Happy New Year

Hello everyone-

I hope you are all living it up somewhere, sleeping soundly, or maybe just on the internet like I am for your new year's eve. I'm not a big fan of this holiday, so I spent it with my parents. I am on the East Coast right now seeing family and friends. I go back to film school soon... and this past year has been a crazy one and one that has only deepened my love of cinema and the world of movies.

Though I haven't been the avid blogger I once was, I still love Ingrid Bergman as much as I did when I was more frequently posting.

I would like to tell you all that reading about classic film, writing about it and, of course, watching it has enhanced my abilities and knowledge at film school. I actually schooled this person, who shall remain nameless...

Here's my side of the story:

The person I was working with did a completely horrific job writing a script and was leaving everything until the last minute. I was trying to cut together a decent film noir and he was clueless... well... it came to "do you even know what your story is about?" and he didn't.

I literally chewed the man out by noting how Hitchcock's Notorious was pieced together-- plot point by plot point, detail by detail...

Well he was stunned. Left out to dry. I had had enough.

My editing teacher just looked at me, said "Very good." then slow clapped.

That's right. Slow clapped. If you don't know what this is-- google "movie slow clap" I'm sure something will come up.

I would like to thank the ghosts of Ingrid Bergman, Alfred Hitchcock, Ben Hecht, Alma Hitchcock, and what the hell... Cary Grant and Claude Raines (for good measure).

I hope everyone made a New Year's resolution to watch more Ingrid Bergman films or just classic films in general. Keep the art alive and feel free to comment.

Cheers!

Alexis

I'm Back!

Hi everyone-

It has been a while since I've posted anything, and I hope to get back to writing more consistently.

This past semester has been CRAZY busy and I haven't had time to watch Ingrid and report back.

I am going to start working on some material and will hopefully have a more substantial post soon :)

Alexis

Archival Footage of Ingrid and Roberto with the Twins

I have just come across an article that was written in 1954 and re-published this Oct. 14 (2010).

The article and video that is attached are really interesting!

There is footage of Ingrid and Roberto presenting the twins, Ingrid Rossellini and Isabella Rossellini to the public.

Here's the video:

Be sure to check out the article at The Guardian's website.

Event Through USC SCA

"Out Of The Archives" is an event happening now at USC SCA (aka, where I go to school). There is a huge collection of USC Warner Bros. Archives, stills from films, including Casablanca, on display from today September 16th through December 12th. The event is taking place at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (you might know them for the "Oscars") in the Academy Grand Lobby Gallery . Admission is free-- so if you're in the Los Angeles area, you should check it out! There are also rare photos of Marilyn Monroe and James Dean, among others.

I'm hoping to get a free minute to get over there and see the photos... this semester has been insanely busy! Hope everyone is doing well.

Ingridly love,

Alexis

Isabella Rossellini Judge in Berlin Film Festival

Here's an interesting note from one of our German readers... If you're in Berlin or at the Film Festival, you might see Ingrid's daughter, Isabella Rossellini.

Check it out here: ISABELLA ROSSELLINI ARTICLE

HAPPY 95th BIRTHDAY INGRID BERGMAN! :)

TCM Classic Film Festival VIDEO!!

Here it is!

The TCM Classic Film Festival video!

I hope you enjoy it!

There will be a TCM CFF next year... read here for info TCM Classic Film Festival 2011

Real Life = Not Enough Blogging or Ingrid Bergman

Hi everyone.
So I finally just finished the TCM Classic Film Festival video!

I will be posting it shortly (it's mixing right now!)

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have been receiving your suggestions for reading, your ideas for posts and your own personal writing... I'm just SWAMPED with work right now.
2nd semester of Film School is a crazy time!

Anyway- a suggestion I have is that you write up whatever you want submitted for a post, send it to my email ingridbergmanfilms@gmail.com and I can post it (after, of course proof reading... gotta protect myself and the blog).

I know I owe a lot of posts... and I will get to them... it's just going to take some time this fall!

I hope to put up some posts on Ingrid's birthday.

Feel free to comment or remind me that you've sent me emails -- my brain is mush!

Enjoy the new TCM Video!

