The Movies Of My Life

There is a segment in Entertainment Weekly occasionally where they ask a famous actor about different movies that have influenced them in their lives. After my last few posts, I decided to do something lighter today and answer those same questions about my own history with movies. 

The First Movie I Remember Watching – Star Wars.  

I had to have been 6 years old, and the film left an incredible impression on me.  Anyone who has seen my immense Star Wars collection would attest to that.  I remember we went to see it as a family in downtown Salt Lake City, I believe.  It was such a magical movie for me.  I was enthralled from beginning to end.  I remember the spaceship battle at the beginning and Darth Vader’s first, mysterious entrance and what a cool villain I thought he was.  I remember thinking C-3PO and R2-D2 were funny, and I wanted to be Han Solo.  I remember him shooting Greedo in the cantina (yes, Han shot first) and how incredible I thought the cantina scene was.  I remember fearing for Obi-Wan Kenobi as he deactivated the tractor beam and being very surprised when he “died.”  I remember when Darth Vader choked Admiral Motti and mistakenly thinking that Vader made him cough up an egg yolk (it was actually a button on the Admiral’s console that I mistook for an egg yolk).  I remember liking Chewbacca.  The movie was just so exciting and it still remains one of my favorite (although The Empire Strikes Back is my favorite in the series).  It was the perfect movie for a six year-old boy to see.

The Movie That Inspired My Fashion Sense When I Was A Kid –  I can’t think of one off-hand, but then my fashion-sense has never been that great.

The Movie Character I Wanted To Be – Bond.  James Bond.  

My dad introduced me to the James Bond franchise, and James Bond was everything I felt was not: suave, debonair, fearless, handsome, cool, British, dapper.  He was everything I wished I was, and all I could do is pretend I was.

The First R-Rated Drama I Ever Saw – An American Werewolf in London. 

I remember this distinctly.  Mom said I could only watch if my older brother covered my eyes during the scary parts and parts where nudity was present.  But I felt thrilled and grown-up that I was allowed to watch at all.  I remember finding the movie both scary and funny, and I remember peeking through the cracks in my brother’s fingers to see the things I wasn’t supposed to see.  And I remember feeling a bit titillated by the naked body of David Naughton, who played the title character.

My First Movie-Star Crush – There may have been others, but River Phoenix comes to mind. 

I just thought it was dreamy and so good-looking, but also so talented.  I first saw him in Stand By Me and just adored him.  No matter if a movie was good or bad, if he was in it, I would try to see it because I was so mesmerized and infatuated with him.  I was on my mission when he died of a drug overdose, and I actually cried.  Even though I didn’t know him at all, I felt like I had lost a brother.

The Scariest Movie I’ve Ever Seen –  Hard to say.  I’ve seen quite a few scary movies.  When you’re a kid, however, I think scary movies are scarier, so Alien and Poltergeist remain as movies that scared me a lot.  Alien was especially scary because you rarely saw the alien at all, and it was the fear of what wasn’t seen that was even greater.  I think that’s why Jaws was also scary for me.  I do remember distinctly the alien popping out of John Hurt’s stomach.  FREAKED.  ME.  OUT.  I also remember being very concerned for the welfare of the ship’s cat, Jonesy, and hoping the alien wouldn’t get him (and was relieved that he survived (never mind the rest of the crew.  lol)

Poltergeist moments that scared me were the clown doll, the scary tree, and little Carol Anne getting trapped in the other world.  Gave me the creeps.

The Movie That Made Me Want To Be An Actor – Subconsciously, probably Star Wars.  It stimulated my imagination and eventually made me realize that all the play-acting I was doing could actually be a career.  Tootsie also made an impression on me because of Dustin Hoffman’s terrific performance.

The Movie Scene That Always Makes Me Laugh – Even though it was cut from Waiting for Guffman, I think the very last moment of “This Bulging River” on the DVD extras is one of the funniest movie moments.  I never stop laughing at Christopher Guest’s last note.

The Movie Costume I’d Love To Wear – Oh, I’d love to get into Boba Fett’s costume just once.  It’s probably heavy and uncomfortable, but it’s oh, so cool-looking.

The Last Movie I Bought – Airplane!  I don’t re-watch a lot of movies anymore, but there are ones that I am continually entertained by, and Airplane! is one of them.  It was only $5.00, so I thought, “What the heck?”

The Remake I’d Love To Star In – Capricorn One.  It’s a great, but underappreciated movie, and it is a little dated.  It could use a remake.  I’d love to play Hal Holbrook’s role.  He was the bad guy, but played him so pragmatically and so convinced that he was in the right.  Nobody could top him, but I wouldn’t mind trying.

The Movie I Can’t Turn Off When It’s On TV – If Titanic is on, I usually get hooked no matter where it is in the story.  I liked the movie a lot (still do).

The Movie I’ve Seen More Times Than I Can Count – Scavenger Hunt.  I’ve written about it here.  One of my favorite guilty pleasures.  I’m sure I’ve seen it 300 times.

The Movie Musical I Know Every Word To – Probably Little Shop of Horrors.  I don’t know it by heart like I once did, but I did at one time.

The Movie I Quote All The Time –  I always misquote everything, so I don’t usually quote any movies.  It’s a cliché now, but Monty Python and the Holy Grail is pretty quotable.  I also find myself quoting Waiting for Guffman at times.

The Scene That Reminds Me What Great Acting Is – Viggo Mortensen’s transformation

in A History of Violence is amazing.  There is a specific scene where he goes from who we presume he is to who he actually is.  There is a change in his eyes that is incredible.  Absolutely terrific performance.

The Last Movie That Made Me Cry – Probably A Better Life. 

Such a sad story, but one that is a reality for many illegal immigrants.

The Movie I Can’t Wait For – There’s nothing I’m necessarily dying to see right now, but Lincoln looks very interesting to me.  

I don’t much like going to the movie theater anymore (mostly because it’s gotten too expensive and audiences are rude and inconsiderate.  So I can’t really think of much I can’t wait to see.  

The Movie I’m Always Telling People To See – Capricorn One.  Like I said, it’s dated, but it’s a fun movie and well-written overall.  One of my favorites.