Announcing a First: the SPIELBERG BLOGATHON
For many, August signals the ending of summer, and some of us getting a year older. One of the fun ways this August celebrates summer is via sharks, sharks and more sharks. Sharknado came back with a sequel vengeance when “Sharknado 2” aired on SyFy channel recently and became a national, albeit majorly campy, phenomena. I kid you not.
August 10th, Discovery Channel returns in its 27th season of the very popular Shark Week (a favorite in my household), and “JAWS Week” completes its swim on AMC Channel the first week of August. With all this shark action on the little screen, one can’t help but consider how much Steven Spielberg kicked off a firestorm and created a national fascination due to his film, JAWS (1975).
Not his first film and hardly his last, mega hit JAWS (1975) was just the beginning for this extraordinary film impresario. Taking on everything from aliens, adventure-seeking archeologists, battlefields in WWII to the Holocaust, director-producer-writer Steven Spielberg has become an American institution via the silver screen. According to IMDB he has directed over 52 films and produced over 144 and continues his constant pace today.
A prolific filmmaker to be certain. But more importantly, so many of his films became part of our American experience — thanks to his signature style of weaving in very heartfelt and little “real” moments into every film. With so many wonderful Spielberg offerings, why not bid adieu to summer with a SPIELBERG BLOGATHON? While I’ve participated in a number over the years, I’ve not hosted such a blog event.
So, Ye Ol’ Blog IT RAINS… YOU GET WET will join the dynamic blogathon duo, Aurora of CITIZEN SCREENINGS aka @CitizenScreen and Kellee of OUTSPOKEN & FRECKLED aka @IrishJayhawk66, in paying homage to this beloved master of cinema with a blockbuster blogathon to end the summer with a BANG!
Here’s how it works
For any folks who wish to submit one or more blog posts dedicated to Steven Spielberg’s career (film/TV/directing/producing/writing,etc.) particular work or life, simply contact one of us hosts…
Kellee of OUTSPOKEN & FRECKLED ~ twitter @IrishJayhawk66 ~ prattkellee at gmail (dot) com
Aurora of ONCE UPON A SCREEN ~ twitter @CitizenScreen
Michael of IT RAINS… YOU GET WET ~ twitter @le0pard13 ~ macsurferx07 at gmail (dot) com
We kindly ask that you do the following
- leave us a blog comment or tweet us with your Spielberg topic
- let us know when your entry is published so we can promote it
- please post only new content — readers’ greatly appreciate fresh posts! (recycling old material is better for consumer goods)
- include one of the provided banners (see below) and the following statement…
“This post is part of the SPIELBERG BLOGATHON hosted by Outspoken & Freckled, It Rains… You Get Wet, and Once Upon A Screen taking place August 23-24. Please visit these host blogs for a full list of participating blogs.”
Social
Hashtag: #SpielbergBlogathon
BANNERS
PARTICIPATING BLOGS CAN BE FOUND RIGHT HERE
day 1 ~ Outspoken & Freckled
day 2 ~ It Rains… You Get Wet
“Before I go off and direct a movie I always look at 4 films. They tend to be “SEVEN SAMURAI” (1954), LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962), IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946), and THE SEARCHERS (1956).” … Steven Spielberg
*As a special treat, we are giving away a fun gift… a JAWS 2014 Hallmark keepsake ornament ~ with the unforgettable John Williams theme sound effects! All participating bloggers will be automatically entered into the drawing. Sadly, only people living in the domestic United States are qualified to win (apologies to our friends living in Hawaii, Alaska or outside of the U.S. ) Winner will be randomly selected, announced following the blogathon event, then contacted to so we can ship directly.
It Rains... You Get Wet 
26 Responses to “Announcing a First: the SPIELBERG BLOGATHON”
Count me in. Not sure what I’ll do yet though.
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Looking forward to whatever you pick, my friend. Many thanks 🙂
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Same as Monkeyboy. Would love to participate, but don’t know yet what I’m going to write about!
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Great, my friend 🙂 Looking forward to whatever you put together. Many thanks!
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Would it be possible to do a film that Spielberg exec-produced but did not direct?
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Sure. Why not! Thanks, Paula 🙂
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Put me down for the Colombo episode “Murder by the Book” for the 24th.
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Awesome! Thanks, John 🙂
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I’m in. Working on something that will hopefully be a little different, hope it works out, Otherwise I’ll default to my usual ranting about the greatest film ever.
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Great! I was hoping you’d join in, Richard. Many thanks, my friend 🙂
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Nice choice for a first blogathon! The only option that fits into my site’s focus would be the Adventures of Tintin unless I looked at some of the films that he executive produced like Men in Black or Cowboys and Aliens. I will tentatively throw my hat in for Tintin, but I’ve got a lot of other stuff going on in the meantime. I may come back to this and go with Cowboys and Aliens if this goes well but no one else claims that one.
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Wonderful, BW. Much appreciated, my friend. Many thanks 🙂
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Hi Michael! Oh what a terrific idea for a blogathon! I might do a top 10 or something instead of a straight review, is that ok? I’ll see if my pal Ted wants to contribute as well.
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That’d be fine. You and Ted would certainly be welcome. Many thanks, Ruth 🙂
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Would love to contribute; unfortunately not going to get chance. Look forward to reading it though.
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Thank you very much, my friend 🙂
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Hi Michael. Sure, I love Spielberg. Can I explore down the science fiction route and compare and contrast Close Encounters, ET, Minority Report, AI, War of the Worlds? Or pick anyone of those singular films, and I’d be thrilled to spotlight the film.
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Sounds like a splendid idea, Cindy. Many thanks 😀
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Sooo…one film or compare and contrast the Sci – Fi?
You tell me 😉
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Both are great ideas. I like the contrast Sci-fi one as my lead, but nothing wrong with a look at a single film. Just let me know what works best, or easiest, for you. Thanks, Cindy 🙂
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Mind if I take a look at Spielberg’s feature film debut, The Sugarland Express?
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Great to have you join in, Hunter! Oh, yes about your selection. I was hoping someone would throw an eye toward this film. Many thanks 🙂
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This sounds like it could be a good one, but I’m not really sure what I’d do. I’ve also got the slight problem that I need to watch four different Cronenberg movies for Speakeasy’s O Canada Blogathon (http://hqofk.wordpress.com/2014/08/06/announcing-o-canada-blogathon/) and I also need to find time to watch Lawrence of Arabia for Fritzi Kramer’s World War I in Film Blogathon (http://moviessilently.com/2014/07/18/announcement-the-world-war-one-in-classic-film-blogathon/). I’m sure you can understand me being a little bit concerned about jumping into another one too quickly, but if I can find a good topic I think I can work with I’ll let you know.
If it is of any interest, I do have one blogathon of my own going through August. Perhaps you’d like to take a look and consider joining:
http://hitchcocksworld.blogspot.ca/2014/06/blogathon-journey-across-cosmos-through.html
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Thank you, John. If you can fit this in, great. If not, perfectly understandable. Please let me know. I’ll head over and take a look at what you have going. 🙂
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[…] be sure to visit Outspoken & Freckled, It Rains…You Get Wet or Citizen Screenings to read about other Steven Spielberg films submitted to the Spielberg […]
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[…] actor/comedian the world loved so much. This post was initially meant to be my contribution to the Spielberg Blogathon (August 23-24, 2014) hosted by It Rains… You Get Wet, Outspoken and Freckled, and Citizen […]
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