Ruby's Idea

One of our fellow Ingrid Fans, Ruby, had a marvelous suggestion under one of the comments of a recent post. She suggested that I write about who, what, why, where, when & how about Ingrid. Or in her (better) words "..the reasons I love Ingrid or curiosities, things about her I mean..."

So I am going to tell you about my reasons for loving Ingrid Bergman and what I am out to find or figure out thanks to her life or about her life. But let me tell you, the fun doesn't stop there, no way. I want YOU to respond with what Ingrid Bergman has done for you and what you do for her. How has she affected you? When did you start adoring her life, work, spirit, etc.? Anything Ingrid is welcome. I would like to hear from you in the comments, on Twitter, Tumblr, or send me a post that you have posted on your blog... I'll repost it (PUBLICITY for your blog. Yay!).

Here goes nothing:

What: My "Ingrid Friedel Bergman-Lindstrom-Rossellini-Schmidt Addiction/Fandom"

How/Who: I discovered Ingrid Bergman purely by accident, well I'd say more, the stars aligned and new light was shed in my life, but less dramatically-- by accident.

I have always been a fan of classic television and film. My parents influenced and encouraged this, as well as, participated in the hobby. I was watching TCM one night and came across this film Gaslight. As most of us know, this was Ingrid's first Oscar win, Angela Lansbury's first film, Charles Boyer's (looking handsome as ever) and Ingrid's first (of many) paring and directed by the fabulous George Cukor.

When I saw it, it was just a really creepy movie that kept getting better and better.

I consider myself lucky to have seen this as my first Ingrid film. She is spectacular. I mean her singing and jovial nature juxtaposed with her screaming and insanely amazing "knife scene" at the end. Brilliance in a can (literally, since film was canned in those days... hehe... film nerd joke!). I, then, decided that I was going to find all of Ingrid Bergman's films. With research and breaking my former thoughts of her just being a blown up icon-- how wrong was I!? I do want to say "Thanks Dad" for helping me feed my Classic Film addiction, day in and day out. :)

When: This was, embarrassingly, 3 years ago. I was just coming off an Anne Bancroft bender.

Why: Ingrid Bergman was devoted to her work and was described (by her daughter Pia) as "a train on the tracks" so I think if you weren't going the same way, look out. I feel that I am the same type of person. I think she was a woman who lived to act and did it well. She was incredibly human and made many mistakes, but never regrets. She seems exciting to me and I think she is one of the most beautiful creatures ever printed on celluloid.

Her career was beautiful as well... her history is thick with drama, adventure and interesting as hell. For these reasons, and many more, I follow the book of Ingrid.

Where: I originally discovered Ingrid Bergman in Easton, Maryland. I continued my research from the Eastern Shore-- but now I discover her wherever I go.

Including...

My School,

the MoMA in NYC and everywhere!

A New Look!

You may have noticed a big change around here... I have switched the look of Ingrid Bergman Life and Films...

I don't do this very often, because I'm a fan of remaining familiar and comfy when it comes to websites... easy to navigate and such. I felt, recently, that IBL&F just needed a new little spark. I'm still in search of a great template that reflects the feeling of Ingrid Bergman and Classic film... but for now, I feel like this template is like Ingrid's stint in Italy-- her "Rossellini Period."

(Ingrid and her puppy, Stromboli, named after the island on which they filmed the 1950 film Stromboli)

If you have suggestions of a good site full of blogger templates-- let me know!

I know, I know!

Hey everyone--

I was just watching Gaslight and I realized I have so much to do on the blog! I am really going to work on getting some fabulous posts up in the next few days. I'll even work on trying to tackle Casablanca. I have never dealt with a movie that has such iconic pull-- so I'm thinking it might just be me doing crazy commentary-- let me know what you think about that... I'd love some input.

Hope everyone is doing well and I'll give you some Ingridly love as soon as possible :)

Alexis

"Siamo Donne"

Here are two segments from the Rossellini/Bergman collaboration in 1953 "Siamo Donne."

Ingrid is trying to solve the problem or mystery of who is destroying her roses. Enjoy these shorts! It's pretty unique to hear a Swede speak Italian! She knew so many languages (Swedish, German, English, French and Italian)! It astounds me.

Viaggio in Italia

I haven't blogged in a while-- and I apologize! I am on the East Coast now... the end of the semester was crazy busy and then I haven't been around on the internet long enough to write!

