The Versatile Blogger Award!

OK, since I have only been doing Magic Lantern Film Blog for a few months, I’m kind of new to this and just found out about “The Versatile Blogger” from a couple of other sites. And to my fellow film bloggers, I still have no idea what a “Meme” is!!! Help me out here! 🙂

The Rules for the Award are:

1- Thank the person who gave you this award
2- Share 7 things about yourself (see below)
3- Pass the award along to 15 who you think fantastic for whatever reasons! (if not 15, as many as you can)
4- Contact the blogs you picked and let them know about the award.

So, ok…thank you to the 3 guys at the very cool, very diverse Go, See, Talk movie blog. Also a big thank you to Aiden at the clever and witty Cut the Crap Movie Reviews film blog. Your nominating me has given me undue pressure I now place on myself — and just more work to do on this gorgeous weekend – so thanks for that! 

Seven things about myself that most may not know? Hmph…this is tough as I tend to be an open book. I’ll try to stick to everything movie-related here.

1- I have to give much credit to my friend, Lorne for becoming a HUGE Woody Allen fan. Before Lorne was able to convince me back in high school, I didn’t see much to Woody Allen and never cared for his work. Perhaps I just didn’t “get him” at the time. Now he is one of my all-time favorite filmmakers who always gets my $10 when a new movie of his comes out. Thanks, Lorne! And Woody – how about making a really great movie again…and soon!

2- Jackie Gleason was my hero growing up. I wanted to be him. I think he was the main reason why I became a theatre student and became so heavily involved in acting, directing, writing, etc. More than just a wonderful comedian, I found him to be an extraordinarily talented actor who never really got his due as a film star. Brilliant in The Hustler and gives a wonderful performance in Gigot, as well as Nothing in Common. I think Gleason is the reason I started smoking at a young age. Thanks, Jackie! You are always missed…

3- I used to trick-or-treat with my next door neighbor who I had a severe crush on for only about 12 years or so. I distinctly recall one year when the two of us went to see a double feature of Grease and the PG-version of Saturday Night Fever. After trick-or-treating in our own neighborhood on Halloween, we decided to reap everyone’s mass quantities of leftover Halloween candy by trick-or-treating in a different neighborhood on November 1st. We put on sad faces and told people that we were away visiting grandparents in Florida and never got to trick-or-treat. We went dressed as Danny and Sandy from Grease…and boy did we hit the motherload!

4- The first movie I can remember seeing in the theatre was the delightful Pete’s Dragon at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Another early memory was when I was 7, my father took me and my younger brother to see Superman. He had me and my brother waiting on line while he went to find a parking spot. we waited and waited and my brother was perfectly fine. I don’t know why, but I started to freak out thinking dad left us and wasn’t coming back. I think I started to cry as my mind began racing as to where he went and what would become of us. Our rotten father had abandoned us!!! A few minutes later, my father walked up and was so upset at my wuss-like behavior that he took us home. No Superman that night. What a shameful display…

5- I love Roadhouse. I’ll just let you take that in for a minute and absorb that. And I’m a fuck-you-up if you laugh at me! And if I can’t, Sam Elliott will come hunt you down and do it for me…

6- I once dated the niece of director Armand Mastroianni, who is known mostly for a few horror movies, including He Knows You’re Alone (1980) which featured the feature-film debut of one Tom Hanks. Mastroianni has since directed for a number of successful television shows and has another film in the works. He appreciated my fascination and admiration for Marlon Brando and I remember him taking down a beautifully framed poster of Brando from off his wall and giving it to me as a gift…one of my most prized possessions. I have always remembered that kind gesture.

7- Not film, but still relates…the only fan letter I think I ever wrote was to Kim Fields — yes, Tootie on TV’s “Facts of Life.” I just thought she was so hot! The show was shit, but I had such a huge crush on this woman. Sadly, she never returned my letter, professing my admiration for her work and her smokin’ good looks. The hurt still festers. Oh, yes…I did send Marlon Brando a couple of birthday cards too…although I’m sure he didn’t look quite as attractive on roller skates as Kim Fields.

Now for those film bloggers who I think are doing an extraordinary job. These are movie sites I try to visit each day and see what everyone is writing about — and to read their opinions on all things movie related. Apologies to those if someone else has already nominated you…

• Top 10 Films — a very fun, in-depth site with a lot of intriguing Top 10 Lists. Covers a wide array of genres & makes for great debate.
• Movie Mobsters — Great design/layout; knowledgeable, excellent writing and a lot of fun to read. I check it out daily always love to read Heather’s comments on everyone’s blogs.
• CinemaFunk — Aaron’s site is a great read for film fans. Some great analysis on movies, past and present. Easy-to-navigate look to the site with helpful links throughout. An intelligent read.
• Dan the Man’s Movie Reviews — Dan is very young, but he knows his movies…and more importantly, he knows how to write about them. Nicely laid out site, highlighting current movies and old ones too.
• Kicking Up the Darkness — Evan only posts occasionally, but he knows his movies. He’s a witty writer and a horror buff. So for any horror movie fans, you may want to check his site out. Has a nice Top horror movies of the decade list which is a good one.
• CinemaObsessed — Angie and Chantale are two funny gals! A wide variety of stuff here including movie news, funny 89-second film reviews and their own witty take on everything going on in film.

That’s about it. Every other blog I know has already been cited (and I’m sure these have been also). Hope I did this thing correctly. As always, your pithy comments are always encouraged. Hope everyone has a great Father’s Day!!! Now what the hell is a meme….