Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Calling all film buffs and cinephiles

I've decided to make a project out of Bela Lugosi. As I mentioned in an earlier post, few people in Lugoj know about the horror-film actor, even though this is his hometown. In my opinion, Lugoj should do something to commemorate him, not only for the sake of local history, but also for the sake of tourism. After all, Lugoj prides itself as a cultural center. That being the case, the town should do everything it can to emphasize its cultural heritage.

Ideally, I'd like to put a plaque on the house where Lugosi was born, and I may eventually get that done. However, for the time being, my primary goal is to raise public awareness about Bela Lugosi. My first effort in this vein was writing an article for the local newspaper entitled, "Do you know Bela Lugosi?" The next thing I'd like to do is put together some sort of Lugosi exhibit for the town art gallery. I'm hoping to gather materials and memorabilia from collectors so that I can create some sort of visual exposition (perhaps combined with a film screening). I've already talked with the curator of the art gallery and the manager of the history museum, and they both support the idea. In fact, the manager of the museum said she'd like to devote a whole room to Lugosi when the museum renovations are complete.

I've also established a connection with Gary D. Rhodes, a professor of film and the foremost Lugosi biographer. He said he'd be happy to do what he can to donate materials. However, I figured I'd also put out a public request here on my blog. Perhaps some of you out there are film buffs or collectors of film memorabilia (or perhaps you know someone else who is). In any case, if you'd like to help this effort, please leave a comment here.

Here are some examples of the sort of things I'm looking for:

1. Photos of Lugosi from various stages throughout his career. It'd be nice to have a good cross-section of his life so we don't end up with just a Dracula expo. I envision displaying the photos chronologically and including a description for each. That way, as the viewer goes from picture to picture, the descriptions will read sort of like a mini biography.

2. Video materials, so we can do a screening or something. Of course, a copy of "Dracula" would be nice. But, it would be even cooler to have something representing his early film career in Europe (if anything is still surviving).

3.Books on Lugosi

4. Film posters

5 comments:

Jack Nork said...

very cool bro. I'll get the word out.

Anonymous said...

You might want to contact American Film Institute. They might be interested in a donation or copies of their collections of old films for the museum.
Mom

Anonymous said...

cool idea! man i was thinking of something that would give the town a touristic boost, as an idea for my tourism project, i thought of mentioning lugosi as an huge unused potential...
maybe you remember i posted something about a work i have to do out here in vienna for the univ. well...i am just about to start working on it..just have to finish with my boring exams...and get started with this which is my most beloved project -.-. i hope i can help with bella in someway from vienna...maybe i could just find something about him here, just maybe

Anonymous said...

ok i´m beginning to be passionate about your idea!:)
i left some posts on Bela fan sites asking world wide fans to contribute with something!! he is truly admired and loved worldwide it is the most shameful thing for Lugoj not to remember Bela in any way. I don´t want just a plaque on his house! i want a statue...some big American like commemorative shit in the middle of a park!!! i want people to be coming from all over..to Lugoj for Bela.
Oh...man you got me started with this....you gonna here from me...
peace i´m out

Anonymous said...

Great idea!

Please do include in your project the unsignificant detail that Béla actually happened to be ethnic Hungarian. This may be one of the reasons why Lugoj does not like to remember him.

Good luck!