I still owe you all some blogs, and I hope to catch up on this... but for now

"Viaggio in Italia" -

The 1954 film Directed by Roberto Rossellini, starring Ingrid Bergman, is being screened on June 5th at 5 PM, at the NY Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). It is also screening there on June 7th at 8PM at the same place. The screenings will be held in Theater 1.

I won't be able to get up here for the screenings-- which is a real bummer because I would love to see Ingrid in a Rossellini film on the big screen. Hopefully something will come to L.A. when I'm back out there.

I am currently in NYC-- so I have to cut this short, but I'll leave you with a snippet of the film as to entice you into traveling to the MoMA to see it!

New Videos!

I have just finished my first semester at USC SCA, with the exception of my 510 paper in which I will compare Ingrid Bergman in "A Woman's Face" to the play "Hedda Gabler."

I haven't been posting that often because of my course load and I'm hoping summer vacation will change things. If you are or were curious about what I've been up to-- here are some examples.
The first is a film I directed...

TCM FIlm Festival Day 1

Hello all!

Tonight was the first night of the 1st TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood, CA and it was marvelous!

I went with my friend Alex and he and I saw Monkey Business and Casablanca.

Monkey Business stars Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers and Marilyn Monroe, was directed by Howard Hawk and it is a blast. I hadn't seen it in a few years and it cracked me up as well as brought back some great memories of watching it with my Dad.

Casablanca, was better than I had imagined. To see Ingrid's talent and beauty on the big screen was breathtaking. It was a complete experience. It was like traveling back in time in a comfy theater seat, with popcorn fuel and soda pop dreams. Her tears for Rick and Laszlo were as big as me! I seriously almost cried when she asked Sam to play "As Time Goes By."

I also clapped and sang along to "Knock on Wood." LOL. I think they should tour with this film and we should make it like the Rocky Horror Picture Show-- everyone participate and dress up... but don't dress like a Nazi. That wouldn't be tasteful.

Well I'm tired- so I can't report much more, except that everyone should see an Ingrid Bergman film or a classic film on the big screen before they die. It's pure bliss.

Here are some pictures from today and tomorrow I think I will be wearing my floppy brown hat and my blue and gold dress.* If you are at the festival, please say hello-- or send an email to ingridbergmanfilms@gmail.com and let me know if you're going to a screening. It would be great to have some pictures with readers and to meet you!

Marquee at Mann's Chinese 6.

PURE HOLLYWOOD. LOL

Alex and Me (he's a brilliant filmmaker who is in my class at USC SCA)

(Me next to the Casablanca image on the map at Mann's Chinese 6 Theater)

(This is the red carpet we couldn't get to because our passes are just "Classic" lol)

Oh - PS - Peter Bogdanovich introduced Monkey Business and Ben Mankiewicz introducedCasablanca- both were hilarious and know their stuff. Entertaining and informative! :)

*Change of plans with the clothing... but I'll definitely have my floppy hat. I'll probably tweet what I'm wearing and which screening I'm at, if anyone is there.

I GOT A FREE TCM FILM FESTIVAL PASS!

I had some drama obtaining a TCM Film Festival pass, but I am going to get it soon!

My school had a give away of 30 "Classic" level passes and I was 3rd in line to get one. Well, the girl at the office told us to take our numbered tickets she had handed us and to come back any time that day to appropriate the passes. My friend Alex and I went at 1:30 and the guy she worked with had given the passes away at 1. He said "I sent in the email that they would be handed out at 1." I replied, "We were here at 11:30! She told us to come back any time!" Well, he said he was working on getting more passes and we were allowed to put our names at the top of the list because of our numbered tickets being #3 and #4.

Today I found out that we are on the top of a list of 5 people getting passes (the ones who would have been handed their passes last week if things had worked properly).

I am also working on finishing my rough cut of my current project so that I can cut out of class early on Thursday and see the 10 PM screening of Casablanca! I hope to attend as many of the films as possible this coming weekend-- I'll be sure to take my video and still cameras. Hopefully I can piece together a cute video or something for everyone to see what goes on at the TCM Film Festival!

If you're going to be there at all-- please let me know-- maybe you could be in the video? It would be great to meet other Ingrid Bergman and Classic Film fans!

