My friend Simoa at Define Dancing has nominated me for another Liebster Award! She’s a passionate blogger who always pens beautifully written posts about the films and stars she loves, so I highly recommend checking her blog out.

Since this award has really circulated around the blogging community I’ll refrain from nominating additional blogs as I think everyone I’d recommend has already done this. You can check my previous Liebster Award post for my list of nominated blogs here; feel free to answer the questions I asked there if you’d like!

Simoa’s questions:

1. 1. What’s your dream job from a film? (As in, a job a character has in a film that you’d want for yourself).
      As far as something realistic to what I studied in school, it would be Holly Hunter’s job as a news producer in Broadcast News (btw Simoa, there are three Pixar alums in this movie!). But my dream since high school has been to be part of the movie-making process (which is sort of how I got into video production and in turn, broadcast journalism). Initially, I wanted to be a screenwriter but I think if I had the chance to do anything in the industry, I’d want to be a film editor. To relate this back to an actual film, Day for Night is one of my favorite movies about the movies, though the editing process isn’t featured in it.
   2. Which Classic Hollywood star would you most like to dance with?
      I’m gonna deviate from a Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire answer and pick someone else (plus I hate choosing between the two), so I’ll say Ricardo Montalbán. He was in some of the hottest dance numbers ever put to film (he and Cyd Charisse are such an underrated dance pairing!), I’d be lucky to share a dance with him.
      

      The only good scene in the 1948 musical On an Island With You

   3. What’s the most number of times you’ve watched a single film?
      Aside from the ’90s Disney movies I’ve seen countless times since I was a kid, probably 6 or 7 times. The movies I’ve watched the most are probably Singin’ in the Rain, It’s a Wonderful Life, and the original Star Wars trilogy. This is just counting the times I’ve sat down and watched the whole movie from start to finish, otherwise, I’d have seen Singin’ in the Rain 20 times by now as I’ll catch good chunks of it whenever it’s on TCM.
   4. A film that makes you cry no matter what.
      It’s a Wonderful Life and Random Harvest always get me, and I could just watch the endings by themselves and still get emotional. The Pride of the Yankees and The Best Years of Our Lives make me cry too, and a lot of the scenes that make me tear up involve Teresa Wright, who’s obviously an effective catalyst for emotion. And Alan Menken’s “Transformation” musical score used towards the end of Beauty and the Beast never fails to bring tears to my eyes.
   5. The most delicious-looking food you’ve ever seen in a film.
      Everything in Ratatouille is my obvious answer, and animated films in general always make food look really appetizing (especially the ones in Studio Ghibli movies). From a live-action film though the strudel in Inglourious Basterds is the first that comes to mind.
      
   6. Which live-action film would you like to see animated?
      I think something like The Princess Bride could make for a fun, animated film. Anything of the fantasy or adventure variety would work.
   7. Do you share a birthday with any classic or modern film stars/influential/famous people?
      From the classic era:
      – Anna Magnani (Italian actress and Oscar winner)
      – Phillip Terry (appeared in The Lost Weekend and To Each His Own, also Joan Crawford’s ex-husband)
      – Morton DaCosta (director of Auntie Mame and The Music Man)
      From the modern era:
      – Rachel Weisz (Oscar winner, also probably my favorite person with whom I share a birthday)
      – Bryan Cranston (obviously better known for his work on TV, but also a recent Oscar nominee)
      – Donna Murphy (voice of Mother Gothel in Tangled)
      – Bel Powley (also born the same year as me!)
      And since it’s Simoa asking me this question, I’ll also add that I shamefully share a birthday with Michael Eisner.
   8. Best movie based on historical events.
      Since I’m a journalism major, I’m gonna have to go with All the President’s Men. I think the only major Hollywood liberty it took was having Robert Redford portray Bob Woodward as he really doesn’t look much like him. Otherwise, it’s a very accurate depiction of the Watergate scandal investigation.
      
   9. Which director(s) would you want to direct a movie about your life?
      Only Billy Wilder could capture my sense of humor and cynicism. I might go as far as to say that my personality often matches the characters William Holden played? I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing… Another option would be Stanley Donen, who would surely make my life look more fun and exciting, like the musical or Audrey Hepburn movie I wish it’d be!
   10. What movie do you most want to live in?
       I’m gonna go with a contemporary movie and say Under the Tuscan Sun. I’d love to just live in an Italian villa and work leisurely as a writer like Diane Lane’s character.
   11. Favorite Audrey Hepburn era (I’m talking hair, clothes, movies, all that)!
       I love ’50s Audrey best, specifically her banner year of 1954. She won an Academy Award for Roman Holiday in probably my favorite Oscar look of all time and starred in the fashionable Sabrina (and had an affair with William Holden; they’re my favorite short-lived Hollywood couple). Her style in Funny Face is a close second, and while she wears some amazing clothes throughout, her whole look in the French nightclub scene is one of my favorites ever. Speaking of Audrey Hepburn and style, I’ll be writing about the partnership with her great friend Hubert de Givenchy for the Classic Movie History Project next month!
       

       Audrey and her two Golden Boys