No, seriously.
It started when I brought up Ladies Man, a failed sitcom Pressman starred in that lasted one season in 1980, in a comment thread whose attached post I can no longer remember. I watched Ladies Man and, yes, I liked it, or rather, I liked Pressman in it. I liked him in 9 to 5, too. Other parts got mentioned: His role as Dr. Hellstrom in The Hellstrom Chronicles (he had the lead!) was mentioned by Marilyn Ferdinand and a few others chimed in to mention other small parts where Pressman stood out in their memory.
Arbo e-mailed me and said we should do a whole blogathon and if only a few people posted, who cares? I tried to make it something bigger ("How about a blogathon for all bit players?!") but Arbo thought that defeated the purpose. He was right. We never did the blogathon.
The point of all this is not that I want to go ahead and do that blogathon now - the moment is past and the momentum is gone - but that the very idea of it inspired me to start doing The Wanderers, posts on actors without Oscars (or even nominations) and barely any name recognition. It was that blogathon that got me to thinking, "Would I rather talk up the same classics and heroes of cinema or bring some under-appreciated and under-known artists into the limelight?" The answer was obvious. Illumination is more enticing than elaboration. So thanks, Arbo, for guiding me, in your small way, towards the true spirit of the film blogger: A personal journey through the history of film that acknowledges the classics but spends more time shedding light on those players in the shadows that enriched our cinematic history without ever getting the recognition they deserved.
6 comments:
"So thanks, Arbo, for guiding me, in your small way, towards the true spirit of the film blogger: A personal journey through the history of film that acknowledges the classics but spends more time shedding light on those players in the shadows that enriched our cinematic history without ever getting the recognition they deserved."
Lovely tribute. I never had the fortune of crossing paths with "Arbogast" (I'm assuming he pronounced it the way am figuring-AR-BO-GAST as the Sheriff did) but am moved by your great indebtedness to this celebrated blogger. The proposed blogothon on Pressman would surely have been most interesting. I took a peak just now at THE WANDERERS post too. Nice.
Arbo is a great writer and his blog was always lively and opinionated.
I wish I did more about lesser known performers than I do, but I appreciate the kind words, Sam.
Arbogast on Film was amazing in its view on movies. I can't think there are more than a couple of other blogs out there I'd feel compelled to eulogize publicly if they past - which isn't to say there aren't plenty of others I'd miss.
We had a conversation about this blogathon idea a while back. I think I maybe even had a flash of an idea what I would write about for it.
The two of us briefly discussed the bit players idea. It may have been around the same time, as I'd kind of tossed Ted Post around as someone I'd like to write about... and still would...
But that's neither here nor there, Arbo was right. The tribute to one bit player is the best idea, though.
I've not participated in many blogathons recently, for a ton of reasons, but I'll say that lack of inspiration has been one of them. You can definitely count me in if you do this. I think it's a fantastic idea.
Neil, I remember you bringing up Ted Post. I kept the blogathon idea private (you won't find it mentioned as the inspiration for The Wanderers, for instance, but it definitely was, along with my Len Cariou post) but I remember talking to you about it and a couple of other "under the radar" blogathon ideas.
Arbo was a genius with this kind of thing and I like to think that blogging's primary purpose should be bringing to light that which the major film media and publishing industry have not. I've never put up an entire post on, say, Citizen Kane, Casablanca, Rules of the Game, 8 1/2, The Godfather, etc. and I hope I never do. They're all great and I love them all but there are innumerable resources already available for the film novice that wants to read about them. I want to write about the movies and the artists that haven't had anything written on them yet but totally deserve it. Like Richard Libertini. I did a search on him before my Wanderers post and was disappointed to see not a single article on him. Oh, there are plenty of IMDB mini-bios, theatrical program mini-bios, and the like, but no one just writing about how great he is. Of course, now there's mine but it's the third page of Google because the post itself didn't get as many hits because it was about Richard Libertini. It's a vicious cycle but one I'm glad to put a wrench in when I can. Given the choice between getting a ton of hits writing about the newest blockbusters or getting meager hits writing about the lesser known stars in the firmament, I'll take the latter any day.
I wasn't trying to "out" our discussion, except to say it was similar, and to agree that Arbo's insistence on the specific one was indeed the better choice.
I've apologized any number of times about my own over-reliance on simply throwing up a review of a movie, although I'm likewise relatively pleased to have never reviewed any movies such as those. Not as often to you (or anyone) as to myself. They never turn out to be posts I'm exceedingly proud of, and the few I think are at all noteworthy are of relatively obscure movies.
Perhaps if I get a bug up my butt to put the work into making it what I'd like it to be.
I love The Wanderers. I'm strangely blind to thinking of those. Partly because I love guys like that so much that I forget that not everyone notices and appreciates them, at least when I'm watching them.
And, while I read the occasional blog that does more standard fare, I could forget or drop almost all of them. It's you and Arbo and all of you Morlock folks and, well, a handful of others that I find essential.
I wasn't trying to "out" our discussion, except to say it was similar, and to agree that Arbo's insistence on the specific one was indeed the better choice.
Oh, I know. I was just saying that until now, with this post, I'd been keeping it a secret. Even though I never did it, I kind of wanted to keep the idea hidden until Arbo hit the road and then, no point anymore.
And, while I read the occasional blog that does more standard fare, I could forget or drop almost all of them. It's you and Arbo and all of you Morlock folks and, well, a handful of others that I find essential.
That's awfully nice of you to say. I think all the better sites and blogs have a stronger cinema obscura feel to them. Most everyone I know from my first year of blogging would easily fit into that framework which is probably why I've been talking to the same people all these years. Why switch out when you've found folks that understand you?
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