That's all for now- I have a lot of work to do to prepare! (So many exclamation points.)

Ingridly Love,

Alexis

PS

I love USC SCA for getting me a $500 pass for free. They better not f- this up!

TCM Film Festival

I wanted to see if anyone is going to the TCM Film Festival coming up on April 22-25? I am going to go, and DEFINITELY going to see Casablanca on Friday night.

If anyone is also going to the festival, let me know! We can perhaps meet and greet there. I'm most likely going to bring a camera and take pictures and video for the blog!! :) So we can all feel like we get a piece of the action.

If you are going to the festival- please send me an email or leave a comment! Hope to see some of you there! :)

ingridbergmanfilms@gmail.com

Popping In

Hello Readers-

Sorry I've been a phantom of the blog these past months. I've been crazy busy with school. I hope to have some fantastic posts when things slow down. I am actually attempting to read a dissertation written by a NC State Professor about Ingrid and Roberto Rossellini. One of our fellow readers/fans wrote me about it and I'm trying to get enough info for a really juicy post!
I'll have some downtime after the semester and will hopefully give you more detailed Ingrid posts and maybe someday attempt to play by play Casablanca. LOL.

Hope you're all doing well. Please feel free to comment and let me know what you're up to!

I watched Notorious! last night, and like always-- Fell in love with the film AGAIN! :)

Ingridly Love,

Alexis

Ingrid Bergman Official Page

I don't know if everyone is aware, but there is an Official Ingrid Bergman website. I'm not it (shedding a single tear), but it's worth checking out!

They aren't always up to date with updates, but they do post things about Ingrid as well as the rest of her family. There are links to other sites and I'm working on having my blog linked to them.

I was disappointed with the page last spring, I checked and it hadn't been updated in a year. It was sad to see that Ingrid's memory was, yes, still being upheld, but that it was being run by a company who wasn't investing any time. It was actually one of the major motivations toward creating this blog. This fall, however, I saw a piece on 60 Minutes about the company who manages her page, CMG Worldwide, about celebrities making money after they've died. It was interesting, and I wish I could find it online, but haven't had any luck, and it was what triggered me to check her page again. They updated it! I'm sure they did it because they knew the 60 Minutes piece would draw an audience to the pages, but it got the job done. I just hope they keep it up and don't let Ingrid's estate pay for them to sit around and let it coast. She would never have liked that!

Well just like Ingrid, I am "a train on a track" so I must get back to my hectic life of producing a film! I acted in one the other day-- got to play a bitch! -- Kept "WWIBD?" in my brain (as well as "WWMTMD?")-- you know "What Would Ingrid Bergman Do?" It was fun!

Hope everyone is doing well! We have 69 followers now! YAY!

Ingridly love,

Alexis

PS If you want to see Ingrid's official page... click here--> INGRID BERGMAN RULES!

1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!

Today, Ingrid Bergman Life and Films is one year old.

We have 67 followers, 78 Facebook fans, a tumblr account linked to the site, have been reposted by blogs and websites, I've made tons of new friends and received Ingrid themed gifts from talented people all over the world and tweeted a lot since last March.

I cannot believe how fulfilling this blog has been. I mean, now I can because it's a part of my life, but I see, hear, notice, feel Ingrid Bergman around me everywhere.

Last year, I was still waiting to find out about Grad schools, had no real direction, didn't know what to do with my spare time. Once I started this blog, the support and direction followed. It was like the spirit of Classic Film and Ingrid Bergman (among the hundreds of stars everyone else blogs about) were pulling me and motivating me to steer toward my dreams. Reach for the highest stars. "Be yourself, everyone worships an original."

I have been learning so much from this blogging experience. I'm collecting Ingrid movies, branching my movie experience as well as my network.

I am so impressed by the following Ingrid Bergman has, especially how international it is. I love hearing from all of you. I love receiving tweets from various time zones, re-blogs from Canada, and DVD's from Spain! It just proves that Ingrid's immortalization through celluloid wasn't in vain, she will never die in any of our hearts.

I was hoping to have something monumental to talk about, but since I haven't even finished the Casablanca play by play (what is this? month 4 of not finishing?) I will only leave you with something that I feel captures the entire theme of the blog and this post.

