Announcing the We Are Family Blogathon

Posted on by rebeccadeniston

Time for another blogathon! Yay.

But first, a little story. The inspiration for this blogathon came about a couple of months ago when I was puttering around Amazon Prime and happened upon a 1934 movie called Lost In the Stratosphere. I couldn’t figure out why the guy in the thumbnail looked so familiar until I realized it was William Cagney, James Cagney’s brother. It was a surprise to see him because I thought he was always James’ business manager, not an actor, yet there he was.

And voilá, an idea was born.

Instead of just writing about the stars everyone knows, I thought it would be fun to look at their spouses, relatives, in-laws, children, ancestors, and so on, who have somehow made their own mark in the world as well. They don’t have to be actors, necessarily. Maybe they were directors or executives. Or maybe they did something other than work in the film business. It’s obviously a pretty broad topic, but I hope it’s a fun one. Naturally, comparisons to their famous relatives are inevitable, but obviously they don’t have to be.

Here are some ideas to get the ball rolling:

  • Douglas Shearer and Norma Shearer
  • Emma Roberts
  • Jack Quaid
  • The Deschanel family
  • The Barrymores
  • The Gish sisters
  • Kirk Douglas and Michael Douglas
  • The Coppolas
  • The Fords
  • The Pines
  • Judy Garland’s family
  • The Shyamalans

All right, now it’s time for…

The Rules

  1. The blogathon will take place between October 25th and October 27, with a wrapup post on the 28th. Posts can be sent to me on or around those days, either via the Comment section, my Contact page, Instagram or X (both @TakingUpRoom), Bluesky (@takinguproom.bsky.social), or via e-mail (rebeccadeniston@gmail.com).
  2. Topics can cover celebs and their family members from any era, and there are lots of angles to go from, such as movies, biographical sketches, listicles, and so on. Since there are tons of possible topics (see some more ideas here), no more than three people will be permitted to write about the same topic unless the topic is approached from different angles. A movie starring multiple Barrymores, for instance (Grand Hotel, anyone?), is OK for more than three people to write about as long as no more than three people write about the same Barrymore.
  3. New material only, please.
  4. Nothing derogatory will be accepted. Nepotism is a given in certain cases, but diplomacy is the order of the day since it’s often a touchy subject.
  5. If anyone would like to join, please leave me a comment on this post or via one of the avenues listed above.
  6. Grab a banner and advertise the blogathon!

The Roster

Taking Up Room: Lost In the Stratosphere (1934) (William Cagney)

Classic Film and TV Corner: The Mills Family

Realweegiemidget Reviews: Bionic Ever After (1994) (Lee Majors Sr. and Jr.)

John Rieber: Operation Kid Brother (1967) (Neil Connery)

The Flapper Dame: McLintock! (1963) (John Wayne, Michael Wayne, and Patrick Wayne)

Tales From the Freakboy Zone: Scream Queen (2015-2016) (Emma Roberts)

By Rich Watson: The Taking Of Pelham 123 (1974) (Carolee Campbell)

Dubsism: Rockford Files, “Sticks and Stones May Break Your Bones, But Waterbury Will Bury You.” (Jack Garner)

18 Cinema Lane: The Chalk Garden (1964) (John Mills) and Diagnosis Murder, “Guardian Angel” (Barry Van Dyke)

Whimsically Classic: Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland

Crítica Retrô: Tom Sawyer (1917) (Jack Pickford)

In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood: The Legend of Lizzie Borden (1975) (Elizabeth Montgomery and Lizzie Borden)

The Banners

wearefamilybanner1wearefamilybanner2wearefamilybanner3 (1)wearefamilybanner4wearefamilybanner5

39 thoughts on “Announcing the We Are Family Blogathon”

  4. Definitely a cool idea! I’d like to review <i>Big Jake</i> (1971), which stars John Wayne and involves all 3 of his sons: Patrick Wayne and Ethan Wayne play his character’s son and grandson, and Michael Wayne produced the movie.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. Nah, I can’t get out more than a few coherent sentences at a time, definitely couldn’t crank out an entire blog post.

        Liked by 1 person

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  14. Hi Rebecca. Since Elizabeth Montgomery and “The Legend Of Lizzie Borden” (1975) fits the theme of this event, I would like to finish off my article that I had intended to submit into your “Name” blogathon back in May. I’ve been wanting to expand and publish that article and this blogathon is the perfect opportunity. Would that be okay with you?

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
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  18. Oh wow! How did I ever missed that?? It’s such a great blogathon idea! I know it’s starting like.. tomorrow lol, but do you think I could write about Georgy Girl (1966)? I’ve been wanting to write about it for a long time and it would be perfect for this blogathon as it stars Lynn Redgrave and her mother Rachel Kempson. Let me know if that’s possible. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
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