IMPORTANT NOTE: As of February 2020 MGWCC is available only to subscribers at my Patreon site. A subscription costs $3/month. During January 2020 only you can download the puzzles for free on this page (see below under “This Week’s Instructions”).
LAST WEEK’S RESULTS:
Title: “Mo’ Better Clues”
Instructions: This week’s contest answer is a Denzel Washington movie.
Answer: GLORY
Five Denzel Washington movies get the Merl treatment (whose original had a thunderstorm blowing a letter off the marquee), with one letter changed to produce a wacky new movie title that you probably wouldn’t pay to see:
17-A: [Denzel Washington movie about a party animal who calms down in middle age?] = HE GOT TAME. From the 1998 basketball movie “He Got Game” (directed by SPIKE LEE, who is in the grid randomly at 11-D). I wouldn’t pay to see “He Got Tame” but if there were a sequel where he becomes a party animal again in his senior years I’d probably watch that.
26-A: [With “The,” Denzel movie chronicling a record house’s rise and fall?] = BOOK OF EMI. From 2010’s “The Book of Eli.” Apologies for, as Amy Reynaldo calls it “The dreaded ‘with ‘the.'” in the clue. So I need a triple-quote mark to punctuate that properly. Anyway, wouldn’t pay to watch this one.
37-A: [Denzel movie about a broken ladder?] = UNSTEPPABLE. From the 2010 runaway train thriller “Unstoppable.” Hard pass; even the cleverest Hollywood screenwriter could not make “Unsteppable” work.
49-A: [Movie where Denzel played a colonial-era musician?] = MAN ON FIFE. Amusing entry, but sounds like a skippable music biopic. From 2004’s “Man on Fire.”
60-A: [Denzel movie about a baby beaver’s first project?] = TRAINING DAM. From 2001’s “Training Day.” I could see this working as a Pixar movie.
Replace those changed letters back to their original and you get the 1989 Civil War epic GLORY, for which Denzel won an Oscar.
So easy that jondelfin submitted at 12:08:
taking a risk, half-filled grid
(He got it right, and knows something about solving quickly.)
twodox says:
Hey, I got a Week 2!
Nice!
Sara N writes:
This was the movie that came to mind when I first saw the hint. Delighted by my prescience!
Magoo asks:
Felt like Deja Vu. Is this to be a fully Denzel-themed January? Or am I making much ado about nothing?
Denzel fortnight, actually. He was the sixth or seventh actor with whose movies I tried to make this idea work; when it all panned out I asked the Crossword Gods: isn’t it a little weird to have a second DW movie in a row as the contest answer? They responded by placing the title “Mo’ Better Clues” in my head, which I took as a clear command to carry on. You don’t mess with the Crossword Gods.
And finally, Steve Jorgensen writes:
A great film! All systems are go with me on PATREON. Easy peasy.
Thanks for signing up, Steve! Let’s jump to our weekly update on that front now:
PATREON SWITCHOVER UPDATE:
Weekly Patreon tips and updates for Janaury:
1) We’re up to 513 solvers who’ve made the switch over to Patreon! Join them at the link. Thanks to everyone who’s made the jump so far; still three weeks left to sign up without missing a puzzle. If you have any trouble with it, please e-mail me at crosswordcontest@gmail.com or via Patreon messaging.
2) Today’s puzzle is the first one that will not be delivered via the usual MGWCC e-mail. If you’ve already signed up at Patreon you will receive them via Patreon post, plus the puzzle is available to all for download at the bottom of this page today (beneath “This Week’s Instructions” — might not be up until 12:15 or so, so don’t worry if you don’t see them right away).
3) Update for those with months/years left on your MGWCC subscription: we’ve pretty much got this figured out now and will start implementing the transfer of your months over this week. Again, rest assured that you will received full credit (plus the free month for January 2020) on your MGWCC subscription at the new Patreon site. It’s just a bit of a logistical issue, but bear with me for one more week and we’ll get it all hammered out.
That’s it for now! Contact me if you have any questions, and I’ll be back with a new update next week. It’s going pretty smoothly so far from my vantage point!
MULLER MONTHLY MUSIC META, SEASON 9:
The great Pete Muller is back for another season of his monthly music meta, which is good that it now also runs in the Washington Post! First puzzle of the year went out on Tuesday and you’ve got until Sunday at 11 PM ET to submit (looks like an easy one, with almost 400 right answers already). I blog each one as the deadline passes at Crossword Fiend. Free of charge, too, and highly recommended.
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
This week’s contest answer is a famous British author.
Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.