greetings!

I don’t think I am alone in saying this: The first step is so scary.

Starting stuff is scary. However, I find that once I take that initial step I am off to the races and can’t stop running until I see the project to completion. It is like my body is overtaken by someone else. I become possessed by the experiment I am conducting. I work endlessly, toiling in my laboratory at all hours until I finish the objective. While experiencing this rapture I never feel like it is work. Instead, I am on a mission that, until accomplished, I can’t possibly think about doing anything else.

I have been thinking a lot about the difficulty of taking the first step pertaining to my podcast, Cinematic Crypt. I feel like I have been making progress on other goals I set, but feel incredibly haunted by my lack of work on the Crypt. Despite this utter feeling that it is my purpose. I can’t quite explain it, but this project is so meaningful to me that I think I am downright scared of it.

For the past few weeks the Crypt has been on my task list, and I keep finding ways to avoid it. I feel stunted when it is time to act. This has caused me to think: Do I even want to work on this project?

I have such high standards for my work and often this quality ends up being my downfall. It makes my foot feel so heavy that I can’t fathom possibly lifting it to take that first step. As silly as it may seem though, my pal Tommy Udo is giving me a new perspective on things.

Take this information as you will… he whispers to me. There is something quite magical about him. This past week we have been conversing about the Cinematic Crypt and my lack of movement with the show. He reminded me that, since I have made him my correspondent in the field, I have been filled with confidence. My hands are not even sweating anymore when we are recording videos! He breaks the ice for me in terms of interacting with folks at MovieJawn events. With a simple shake of Tommy’s hand, people are suddenly at ease and eating out of our palms. By grasping his hand, I have realized the answer of how to take my first step is Tommy. I decided that my return to recording will be an episode about him and the film his name is taken from, Kiss of Death (1947). With this, I now have a sense of where to begin, and am ready to dig in and return to the crypt. We even found an outfit for his debut on the show as my co-host:

Tommy will be the Captain of Cinema, traversing the high seas in search of the best celluloid. Each and every episode he will sail into the Cinematic Crypt to share his thoughts on Tinseltown offerings.

All I needed was a little confidence and to be pointed in the right direction. Fortunately, Captain Tommy has shown me the way.

what’s the latest scoop?

Livin’ that cinematic life

This is going to be a very busy week for me and I am not complaining. I will be spending the majority of my time in cinema. If you are in the Philadelphia area come on out and say hi!

Wednesday

Find me at Bryn Mawr Film Institute catching a screening of one of my favorite classics, The Philadelphia Story. I’ll be slinging zines in the lobby before and after the show with my partner in crime, and of course everyone’s favorite doll about town, Tommy Udo. Snag your ticket here. I’m really excited for the Q&A portion as well, as it features a wonderful film critic Esther Zuckerman and MovieJawn’s Sankeerthna Vedamtam.

Thursday

I am so excited to welcome my film pal, Liz Locke of CinemaSips from Austin, Texas to Philadelphia for what promises to be an amazing cinematic weekend. We kick things off with a screening of the 1928 silent film, Passion of Joan Arc at Ambler Theater with live musical accompaniment from Not So Silent Cinema. Don’t miss this… snag your ticket here

Friday, Saturday, Sunday

We return to Ambler Theater for the 6th annual 35mm Film Festival. Tommy Udo and I are literally vibrating in anticipation for what promises to be a GRAND weekend at the movies. I am really happy this festival exists as it lessens some of the “fear of missing out” syndrome that I experience every year that I am not at Turner Classic Film Festival. I am determined to get back there next year, but until then I have so many wonderful escapades to look forward to… like this weekend.

I can’t wait to introduce my pal Alicia Malone to Tommy, and for him to witness her doing one of her incredible introductions live! The line-up is absolutely stacked. However, the motion picture I am most looking forward to is: Daisies (1966) as this will be a first time watch for me. Although having the opportunity to share in a communal viewing experience of John Waters’ Female Trouble (1974) with my avid Waters fan, Liz Locke at my side is going to be a memory I take with me to the coffin.

Snag your ticket to 35mm Film Festival here

this week i am proud of…

Tommy Udo’s Calling Card

With Tommy Udo taking on an official role as a Cinematic Correspondent with MovieJawn, I thought it made sense to provide him with his very own calling card.

For those not familiar with the term “calling card,” it is defined as follows:
A small printed card which identifies the bearer, traditionally presented for introduction when making a social visit to a home or when attending a formal social event or business meeting

Tommy has been making waves and causing stirs in every space he saunters (is carried) into. So I thought it was only fitting to provide a method for people to keep in touch with him.

This past week I created the calling card shown above to provide to those that he meets in public. In addition to this, I created a web page on MovieJawn’s website here as a way for people to learn more about him, as well as follow along with our reporting and witness our escapades first-hand.

For those of you headed to the 35mm Film Festival, make sure to catch Tommy at the MovieJawn Confessional booth! He will be ready to hear all of your Cinematic Sins and Secrets. If you have not snagged your tickets yet, don’t hesitate as select screenings have already sold out. Tickets are available here and make sure to follow MovieJawn on Instagram here to follow along with our cinematic adventures at this year’s festival.

this week i recommend…

Watching The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (aka The Archers) are two of my favorite filmmakers.

The Philadelphia Film Society recently programmed a bunch of their films (find the line-up here) and it has been absolutely magical catching these exquisite pictures on the silver screen. So far, I have watched The Red Shoes (1948), A Matter of Life and Death (1946) and The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943). In a mere couple of hours I will be headed out to catch A Canterbury Tale (1944) for the first time.

Of the pictures I listed, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp was also a first time watch for me, and I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it. Known as The Archers’ “magnum-opus,” it shares the tale of a man, Clive Candy (Roger Livesey) and his adventures and romances as a war-time soldier. By the time we reach the end of his life, he has become an artifact of the past and is presented as somewhat of a bumbling and inept general.

Like much of their other works, this shot in beautiful, lush technicolor and every frame is exquisite. I was especially enamored with the performance of Anton Walbrook, and am now determined to learn everything there is to know about this lad. I would also be remiss if I did not mention the tremendous work from Deborah Kerr and Roger Livesey. This is one of those movies in which the more I sit with it, the more I appreciate it. The Archers were masters in the art of motion picture making, so much so that they can even convince me that I might actually enjoy films that center around war.

I was planning to skip the screening of The Tales of Hoffman, mainly due to an already packed schedule that week. However, I think if I don’t experience this picture on the silver screen it may be something I regret for the rest of my life. I’ll keep you posted.

Thanks for stopping by.

Happy you are here. xx.
goodbye.