Me in the ’70s

Early last month Nick Dawson kindly asked me to take part in an interview for the terrific FilmInFocus.com site. The interview is now available online as their current Behind the Blog feature. In the rather lengthy interview I talk about why I enjoy writing about movies and how I got interested in blogging. I was extremely surprised that Nick asked me to take part in an interview and I’m grateful that he finds my blog worth reading.

- Behind the Blog: Kimberly Lindbergs of Cinebeats

Some observant readers may notice that the interview took place before there was so much navel-gazing going on among my fellow film bloggers. I mention some blogs that have since gone on hiatus in the interview and I don’t address the fact that due to staff cuts I’m no longer writing for Cinedelica.com, which published the only film writing work I was ever paid for.

My blog has been suffering a bit lately due to the fact that I’ve got a lot of personal things I’m dealing with at the moment, including hunting for freelance writing and graphic/web design work, which is extremely hard to come by. The economy is in deep trouble and like many fine folks working in all kinds of professions, I’m having a hard time trying to pay my bills. Hopefully I’ll have more free time for film writing soon but I wanted to mention that last month Cinebeats celebrated its second anniversary. I’m extremely grateful that 1000+ visitors take the time to stop by Cinebeats every day. This is not a vanity project and I don’t expect to get rich writing about movies. I write about movies I like simply because I love talking about the films I enjoy.

Some people play golf to relax and others like to garden or collect stamps. When I’m not taking photos and making art, I like to watch movies and write about them. It brings me a lot of joy when I get an email from someone telling me they’ve watched a film I’ve written about and they appreciate my recommendations. 20 years ago it would have been impossible for me to freely self-publish my thoughts about films and share them with other film enthusiasts all over the world so easily and I’m thankful for the opportunities that blogging has given me. I’ve been writing on and off for 25 years and blogging has been the most rewarding writing experience I’ve had.

I’m also thankful that my fellow film bloggers have been so gracious and encouraging. I’m especially thankful to Dennis Cozzalio who runs the terrific and always entertaining Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule, Brian Darr and his resourceful and informative Hell on Frisco Bay blog and Girish Shambu whose blog has probably given me more delicious food for thought in the past couple of years than any other film blog that I can think of. Dennis, Brian and Girish were some of the first people who took the time to comment on my blog and exchange links back in 2006. Their generosity of spirit and good nature have really helped motivate me to keep blogging and I can’t thank them enough for their support. Here’s to you boys and to another fun and fascinating year of film blogging!

Book author Tom Lisanti was kind enough to answer some questions for me over at Cinedelica about his new book Glamour Girls of Sixties Hollywood, which I reviewed here over the weekend.

The interview is well worth reading if you’re a fan of sixties-era film starlets and Tom talks a lot about his upcoming book projects such as the Gail Gerber memoir Strange Love: Terry Southern, Hollywood, and Me.

Tom also offers up some great tips for winter viewing that will take the chill off and help you beat the winter weather blues.

I hope Cinebeats’ readers will stop by Cinedelica and check out the interview!

- 10 Question with Tom Lisanti

Over at Cinedelica we’re starting a new feature today called “10 Questions” and my first interviewee is film critic and author Tim Lucas.

I’ve been reading Tim’s film criticism since first coming across it in magazines like Fangoria and Gorezone in the ’80s when I was a teenager. There are few critics that have inspired and influenced my own writing more then Tim, so I was really happy to get the opportunity to ask him a few questions about his new book Mario Bava - All the Colors of the Dark. Tim’s enthusiastic support of Bava’s films over the years has definitely colored my own view of them, as well as my love for Italian genre films in general.

Some of the information in our brief exchange might be familiar to regular readers of his Bava Book Blog and anyone who owns the book, but if you’re curious about Mario Bava - All the Colors of the Dark and the films of Mario Bava in general, you might find my brief Q & A with Tim Lucas an interesting read.

- 10 Questions with Tim Lucas