A Book Idea

So, I have this idea - an idea for something I want to have finished by 2018, which gives me 8 years - to publish a photography book about Ida Lupino. Why? Because...

A) She was gorgeous
B) She was a fantastic actress and director; a pioneer among women filmmakers in Hollywood, who sadly, seems to be unknown today except to hard-core classic film fans. I want to change that.
C) She just deserves one. There are lovely photography books about people like Lana Turner, Joan Crawford, Grace Kelly, Jimmy Stewart. Why shouldn't Ida have one, too?
D) She was gorgeous... Wait, did I use this one already? :)

It would spread awareness about her and her films, that's for sure. I, for one, love looking at photos of old movie stars in pretty, well put together books and on glossy paper.  Along with anecdotes and quotes, and some biographical information. Photography books are fabulous and have a lot of rare photos in them, which is another thing I love.

There has only been one biography written about Ida, and it was published in 1996, the year after she passed away. There have been various books about her directing efforts, but nothing like this. That's part of the reason I want to do it, too: It's never been done before. Writing a biography would certainly be fun, but usually, the photos are the best part. I always flip to those first, anyway. Plus, I feel like I would have a better chance at actually getting something published if I try something no one's done before.

This is really a tentative idea though, at the moment. I have a few obstacles I need to overcome first and I have no idea how long that will take. That's why I'm glad her 100th birthday isn't until 2018. So, no one steal my idea, okay?

I'll probably talk about this more at a later time.

New favorite picture? Yes! And it just screams "put me in a pretty photography book!" :)

Never Gonna Dance - But Then Again, Why Not?

Like most young 5-year old girls, I took ballet lessons. And to be honest, I don't even remember it. I had zero interest, I suppose. It wasn't until I saw my first Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers film that I wanted to start dancing again. And why not? They make it look so fun and easy.

I've always loved musicals- I grew up watching White Christmas and The Wizard of Oz - and this past summer I start teaching myself how to tap dance. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any lessons in my area for my age group so this was the next option. And I must say, I was right about it being a lot of fun! Easy? Not so much, but I'm slowly improving. Hopefully I'll get even better since I auditioned and made the dance group here at college! I'm so excited to start rehearsing!

The Strange Love Of Ida Lupino

It's only been a little over a month since I saw my first Ida Lupino movie, High Sierra (1941). What's so surprising is that not only did I become a fan right after my first viewing, but Ida has very quickly become my favorite actress.

This happens to me quite often where I see a movie, immediately fall in love with it, and begin obsessing over someone who was in it. But it's taken me a lot longer to figure that they're my favorite. Example: When I first became interested in old movies, Grace Kelly was my favorite actress, because Rear Window was one of the first old films I saw. Then I discovered Ginger Rogers about 2 years later (I think?) and eventually she became my favorite actress and has been until recently.

The more I read about a person, the more I usually begin to like them. There are so many classic actresses I admire not only for their talent, but also for their personal lives off-screen. And the same goes for Ida Lupino. I find her life completely fascinating, and she was just.... amazing. She could do anything (act, direct, write, produce, compose music) and excel at it. She seemed like a really sweet lady who always stayed true to herself, and I love that.

When she eventually went into directing films and television she didn't want to direct because she was a woman, she just wanted to in spite of being a woman. She didn't make a big deal out of it. She just did it. And that's so cool.

As I said, there are many people who I consider to be heroic figures, but I really admire Ida Lupino for all that she accomplished. I think its really sad that she wasn't a bigger star when she was alive and even more unfortunate that most people today have never even heard of her. But I guess that's their loss, because they're the ones missing out. Here's to you, Ida!

Hello!

Hi! I decided to create a blog where I can talk about random stuff. The discussion will mainly consist of my favorite things: Classic film and old Hollywood in general, history, vintage fashion, music, travel, research, Ida Lupino, and a little "project" I've got lots of ideas for in my head.

My favorite city: Los Angeles, CA. Where all the old Hollywood magic happened.

I hope you'll enjoy my posts, and thanks for reading!