Love's labors, linked

Gonna have to cut back on posting this month in order to focus on my novel. I won't be entirely absent: I have a blogathon post in the works, plus another Battle Royal installment, and two more profiles, as per usual. I hope to also do one more Cinematic World Tour post; the movie I had planned to watch last month, Roman Holiday, was an outdoor movie held on a rooftop, and by the time I got to the venue, they had reached capacity and closed it off to any more spectators. A whole lot of people went to see that one. Anyway, last month's surge of activity was unexpected, to say the least, and next month will be devoted to classic horror, so now seems like the perfect opportunity to dial it back while I return to writing The Great American Novel.

A brief word about the late Wes Craven: The Elm Street movies were a part of my childhood, however small, and the Scream movies actually got me excited about the genre again, if only for a little while. I'm not as hardcore about horror as some, but if ever there were an auteur of the genre, Craven absolutely qualifies - and props to him for his forays outside the horror genre. Who would've thought, for example, that he'd make a movie with Meryl Streep? Or that she'd get Oscar-nominated for it?

Just a few links this month:

You MUST check out this poem Jennifer wrote about film noir.

Aurora files this report from the rare-film festival CapitolFest.

Will recalls the time he met the late Yvonne Craig.

Raquel reviews a book about a black actor with a difficult-to-appreciate career, to say the least: Stepin Fetchit.

Pam is astounded at the wacky commercials American movie stars and other celebs have made in Japan. (Warning: the Hulk Hogan one is an earworm.)

Ever wonder how the Marx Brothers got their nicknames?