My Liebster Responses.

OK, so over the last month or two, a variety of people have awarded me the coveted "Liebster Award" that's been going around lately. In no particular order, these people are from the blogs The Great Movie Project, 1001plus, Green People Soup, and Screen Insight. (If you awarded me and I forgot, I apologize. Four was difficult enough to keep track of.) Now that I'm not busy and/or lazy, I figured it was a good enough time to respond to these.

If you're unaware of what this entails, here are the rules:

1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
2. Answer the 11 questions the person giving the award has set for you.
3. Create 11 questions for the people you will be giving the award to.
4. Choose 11 people to award and send them a link in your post.
5. Go to their page and tell them.
6. NO TAG BACKS

However, I'm going to break some of these rules. Everybody I could possibly link to has already been awarded this at this point, so it's useless to make them do it all over again. So I'm only gonna bother doing the first two rules here. And hopefully that should work, considering I now have to say 11 things about myself PLUS the 11 questions from EACH of these blogs that awarded me.

First, here are 11 Things About Me (that you might not know):

1. I love ketchup. I eat it with almost anything non-liquid or non-dessert-y.

2. I have a strong love of writing fiction. I've currently written 9 novels, and I have actually published some short stories and poetry. My first grade teacher helped me bind and laminate my first stories (with such titles as "Red Line The Snake" and "The Adventures of Magnet Man"). I wrote my first "novella" around 7th grade (a sci-fi/fantasy murder/thriller originally entitled "The Mime"), and I wrote my first full-length novel in 12th grade (a post-apoc horror/sci-fi novel called "Requiem for and Angel"). It sucks. (Though I suppose it has potential if I ever did a full re-write from scratch.)

3. I am currently the only member of my immediate family not in the medical field (no doctors, but all in medicine). I guess the sciences run in my family, which I suppose is why biology was always my second-best subject in school.

4. I'm phonophobic (yes, that's a real thing). In other words, I get incredibly freaked out if I have to make phone calls, to parents excluded. Generally skype doesn't bother me because other people I know are also involved.

5. I do not tan, no matter how hard I might try. I have incredibly fair skin, so I will burn a lot and then go right back to pale.

6. That might be attributed to the fact I have red hair. You might not notice it in pictures or in The Vlog, but while the top of my head is brown, my beard is red (and the roots of the "soul patch" are blonde). All naturally. And it all only gets brighter if I'm out in the sun.

7. Nothing freaks me out more than scorpions. I'm generally fine if they're on TV or whatever. But if one comes crawling across the floor, I scream like a little girl and jump to the other side of the room where it takes me 20 minutes to build up the courage to throw a book at it or something.

8. Although I do not consider myself religious (in the sense I go to church every Sunday), I do have a fascination with it. My mom's side of the family is a huge catholic bunch. My mom is a pretty strict catholic. I went to private school from kinder through 8th grade, which meant I went to church at least twice a week every week until I hit high school, and that was on top of religion classes, etc. So it's pretty engrained in me. I stopped going to church when I turned 18, and I could probably count on one hand how many times I've gone since (usually for something like a wedding or funeral). But I still love movies with religious angles to them (like Se7en), and a handful of my novels tend to have some kind of religious undercurrent to them.

9. I rarely drink caffeine or alcohol (alcohol much less often than caffeine, which I will have on occasion). I mainly drink water. I don't think I've ever been completely drunk, though I have been incredibly tipsy to the point I stumbled while walking.

10. At various points in my life, I was actually involved in gymnastics, karate, and basketball. The first two were when I was really little, and I wish I would have stuck it out with one or the other (or both!). I played basketball when I was in jr. high for a intramural team... and we actually went undefeated for the entire season. And yes, I actually made some shots.

11. Despite my relatively quiet demeanor (which some of you who have either met me or talked to me before can attest to), I have ADD (Note: Not the hyperactive variety). I am very easily distracted--something my students would always complain about, even. I usually have about 20 different things going on in my head at once, which probably explains why I just sit there quietly the majority of the time, as I easily get lost in my own mind. But it is also very easy to distract me from my mind if you hit the right topics, and I can get awfully chatty (to the point, believe it or not, people have to sometimes tell me to stop). I know... I'm an enigma. But when I get my mind set on something, it sure as hell gets done... which explains the 9 novels.

I could go on and on about other things you might not know about me, but I'm sure you want to get to the good stuff. Now the questions from others...

