Stolen Moments

Yeah.

Sure.

You've seen this question before.

You've had reassurances the podcast would be more regular, only to have it vanish again. 

In 2011 one of my resolutions was to get the podcast going again, even if it were only a short DVD review or odd piece of music. 

Today is the last day of January and I promise that in February there will be a new podcast! 

Believe it or not!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's that time again, be there or be square, Labor Day Weekend, Hollywood, Cinecon Classic Film Festival.

In what I hope will be an annual event for me, a chat with the guys who make Cinecon happen, Stan Taffel and Bob Birchard (and a host of other un-named volunteers).

2010 is proving to be an exciting lineup of films, I'm excited to have had a chance to talk to Stan and Bob and am even more excited to be in attendance this year.  It's gonna be a great weekend.

July is a month rich with possibilities for the silent film fans.  The San Francisco Silent Film Festival on the west coast and Slapsticon on the east coast.  This year they both celebrate film on the same weekend.  To clue us in to the great things happening at Slapsticon I had the great please of speaking with Richard Roberts. a "Godfather" of the Silent Comedy Mafia and co-founder of Slapsticon.

Some amazing news, a previously unknown Keystone film with Charlie Chaplin will be screening.  Previously thought lost, this film is a major find.  Woot!

You can visit Slapsticon's website for full details.  You can also find Slapsticon on Facebook.

Irving Thalberg was a legend in his own time.  His early death at the very young age of 37 only served to increase the legend.  Thalberg was a symbol to many, a producer of note and quality to aspire to. The man himself remained an enigma.  An enigma, at least, until today.  Mark A. Vieira, author of esteemed volumes Sin in Soft Focus and Hurrell's Hollywood (and others) has spent the better part of his lifetime researching Irving Thalberg and all this research has come to fruition in the biography Irving Thalberg - Boy Wonder to Producer Prince.

In this episode of Stolen Moments Mark talks to me about Irving Thalberg, his book, Thalberg's films and also lets us know about some tantalizing new projects in the hopper.

If you've not read Mark's bio of Thalberg, I recommend that you do.  It's excellent.  You can find it on amazon.com and other online booksellers. 

Mark's website is: www.thestarlightstudio.com

I love Mary Pickford and it is my pleasure and honor to have a chance to speak with documentary filmmaker Hugh Munro Neely about Mary Pickford.  In addition to being a filmmaker, Hugh Neely is also the curator of the Mary Pickford Institute Library in Los Angeles.  You can visit the Mary Pickford Institute’s website to learn more about Mary Pickford and the MPI outreach program at www.marypickford.com.   

Recommended books on Mary Pickford:
Pickford: The Woman Who Made Hollywood by Eileen Whitefield
Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks: The Most Popular Couple the World Has Known By Booton Herndon
Mary Pickford Rediscovered by Kevin Brownlow and Robert Cushman (a gorgeous photo book)

To listen to the complete 1959 CBC interview with Mary Pickford:
http://archives.cbc.ca/programs/129-3653/page/4/    

Rob Brooks' beautiful collection on Mary Pickford can be found here: http://www.211university.ca/home.php 

Hugh and I discussed, briefly, The New York Hat, a 1912 Biograph film starring Mary Pickford and a much younger Lionel Barrymore than you normally see.    Do give it a look, Mary's performance is remarkably mature and touching for a 1912 film.

 

Stolen Moments is back! 

To celebrate, we've got a new avenue of discussion, a dip of the toes in the water of talkies.  Who better to do this with a wonderful interview with author Matthew Kennedy to discuss his book Joan Blondell: A Life Between Takes. 

I reveal no secret when I say Warner Brothers was my favorite studio in the 1930's and 1940's, grittier than MGM and glossier than 20th Century Fox with the musicals.  A capable cast of Warner stock players, Joan Blondell was not only reliable, she was gorgeous and was one of the few who could, and did, match James Cagney, shot for shot and snappy quip.

While this interview is nearly two years old, it is neither too little nor to late to put in a plug for Matthew's excellent and readable bio of one of my favorite stars.

Stolen Moments has reawakened, like Rip Van Winkle from a long and restfull sleep.  Yes, starting very small and slow here, still a little bit stiff and creaky from lack of movement.  So I've started with a new little tribute slideshow that doubles as a sneak peek to my forthcoming photobook on Valentino, Rudolph Valentino The Silent Idol.  For the record the book will be finished and publishing sometime in the fall of 2009 (shooting for October).

In the meantime, a little eye candy to enjoy.

Come back in September for an honest to goodness real podcast interview!

One of the oldest gathering of film fans in the U.S., the annual Labor Day party known as Cinecon is soon to take place.  I'm finally paying Cinecon their due and have a really fun interview with Stan Taffel and Bob Birchard to talk all about it.  To learn more on how to become a Cinephile, please visit their website, www.cinecon.org.

Every season I look forward to speaking with Stephen Salmons about the annual San Francisco Silent Film Festival.  Needless to say, I also enjoy attending the festival, it's like going to the movies with 1200 of my closest friends.  Held at the Castro Theater in San Francisco, this year's festival is a terrific line up and I encourage anyone who is local to the Bay Area, or not, to try and make it. 

I always have terrific fun speaking with Stephen and appreciate the time he has given for the last 3 years of interviews.  It's a tradition I hope we can continue.  True art does transcend time!

See you at the Castro in July!

If you love to laugh, then Slapsticon is the festival for you.  They will provide you with chuckles, guffaws, chortles, wheezes and some polite snickering, to boot.  The 6th annual festival in Alexandria, Virginia will be held July 17th through 20th at the Spectrum. 

In this episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with two of the founders (shakers and movers) Rob Farr and Richard Roberts.  They're a barrel of laughs, too!

Please note, at the end of the show, I made an error of remembrance (no surprise there) - Richard's forthcoming book is on Hal Roach (Langdon comes along later, or so we're told) - sorry bout that!