Another Movie Meme

Popcorn or Candy? Candy. Milk duds or Receses Pieces.
Movie you’ve been meaning to see forever? Well, between working full-time and law school in the evening, that list would be *way* too long for this post…
You are given the power to recall one Oscar: who loses it, and to whom? Easy. 2001 Animated Feature Film–the first year of the category. Shrek won, a travesty. I would pry it from his green ogre hands and properly award it to Richard Linklater and the crew at Flat Black Films for Waking Life. They was robbed!
Steal one costume from a movie for your wardrobe. Boba Fett. C’mon, the dudes a badass.
Your favorite film franchise is: Star Wars. Duh.
Invite five movie people over for dinner. Who are they? Why’d you invite them? What do you feed them? Hmmm… Five? Okay… do they have to be alive? I’m going to assume they do, which is a shame, because dinner with Billy Wilder would be *awesome*. Here goes:
John Sayles. He’s a genius and responsible for one of the greatest American movies: Matewan.
Steven Soderbergh. Another great American indie filmmaker and very largely responsible for a renaissance in American indie film with Sex, Lies, and Videotape.
Richard Linklater. Another great American indie. Yeah, I know, I saw The Newton Boys but you have to give him Slacker, Before Sunrise, Tape and one of my favs, Waking Life.
Johnny Depp. I just love this guy. I’ve never seen someone who was originally written off (21 Jump Street anyone?) become such a great artist. I’ve also never seen an interview with him that wasn’t interesting and engaging. I’m sure he has off nights, but I think he’d make a great guest.
Mark Cuban. He went to my alma matter. His production company, 2929, which with Soderbergh has done some really innovative things with distribution. He owns HDNet. And I have a business plan for a production company I would like to pitch him that could be funded with just a small fraction of his Maverick’s payroll. 🙂
I would feed them Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic. It’s easy and delicious.
What is the appropriate punishment for people who answer cell phones in the movie theater?
Stocks. As in the kind that bind your hands and feet for public humiliation. In the lobby of the theater.
What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever seen in a movie? Excluding documentaries, I’d say, Kazaam… Shaquille O’Neal is a great example of how being a sports star has nothing to do with your ability to act.
Your favorite genre (excluding “comedy” and “drama”) is… indie.
You are given the power to greenlight movies at a major studio for one year. How do you wield this power?
I would use my power to greenlight a ton of small(er) budget indie films to try to usher in a new golden age of quality studio films. You know, like back in the day when studios were making films like Midnight Cowboy and Network, two amazing films that would probably never get the green light at a major studio today.
Bonnie or Clyde? See, that’s too tough. I mean, on the one hand, Warren Beatty is fine and all, but Faye Dunnaway makes me want to hurl. (Except in Network, about the only decent performance she’s ever given, but I digress.) So I’m gonna cheat and go with another classic couple/criminal film, Breathless and say Jean-Paul Belmondo–cooler than Warren Beatty any day.