A few days ago I was honored to receive the Liebster Award from Iba at I Luv Cinema and from Ruth at Flix Chatter and I couldn’t be more surprised and grateful. It’s a really cool idea for a blog event.
The rules:
- Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
- Answer the 11 questions the person giving the award has set for you.
- Create 11 questions for the people you will be giving the award to.
- Choose 11 people to award and send them a link to your post.
- Go to their page and tell them. I think letting people know on Twitter is cool.
- NO TAG BACKS. Although I will answer my own questions.
First, 11 things about me:
- My favorite writers of all-time are Jane Austen and Raymond Chandler. F. Scott Fitzgerald is up there too. I’ve read all of their work a few times. I really like Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter.
- I loathe sushi. I know most people love it, but unless it’s a California veggie roll…seriously, you forgot to cook that.
- I wish I had time to write a music blog. I like all kinds except heavy metal. Bet you didn’t know I listen to some country (Johnny Cash and The Dixie Chicks). I would be lost without Emusic, the Hype Machine, and SiriusXM channel 35.
- A movie is a couple hours, but a TV show is a much lengthier commitment. I only watch two shows, Mad Men and The Vampire Diaries. Don’t knock TVD unless and until you’ve actually watched a couple episodes of it 🙂
- I love anything French, and any book/film about or taking place in France. The 2011 Three Musketeers? Yep, I saw it, it was actually pretty good.
- Related to that, I want to write about French film and film noir more often.
- My dad and my husband’s dad went to the same high school.
- I have three tattoos and am working on a fourth.
- One of the people I most admire is the inventor James Dyson for his creativity and resilience. Plus, if you have furry pets, the Dyson vacuum cleaner will change your life.
- I believe in that astrology stuff (I’m a Taurus). It isn’t just your sun sign, it’s where all the planets are in your whole chart. I’ve been a lot happier since I started to rely more on astrology and my intuition.
- Over the past few years, I’ve lost around 100 lbs. and am still dropping.
Now, my answers to Iba’s questions:
1. Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter?
What a question! Wow. While I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings first, Harry Potter has the slightest edge. Don’t tell my husband.
2. What’s the longest you have waited in line for a movie?
Two or three hours. Not long, compared to other people.
3. Have you ever fallen asleep in a film? If so, which one?
Never, though I got pretty drowsy during Alexander(2004).
4. What was your first concert experience?
Andy Williams. I was eight or nine, I think. So hip!
5. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Back to Paris, and I wouldn’t ever leave.
6. Any hidden talent(s)?
Black belt designer/art director and Adobe Creative Suite ninja. I have other talents, but they will remain hidden.
7. Subtitles: Yea or Nay?
That’s a definite yea! Dubbing is horrible to watch, the voices never match the actors, and you can pick up and/or practice another language by watching subtitled movies.
8. What book would you like to be seen made into a movie?
The Englishman’s Daughter by Ben McIntyre. It’s one of those non-fiction novels, about English soldiers who get caught in a French village behind the enemy lines during World War I. That’s all I’m going to say, you should read it! But it’s short and McIntyre’s style is fairly cinematic; it would make an excellent film. I think Joe Wright, François Ozon, or Guillaume Canet (Ne le dis à personne) should direct it, Michael Fassbender and Tom Hiddleston should be two of the soldiers, and all my favorite French actors should be in it — Marion Cotillard, Mèlanie Laurent, Audrey Tautou, Catherine Deneuve, Alain Delon, Jean Rochefort, Daniel Auteuil, Gilles Lelouche, and Gaspard Ulliel.
9. What is the first thing you would do if you won the lottery?
After I took care of all my entire family’s financial obligations, I’d buy a movie theater.
10. Have you ever snuck into a film without paying for it?
Yes, I have. I did actually pay, but I saw another film after the one I paid for. I guess that’s half price.
11. What is your favorite silent film?
I haven’t seen that many, although I’ve seen more in the last six months than I have my whole life. I’ve got a soft spot in my heart for The Artist, the “silent film gateway drug,” but I also love Sunrise (1927) and Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1919).
And, my answers to Ruth’s questions:
1. Who’s your favorite movie actor who’s currently starring in a TV show?
I guess Jon Hamm or Ian Somerhalder. They have both been in a couple movies. Or maybe Kristen Wiig, although she’s not on TV anymore.
2. Could you date someone who does not love movies?
No.
3. What makes you want to have a movie blog?
I write a column for Examiner about classic movies in Detroit and I wanted to branch out and write about current movies and other classics. Also, it gives me somewhere to put all my movie babble instead of driving everyone around me crazy with it. I have to say, this blog wouldn’t exist without the encouragement of Ruth (Flix Chatter).
4. Which director/actor collaboration you’d like to see [it has to be people who have never worked together before]?
Quentin Tarantino and Emma Thompson.
