More on The Alamo & Chris Hamby's "ATM" mentioned in "The Digital Bits"

*William Randolph Hearst, 1960 (from Motion Picture Daily).

You may have heard about the well-known DVD/Blu-Ray information site The Digital Bits.   In relation to the ongoing struggle of the restoration status of The Alamo (1960), another story about the film's preservation issue was mentioned on the site- as reported by Bill Hunt in his My 2 Cents column.

If you've read the recent June 27th edition of Hunt's column, you might have noticed something.  My blog, At The Matinee was mentioned in Hunt's article- regarding to the two posts that I did on MGM's negligence in restoring The Alamo. Being mentioned after the Northwest Chicago Film Society on The Digital Bits was a triumphant feat, especially for an upstart blog on classic/contemporary film and media.

Back to The Alamo:  According to recent sources, John Wayne's The Alamo is starting to receive significant attention from the motion picture community (along with fellow classic film enthusiasts). Entertainment columnist Jeffery Wells and his website, Hollywood Elsewhere- is taking note of MGM and its studio leaders' ignorance.  At this point, it seems like the current incarnation of the studio only cares about pleasing their shareholders instead of restoring the company's backlog of vintage feature films (from their United Artists holdings).

Wells has also mentioned that a letter has been drafted to MGM head Gary Barber about The Alamo, and numerous directors have signed it- including Guillermo del Toro and J.J. Abrams.

KENS-TV has mentioned about the film being in danger, in relation to a recent appearance by legendary award-winning musician Phil Collins at the "real" Alamo.  Collins was in San Antonio this past Thursday to donate his personal collection of artifacts and manuscripts (related to the 1836 battle) to the State of Texas.  He is aware of the 1960 film being in danger, but has not been approached by the film community for input on preservation of the motion picture.

Still, if you haven't approached MGM (via the studio's Facebook and Twitter feeds)- keep on pressuring them (in a positive manner) to preserve all versions of The Alamo.  The vintage John Wayne western should not be neglected, and should be preserved for all generations to see.  MGM- no more excuses, the film should be preserved immediately.

*A special "thank you" to columnist Bill Hunt and The Digital Bits for mentioning my blog, At The Matinee!  Keep up the good work!