A Fifth Anniversary

Five years ago this week I started Once Upon a Screen and vowed to say absolutely nothing. On this special occasion I’m happy to report that I’ve managed to stay true to my promise.

To those who visit this blog I am sincerely grateful for your continued support. To those who have taken the time to leave comments, the tidbits of classic goodness I learn from, I say…

This past year has been a particularly stressful one for me and Once Upon a Screen has suffered as a result. I hope that changes soon, but ‘am glad this place remains an escape whereto I can turn for comfort.

To help commemorate this milestone…

I honor tradition and the gifts appropriate for a 5th anniversary – Wood

And…offer a gallery of nostalgic fives…

I’ll never be hungry again.

Go ahead, make my day.

They call me Mister Tibbs!

You can’t handle the truth!

Round up the usual suspects!

I’ll have what she’s having.

Houston, we have a problem.

There’s no crying in baseball!

A martini. Shaken, not stirred.

I coulda been a contender.

Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.

You ain’t heard nothin’ yet!

Highlights…

An anniversary is a great time to reflect on the previous year to see what I most enjoyed and to remind myself why it is that I blog. The why is simple – I still love these darned movies and movie stars and enjoy sharing my thoughts and fabulous images on this blog. I do it or myself. Although of late I’ve questioned the absence of a greater purpose on occasion. Still, the bottom line is always the enjoyment factor, the escape and learning more about the films, filmmakers and players. Knowing that people appreciate and/or enjoy what I post is icing and reward enough. Believe me. But there are also side benefits to having a blog – like meeting other like-minded fans and being a part of a community – that make the experience that much more special. A few of those are…

• Classic Movies and More – along with friends Annmarie Gatti of Classic Movie Hub and filmmaker Rob Medaska I am now the co-host of a classically themed Youtube show. I feel as though we’re still getting the ball rolling, but the first few months of this endeavor have been a lot of fun. Check it out here and be on the lookout for an invite as we have favorite bloggers as goals for guest spots.

• Thanks to the Classic Movies and More show I was interviewed by author Jacqueline Lynch for her series on the current state of the classic film buff, A Classic Film Manifesto on her Another Old Movie Blog. Jacqueline’s questions blew me away and I had a blast considering all aspects of classic fandom. By the way, her book,  Ann Blyth: Actress. Singer. Star. is now for sale on Audible.com, and on Amazon and iTunes. It’s on my Christmas list in case you don’t know what to get me.

• This mention is for It Rains…You Get Wet, my friend Michael’s blog wherein he does “best” lists of favorite posts from other bloggers. Michael has been incredibly generous to include my posts on these lists as he did earlier this year and I want to let him know it is always an honor and much appreciated.

• As of earlier this year I am a staff writer for getTV. Thanks to them for that opportunity!

• Finally, I must at least mention the fabulous bloggers – and friends – with whom I co-hosted blogathons this year: Kellee of Outspoken & Freckled, Paula of Paula’s Cinema Club, Fritzi of Movies Silently, Ruth of Silver Screenings, Rich of Wide Screen World and Theresa of CineMaven’s Essays From the Couch. I offer a special shout-out to Raquel of Out of the Past who agreed to collaborate on an innovative idea, which was to promote #DePelicula across social media as part of the Hollywood’s Hispanic Heritage project. All of this is an embarrassment of riches and every single one of these passionate cinephiles is too good for the likes of me.

I like to spotlight the blog posts I’ve most enjoyed writing during the year. I leave it up to you to determine whether these are any good, but each and every one was a hoot to work on and/or research:

• Revisiting Jean Harlow in Victor Fleming‘s pre-code comedy, Bombshell (1933) for Hollywood on Hollywood on Harlow was a lot of fun. What a presence she had!
• Spending time with Hepburn and Grant in Paris in Stanley Donen’s Charade was a special treat. Jaysus, they were beautiful!
• Curating my classic movie life for a special social media campaign called #CurateMyLife sponsored/hosted by classic film enthusiast and student Margaret Perry was fantastic. I truly enjoyed gathering personal pictures to put that together.
• The ultra talented Bea Benaderet is one of my idols so immerse myself in her life and career for a post dedicated to memorable TV sidekicks meant a lot to me.
• The Bea Benaderet piece was for a blogathon hosted by Rick of the Classic Film and TV Cafe who also hosted another favorite this past year, the 5 Movies on an Island  Blogathon to commemorate #NationalClassicMovieDay. I took the difficult task of choosing only 5 films to be stranded with quite seriously and the results surprised me.
• I chose Wile E. Coyote as my favorite villain this year and had a blast revisiting his ingenious, if ineffective, contraptions.

I usually end my anniversary celebrations with goals for the following year, but I can’t quite wrap my head around what those will be. There are many exciting plans and possibilities on the horizon and I hope every single one of them comes to fruition. For now I leave you with best wishes and heartfelt appreciation.

Aurora