5. What dish are you good at making?
Any kind of Italian or Mexican food. I also make a mean potato salad and the best pancakes.
6. Any encounter with a celebrity you care to share?
I met Martin Sheen once. He’s about my height and seemed like one of the nicest people you’d ever want to meet.
7. Since the Olympics is still going on, what’s your favorite movie set in London?
There’s so many…I’ll stick to the most recent one I really liked, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
8. Which is your favorite movie writer [could be a journalist, novelist, etc.]?
Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell) in His Girl Friday (1940-above) or Jo March (Winona Ryder) in Little Women (1994).
9. Which do you prefer: sweltering heat vs. cool, rainy days?
You need some of both, and I really like sweltering heat, but I like cool rainy days just that little bit more.
The costumes in Marie Antoinette (2006). Myrna Loy’s dresses in Libeled Lady. Peppy Miller’s outfits in The Artist, especially the shoes. And Joan Holloway Harris’ entire wardrobe on Mad Men. I know it’s not a movie, but it’s not often that a fictional character has my body type 🙂
11. Which actor/actress you initially detest but then slowly warming up to? [Feel free to reverse the question, that is an actor you initially love but now can’t stand.]
I never detested Channing Tatum, I just didn’t understand why he kept getting movies…he works a lot. But he was pretty good in The Eagle and hilarious in 21 Jump Street, which is getting its own sequel.
Now…the nominations:
Kellee @ Outspoken & Freckled
Aurora @ Once Upon A Screen
Will @ Cinematically Insane
Joel @ Joel’s Classic Film Passion
Kristen @ Journeys In Classic Film
Terry @ A Shroud Of Thoughts
Steve @ Classic Movie Man
T @ The Focused Filmographer
Ivan @ Thrilling Days Of Yesteryear
Michael @ It Rains… You Get Wet
Tim @ T. K. Guthat
And my eleven questions:
- What is your guilty movie pleasure?
- What mediocre classic-era film would you like to see remade?
- Are there are any modern actors you think could have held their own in the classic era?
- What movie(s) do you always, without fail, stop to watch if you happen upon it/them while flipping channels?
- Which actor’s or director’s work do you like in spite of yourself?
- Who would play you in the movie of your life story (classic or modern)?
- Mac or PC?
- What’s your (astrological, not traffic!) sign?
- What five people (living or dead) connected with film (modern or classic) would you invite to dinner?
- Favorite movie snack.
- Craziest G/PG-rated thing that ever happened to you at a movie theater.
UPDATE: These hearty souls actually answered my questions:
T @ The Focused Filmographer
Michael @ It Rains… You Get Wet
Paula's Cinema Club 
Woo hoo!! I’m glad you finally got around to it, Paula, I know it took a while to do but I hope you had fun doing it 🙂 Yay on Austen, she’s my fave author too and I’m about to start on F. Scott Fitzgerald, I’ve already got The Great Gatsby on my Kindle.
I’m gonna go back and read more of this but first I just want to say I’m GLAD you started your blog. The blogosphere is all the richer for it!
Oh yeah, I had a ton of fun writing this! I hope you will enjoy The Great Gatsby, it’s my favorite of Fitzgerald’s. And thank you for your kind words…I’m glad I started it too 🙂
Ok, now that I have time to re-read this properly. OMG!! Quentin Tarantino and Emma Thompson, what an awesome idea!! Only YOU would’ve thought of something that brilliant!
Oh, I so agree about TTSS as a great movie set in London, how could I have missed that on my post! I’m not there yet w/ Channing but he was indeed funny in 21 Jump Street!
P.S. Real women have curves!! 😉
Aw…thanks Ruth…I was sort of joking at first but now I’d actually really like them to work together.
The thing with Channing is, he exec-produced 21 Jump Street. It’ll be interesting to see what he does next.
& yep, I agree 😉
Paula:
Thanks ever so for bestowing this award upon me. I’d like to exercise a little humility and thank all the little people who helped me in my career…but let’s be honest. You “little people” didn’t do diddly-squat. It was my ceaseless sucking up to the movers and shakers that got me where I am today…and I am prepared to kiss the butts of each and every one of them in tribute.
Nevertheless I’m pleased to receive the award. Any person who loves Raymond Chandler and Johnny Cash (and hates sushi—or “bait,” as we call it where I’m from) is jake in my book. Dave Enkosky floated a Liebster my way last week (nice ceremony—but he kinda skimped on the snacks), but I will take the time to answer your questions.
What is your guilty movie pleasure?
Cliffhanger serials. They’re dumb and patently goofy, and make leaps in logic that would astound any serious academic…but they’re also entertaining as all get-out.
What mediocre classic-era film would you like to see remade?
