Now that I'm a month into my journey through famed / admired / interesting bloggers in this Multiplex series, I thought I'd take a week out of interoggating total strangers and turn to a web friend. We haven't met in real life (He lives in Australia. I fear Kangaroos.) but we've enjoyed a healthy blog friendship for some time now. Meet
par3182 who writes
six things.
"six things" happens to be --no exaggeration-- my favorite minimalist blog in the world. For list-maniacs like myself it doesn't get any more addictive than starting your day with "
reasons I won't be attending nicole kidman's wedding" or (an old favorite) "
movie acting techniques you don't see anymore" or (my recent favorite) "
things i thought i'd be doing in 2006 when i was a kid in the 70s"
10 questions with par3182In which par3182 uses capital letters, puncuation, and actual sentences!Nathaniel: How often do you go the movies?
par3182: Very rarely. I used to go once a week up until a couple of years ago, but the audiences got too noisy for me. I'm a strict no talking/no eating/no drinking moviegoer and can't understand why people can't abide by my rules. It all came to a head when I yelled at a woman who talked all the way through
Almost Famous. I decided I was better off watching DVDs at home.
Nathaniel: Another reason for me to hate
Almost Famous! Chatterboxes aside...how do you stand the wait?
par3182: Once upon a time we'd have to wait ages for films to be released down here, (not so much anymore, although we're still waiting on
Junebug) so maybe I got used to it by default.
Sometimes I can't wait. I had to see
Brokeback Mountain the week it came out (with a totally silent audience - I was so relieved) and I'll make a special trip if
Laura Linney turns up in something. This week I might even go see
Wah Wah as I do love Julie Walters, Emily Watson and Celia Imrie.
Nathaniel: What's your favorite cinematic Linney moment?
par3182: Oh, that's hard, I love the lovely Laura Linney in everything she does. I guess if I had to pick a moment I'm going to have to cheat a little and go for the one-two punch she delivers in
You Can Count On Me, when she spots Mark Ruffalo through the window and she's does this two handed wave because so excited to see him, which is followed by the scene in the restaurant when she discovers he's not staying and is only here to ask her for money and you see the excitement drain away and the disappointment flood in. And the way she goes all businesslike and it's clear that this has happened many times before. Such a great scene for Ruffy too.
Nathaniel: Yes. GREAT scene. OK. A list I've always wanted to see from you: Favorite costumes in the movies.
par3182: You're asking a guy currently slobbing around the house in a moth-
eaten jumper and trackpants about costumes? I'm all over dialogue and performances in films but costumes...? Off the top of my head I'm going to go with (in no particular order) -
1.
Jesus Christ Superstar - for the whole anachronistic hippies in biblical times thing (and the white jumpsuit at the end)
2.
Annie Hall - for defining Annie so perfectly
3.
Excalibur - because the costumes are all I remember about the movie
4.
The Royal Tenenbaums - tracksuits / fur coats / headbands never seem to go out of style
5.
A Streetcar Named Desire - Brando in a tight sweaty tee. Genius..
6.
Cabaret - because I love every single thing about that movie
Nathaniel: Well, how was i to know about the slobbering? and the trackpants? You live in Australia... speaking of which. The secret movie star birthing factory. I know it's there --don't feign ignorance! Where exactly is it located? You Aussies just don't quit with the mega-watt exports.
par3182: They don't call it the
secret movie star birthing factory for nothing, otherwise I'd be hanging around there a lot more often. I think they do something to the future stars that make them burst into greatness sometime after I've had a a tiny little something to do with them. I would have paid a lot more attention that time I went nightclubbing with
Naomi Watts, sold a ticket to
Nicole Kidman, shared an elevator ride with
Rachel Griffiths, or got gushy with
Toni Collette had I known they were all going to go onto the sort of fame I would have been perfectly happy bathing in the reflection of. Unfortunately I never brushed up against Hugh Jackman or Eric Bana, so I have no idea how they got to be so successful.
Nathaniel: We both share a childhood-begun / enduring adult affinity for
Olivia Newton-John so it will probably horrify you to know that I have actually met people who don't know who she is! What should we do about this social ill? What kind of punishment is called for?
par3182: Well, the first thing you should do is get away from those people. The second is help me up off the floor as I briefly passed out at the thought of such unfortunates. Their ignorance, I'm afraid, shall be punishment enough. It's impossible not to know who Olivia is down here: she's an Aussie icon. Plus she and I share a birthday, so I can't help but love her.
Nathaniel: Well, Happy B-Day on September 26th! (And no, dear readers, I did not have to look up the date. That's how much I love ONJ.) Which movie things would you like as birthday gifts?
par3182: Not memorabilia, that's for sure. That's always stuck me as a little odd (although i did see an excellent
Brokeback Mountain diorama made from Lego on eBay not so long ago.) I'm not really the gift type. Unless you meant gifts for Livvy, in which case I'm all for it.
Nathaniel: Which movie stars would you switch teams for?
par3182: Oh my.....there's something I haven't spent much time pondering. Let's say.....
My beloved Laura, of course
Kate WinsletZooey Deschanel
Isabella Rossellini
and a special mention of
Elisa Dushku - who's not a real movie star but damn that girl is hot.
Nathaniel: That is only five (5!!!) things --I mean people. Five!?! Is this a sign
of the impending apocalypse?
par3182: I was watching the footy and was distracted by the sight of my pretend boyfriend
Paul Licuria, so thinking about changing teams was nearly impossible.
Nathaniel: We've reached the end *sniffle*. Last question. They make a movie of your life. Who would play you? What's the title? What's the rating?
par3182: Already? I suspect the title might be
six things: the motion picture. tagline: "you'll believe a man can type."
In the grand tradition of a whole lot of crappy Australian movies that were made in the 1980s that imported American stars of the calibre of Gregory Harrison, Christopher Atkins and Laura Brannigan, I'd like to be played by someone of middling talent that's hot right now but will be forgotten in ten years time. Brandon Routh, perhaps? Rating: straight to video
Nathaniel: Thank you to me Aussie pal par3182 for this delightful jaunt down under for this week's interview. Tune in next week when I interview... who?
Once again readers, check out par's beautifully brief "
six things" each morning. It's as good as that energizing first cup of coffee and it doesn't stain your teeth or leave you jittery.
Previously at the Multiplex: Gallery of the AbsurdHow to Learn Swedish in 1000 Difficult Lessons Ron L'InfirmierThomas & Co.Tags:
movies,
cinema,
Australia,
Laura Linney,
film,
Olivia Newton-John,
lists,
Paul Licuria
Jennifer Connelly A Beautiful Mind (01). A competent performance that for still-inexplicable-reasons-to-me managed to beat everything else all season long @ every awards show, including three other performances that were in most any way I could imagine (level of challenge, amount of nuance, complexity of role) more impressive. I still don't get it.