The Great Movie Project Questions:

1. What are your top five favorite movies of all time?

This is such a hard question... let's see what I can do: Little Shop of Horrors, Shaun of the Dead, Spaceballs, 28 Days Later..., and uh... I can only choose 5? Damn. Fine. The Princess Bride.

2. In your opinion, what is the best film translation of a book?

The Princess Bride, hands down. I actually like the movie better than the book. And it really captured the narration incredibly well by transferring it to the Grandfather character.

3. What's your favorite movie moment?

There are so many types of favorite moments. Funny? Scary? Dramatic? Etc. If I just chose one at random, I'd say possibly...

"Hello! My name is Inigo Montoya! You killed my father! Prepare to die!" *slash* "Offer me money."
"Yes!"
"Power, too, promise me that." *slash*
"All that I have and more. Please..."
"Offer me anything I ask for."
"Anything you want.
*stab* "I want my father back, you son of a bitch!"

4. What's the strangest movie you've ever watched?

I've seen a lot of strange movies. I'd say it has to be a three-way tie between Eraserhead, Hausu, and Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission To Rescue Princess Peach! And two of those are Japanese, so I think that says something...

5. Has it ever embarrassed you to watch a movie in the theater? If so, which one(s)?

Yes, actually. I've seen all the Twilight movies in theater, by myself. I was also incredibly embarrassed to see Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li by the time it ended because it was so bad.

6. Are movies still relevant as an art form or has Hollywood's mass production strategy made them something else?

I think they're still definitely relevant as an art form. Mainstream Hollywood aren't the only films being produced, and there are plenty of other films available that are incredibly artistic.

7. Which of the four Hogwarts Houses would you want to belong to?

I'm not brave enough for Gryffindor or mean enough for Slytherin. And nobody wants to be in Hufflepuff (I mean, only one person was really relevant from Hufflepuff, and he's killed off the same book he becomes relevant). And I consider myself relatively intelligent, so Ravenclaw it is.

8. Who's the best movie villain?

This is a damn near impossible question to answer. I mean, you have anyone from Hans Landa to Hannibal Lecter and Voldemort to Vader. But for the freakiest of villains, I might have to go with Annie Wilkes from Misery. She (along with Nurse Ratched) is like a precursor to Professor Umbridge, another terrifyingly evil villain.

9. You're babysitting in a quiet theater during a horror movie, watching the killer creep up on the unsuspecting babysitter on the screen. What flavor of ice cream are you eating?

Some form of chocolate, probably. Maybe strawberry.

10. Who is your favorite movie hero/superhero?

Does Richard B. Riddick count? If so, totally him.

11. What's a movie that surprised you by how much you liked it?

Moneyball. It's about math and baseball. I'm actually programmed to hate it. Yet I really liked it.


1001plus Questions:

1. At a movie theater, what snacks do you buy? Or do you sneak them in? If money were no object, what would be your movie theater snack of choice?

I actually don't typically get snacks. But if I do, it's usually water and probably goobers.

2. What's the first movie that really scared you?

Little Shop of Horrors gave me nightmares for over a decade... yet I always went back to it.

3. The television show/book/graphic novel/other thing I would really love to see adapted to film is...

I've always wanted to see a very well done, dark, live-action Pokemon movie. Either that or Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas, which has been rumored to be in production for ages but has never happened. I also really want a GOOD Uncharted movie with Nathan Fillion.

4. If you like horror movies, why do you like them? If not, why not?

I love horror, mostly because it's just something engrained in me. Little Shop of Horrors was really the first film I really loved. But it's also an adrenaline rush, and I find horror filmmakers always have the most fun when making a movie, and when that shows, I always have fun.

5. If you could be any movie character, who would you be, and why?

Scott Pilgrim. He might be an ass, but he was with at least three different hot girls, has kinda-super powers, lives in a video game/anime world, and has great friends.

6. Why did you start blogging? What keeps you going?

Easy question. Dylan of Man, I Love Films--formerly of Blog Cabins--got me into it. I stumbled upon Blog Cabins from imdb, as it linked to him from there. And while I was there, I found his Survivor Recaps and then just continued reading everything he did. And I just decided to start my own blog at that point and joined the LAMB and befriended Dylan, etc. And I keep going because of all the friends I've made.

