Wilder Blog-a-thon Halftime Report

At the halfway mark of the Wilder Blog-a-thon, we’ve seen the following contributions:

My main man Squish at The Film Vituperatem, who gives his thoughts on the great Sunset Boulevard. (I envy him for having seen it for the first time, too)

Damian at Windmills of My Mind gives “A Few Random Reasons to Love Billy Wilder”, which includes comparisons to such diverse filmmakers as Alfred Hitchcock and Ernst Lubitsch. It’s a terrific piece.

That Little Round Headed Boy confesses to not being a fan of Wilder the director, but raves about Wilder the writer. His post is a cataloging of some of the “clever, venomous dialogue” that Wilder gave us.

Kimberley at Cinebeats contributes a great interview with Shirley MacLaine on the making of The Apartment.

Edward Copeland and the gang over at his blog have produced an embarrassment of riches on the subject, including a fascinating entry by Odienator on Norma Desmond, and an appreciation of One, Two, Three by Edward. There's also one about Charles Boyer and a cockroach. I'm serious.

Okenhem at The Sophomore Critic reviews Cameron Crowe’s Conversations with Billy Wilder. Crowe had originally wanted Wilder to play the part of an agent in Jerry McGuire, but Billy put him off in typical Wilder fashion. “I am too old. I will fuck up your movie.” Check it out.

Last, but certainly not least, thanks to Dennis at Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule for helping promote the event.

Check in again at the end of the weekend for a full list.