THE EMOJI MOVIE

Brian Kulman, of Los Gatos, Calif., is a semiretired executive in the technology business. He started solving New York Times crosswords during high school when a teacher said they'd help improve his SAT vocabulary score. ("It definitely worked!")

He loves movies and collects movie posters. He hopes this puzzle evokes a lot of good memories from movie lovers.

I'm a Silicon Valley computer programmer and business founder, currently trying out a new gig — early retirement.

When I was a kid, I made simple puzzles for my sister and neighbors. For years, I wanted to construct a puzzle for the Times, but I needed a uniquely special concept. When my son Caleb went off to study Film, we frequently texted back and forth about movies. We realized that the "horse face" emoji is evocative of a certain scene in The Godfather, and when The Emoji Movie was released, our idea took hold. Still, it took about two years to finish.

I tried to follow these rules:

• Represent each movie title with exactly three emojis. [Note: the single artist emoji at 38-across displays on some systems as two emojis — JH]
• Only use emojis that are part of the current Unicode standard. For example, Raiders of the Lost Ark would be difficult since there are no emojis (yet) for whips, fedoras, or boulders.
• Don't reuse any emoji.
• Reference films that are classic, or widely known.
• Include a variety of different genres.
• Represent memorable plot elements or characters.
• Include as many theme answers as possible because guessing movie titles from emojis is fun!

After a ton of reworking and polishing, I was thrilled to (mostly) meet all the rules while including 16 movies and 48 different emojis. I hope solvers love the concept and perhaps even smile and laugh with the recognition of some favorites movie moments.

The NYT Magazine has a huge distinction over most crossword formats — its ability to print in color opens so many possibilities for creativity. The NYT crossword doesn't take advantage of this nearly enough, so I love what today's is trying to do. It was a lot of fun to figure out some of the emoji sequences, like the rocketship + gorilla + statue of liberty = PLANET OF THE APES.

I see Will Shortz's hesitation to do this too often, though. What about electronic solvers, especially those using Across Lite or other programs with limited capabilities? It's no fun to open up a file and be alerted that "this puzzle has elements unreproducible in electronic formats." Read: "you're screwed."

If you're one of those disgruntled folks, take a look at what Jim Horne did (below) to display those emoji. Why not buy a paper now and then, and enjoy the innovation that a less modern format can bring?

(NYT printers, I am available for sponsorship.)

Today's grid is a good example of why Will sticks to a 140-word minimum. He allowed Brian to go to 142 words, and while that meant Brian's construction job was easier — especially important for a rookie — there weren't a lot of bonuses. I did like GAL GADOT and STAR TREK (what, no Spock-ear + aliens + Starfleet insignia emoji?), but there wasn't much else otherwise. For people who don't connect to the theme, that can be an important factor.

Given that Brian did an admirable job of keeping his grid clean, a few more bonuses at the cost of more minor glue dabs like ORO and NEG would have helped.

Overall, I love the creative thinking, using the NYT Magazine's distinctive capabilities. I wanted a tighter theme, though, as the movie selection felt scattershot, drawn from the giant pool of thousands of recognizable movies out there. It'd have been incredible if there had been some extra layer — maybe all animated movies?