Simoa at Define Dancing, Virginie at The Wonderful World of Cinema, and Phyllis at Phyllis Loves Classic Movies have all nominated me for a Liebster Award! Thank you all for thinking of me, I really appreciate it. Also be sure to check out their blogs, all three post great film content.

The rules:

• Answer the 11 questions given to you
• Write 11 things about yourself
• Nominate up to 11 bloggers and give them 11 questions

As I have a lot of questions to answer, I’m going to skip writing 11 things about myself. Also, I’ll present the blogs I’m nominating first, along with my questions for them.

Nominated blogs (in alphabetical order):

• BNoirDetour
• Cinematic Scribblings
• F for Films
• Journeys in Darkness and Light
• The Motion Pictures
• Now Voyaging
• Serendipitous Anachronisms
• Silver Screenings
• Speakeasy

My questions:

1. Your favorite film composer, and your favorite of their scores?
2. Do you share a birthday with any famous actors, actresses, or directors? If so who?
3. Your favorite genre, and your favorite movie from that genre?
4. What movie(s) started your love for movies?
5. Your favorite movie about the movie business?
6. One film you’d love to see on the big screen?
7. Your favorite movie musical number?
8. What’s one acclaimed movie (either old or more recent) that you couldn’t get into?
9. Your favorite book-to-film adaptation?
10. Is there an actor, actress, or director whose filmography you’ve completed? Or, who’s an actor, actress, and/or director that you’d watch any film for?
11. If you were TCM’s guest programmer for the night, what four films would you choose to showcase?

If you’ve already been nominated, feel free to skip my questions. Now, onto what I’ve been asked…

Simoa’s questions:

1. A book you wish could’ve/should be adapted into a film
   This might work better as a TV series, but in high school, I remember really wishing someone would adapt the first two Jessica Darling books to the screen.
2. Worst film you’ve ever seen
   Gus Van Sant’s remake of Psycho. It’s probably not the worst film I’ve seen (maybe more like in my top 5), but it’s a film I vehemently hate for existing.
3. A film so bad it’s good
   I actually haven’t watched the whole movie, but The Oscar looks hilariously bad from what I’ve seen. And I can’t believe Eleanor Parker did this movie right after The Sound of Music.
4. Two actors from classic Hollywood you wished had worked together/two actors you want to work together now
   I would’ve loved to see Barbara Stanwyck and Cary Grant match wits in a Howard Hawks movie. It hasn’t really been confirmed whether or not Gugu Mbatha-Raw is in the new Star Wars movie, but regardless I need to see her and Oscar Isaac in their own movie together. Just watch this video of them interviewing each other if you need some convincing.
   
5. Classic film that could’ve been made today/modern film that could’ve been made in the studio era
   A lot of Alfred Hitchcock’s could’ve been made today though maybe not as well. A modern take on Marnie could be interesting, or Suspicion with its original ending intact. I could see Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day being made in the studio era, it’s similar to Lady for a Day.
6. Favorite wardrobe from a film
   The first that comes to mind is Grace Kelly’s in Rear Window.
   
7. Favorite soundtrack
   As far as a compilation of songs by different artists, Boogie Nights is the one I probably listen to the most often (I love ’70s music). It’s hard picking my favorite musical soundtrack, but it’s most likely West Side Story.
8. Favorite film quote
   Pretty much anything from The Philadelphia Story. The two that stick with me the most are (from two different scenes):
   Tracy Lord: “The time to make up your mind about people is never.”
   Mike Connor: “The prettiest sight in this fine pretty world is the privileged class enjoying its privileges.”
9. Favorite animated film
   At the moment it’s Snow White and the Seven Drawfs.
   
10. Favorite remake
    Heaven Can Wait, a remake of Here Comes Mr. Jordan (though I love the original a little more).
    
11. Favorite period piece
    I really love Sense and Sensibility.
    

Virginie’s questions:

1. Frank Sinatra or Bing Crosby?
   I have to go with Ol’ Blue Eyes on this one.
   
2. Your favourite classic TV show?
   The Twilight Zone, I watch random episodes often.
3. Back in the “studio system era” for which Hollywood studio would you have preferred to work? Why?
   I’d have to pick MGM, if only because they had “more stars than there are in heaven.”
   

   MGM 1943 Class Photo (click the image to get a closer look)

4. Do you eat when you watch films? If yes, what do you usually eat?
   I don’t eat all the time, and when I do it varies. But when I’m watching a movie late at night, I’m usually drinking tea. TCM should have started a tea society instead of a wine club!
5. Name a movie star that you love, but that not many people know. And that everybody should discover.
   I have a newfound love for Merle Oberon after watching a lot of her films last month. Most people only know her as Cathy in Wuthering Heights, but she’s really great in other roles too.
   