Ingridly love to you all (thanks for that catchphrase Mike!) and enjoy.

Movies Unlimited: Movie Fan Fare

I am extremely happy today! Ingrid Bergman Life and Films has been re-posted and promoted by "Movies Unlimited: Movie Fan Fare"!!!

I was contacted by Chris Cummins from the website and he said the following:

"Hello,

We would love to repost your Casablanca: A History piece (http://ingridbergmanfilms.blogspot.com/2009/11/casablanca-history.html). The only changed we would make would be that we would include a new piece of art as the header image and insert a retail link to the film on our retail site. (www.moviesunlimited.com). If either of these changes is a problem, please let me know.

Additionally, at the bottom of your piece we would like to include a brief bio of you. Could we use the one from your website, or would you like to write a new 1-2 line bio for us? Either way is fine. We will give you a link at the bottom of the page as well. At this point, we would like to run the piece in approximately 2 weeks, we can email you when we know exactly when. Again, a million thanks for sharing this piece with us. Please contact me if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Chris"

Of course I said a giant "YES!" to the situation. Lol.

I am truly honored to have my blog represented in such a fashion. It's a feather in the cap of Ingrid Bergman as well. As long as she remains in discussions and around us, I'm doing my job!

The blog is almost a year old and you all have made it such fun to have an environment in which Ingrid is loved and respected.

Thank you Movies Unlimited and thank you for reading :)

"The world was waiting just for you..."

My dog, Sadie May, was put down on Sunday.

This has really effected me deeply. She was my best friend. She was there for me and was a loyal pal. We rescued her from the pound on October 7, 1997. She, like me, wasn't warm at first. We both took our time to get to know one another and both agreed that we were the bosses of Erin.

Sadie was a goof. She would do the best tricks. I would say "What do we do in Vietnam?" and she would get down and do a low crawl for a treat. It was the funniest trick and a great time. She was always there to hang out with me. I'm a homebody and just like staying in and watching television, writing on the computer, watching movies and reading. Sadie was either laying on my feet or right there beside me. She was a big fan of whatever I was obsessed with at the time. She never judged me for being a little weird or trying to do something outside the box. If I cried, she was there to lend a soft ear and a wag of her tail. She didn't lick, unless you had soap or peanut butter on your hand. She loved pillows, blankets and couches. "Sunny spots" were areas of the house that she would frequent and boy was she obnoxious when it came within 15 minutes of her food time.

I guess we get used to having our little furry friends under foot. I don't think we take them for granted, but we sure don't devote as much time to them as they do to us. I can't think of any times, even if she had been at the kennel, when I felt Sadie was mad at me. Though I definitely pitched fits towards her.

I'm going to miss giving her nicknames... I think she racked up at least 100. My "Derz" as I would affectionately refer to her, was a shy soul. She was a great story. She was thrown from a moving truck. Rescued by a guy. Rescued by us and enjoyed a life filled with treats and adventures. Though she shook like a leaf in the car, she would give anything to go to a lacrosse game or a road trip with the family.

All of my friends knew Sadie. They would show her love and she loved them. Carol scared the shit out of her one time and we laughed for hours. She would only bark twice at the sight of John then realizing it was one of her favorite people. She hated tall bald men, Pop pop never quite won her over... Pa did... with one swift swat with a newspaper to set her straight. She loved him. She was there for me when they passed.

I sit here with tears rolling down my cheek because I don't like the finite nature of death. I don't know what happens to us or our animal friends when we stop ticking. I don't know what happens at all. I feel like I'm being melodramatic, but how else to you act when you lose something that has stolen such a large chunk of your heart?

I know I wish Sadie were here watching MTM with me. I know she wouldn't care how hard I laughed or how many times we'd watch the same episodes just so I could memorize the details I would like to know inside and out.

I was able to say goodbye to her. She even skyped and reacted to my voice.

I am going to miss her a lot and this week is going to be hard, especially since she's who I'd call upon for a snuggle.

I guess I can't say anything else. I'd just go on for hours. I've posted this song here that always makes me think of Sadie. It has her name in it and it's hilarious... the reason why it reminds me of her.
The song is "Sexy Sadie" by the Beatles. I think it's great because Sadie was anything but sexy. She was funny, quirky and cute. She hated to be snuggled but loved to snuggle on her terms. I respect that.

