Movies and the Oscars

Do you enjoy movies? If you're a regular reader, you know that I do. IMDB (Internet Movie DataBase) is my friend. I’ll be watching a movie and see a familiar face. Immediately, I want to know who s/he is and what movie or TV show I know them from. I love the ease with which I can find the information. That aside, I enjoy movies.

When I was growing up, we saw lots of movies on television. I saw few movies at the theater. When I did, it was a real treat. We did go to the drive-in. Dad would pile us all in the station wagon with bags of popcorn we made at home. No running to the concession stand for us. We brought our own refreshments.

Fortunately, I married a guy who enjoys movies, too. He introduced me to James Bond and I introduced him to The Lord of the Rings. I fell in love with action adventure. I can’t say the same for him with fantasy. Even so, he indulges me by sitting through The Hunger Games and Divergent series, and I watched Mad Max. One movie genre we both enjoy is science fiction. Together, we eagerly awaited the seventh Star Wars movie plus all the Star Trek movies.

So last night, we watched the Oscars. Sorry to say, a lot of the movies nominated were unfamiliar. And many movies we did see weren’t even nominated. Oh, well . 

We get a phenomenal amount of enjoyment from a couple of hours in a darkened theater with a shared box of popcorn and a soft drink. Or at home in our living room. Gotta have that bowl of popcorn. 

I know a book lasts longer. I love it when a book I’ve enjoyed is turned into a movie. I’m always skeptical that the movie won’t live up to the book. Most don’t disappoint.

I hope you enjoyed the Oscars. Did you see any of the nominated movies? What about the winners?

People I’d Love to Have Dinner With

I can’t claim originality with regard to today’s topic. That honor goes to Debbie Walsh on Pinterest. Pinterest allows us to capture images but not necessarily reasons. Consequently, I have no idea why she chose the people she did. The range is phenomenal—from Susan B. Anthony to Elvis.

That got me thinking. Who would I want to have dinner with? The first two names that popped into my head are J.R.R. Tolkien (author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings) 

and C.S. Lewis (the Narnia Chronicles). J.R.R. (known as Ronald to his family) and C.S. (called Jack) wrote some of the best fantasy novels. Novels that have transported readers to Middle Earth and the world of Narnia. 

Then I wondered what they would think of the modern fantasy novels written by Suzanne Collins and Veronica Roth. What would Ronald and Jack think of the Hunger Games and Divergent?

Wouldn’t that be a fabulous discussion?

The first question I would ask each author is where did the idea for their major opus come from? How long did it take them to develop their worlds? Did they draw maps or sketch out pivotal scenes? Tolkien did, as they appear in his books. What about the others? Or were the scenes just in their heads? More importantly, I want to know why certain characters had to die.

Another question I’d like to ask is how did the success of their books change them. Did it change their families? Their friends?

Who would you like to have dinner with? What would you ask them?