I’m really not a remake kind of guy. I know that every now and then someone will hit one out of the park with one like, say, The Maltese Falcon…but for the most part I’d say 99% of the remakes that I’ve watched can’t hold a candle to the original.
Are there are any modern actors you think could have held their own in the classic era?
No.
What movie(s) do you always, without fail, stop to watch if you happen upon it/them while flipping channels?
Several come to mind: Winchester ’73 , The Glass Key (the 1942 version—another example of a successful remake), North by Northwest, Targets, Dr. Strangelove…
Which actor’s or director’s work do you like in spite of yourself?
I’ve always felt that the notorious Edward D. Wood, Jr. wasn’t a bad filmmaker…just an incompetent one. And yet there’s something about his movies that fascinate the hell out of me—they have a certainly dreamlike incoherency.
Who would play you in the movie of your life story (classic or modern)?
Lloyd Hamilton, the underrated silent comedian.
Mac or PC?
I’ve never understood this argument. I have a PC, but I certainly can understand the devotion some people have to their Macs—or as a friend of mine calls them, “the BetaMax of the computer world.”
What’s your (astrological, not traffic!) sign?
Virgo. (I think…didn’t they reassign those a while back?)
What five people (living or dead) connected with film (modern or classic) would you invite to dinner?
Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Roscoe Arbuckle and Mabel Normand. I’d love to hear the stories.
Favorite movie snack.
Popcorn! (Naturalment!)
Craziest G/PG-rated thing that ever happened to you at a movie theater.
Well, actually it was outside the theater. When I was in college, my best friend from high school and I went to see Halloween II…and on the walk home, she kept fretting about how scary the movie was. I was nervously fingering some change in my pocket…and when I heard a coin drop, I bent down to see what rolled out of my pocket. Four or five of my friends jumped out from behind a building and scared the snot out of her. She took off like someone in Warner Brothers cartoon and was already inside her dorm (all-female) by the time I caught up to her. (I was alternately laughing, scolding my friends and yelling: “Ferchrissake, Deb—come back!”)
You’re welcome and thanks for these very entertaining answers Ivan…I had forgotten that more well-known versions of The Maltese Falcon and The Glass Key are remakes. Also you’re still a Virgo, astrological signs have not been reassigned LOL
Ps: I hope you’ll invite me to your dinner party 😉
Great info and answers, Paula (we have the same for questions #1 & 7, BTW). And thank you for very kindly for nominating me for this. I’ll take any award sent my way — I’m vain that way ;-). Hey, I could have used that as one of my eleven things. Oh, well. I’ll be getting back to you on this, I promise, Paula.
You’re welcome and thanks Michael! Yep, I saw the duplicate questions after I posted mine…great minds, etc. 🙂 I appreciate your willingness to answer even though you’ve been Liebster-ed a lot…take your time and have fun!
Nice post, Paula! Congrats on the award! I myself was Liebster’d last week as well! It was great getting to know you a little better! I love everything French as well (and I love sushi but I can understand if you hate it). Oh, and I took the liberty
of answering your questions:
What is your guilty movie pleasure? The High School Musical movies (I know!)
What mediocre classic-era film would you like to see remade? To Catch a Thief (it could’ve been so much better!)
Are there are any modern actors you think could have held their own in the classic era? George Clooney, Marion Cotillard, Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman, J.K. Simmons
What movie(s) do you always, without fail, stop to watch if you happen upon it/them while flipping channels? Volver, Enchanted, Ratatouille
Which actor’s or director’s work do you like in spite of yourself? Anna Faris
Who would play you in the movie of your life story (classic or modern)? I honestly have no idea.
Mac or PC? PC
What’s your (astrological, not traffic!) sign? Cancer
What five people (living or dead) connected with film (modern or classic) would you invite to dinner? Jimmy Stewart, Meryl Streep, Woody Allen, James Dean and Pedro Almodóvar.
Favorite movie snack. Gummies
Craziest G/PG-rated thing that ever happened to you at a movie theater. Falling to my knees and then sliding that way down the stairs when I went for a bathroom break (don’t remember the movie)
Congrats Fernando, and thanks for answering my questions…I’m so glad you did!
Don’t worry, there are tons of people who like the High School Musicals, I think they are kind of fun 🙂
I hope you don’t mind my asking, how would you change To Catch A Thief?
Totally agree with your choices for modern actors that could go back to the classic era. Especially Clooney & Cotillard. Simmons would have hundreds of movies to his credit I think, he just has that kind of face. But I hadn’t thought of him before.
Love Volver and Enchanted. I embarrass myself laughing so loud when I watch Enchanted.
Hope you’ll invite me to your dinner! Fascinating guests. That is the most difficult question of all these for me.
And I hope you didn’t get hurt when you fell. Thanks again Fernando!