This is for you Sadie. I miss you already and I love you so much.

Looney Tunes: "Carrotblanca"

Someone on Tumblr.com posted a picture of Looney Tune's "Carrotblanca," so I had to find it on youtube.com

Amazing. Hilarious. Stunningly accurate. All of the jokes are right on target. The quotes are just close enough to be funny and it's Looney Tunes...who can refuse?!

I hope you enjoy this short blissful parody as much as I have. I hope to write soon. Just let me finish some homework and I'll try and get to it! :)

61 followers! Yey!

PS if you want more Ingrid consistantly, please follow my tumblr.com account or follow me on twitter... also-- comments make everyone happy! :)

TCM Poster Mock-ups

Recenlty, on tumblr, (If you're not following my page yet there, here's a link to INGRID BERGMAN FILMS TUMBLR) these "TCM posters" have been going around.

They are hilariously funny!

María, from Daisies and Buttercups (Be sure to follow her as well! She posts marvelous pictures of Ingrid), suggested we need to see some Ingrid posters like this.

Now, I'd say, we should suggest this to TCM, but I think it would be more fun if everyone came up with their own version of the poster (but in the same style and humor of the orignials) and make them Ingrid Bergman/ Ingrid Bergman film related.

What do you say? Shall we do this much like the logo contest?

Who's in?

If you want to do this, leave a comment and we'll get this party started--polls, rules, posts, etc!

Here are examples of the TCM posters:

60 Followers!

We've reached 60 followers here at Ingrid Bergman Life and Films!

Thanks for reading everyone! I'm so glad we can share in the "Ingridly love" of Ms. Bergman!

A Bergman Valentine's Day

If you're looking for some way to ignore the commercialism of Valentine's Day, or looking for a way to celebrate with your boyfriend or girlfriend... here's a list of Ingrid films playing that day!

February 14th, TCM is playing 3 Ingrid Bergman films! Here is a list of the times that the films will be playing on TCM. Though they are mostly playing in the wee hours of the morning (unless, like me you're in a different time zone and are hours behind the original play time and TCM has yet to realize that they should adapt...) I have highlighted them and printed out the rest of the day's schedule. There are movies here that are just simply worth seeing (The African Queen for one!)

Also- if you click on THIS LINK it will send you to tv-now where you can check when Ingrid is on television! Enjoy!

4:00 AM	Murder On The Orient Express (1974)
	Belgian detective Hercule Poirot investigates the murder of a mysterious businessman during a luxurious train ride. Cast: Albert Finney, Sean Connery, Ingrid Bergman. Dir: Sidney Lumet. C-128 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format
14 Sunday
6:15 AM	Notorious (1946)
	A U.S. agent recruits a German expatriate to infiltrate a Nazi spy ring in Brazil. Cast: Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains. Dir: Alfred Hitchcock. BW-101 mins, TV-PG, CC
8:00 AM	High Society (1956)
	In this musical version of The Philadelphia Story, tabloid reporters invade a society wedding. Cast: Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra. Dir: Charles Walters. C-107 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format, DVS
10:00 AM	Foreign Affair, A (1948)
	A prim Congresswoman gets caught up in the romantic decadence of post-war Germany. Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Jean Arthur, John Lund. Dir: Billy Wilder. BW-112 mins, TV-PG
12:00 PM	More the Merrier, The (1943)
	The World War II housing shortage brings three people together for an unlikely romance. Cast: Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, Charles Coburn. Dir: George Stevens. BW-104 mins, TV-G, CC
2:00 PM	Devil and Miss Jones, The (1941)
	A department store owner goes undercover as an employee to thwart union activists. Cast: Jean Arthur, Charles Coburn, Robert Cummings. Dir: Sam Wood. BW-92 mins, TV-G, CC
4:00 PM	Lady Eve, The (1941)
	A lady cardsharp tries to con an eccentric scientist only to fall for him. Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn. Dir: Preston Sturges. BW-94 mins, TV-PG, CC
6:00 PM	Ball Of Fire (1941)
	A group of professors takes in a nightclub singer hiding from the law to protect her gangster boyfriend. Cast: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Dana Andrews. Dir: Howard Hawks. BW-112 mins, TV-G, CC
8:00 PM	Casablanca (1942)
	An American saloon owner in North Africa is drawn into World War II when his lost love turns up. Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid. Dir: Michael Curtiz. BW-103 mins, TV-PG, CC, DVS
10:00 PM	African Queen, The (1951)
	A grizzled skipper and a spirited missionary take on the Germans in Africa during World War I. Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley. Dir: John Huston. C-105 mins, TV-PG, CC
12:00 AM	Summertime (1955)
	A schoolteacher is surprised to find love on a Venetian vacation. Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Rossano Brazzi, Isa Miranda. Dir: David Lean. C-100 mins, TV-PG
2:00 AM	Little Women (1949)
	The four daughters of a New England family fight for happiness during and after the Civil War. Cast: June Allyson, Elizabeth Taylor, Peter Lawford. Dir: Mervyn LeRoy. C-122 mins, TV-G, CC, DVS
4:15 AM	Tortilla Flat (1942)
	Inhabitants of a Southern California fishing village strive for the simple pleasures of life. Cast: Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr, John Garfield. Dir: Victor Fleming. BW-99 mins, TV-PG, CC