7. What movie would you most like to see again for the first time with no prior knowledge?

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban without knowing the book? Maybe I'll feel the film actually has purpose in that case.

8. If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say?

"Here Lies Nick... And May He Never Come Back As A Zombie, Because That Would Suck. And If That Happens, Shoot Him In The Head."

9. What is the best or most useful class in school you have ever taken?

I don't know... maybe Narrative Fiction? There were some meta-stories in there, and I got to write a paper comparing a novel to Will Farrell's Stranger Than Fiction.

10. Describe your favorite article of clothing.

I don't care about fashion or anything, so I don't really have one.

11. If there was one household chore I could get away with never doing again, it would be...

Cleaning the bathroom.


Green People Soup Questions:

1. In what decade were you born?

1980s.

2. What do you think you'll die of, and when?

Assassination, so of cours I have no idea when. I mean, I'm kind of a big deal.

3. Can I borrow a hundred bucks?

I'm afraid not.

4. What's your favorite film genre, and why?

Anything fantastical... so fantasy, horror, and sci-fi.

5. Are "definitive" greatest-of film lists bullshit? Why or why not?

Yes. Film is subjective. There can't be definitive anything about it.

6. What decade produced the best action stars?

Is there any other answer to this besides the 80s (and/or early 90s)?

7. Where is the best place to sit in a theater, and why?

Middle, middle. Because.

8. Does nihilism solve any cultural problems?

I don't care.

9. Why don't you care more about stuff? Jeez!

*shrugs*

10. If you could, would you force filmmakers to revert back to using combinations of practical effects (miniatures, matte paintings, etc.) alongside some CG? If not, explain yourself.

Yeah! Especially with horror films. Body horror style stuff like Carpenter, Cronenberg, etc. is the best kind of thing. That's why I like things del Toro does with guys in suits rather than CG creatures.

11. Why do we exist?

Why don't we NOT exist?


Screen Insight Questions:

1. When you think of home--and your family--which film first comes to mind?

Spaceballs. A frequently quoted film.

2. Explain a Cinema-Story whereby something interesting happened!

A dude choked on some popcorn or something. Somebody started screaming for help, and a dude nearby me literally leapt over the back of the seats like a ninja and gave him the heimlich. And then everything was fine and everyone went back to watching the movie.

3. What is the most Erotic scene in Film?

Easily any number of sex scenes from The Room. Tommy Wiseau's ass... so hot.

(Seriously, I'd have to say the Natalie Portman/Mila Kunis moment in Black Swan.)

4. Which actor could [almost] guarantee your attendance to a cinema?

Simon Pegg. Love that guy.

5. Which actor used to guarantee your attendance--but doesn't anymore.

Ryan Reynolds. I'll still rent all his flicks, but after stuff like The Change-Up and Green Lantern, I had to pass. I'm still hoping for that Deadpool movie...

6. If you could go anywhere in the world, related to film, where would you go?

Real or fake places? For fake, Hogwarts! Real? The Harry Potter sets, which I know they'll be doing tours of.

7. What is your favorite 007 film?

I actually haven't really seen that many 007 movies. I think I've only seen one of the Pierce Brosnan films, and otherwise just Casino Royale. And the only thing I remember from either one is the free-running opening in Casino Royale. Sorry.

8. What is your favorite franchise?

Harry Potter. Easy!

9. Which film do you want a sequel for?

For this question, I'm gonna go the route of film that most likely will never, ever get a sequel (which narrows down the field immensely). And I still have four answers: Mathilda (a Leon sequel), From Dusk Til Shaun (a Shaun of the Dead sequel), Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money (*sadface*), and Super Mario Bros. 2 (because... why not?).

10. Which film do you wish could be erased and remade?

This kinda goes against one of the previous answers, but... Super Mario Bros. As much cheesy fun as the first one is, I totally wish they'd just redo it and go crazy with it. And keep it closer to the games, which would just make it weird.

11. What is your favorite composer/score to a film?

Kind of a lame answer, but I have no idea. I don't really listen to scores much outside of the films. I might mention I like the score, but that's about it. However, two of my non-Harry Potter-related songs from a film score is the main theme from 28 Days/Weeks Later (which was later retitled "In a House/In a Heartbeat") and the main theme from Saw. I like a lot of songs that have a slow start and build up to this grand, epic theme. That's probably why "In the Hall of the Mountain King" is one of my favorite classical pieces.