About To Catch a Thief, I think it all comes down the writing. If I were to remake it (assuming I’m the producer) I’d hire a great writer with a knack of suspense (TCAT, despite being a Hitchcock film was really low on it). Also, it’s very light. Everything else works: Cary Grant, Kelly, the look, the costumes.
I laugh very loudly at Enchanted as well. James Marsden kills me!
And yes, if I ever host that dinner, you’ll be invited 😉
And no, I didn’t get hurt when I fell. Not badly, at least. But it was embarrassing! Even though it was dark, some people still saw me! haha
I guess you are right about that, TCAT does have suspenseful moments, but it isn’t constantly suspenseful like some other Hitchcock films are.
Oh my goodness, Marsden is HI-larious. Another actor I wonder why he isn’t working more.
Happy to hear that you were uninjured…falling does make a good story though 🙂
Yes, I agree. He is very talented. He was excellent in Enchanted and Hairspray. I hope he gets the Sinatra role in the biopic. That would be so great.
Agreed! I’ll keep an eye out for that.
Some nice answers. Too bad you didn’t like sushi. I also sometimes read astrology columns, if they are positive, it gives a little cheer up for me. If you love anything French, you must love Amelie. Recent French movie I watched is L’Appartement, man that movie were very much French..
I do love Amelie! I’ll have to check out L’appartement, I like Cassel, Bellucci, etc. Thanks Andina!
Pancakes!??!
I LOVE pancakes. 🙂
Thanks for the tag. I will be working on mine.
LOL if you’re ever in the D, stop in & I will make them for you. Thanks T, can’t wait to read 🙂
While I begin to answer your questions (like others I’ve already suggested this to, me included), I’d invite you to answer the questions you’ve posed to your nominees. Please :-).
Of course Michael, no problem at all 🙂
1. Guilty pleasure: Super Troopers. It’s so stupid but it’s so funny.
2. Mediocre classic-era film to be remade: I think Guilty Hands (1931) could be improved on quite a bit…it’s about a lawyer (originally played by Lionel Barrymore) who commits the “perfect” murder and pins it on the victim’s girlfriend (Kay Francis). It’s an interesting idea but the result, um, stank. I don’t know if it would have to be updated or if they could still set it in the ’30s, and it might be better as a mystery-comedy. Just of the top of my head, I could see Alan Rickman as as the lawyer and Emma Stone as the girlfriend.
3. Could have made it in Old Hollywood: It’s difficult to even compare now and then because I think what is expected of actors has changed so much. That said — George Clooney, looks and down-to-earth attitude. Tom Hardy, versatility. Judy Greer, sass. Marion Cotillard, dramatic ability and big-star style. List subject to additions 🙂
4. Movie I stop flipping to watch no matter what: I watch a lot of TCM, and there are too many classics I watch repeatedly to go into completely here 😉 but I will say Casablanca, Some Like It Hot, Casino Royale (2006). Moneyball (2011). Blue Crush (2002).
5. Actor I like in spite of myself: Zac Efron. I think he has talent and should make an action movie. This will probably turn out to be the second-most controversial thing I’ve ever posted on here. (First place would be saying Moneyball is a Future Classic Movie.)
6. I’d want Cotillard or Mélanie Laurent to play me.
7. Mac. I could use a PC if I had to, but I find them to be
a pain in the buttcounter-intuitive.8. I’m a Taurus.
9. Five people at dinner: Barbara Stanwyck, Cary Grant, Michael Curtiz, Christopher Nolan, and Elizabeth Taylor. Believe me, I know this is a tough question.
10. My favorite movie snack is popcorn, and yep, I do add that “butter” topping 😉
11. Craziest thing at a movie theater I was at a movie with my husband years ago when a guy started throwing snacks randomly into the audience. I caught some candy, I don’t remember what kind, and I ate it. It never occurred to me that there would be anything wrong with it, but in retrospect, that was probably not the wisest thing to do.
Ooh… I can see you’ll spot the overlap in an answer to one of your questions ;-). Mine will post next week. Thanks, Paula.
Aha…the suspense is killing me now LOL 🙂
Here it is, Paula. Thanks, again.
You’re welcome & thank you. You’re the only person who went through the whole process 🙂
Sorry it took me a minute to get to this but I really like your responses.
Hiddleston and Fassbender – what a combo!
Ruth, you had some great questions!
BTW I think I was Ravenclaw in my HP quiz 🙂
Wouldn’t it be? I really really want them to do a movie together, I just think they would be PERFECT for that book.
As an aside, I saw an interview with Fass where he said he’d read Wide Sargasso Sea because he tried out for the lead, Rochester of course, which I found so so interesting because of the story’s relationship to Jane Eyre. I find it difficult to believe it didn’t inform his performance in JE (2011).
I can’t say I’m surprised at where you got sorted Iba. You can help me study 🙂