The Liebster Award

Thanks so much to Shala at Life Between Films, Chris at Movies and Songs 365, Iba at I Luv Cinema and Robert at To The Escape Hatch for nominating me for the Liebster Award.


The rules are:
1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
2. Answer the 11 questions the person giving the award has set for you.
3. Create 11 questions for the people you will be giving the award to.
4. Choose 11 people to award and send them a link to your post.
5. Go to their page and tell them.
6. NO TAG BACKS

11 THINGS ABOUT ME

1. Ever heard of the reality TV show Freaky Eaters?  I was on it.  I am Pete: Addicted to Meat from series 2, episode 3.  This also led to me being on Harry Hill very briefly.

2. I was in a plane crash on the island of Ko Samui in 2009.  Sadly the pilot died but me and my girlfriend were in the front row right behind the cockpit.  We were interviewed for another reality TV show called Big Trouble in Tourist Thailand. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8182962.stm 
3. I teach film and media for a living but I want to be a film journalist.
4. I’m doing a PhD thesis on found footage horror films.
5. I love making music videos for my friend’s band Feud.
6. I’m running my first half marathon in October.
7. This year will be my twelfth consecutive Reading Festival.
8. My best man’s speech was littered with Mallrats references as when my best man and I first met, we bonded over our love for Brodie.  Why buy the cow when you can get the sex for free?
9. I love travelling, especially Greek Island Hopping and exploring Thailand.
10. I lived in Australia for 7 from the age of 10 to 17.
11. I just got married to the love of my life that I have been with for 11 years already!

Questions from I Luv Cinema

1. LOTR or Harry Potter?

LOTR no contest.  Never much liked Harry Potter but I haven’t read the books.

2. What’s the longest you have waited in line for a movie?

Probably about half an hour.

3. Have you ever fallen asleep in a film? If so, which one?

Plenty.  At the cinema, I definitely fell asleep in Conspiracy Theory, Con Air and Mercury Rising.  At home, many more!

4. What was your first concert experience?

Bush at an arena in Perth, Western Australia.

5. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Still want to see parts of China, Alaska, loads of islands, parts of Africa.

6. Any hidden talent(s)?

I’m pretty good at digital editing.

7. Subtitles: Yea or Nay?

Yea.  It’s not ideal but it’s better than dubbing.

8. What book would you like to be seen made into a movie?

I’d like to see The Beach remade but better this time.  Also I’m waiting for the sequels to Tomorrow When The War Began.  I LOVE that series with a passion!

9. What is the first thing you would do if you won the lottery?

Depends how much.  But probably buy a house on a Greek Island.

10. Have you ever snuck into a film without paying for it?

Yes.  After watching another one.

11. What is your favorite silent film?

Modern Times

Questions from Movies and Songs 365

1.      When and how did you become interested in movies?

When I went on the set of a film at age 6.  I was fascinated that there was a ‘behind the scenes’.

2. Who is your favorite director, and why?

David Fincher because he made Fight Club, the perfect blend of style and substance.

3.) What is your favorite movie discovered in 2012 (old or new), and why?

Too early to tell but probably The Dark Knight Rises.  Despite massive expectations, it still exceeded them.  Easily my favourite comic book based film ever. 

4.) If you had to recommend any movie you think everyone should watch, what would it be, and why?

This is tricky.  I’d like to say Fight Club but I know a lot of people would hate it or be offended by it.  Maybe I’ll go with Back to the Future.  It’s just a family friendly and absolutely perfect piece of storytelling.

5.) Have you been to a film festival, and how was the experience?

I’ve been to the London film Festival to see a Gaspar Noe Q&A, a Nick Park Q&A and a talk from documentary makers on the difference between fact and fiction.  I love the atmosphere of being surrounded by real film buffs.

6.) Which soundtrack or score do you keep going back to?

Requiem for a Dream.

7.) What films do you find yourself daydreaming about every so often?

The Goonies when I was a kid.  Terminator 2 when I grew up a bit.  Now not much really.

8.) Who do you talk movies with in real life, outside of blogosphere ?

My wife!  My students, my colleagues, my friends.  Anyone really.

9.) Favorite film poster?

The Rules of Attraction humping bunnies.

10.) What movie is the record holder that you have seen the most times, and why?

Tricky.  Maybe Fight Club.  I just love it.  And I teach it so I watch it a lot in class.

11.) Which movie websites (not blogs) do you visit?

Empire Magazine.  Filmoria.  Lovefilm.  Den of Geek. 

Questions from Life Between Films

1. If you could change the ending to any movie, what movie and what would you make different?

Can I go with a TV show and say Lost?  That ending was terrible.  Wish they had not bothered trying to answer any questions and just made it go even weirder and then just ended it abruptly.

2. Have you ever thought about writing a screenplay?

Wrote one at university called The Only Answer.  It’s a dystopian future thing about a corporation that is running the world from headquarters on the moon.  Terrorists from Earth plan a suicide mission to destroy the moon base.

3. What is one artistic choice in a film that still stands out for you?

The use of red in American Beauty.  The use of black and white in La Haine and Schindler’s List.

4. Who is your favorite actor that is also a musician?

Probably Jack Black off the top of my head.

5. What is your favorite independent film?

The Blair Witch Project.

6. What actor do you think is the most underrated?

Sacha Baron Cohen.  I think he’s going to get an Oscar one day.

7. Have you ever bought something or done something because you saw it in a movie? If so, what was it?

Yes but I can’t answer it in public as I’m a teacher and it may have been illegal.

8. Has blogging ever got you in trouble?

Not yet.

9. Has a movie ever scared you so much that you were frightened for days? If so, which movie?

Loads.  A Nightmare on Elm Street.  The Exorcist.  Wolf Creek.  The Ring.

10. Do you prefer to watch foreign films with subtitles or dubbed?

Subtitles

11. What is your favorite book to film adaptation?

Fight Club.  A rare example of film improving on the book.

Questions from To The Escape Hatch

Favorite actor/director performance?

 Charlize Theron in Monster

 

Favorite comedy?

 Team America

 

Any place you’d like to visit because of a particular film?

 Hill Valley from Back to the Future

 

Biggest character crush?

Probably Isla Fisher's character in Wedding Crashers

 

Least favorite movie?
 

 Sex Lives of the Potato Men

 

If you could get a sequel to any movie, what would it be?

 Probably Mallrats or La Haine

 

If you could keep any movie off limits in terms of a reboot or remake, what would it be?
 

 Fight Club

 

Last movie you saw in the theater?

 Ted

 

Movie you can’t bring yourself to watch?
 

 Gone with the Wind took me a loooooong time to sit through.

 

Someone who should stop acting?
 

 Nicholas Cage

 

An actor whom you’d like to see directing?

 

 Edward Norton

 

Now here are my questions for anyone who hasn't received the award yet:

1. What is the most important thing you learned from a movie?
2. What is your favourite TV show?
3. If you could be a film character, who would it be?
4. What is your favourite British film?
5. What is the ideal way to watch a film? Place, time, technology, company?
6. What is your favourite shot from a film?
7. Ever visited a film location just because it’s in a film and if so which one?
8. Can documentaries be better than fiction films?
9. Favourite found footage film and why?
10. Ever met a movie star?
11. Who makes better blockbusters… James Cameron or Steven Spielberg?

It looks to me like every blogger and her/his dog has had this award now so I’m going to leave this open.  If there is anyone who reads this who would like to take part, please leave a comment below and I will gladly edit this and pass it on.  Or if you feel like answering any of these questions for the hell of it, then please feel free!