Fred 62

I took a picture of a drawing of Ingrid Bergman that was hanging on the wall at the L.A. diner, Fred 62. It's famous for all night breakfast and milkshakes! We went there at like 3:30 in the morning... gotta love L.A.! :)

Spellbound

Today, in my writing class, we were talking about dream-like treatments and branching beyond reality. I didn't do too well with my treatment, he felt it was too linear for the assignment, but I still loved the dream I wrote about... I was working on the Mary Tyler Moore Show... it was amazing!

I felt better at the end of class because our teacher said he wanted to show us a dream sequence from "Suspicion" and a couple of my classmates and I were like... what dream sequence?

He was like, "You know the one that Gary Cooper has..." and I said, "You mean Cary Grant?" And he said, "No, no, no..." (somewhat dismissively, which of course I took as a challenge) Then he said, "You know the one made up by Dali, I was going to bring that one in." And of course I said, "That's Spellbound, with Gregory Peck and Ingrid Bergman."

So after a while, he had me pull up the video off youtube so we could watch the dream sequence. I'm really glad this is the dream sequence he picked, because it helps me to think in "dream-like" ways not just "dreams," the difference being that dreams can be linear and he wanted symbols, colors and abstract (or surreal). I'm also glad that once again Ingrid has come to my rescue.

So here's the dream sequence and I hope you like it.

Sorry my posts haven't been consistant and I still owe you Casablanca... school is insanely busy so I'm trying to find time to watch the movie and really give you quality posts.

If you're looking for a quick Ingrid fix, be sure to read her biographies, follow me on twitter (@alexis_morrell) and I'm also on Tumblr.

100 Free Classic Films Everyone Should See

A representative from a blog emailed me this:

Hi Alexis,

I am representing (Associatesdegree.com), and I wanted to let you know that we just launched a post that we think you would be interested in reading and hopefully passing along to your readers. “100 Free Classic Films Everyone Should See” can be found by clicking on the following link, which will direct you to our blog at (http://www.associatesdegree.com/2010/01/28/100-free-classic-films-everyone-should-see/).

Thanks so much for your time!

Jesse Young

So I thought I'd pass it on to you... feel free to check it out. Looks pretty cool!

Hoepfully I'll have more time to post Ingrid things soon! If you want up to the minute Ingrid stuff follow my tumblr or twitter (@alexis_morrell) thanks :)

Original Notorious Poster from USC SCA

This is the poster I wrote about before. It's an original print from 1946. Cary Grant looks like Frankenstein's Monster. LOL.

This is hanging in the lobby of my school along with posters from Psycho and other Hitchcock films. Then you walk the hallways and there are posters from every movie you can imagine- most are signed. It's pretty awe inspiring.

I love my school! :)

Ingrid Pie

My roommate Tyler saw this at a restaurant (of which he forgot the name) last night in L.A.

It's named "the Ingrid Bergman." Bon Appetite!

First Day of School and Notorious!

This is a picture of me on my first day of film school. It resembles the type of picture we used to take every day on the first day of school.

For example, here's one of Julia on her first day of Pre-school (since I don't have any adorable pictures of yours truly. LOL)

It's fun to do these, I recommend it.

