomore Jonathan Lamano found the Huffington Post’s article and immediately told Dai.
“He couldn’t believe it,” Lamano said. “His site traffic had gone up like 10,000 (viewers). I think the first thing he said was ‘Now I really have to do this.'”
After more than 40 viewings, Dai said he is growing tired of the film but feels obligated to continue for his readers.
“I think half of my readers are there to see my decline into insanity,” he said.
Though some readers have questioned his reasoning for starting the blog, others have been supportive. Julie Powell was one of the first to leave a comment.
“I got a ‘kudos’ from Julie Powell,” he said. “It was super weird. My dream is for Meryl (Streep) to one day call me up out of the blue.”
With more than 300 viewings of the film to go, it’s hard to say whether or not Dai will meet his goal. Communication sophomore Brandon Daley, who posted the blog on Reddit, said he doesn’t believe his friend will complete the project.
“That’s a really long time,” Daley said, “and it’s a very mediocre movie.”
However, Dai’s main concern is running out of content for the blog, not watching the film every day.
“If it weren’t for the end part where (Julia) finally gets her cookbook in the mail, I couldn’t make it through the day, ” he said. “But I’m going to give it a shot.”
Dai’s blog can be found at lawrenceandjulieandjulia.blogspot.com.
