Believe it or not, I received a notification yesterday morning informing me that I created this blog no less than nine years ago! And I thought it had “only” been eight years. Well, time flies. These have been nine prosperous years of blogging with now 492 followers (come on, can we reach 500 soon??), 549 posts published, 26 editions of blogathons hosted and my participation in more than 150 of them. It’s been quite a ride!
I’d be lying to you if I told you that the recent years have been my most prolific. My golden age of blogging was when I was studying, working part-time and had more free time. Plus, now, I don’t know why, I always have to go somewhere else, in a café for example, to write instead of just doing that at home. Sure, it gives you an occasion for a change of scenery, but it makes you lose time after all. And anyway, now that I’m working full time and writing for a film magazine, my time for blogging has been considerably reduced, especially since I don’t necessarily want to spend my free time in front of a computer. Consequently, it affected my algorithm. However, despite my posts not being as read or popular as they were before (not that millions of people read them, but it was better), I was agreeably surprised when my last article, the one on The Italian Job, reached a good amount of readers and received ten likes. That might not seem much for some very popular bloggers, but it’s a very correct amount for me. Anyway, it’s not very interesting, and I’m just thinking out loud now. But don’t worry; I’m not ready to abandon blogging any time soon. It’s the platform where I can fully express my love for films without restrictions. Writing for the magazine is great, and it’s rewarding to have your writing in a paper format. Still, there are a lot of rules to follow, like the word count, the writing style, the subjects, etc. Here, I can do as I please and be more creative.
Nine years of blogging means a 9th post like the one you’re reading now. I don’t want to make things too repetitive, so I thought I’d take the occasion to kill two birds with one stone. Not long ago, my talented fellow blogger Rebecca from Taking Up Room kindly nominated me for a Sunshine Blogger Award (admit it, it’s been ages since you heard about these), making it my third one. Thank you, Rebecca!
The Sunshine Blogger Award aims to recognize and highlight your fellow bloggers’ work and encourage them. Plus, I thought it would be a good idea to include it in that post so you can know me better (because there are some questions to answer). The rules when you receive that award are the following :
- List the award’s official rules (check)
- Display the award’s official logo somewhere on your blog (check)
- Thank the person who nominated you (check)
- Provide a link to your nominator’s blog (check)
- Answer your nominator’s questions
- Nominate up to 11 bloggers
- Ask your nominees 11 questions
- Notify your nominees by commenting on at least one of their blog posts
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So, here we go with Rebecca’s questions (which are very interesting and relevant)!
1- What are your top five movies from this year? So far, anyway.
As you know, I mostly watch classic films and always watch films from the current year much later. However, that doesn’t mean I haven’t seen any 2023 movies (most of them were in film festivals). So my top 5 would be something like this: Greta Gerwig’s Barbie (ok, I know that’s not original, but I loved Barbie!), Pascale Plante’s Les chambres rouges (Red Rooms), Francis Leclerc’s Le plongeur (The Dishwasher – I also read the book which is excellent), Raquel Sancinetti’s Madeleine (it’s a short film but I couldn’t not mention it. It’s so endearing and excellent) and Edouard Tremblay’s Farador. I have SO MUCH MORE TO SEE. 2023 has been a prolific year for Quebec cinema, so the list is long, and I need to catch up on my viewing.
2- Which movies are you looking forward to seeing next year?
I’m really looking forward to see Oliver Parker’s The Great Escaper, which was Glenda Jackson last film and the last one for Michael Caine before he recently officially announced his retirement. The film is technically from 2023 and was originally released in UK earlier this month. However, I feel that if it’s ever released in Quebec, it won’t be before 2024. And I really hope it does get a theatrical release here. I don’t just want to watch it on a streaming platform.
3- Which movies (if any) do you regret watching this year?
Hum, I don’t know if I regret watching it, but it was certainly not a part of pleasure. I was at that international short film festival called Regard last March and, at some point, in one of the programs, there was that film by Mariane Béliveau called C’est dangereux la mort, ça pourrait faire mal (Death is dangerous, it could hurt). It’s a short documentary about people who use intravenous drugs and their love for the state of intoxication. Okay, as a start, you can tell it’s not an ordinary film. Anyway, at some point, there were way too many close-ups of needles stinging body parts. Not that I have a phobia of needles, but it ended up making me uncomfortable, and I could tell it was the case for my friends who were with me. And on top of that, a guy behind us fainted (don’t worry, he turned out fine). So yeah, I was looking forward to the film’s ending. It was only 19 minutes, but it felt like an hour.
4- Marilyn Monroe’s last house was recently (and temporarily) spared demolition. What are your thoughts on celebrity homes–should they be preserved as historic landmarks or should they be torn down like many upscale homes in the LA area eventually are? This is a really nuanced question but an interesting one, in my opinion.
