After The Wizard of Oz

I had an interesting (and slightly disturbing) Judy Garland conversation yesterday. I was at the home of this woman I didn't really know, and her 4 daughters were watching Thoroughly Modern Millie. I, of course, was excited by this and a conversation soon started about old movies. She expressed that she gets them for her daughters because they're "so much better" than the new ones.

We went on to discuss the movies her kids love and the ones I loved as a child. As one would expect, I quickly mentioned how much I loved Judy Garland movies. Then, something unexpected happened. This woman responded with "Oh, she did movies after The Wizard of Oz?" (Gasp!)

I informed her that yes, there are very many quality Judy movies after Wizard of Oz. She was genuinely surprised by this, but said she would see if there were any at the library. Brilliant! Hopefully I just created a few new Judy fans to add to my list!

Sunset Blvd. in the Park

Tuesday was our first movie in Grant Park: Sunset Blvd. It was amazing!! They should show that movie on the big screen more often. It's so much more dramatic and awesome.

This year, TCM is a sponsor of the film fest which was kind of fun because one of their hosts, Ben Mankiewicz, introduced the film. I took this picture of him but he's tiny:


Yeah, that's him at the front at the podium.

We also got some free goodies, including a TCM Now Playing guide, which I was very excited about since I constantly see the commercials for it and always want to subscribe:


TCM was also giving away prizes which I unfortunately did not win. Maybe next week!

MJ Being Judy

Awhile back I wrote about how everyone's pretending to be Judy Garland lately, and now it seems Michael Jackson has jumped on the bandwagon. Actually, he may be driving the bandwagon since this video is from like 15 years ago.

Anyway, amidst all the hubbub going on with MJ's unfortunate passing, I came across this video that just screams Judy! Ok, it may only scream Judy for about 2 seconds at the 6.25 mark, but that's enough for me!



I bet all the stupid teenie boppers in that audience have no idea he's rippin' off Judy!

2009 Classic Films in Grant Park

Yep, it's that time again ... time for the Outdoor Film Festival in Grant Park. They're showing some good films this year, but I'm a little disappointed there are no musicals! Nevertheless, I am very excited to see Sunset Blvd. and Psycho, outside on the big screen! Here's the full schedule:

• Sunset Boulevard (July 14)
• Duck Soup (July 21)
• Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (July 28)
• Born Yesterday (Aug. 4)
• Psycho (Aug. 11)
• Young Mr. Lincoln (Aug. 18)
• Tootsie (Aug. 25)