John DiLeo

I will be a participant at the Tennessee Williams Festival in Provincetown, MA, on September 23-26, 2010. My new book, TENNESSEE WILLIAMS AND COMPANY: HIS ESSENTIAL SCREEN ACTORS, will be making its debut that weekend. I'll be doing a program called LAUGHING IN THE DARK WITH TENNESSEE, a compilation of clips connected to the festival's theme "Under the Influence." I'll be showing scenes from films that borrowed shamelessly from Williams, specifically STREETCAR, as well as films and actors who clearly had an influence on Williams' artistic sensibility. Finally, I'll show some scenes that pay humorous tribute to the Williams legacy. It's going to be eye-opening as well as great fun! I'll be doing three performances, on the evenings of the 23rd, 24th, and 25th.

On May 15, 2010, I'll be introducing a free screening of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962) at the Delaware Valley High School in Westfall (PA) at 7pm. Then I'll lead a post-film discussion. Bring tissues!!

My two appearances at the CT Film Festival in Danbury were wonderful. Big turnouts, enthusiastic classic-film lovers, not to mention the festival's eclectic offering of movies, documentaries, shorts, and music programs. And I sold the box of books (SCREEN SAVERS) that I brought with me.

On May 8th and 9th, I'll be participating in the Connecticut Film Festival in Danbury. On the 8th at 11am, I will be doing SCREEN SAVERS, the companion show to my book of the same title, all about great underrated movies of the 20th century. On the 9th at 1:15pm, come see my show BLOOPERS, SECRETS, AND SURPRISES IN CLASSIC MOVIES, which is lighthearted fun and quite a hoot. Both programs will be at the Danbury Public Library. Go to www.ctfilmfest.com for more info.

In December 2009, I did my first gig as a cruise ship lecturer, doing five programs on classic movies on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas luxury liner. Fantastic experience! Around that same time, my essay about the Mitchell Leisen book, HOLLYWOOD DIRECTOR by David Chierichetti, appeared in the anthology CITY SECRETS BOOKS.

On October 16, 2009, I did a program titled "Bloopers, Secrets, and Surprises in Classic Hollywood Movies" at the gala of the Black Bear Film Festival in Milford, PA. Then I did a program called "The Golden Age of the Hollywood Musical" at the festival's Film Salon on the 18th. Both events were held at Milford's historic Tom Quick Inn.

I am currently appearing inside two new books. In Michael Sragow's excellent biography, VICTOR FLEMING: AN AMERICAN MOVIE MASTER (December, 2008), I am quoted in Sragow's chapter on Fleming's 1938 classic TEST PILOT, specifically in his analysis of the film's homosexual overtones.

In CITY SECRETS: MOVIES (February, 2009), I am one of many film professionals who offers a short essay on a little-known movie that deserves wider recognition. My selection is THE TALL TARGET (1951), one of the 40 movies featured in my book SCREEN SAVERS. Among the other participants, you'll find Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, and Sidney Lumet. I was at the Rizzoli Bookstore at 31 W. 57th St. in Manhattan on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009, for a signing and reception.

I am now a blog! Go to screensaversmovies.com and join the conversation. It's a site devoted entirely to my new book, put together by my publisher. If you want to ask me about a certain movie or respond to the book, write to me there. I look forward to joining the blogosphere.

On Monday, September 22nd, 2008, Turner Classic Movies devoted its prime-time schedule to SCREEN SAVERS. Host Robert Osborne selected five movies from the book and introduced them on the air. He spoke about me, SCREEN SAVERS, and the movies he chose to be screened. It was an all-around wonderful night. The five movies were PORTRAIT OF JENNIE (1948), STARS IN MY CROWN (1950), ONE WAY PASSAGE (1932), DEVIL'S DOORWAY (1950), and THE TALL TARGET (1951). A great quintet!

On Sunday, October 5th, 2008, I had a piece in the Washington Post. I wrote a round-up review of four new film books: biographies of Ronald Reagan, Claudette Colbert, and Fred Astaire, and Robert Wagner's autobiography. The review appeared in the Post's Book World.