Where in the World are Mick Martin and Marsha Porter?

36 Responses to “Where in the World are Mick Martin and Marsha Porter?”

1. 

   Ed says:

   January 26th, 2008 at 5:45 pm

   Thank you, Kevin.

   I thought I was the only one who was searching in vain for the ‘08 Video Guide. I posted a question at Random House (the parent company of Ballantine Books,) re: whether they were planning to publish an ‘08 version of the guide, but thus far, no response.

   Interestingly, Mick Martin doesn’t show up in their search engine.

   I e-mailed the address in the ‘07 guide (at some CA university, as I recall) asking the same question, but, here again, no response.

   I plan to try to contact Martin through the radio station you mentioned.

   The quest continues!

   Ed Flesch
   Healdsburg, CA
2. 

   Kevin says:

   January 26th, 2008 at 8:38 pm

   Thanks for your comments! I did a search for them on the site and nothing. You can’t even get old copies there! Please let us know how your quest goes.
3. 

   Ed says:

   January 28th, 2008 at 10:13 am

   Kevin:

   Mick Martin responded to the note I e-mailed him in care of the radio station you identified. Here’s what he had to say:

   Hello Ed — Random House surprised us on 9/11/06 by deciding not to publish “The DVD & Video Guide” anymore. Their rationale was that “people can get the same information on the internet.” We disagree and are trying to get it published by Sterling Publications, which owns Barnes and Noble. We’ve been “on the hook” for eight months now, but we’re not giving up! — Mick

   Not very encouraging!

   I’m going to ask Mr. Martin if he thinks it would help if his readers contacted Sterling Publications and/or Barnes & Noble to lobby them on behalf of the book, and, if so, how we should go about it.

   I’ll keep you posted.

   Ed Flesch
   EdFlesch@comcast.net

   FYI, his e-mail address is: HarpMick@aol.com
4. 

   Alicia says:

   February 16th, 2008 at 12:33 pm

   What a bummer! I have been buying these books for the past 5 years or so! I use them to update my movie collection and keep track of what I have. They will be missed :unhappy:
5. 

   sam says:

   February 17th, 2008 at 3:02 pm

   Very sad – i’ve been buying those books since the early 90s…
   But now at least i know what happened. Been looking for information about the 2008 release for some time now.
   This really sucks
6. 

   DrDeb says:

   March 4th, 2008 at 6:29 pm

   Have been buying this book every year for at least 10 years, and will miss it terribly! It’s by far the best movie review book out there. I took Ed’s suggestion to contact Random House, and will also send an email to Mick Martin (see Ed’s comment) to find out how we can help to get this fine resource back in print.
7. 

   Dave says:

   March 13th, 2008 at 7:35 pm

   If not in print then how about a downloadable version? There is a version of Leonard Maltin Movie Guide for Palm OS.
8. 

   Ralf says:

   May 3rd, 2008 at 9:41 pm

   I hope that Mick and Marsha are able to get 2008 published through Barns and Noble. They should also consider a downloadable version, say as of 2009!
9. 

   Mark W says:

   November 3rd, 2008 at 6:44 am

   i am in agreement with everyone else. i have been buying martin and porter’s guide every year in august and could not even find a whisper as to what happened to the ‘08 edition. that book was my source. sorry, mick and marsha, i feel like i’m losing family.
10. 

    Barbara L says:

    November 14th, 2008 at 7:33 pm

    Glad I have comrades in the quest for an 07 and 08 edition—no offense but 
    Leonard Maltin doesn’t come close! 
    Thanks for the email address, Ed.  I will certainly let both Mick and Random House know
    how much my favorite reference is missed.  I agree with Mark—it was my source! and as Sam says, ‘it really sucks’ if annual editions are a thing of the past.
11. 

    Valerie says:

    November 14th, 2008 at 11:43 pm

    I have been buying this book for my husband for years and he also loves it. Last year I had to get a different one and needless to say it wasn’t nearly as good. I hope you have luck getting it published with someone else.
12. 

    Joe in Mexico says:

    November 15th, 2008 at 6:13 pm

    You are all completely correct. Mick and Marsha’s DVD guides are the best. Living in different countries for most of the last ten years I have come to rely on their guide for my mail order purchases. I have bought many other guides; Blockbuster’s, Video Hound, Maltin’s, etc. None of them are as good as the Mick Martin and Marsha Porter DVD guides.
13. 