6. Is there a film you would have completely re-cast?
   Hmm, maybe Breakfast at Tiffany’s? I actually like Audrey Hepburn in it, in fact, she’s really the only aspect I like from the movie aside from Henry Mancini’s score. I haven’t read the book, but I’ve read she’s not at all what Truman Capote envisioned so I’d be curious to see someone else in the role. But mostly I’d just want to get rid of Mickey Rooney’s offensive character.
   
7. Your favourite movie quote?
   I already mentioned The Philadelphia Story, and there’s a lot of great classic movie quotes to choose from, but here’s a random one that I love from the 1952 film Monkey Business:
   Dr. Barnaby Fulton: “In my opinion, your opinion that it’s a silly song is a silly opinion.”
8. What do you usually say to someone who tells you “I don’t like black and white movies”?
   “Obviously you haven’t seen Psycho or Sunset Blvd.” No one has ever actually told me that, but that’s probably what I’d say.
9. If you were an actor, in what kind of films would you prefer to star?
   I would love to be in musicals, though I don’t quite have the singing or dancing ability, so to go in the opposite direction, I’d want to be in a film noir, or more generally a mystery/thriller movie.
10. When did you start blogging? And what gave you the idea to do so?
    I started making posts on this blog in January 2013. In 2012 I delved into a ton of films regarded as “the greatest of all time” and I wanted to sort of document it. I mainly just wanted to make monthly wrap-up posts and write about my favorite film discoveries. But I now have more time to write other posts and participate in blogathons after graduating from college last year, I’m glad I’ve been able to keep up with it.
11. The last few years, many great classic movie stars left us (Peter O’Toole, Lauren Bacall, Maureen O’Hara, Joan Fontaine, Patty Duke, etc.) Which one do you miss the most?
    That last month of 2013 was really rough (Eleanor Parker, and Peter O’Toole and Joan Fontaine in a 24-hour time span). Joan Fontaine’s death actually hit me the hardest because she was one of my first favorite classic actresses. I probably miss Lauren Bacall the most though as she was still a fairly active actress when she passed.
    

Phyllis’s questions:

1. Who is your favorite Classic Movie Star couple?
   Either Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward or Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. My favorite underrated couple would be Joel McCrea and Frances Dee. I also love seeing pictures of Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh even though they didn’t last, but it’s thanks to them that we have Jamie Lee Curtis!
   
2. If you were a songwriter for a Classic Musical, what star would you want to sing your songs?
   I know he’s not known for his singing and he’s certainly not the best, but Fred Astaire. He always sounded so earnest when he sang. Another would be Doris Day.
3. Did you ever dislike a Classic Movie Star because of the first role you saw them in, only to discover you loved them later? Who?
   I don’t think I’ve had this experience with anyone. Either I like someone and it may grow into love, or I remain indifferent.
4. What was the last movie you watched? How many stars would you give it?
   Purple Noon, which I’ve seen before. The last new-to-me movie I watched was Kiss Me Kate. I’d give them both 4 stars.
   
5. Have you taken any film classes? What were they on?
   I’ve taken five film classes in college: Film History (which fully launched my cinephilia), Film Criticism, Film Theory (similar to the criticism course but more focused on a filmmaker’s approach with genres, social issues, etc.), and two classes that focused on the work of Alfred Hitchcock and Billy Wilder. I also took the online course on film noir that tied with TCM’s Summer of Darkness last year.
6. A Classic Movie Star asks you to help them write their autobiography, who is it?
   Natalie Wood’s personal life is one that I’ve always been a bit invested in, so probably her.
   
7. Have you learned a Classic Hollywood fact recently that astounded you?
   This might be more gossip than fact, but I learned that Clark Gable and Grace Kelly had an affair on the set of Mogambo, and apparently she called him Ba (Swahili for father), which is similar to how Carole Lombard used to call him Pa…
8. Favorite opening credits?
   I love a good opening credit sequence, and there’s a lot that I love either because of their design or for how they’re incorporated into the film’s story. Design-wise, anything by Saul Bass is great, but my favorite of his is Psycho. As far as incorporating the story with the names of the cast and crew, the one for The Palm Beach Story is delightful. If you love opening credits as I do, I recommend checking out the website Art of the Title.
9. Share a screenshot of a costume or room in a classic film that you immediately liked when you first saw it.
   It’s not a room, but I was amazed by this bathtub when I first saw Easy Living. I love the film’s whole luxury suite in general though.
   
10. What is your favorite studio (MGM, Warner, RKO, etc.)?
    I have a soft spot for RKO, I get a ping of joy when I see their logo (and hear their radio signal) before a movie. Plus they produced all of the Astaire-Rogers musicals in the 1930s!
11. What movie character do you wish was real?
    Ron Kirby from All That Heaven Allows.