Announcing the Steve McQueen Blog-a-thon

[March 23 Update: The Steve McQueen McQueen Blog-a-thon is under way here.]

For almost two years now, I’ve posted my cinema ruminations under an iconic image of Steve McQueen from The Great Escape. And yet, despite this blog’s branding, I’ve done very little writing about the King of Cool. With The Cooler just days away from the start of its third year, this must be remedied. And so today I’m announcing that I will host the Steve McQueen Blog-a-thon beginning on what would have been McQueen’s 80th birthday, March 24, and running through March 27.

I have some posts in mind, but I make this announcement now with the hope that other bloggers will take part in this effort. Traditionally, blog-a-thons are built around a genre or director – but rarely an actor or actress. So let’s remedy that, too. Submissions to the Steve McQueen blog-a-thon must meet only one criterion: they must somehow touch on Steve McQueen. If you’d like to write about the actor’s overall film career, go for it. If you’d like to discuss his lasting impact in pop culture, go for it. But bloggers should also feel welcome to write standard reviews of films in which McQueen appears. McQueen needn’t be the focus of your essay. He just needs to be the thread lacing together what I hope will be a wildly diverse group of submissions. (Likewise, please feel no pressure to bow at McQueen’s altar. If you’d like to rant about his limited range or whatever else, please do so.)

Per usual, post your contribution on your blog and send me the link via e-mail or in the comments section the week of the blog-a-thon. If you don’t have a blog and would like to contribute, e-mail me your contribution and I’ll post it here at The Cooler.

Please take part! I'm more excited to see what my fellow bloggers will submit than I am to post my own pieces.

In the meantime, if you wouldn’t mind spreading the word, I’d appreciate it.