    Ron says - says:

    November 23rd, 2008 at 10:59 pm

    I’m not a religious man, but this is/was definitely my bible. All of my previous editions are so worn out that entire sections have started coming apart. Apart from reviews, it is absolutely indespensable for fact checking and referencing Stars, Directors, Release dates, you name it. It has a permanent place on my coffe table, always within arm reach. What can I say…I can’t live without it!
14. 

    Tom says:

    November 28th, 2008 at 3:18 pm

    November 2008, I agree Leonard Martin”s reference isn’t a replacement. Martin and Porter are far superior. The absence of Martin and Porter’s names on their former publisher’s web site Makes you wonder how good the publisher’s material is.
15. 

    Paul says:

    November 29th, 2008 at 7:17 pm

    I recall my father owning the 1988 guide, and we’d regularly consult it when we went to the video store to get movies for the weekend. Of course, we got the updated versions throughout the 90s and into this decade. I was just thinking it was time to get another one, only to find out they are no longer. I know Maltin has a competing guide, but it’s not the same. Martin and Porter had great taste (most of the time. Of course there were more than a few disagreements too). I hope Sterling publications, is paying attention to this site and others. There’s obviously still a demand for this book, and Random House lost out on a good thing.
16. 

    Sarah B says:

    December 11th, 2008 at 9:12 am

    Ah! I sold my 2006 at a rummage sale in hopes of getting a fresh copy. I am so upset! I was going to get one for my parents as well for Xmas! Anyone hear anything more as to who we should bug to get this published again??
17. 

    Harrison says:

    December 16th, 2008 at 4:04 pm

    I was in shock today when I found out from my local Barnes and
    Noble store that a new 2009 Martin and Porter guide is no longer available.Fortunately I did not throw away or dispose of my 2006 edition; however it is getting a little long in the tooth. Please?!?! Sterling or Barnes and Noble: Publish the book !
18. 

    Ruth says:

    December 30th, 2008 at 11:50 am

    I am glad to at least find an answer here. I could use this book to avoid the many turkeys I watched without it. Their opinions so closely follow my own, and there is no other guide that even comes close. I hope they change their mind and give us a 2009 edition, even if it is late!!! Can we petition this somewhere?
19. 

    Ruth says:

    December 30th, 2008 at 12:00 pm

    I found the related post on this website that gives a direct form to fill out and request this be published again.  http://www.geekscribe.com/2008/05/13/help-us-get-the-dvd-video-guide-published-again/comment-page-1/#comment-844
    Thank you, Kevin.
20. Bring back the DVD Movie Guide « As blog as it gets says:

    January 5th, 2009 at 9:42 pm

    [...] published. He and Marsha tried their best to find another publisher but to no avail. DMG has its fans. People want it back. The decision to cancel it, while Maltin’s and other yearly review books [...]
21. 

    Thomas Blaisdell says:

    January 13th, 2009 at 8:45 am

    Me, too! This  guide was the best. Really miss it. Was holding out one more year after being unable to find it last year but not seeing it again this year led me to this site.  Guess we’ll have to choose from what’s left… Tom 
22. 

    naveen gopi says:

    February 17th, 2009 at 3:33 am

    i was also surprised not to find in 08′
    They were the best in the business
    i am from india ……..and i searched the entire southern belt.
23. 

    Christin says:

    March 3rd, 2009 at 9:27 am

    I thought I was losing my mind.  Where is my saving grace?  I love having that book on hand to answer all my movie trivia needs.  I have other guides such as Leonards which are not as thorough.  Hope to see 2008 guide soon.  We need it!
24. 

    Donna says:

    May 4th, 2009 at 5:59 am

    Well, pooh! I realized that my version is out of date and attempted to order it through the bookstore where I work. OOPS! No such book, no such authors!!! Now, I understand. But, it doesn’t make the pain go away. Sterling, Random House, SOMEone has to pick this up again!
25. 

    LindaBerlinda says:

    July 7th, 2009 at 1:45 pm

    I’m relieved to know I’m not craxy too. Went into Borders last month to look for the latest version only to find none and I figured they were just sold out. This is sad, very sad. The reason this guide is the best is for all the reference material in the back. For people with horrible memories, having the actors and the movies they were in was invaluable! If you could remember just ONE person’s name, you’d most likely have the movie name, date, etc. We were always using this guide at work because someone could either remember the name but not the actors…or vice versa. I am going to write to everyone possible to put in MY request that this volume continue on. And for blues and blues-rock lovers, Mick’s show on KXJZ 90.9 Sacramento State’s public radio station is a GREAT show. He has encyclopedic knowledge of blues songs and performers world-wide. He sometimes does special shows showcasing some bands or memorial shows when a bluesman dies. Saturday 1-5…give a listen if you can!
26. 