Hum, that’s a good question. You have to ask yourself if it’s the building itself that makes the value of the house or the people that lived in it. I haven’t followed the Marilyn Monroe house dossier super closely, and I’m glad it’s on the right path to being saved, but I guess people wanted to preserve it, not only because Marilyn Monroe lived in it, but because it also has some historical and perhaps architectural interest. But you said it so yourself, Rebecca. The interest is to preserve it as a historical landmark.
5- Which movies do you think deserve the Broadway treatment?
Do you mean Broadway as a musical or a stage play (regardless of it being)? Suppose we want to be 100 % Broadway and go with the first option, Love Me or Leave Me should be considered. It’s already a musical, so it wouldn’t have to be turned into one. The film, based on jazz singer Ruth Etting’s life, has the full potential for a good Broadway mise-en-scène.
6- Quick–a celebrity is coming to your house for dinner. Who is it and what would you serve them?
Since I wrote about her recently and developed a lot of admiration towards her, I would choose Glenda Jackson because I know she’ll have a lot of exciting things to say, plus she was very down-to-earth and seemed approachable. What would I serve her? Definitely something I’m good at cooking. Maybe some homemade gnocchi di patate with either a good and simple tomato sauce or butter and sage sauce.
7- Which YouTuber or YouTubers would you like to see in a feature film?
It’s funny that you ask that because I recently unsubscribed from many YouTube channels because I found most content very repetitive or superficial. However, I still love watching a few because they can be very informative or just a lot of fun (light content is fine, don’t get me wrong!). I can’t see a specific YouTuber in a starring role. Still, I could imagine a cameo by Joel from Roomie Official is a film that takes place in the music industry. I could see him as a music producer or a DJ. Yep, that would be my choice!
8- A musical is being made of your life. Who would you want to write it and who would play you?
Hum, I would say Gerome Ragni and James Rado just because they are the guys who wrote Hair, and I feel they could turn my somehow normal life into a great adventure. Who would play me? I don’t know, some obscure Broadway performer who sings well and looks like me!
9- Where do you get ideas for writing your blog? Do you have any particular inspirations?
I started blogging because I stumbled across other bloggers’ work, which I found very inspiring, and the idea of using a writing platform to express my love for films resonated with me. As for the origin of my writing ideas, well, I’m not going to lie; most of my blogging articles nowadays are written for blogathons, but other than that, I have to go with a film that immediately wants me to say something about it and that I feel needs to be talked about. A good example would be my review of Frank Borzage’s The Mortal Storm, which, for once, wasn’t written for a blogathon. Besides that, I like to go with subjects requiring good historical research. And otherwise, some of the movie celebrities that inspire me the most in my writing are Katharine Hepburn, Buster Keaton and Alfred Hitchcock.
10 – You have the chance to be a guest host on TCM. Which show do you host or which kinds of movies do you want to introduce?
You’re asking that to the girl who never watched TCM! I went to the festival, tho. But suppose guest hosting on TCM would happen; the logical choice would be a segment on screwball comedies. Not only it’s my favourite film genre, I also wrote my master’s thesis on the subject. So, I very humbly think I’ll know what I’d be talking about.
11- Do you have a favorite silent movie? If so, which one?
Oh, it’s not a very creative choice, but it would 100 % be Chaplin’s Modern Times.
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And now, for the blogs I nominate! These are all blogs whose work I admire a lot and that deserve a mention. I tried going with blogs I hadn’t nominated for a Sunshine before. I’ve nominated many bloggers for different awards in recent years, so I don’t want to be too repetitive. I’m going with only five people based on work I’ve recently admired.
1- Musings of a Classic Film Addict
And now for my 11 questions!
1- You’re part of a film cast and crew. What is your role? Editor, director, actor, sound designer? Tell me!
2- Is there a film you feel will always stand the test of time? It will never feel old and could have been made pretty much any time. It can be a recent film or something older.
3- What is you favourite opening titles sequence?
4- Who do you think is the worst villain in film history? One that is particularly cruel.
5- What is your favourite short film? We don’t discuss short films enough, no?
6- Is there a blogging article you didn’t particularly enjoy writing? Why?
7- What is your favourite set-up for blog writing? Do you have something to drink? Put on some music? Do you stay at home or go somewhere else? Etc.
8- What is something film-related people wouldn’t expect about you?
9- Which filming location would you like to visit?
10- You’re the owner of a new pet and name it after the main character of the last film you watch. What is it?
11- Is there a film you think has good potential to be made into a TV series?
And that’s it! Looking forward to read your answers!
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A huge thanks again to Rebecca for the nomination and, of course, many thanks to those who’ve been following and read The Wonderful World of Cinema, being for 9 years or a week. Here’s to nine other beautiful years!
The Wonderful World of Cinema 