Liebster Award

I've been blessed to be awarded the Liebster Award by two of my classic film Twitter friends--Paula Guthat of Paula's Cinema Club (who also hosts the amazing #TCMParty tweet-along parties) and Kellee Pratt of Outspoken and Freckled (what a great descriptive blog name...Kellee's just an all-around great friend on Twitter.)

Here's how all of this works:

• Describe eleven things about yourself
• Answer the eleven questions proposed by your nominator
• Choose eleven people to nominate for a Liebster Award
• Give these new folks eleven questions to answer

First, eleven things about me:

1. I've never broken a bone.
2. I carry around a key chain lanyard to help me remember my mom. You know that line in the movie 'Sleepless in Seattle' where the kid says he's afraid that he's starting to forget his mom? Same thing...so I carry it as a token to remind myself to think about her.  (She passed away on 7/12/1997 from non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.)
3. I've been married twice in my life, the first time was when I was in college.
4. I have a long list of places I want to visit in the world, a lot of them are in southeast Asia.
5. Favorite professional sport is ice hockey.
6. In high school and college I was about a 2.0 GPA (right in the meaty part of the curve...not showin' off, not fallin' behind.)
7. Too frequently quote from movies and TV shows (really bad with Seinfeld, see above.)
8. No tatoos.
9. I like to be early everywhere I go. Movie theater? 30 minutes before film. Airport? at least an hour before the flight.
10. I love walking in snow at night (wish we had more snow around here.)
11. I'm an emotional person and cry easily at a variety of things: poetry, movies, song lyrics, NPR StoryCorp, etc.

Next, answering the eleven questions proposed to me:

First from Paula-

1. What is your guilty movie pleasure? Talladega Nights, The Ballad of Ricky Bobby or Napoleon Dynamite.
2. What mediocre classic-era film would you like to see remade?  Not that Captains Courageous is mediocre, but that would be a fun adventure film to see remade.
3. Are there are any modern actors you think could have held their own in the classic era?  Maybe Natalie Portman...she has a certain elegance.
4. What movie(s) do you always, without fail, stop to watch if you happen upon it/them while flipping channels?  Lawrence of Arabia, West Side Story, Stalag 17.
5. Which actor’s or director’s work do you like in spite of yourself?  Russ Meyer, haha! Just kidding.
6. Who would play you in the movie of your life story (classic or modern)?  Maybe Gary Cooper.
7. Mac or PC?  PC, but I own an iPhone and iPad.
8. What’s your (astrological, not traffic!) sign?  Cancer
9. What five people (living or dead) connected with film (modern or classic) would you invite to dinner?  Martin Scorsese, Marilyn Monroe, Bill Murray, Jean Arthur, Judy Holliday
10. Favorite movie snack.  Ferrera Pan Atomic Fireballs
11. Craziest G/PG-rated thing that ever happened to you at a movie theater.  Nothing really odd...when watching Rear Window at our local art-house theater, the technology used to project the film broke with about 15 minutes of the movie to go.  The theater had to apologize and give everyone a free pass to a future show...torture!

Next from Kellee-

1. What is your earliest classic film memory?  Most likely watching The Wizard of Oz.
2. Who are your top favorite directors (modern or classic)?  Martin Scorsese, Frank Capra
3. How has your love of movies (classic or modern) influenced other areas of your life?  I've got a more diverse vocabulary...trying to use 'swell' and other such phrases in regular conversation.  Also I think trying to live more simply...a lot of movies water down real life to the essentials...the unnecessary details fall away because, well...they're unnecessary.
4. What film/s (classic or modern) do you think has the best music score?  West Side Story, Amadeus, Moonstruck, Out of Africa, Raiders of the Lost Ark, On the Waterfront, 2001: A Space Odyssey
5. Who are your favorite character actors (modern or classic) and why? Walter Brennan (I am watching Bad Day at Black Rock right now.)  That voice and his mannerisms are just the best.  Thelma Ritter..."like a couple of taxis coming together on Broadway."  Eugene Pallette..."Quit havin' kittens."  The supporting cast of His Girl Friday.
6. Which films have made the most impact from a fashion perspective in your opinion and/or are simply your favorite/s from a fashion/style/design perspective (modern or classic)?  (Being a dude, I kind of struggled with this answer.) Well, anything with Cary Grant...he can wear a suit like no other.  In addition to that, I would lean on period pieces like Amadeus, Sense & Sensibility and the like. 
7. Who are your favorite villains (modern or classic)?  Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men was absolutely evil (and delightful!)  And who can resist James Cagney in White Heat?!
8. If you were in a classic film, who would play you, your best pal and your significant other?  Me=Gary Cooper, pal=Walter Brennan, girl=Jean Arthur.
9. If you could choose any television show (modern or classic), which show would you do a remake of and feel free to add who would star (modern or classic/dead or alive) in it.  Bob Newhart show with Will Farrell as Bob and Tina Fey as Emily.
10. What's your favorite sassy/snarky come-back line from any film?  Probably Mammy from Gone With The Wind "What gentlemen says and what they thinks is two different things, and I ain't noticed Mr. Ashley askin' for to marry you."  The look that Mammy gives Scarlett is absolutely great!
11. Who are your favorite comedy actors?  The Marx Brothers, Bill Murray

Other award nominees TBA (I gotta get to bed!)