Announcing the Fall 2023 CMBA Blogathon: Blogathon & the Beast

It's almost time for the CMBA Fall Blogathon!

King Kong, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Cody Jarrett, Night of the Hunter’s Harry Powell, Shelley Winters as Bloody Mama, or Bonnie & Clyde. All iconic characters who are caught in a struggle with their primal inclinations.

That is the topic of CMBA’s fall blogathon, Blogathon and the Beast!

 The blogathon ‘beast' does not have to be a literal “beast,” or a menacing, or criminal character, although it can be! It also could be a complex protagonist who challenges social norms, such as the quintessential film noir anti-hero, the pre-Code heroine, Dietrich's enigmatic Shanghai Lily, Pacino's determined Serpico, the indomitable characters from Seven Samurai, or the outrageously zany Tasmanian devil from Warner Brothers' roster. 

This subject delves into the complexity of free will and natural instincts inherent in a wide variety of characters, whether cast as malevolent antagonists or tough protagonists. 

“Blogathon and the Beast” embraces a broad spectrum of characters who defy societal constraints or the natural order of things. Let your imagination roam free and embrace the diversity of this intriguing theme!

The blogathon, for CMBA members only, will run November 6-10, 2023. Please use this form to submit your topic choice, blog name, and preferred date for posting, if any. Because there is such a variety of topics to choose from, we won't be accepting duplicates. Topic selections will be accepted in order of receipt.

To promote the blogathon on your blog, take your pick from any of the banners at the bottom of this post.

We look forward to another great blogathon!

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CMBA Profile: FILMYCKS

 

Each month, the CMBA profiles a classic movie blog written by one of our members. This month, we're featuring Michael Roberts, who writes at FILMYCKS. 

1. Why do you blog?

Firstly, I like the challenge of distilling my thoughts on the films I love into an essay form, as it’s a great way to improve your writing. As a bonus if I can convey my interest to others to promote those films I write about, it might just light a spark for them. There’s such a world of pleasure and information to be found there and it’s a passion of mine to champion quality films from any era, but especially classic film.

2. Besides classic movie blogging, what are some of your other passions?

I’m a musician, so music has always been a huge part of my world and who I am. I’m a Beatle tragic, so they got me interested in playing and I’ve played in bands and produced and written songs all my adult life. Currently playing and singing in a piano bar in Hobart and writing novels for eBooks. I’ve published 5 eBooks so far, 4 on songwriting and one on The Beatles on Film, but I’m expanding and updating that one currently.

3. If you could program a perfect day of classic movies for TCM, what would be the seven films on your schedule?

I’d probably program something in sequence based on year of release.
I’d start with a Von Sternberg-Dietrich collab and go from there, but the seven would change based on the mood I’m in. Today’s mood?
Shanghai Express
Only Angels Have Wings
The Grapes of Wrath
Out Of The Past
The Furies
Some Like It Hot
The Sweet Smell of Success
- A hard-edged lot with a Wilder comedy for a little relief!

4. What is a classic movie that you love, but most people don't know about -- and what do you love about it?

A Powell and Pressburger gem called Gone To Earth. It was made in 1950 and released in the US as The Wild Heart. It was a struggle due to David Selznick, who produced and demanded his new wife, Jennifer Jones star in it. Nonetheless, Jones is lovely, as is the rest of a great cast and the film is brilliant. It has the strangeness of Michael Powell’s askew Englishness and the unsettling darkness of a tragic folk tale that beautifully essays man’s struggle between the ethereal and the corporeal via the love triangle device of Mary Webb’s source novel.

5. What is something that most people don't know about you?

Mmm... I’m an open book, so nothing interesting to speak of. Unless you count arriving at Roswell on a spaceship, being the shooter on the Grassy Knoll, filming the fake moon landing with Stanley Kubrick and inventing Crypto currency (because there’s a sucker born every minute) then I’m struggling to come up with anything!

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We thank Michael for participating in our Q&A profile and encourage you to visit FILMYCKS. 

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