    bill pritchard says:

    August 2nd, 2009 at 6:56 pm

    Hard to believe that the last comments were made eight months ago.
    I, too, have used this wonderful reference book for years, buying one every two years or so. The fact that it has disappeared is unconscionable, obviously a factor, I’m guessing, of corporate culture and the ever-changing world of the internet. Yes, I can get all the information on the net, but no other publication can let me index by cast or director. I hope this not the death knell of this great book.
    Also, I had no idea that Mr. Martin was such a creative and ordinary sort of fellow, not a big-time movie reviewer. I do not now anything about Marsha Martin, but if she co-created this then she gets my vote, too. I hope this isn’t the end.
27. 

    Eduardo BR says:

    August 7th, 2009 at 10:31 pm

    I can’t believe it!
    I had hope that someday could find a more recent version of VMG.
    I live in Brazil and purchased this Guide in three versions: 2000, 2002 and 2005. Since 2007 I’ve been searching in the brazilians libraries without success. And now I discovered that they don’t publish the VMG anymore. It’s the best Movie Guide, in my opinion. The comments of the authors where very in commom with my particular opnions. I’ll miss the work of Mick and Marsha. I suspect that I’ll never find a Movie Guide that fill the vacant space left by Mick & Marsha’s VMG.
28. 

    Debi Christensen says:

    September 20th, 2009 at 3:40 pm

    Random House couldn’t be more wrong that people can get the same info from the internet. Though my husband and I are both avid internet users, when we are in the middle of watching a movie, we do not want to jump up and long into IMDB or whatever to get the answer. We use this video guide. And we do not care for others we have seen. We are both Baby Boomers, and believe that there are many others that feel as we do. We’ll make do with the 2006 version, which was the last one we managed to find. I am glad we saved it!
29. 

    Anne V. says:

    September 27th, 2009 at 5:47 pm

    Most complete, comprehensive movie/DVD/Vido guide ever. I thought anyone could get a book published nowadays – forget Random House/Barnes & Noble, whoever snaps this one up could be sitting on a gold mine.
30. 

    Anne V. says:

    September 27th, 2009 at 5:48 pm

    Most complete, comprehensive movie/DVD/Vido guide ever. I thought anyone could get a book published nowadays – forget Random House/Barnes & Noble, etc., whoever snaps this one up could be sitting on a gold mine.
31. 

    Fran says:

    October 18th, 2009 at 1:35 pm

    This is terrible. I was going to purchase updated copies for all my “movie night” friends!! It was the best guide around. Thank you to this site for letting me know why I never saw any of those updated copies at my local bookstore.
32. 

    Dan says:

    October 27th, 2009 at 6:23 am

    I too, am one of the crying masses that hold this guide above all others. I hope the Mr. Martin and Ms. Porter find a new publisher, but at this point I am sure that they have probably moved on to other ventures. Sad.
33. 

    Chris M says:

    December 11th, 2009 at 7:45 am

    Add me onto the list of long time “Video Movie Guide” fans. This was my reoccurring Christmas present for the better part of a decade and a few years ago, I realized they had stopped publishing the book, which was heartbreak hotel for me. As said in previous posts, this book surpasses the power of the internet with its comprehensive index and great reviews. If companies like Random House and Barnes & Noble continue not to publish books like this merely because “we can get this information on the internet”, they are ignoring the time and care that individuals like Mick Martin and Marsha Porter have taken because they actually give a damn, and are cutting off a key resource used by thousands of film fans worldwide.
34. 

    Paul says:

    December 27th, 2009 at 10:43 am

    My family also misses the Porter/Martin DVD and Movie Guide. It has been our reference for all things movie-ish for decades. Our last copy is falling apart! We really want this book back.
35. 

    Diane says:

    January 30th, 2010 at 11:35 am

    We really miss the DVD and Movie Guide. We purchased the Leonard Maltin book, but it’s no replacement to the Martin/Porter Guide. We keep referring back to our old book, which is falling apart. We really NEED an updated DVD and Movie Guide!!! We refer to it almost daily as we enjoy watching old movies.
36. 

    sue caroline says:

    February 6th, 2010 at 9:03 pm

    Geez, god, I thought I “needed” a 2007 or above now that it’s 2010 but now I think I should create a hard cover for my ole faithful 2006 printing!
    What’s the latest on this quest we all seem to have?
    I want more!

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