On to my day...

I woke up ready to roll. My roommates and I all walked together to our first class, Concepts of Cinematic Production (to which I might refer to as 510). This class is taught by Pablo Frasconiand Tomlison Holman. This class seems like it will teach us all the language of film, production, direction and sound. It involved the entire Spring 2010 class, and we each had to give a 1 minute autobiographical introduction. I almost barfed all over the microphone.

Though I wasn't first or even last, I was incredibly nervous. I am fine with getting in front of people when I'm singing, acting, improvising, giving a speech, answering questions-- sure it makes me nervous, but I get over THAT. This, this was talking about myself!! I can't do that. My statement of purpose took me like 2 months to finally write on paper! I can give you stories about life all day, but if you want me to tell you my accomplishments, I can't just list them... who does that?!

So after my "speech" which involved me plugging my Ingrid Bergman blog and looking like a total idiot in front of everyone (does anyone doubt that I'm the Mary? If you do, feel free toemail me because I'd love to hear otherwise. LOL), we watched some film clips and learned some concepts. That was exhausting!

I walked home after class and sat down to eat some lunch, pizza, in front of the television. Now, though this pizza wasn't very good, it was still pizza, which is one of my favorite things on this earth. When I turned the channel, Bewitched was on! Well, what a great way to continue my first day of film school. I'd like to credit Bewitched with my first cognizance of what I wanted to be when I grew up: A witch. Well, once I found out that magic isn't necessarily probable or even possible (and generally creepy) I figured the next best step was learning how to make magic-- aka Film/Television. Signed, sealed, delivered...I'm yours, film.

Watching Bewitched, eating pizza, all after my first film class, could this day get better? Yes.

My other class of the day was a meeting for 507, my Production-1 class. My SA, Dennis, was awesome. He gave us instructions with great detail and was completely on our side. A fantastic reminder of why we pay so much to go here.

The class is filled with people I have come to be friends with and more friends to come. It is also taught by Jim McBride, who is a director and has done many films (if you want to know what, follow the link on his name).

This class was interesting. A little hard to follow at first because Jim is new and we are as well. Once we got going, though, it was fine. It became even better after our 15 minute break. The first film we were analyzing shots of was: Notorious! I was totally geeking out.

This seemed like a sure sign that I am in the right place right now. I mean, for real?!

The day was a great one.

Though I have to end on a sad note. My Aunt Mary passed away last night after a long battle with cancer. Ingrid Bergman once said "Cancer victims who don't accept their own fate, who don't learn to live with it, will only destroy what little time they have left." Aunt Mary wouldn't speak to us about her cancer, she just lived everyday for the best. She was a great supporter of mine and was a huge maternal influence on my Mom and her sisters. We will all miss her very much but it is good to know her suffering is over.

Thank you for reading.

New Video... Not Mine, but New To Me

My School is SO COOL

I've been kind of busy, moving, meeting new people in this grand city of L.A. but Ingrid has been EVERYWHERE!!!

Here's a little story for you...

The other day, I decided to go for a run. I wanted to scope out the neighborhood and get my bearings a bit. I ran to campus, which is about a mile away and walked around. The campus is really pretty. There are palm trees and gorgeous buildings everywhere but a lot of construction. The construction actually forced me to see more of campus than I had planned, but it was nice none-the-less.

I went over to the SCA building, which is the newest building that carries three somewhat significant names in the film world: Steven Speilberg, George Lucas and the Academy of Motion Pictures... do you know who these people are? I hear they make indies.

I went into the Speilberg wing and no one was in the lobby. This moment of solitude and this gorgeous building weighed heavily. It was like the air was thick with happiness and my realization that I am finally about to make it happen.

I walked over to a wall of plaques dedicated to financial contributors and saw Mary Pickford's name and Alma and Alfred Hitchcock... pretty rad.

That wing drew me to some more happies- there were original classic movie posters everywhere, from George Lucas' personal collection. The Hitchcock ones are the coolest, but there was one in particular that really showed me this is where I should be. Notorious! A 6 foot tall, original print from 1946. Though Cary Grant's face has turned green (I guess he started drinking the poison?) and the color is weird on it, it was still pretty freaking awesome.

Thank you for reading.

Alexis :)