Tuesday Topics: Favorite Characters

My friend, jenn at quirky pickings, and her friend, Lauren at Life.Love.Lauren, are hosting a weekly "Tuesday Topics" link-up.  I thought I'd jump in the game this week with "Eight Favorite Characters from Books/Movies".  Stop by Jenn's and/or Lauren's and have a look.  Or participate in future Tuesday Topics.

I know what y'all are thinking.  You think I picked book characters, right?  Well, I'm here to surprise you.  I picked movie characters.  Why?  Because I'm throwing this post together rather quickly and for some reason, the favorite movie characters solidified into a nice, little list much quicker than book characters would/could.

In no particular order:

Stephanie Zinone - Grease 2 - played by Michelle Pfeiffer...  Okay, when I said "in no particular order", I lied.  Stephanie Zinone is #1.  She is soooo much cooler than her predecessor lead female character in the original Grease, Sandy.  In the first Grease, Sandy had to change to get her guy.  In Grease 2, the guy had to change to win Stephanie's heart.  After all, she's tired of "being someone's chick". 

Penny Lane - Almost Famous - played by Kate Hudson...  She was sweet, yet strong; damaged, but not broken; a dreamer, a lover, a music fan; full of adventure and wanderlust; in love with a man she shouldn't be.  I could relate. 

Darrel "Darry" Curtis - The Outsiders - played by Patrick Swayze...  Folks that are fans of this movie probably love Pony Boy, or Johnny, or bad boy Dallas Winston.  And, a lot of folks that fall in love with Patrick Swayze did it during Dirty Dancing.  Not me.  I fell in love with Mr. Swayze as Darry, older brother to Soda Pop and Pony Boy, who quit school to start working and take care of his younger brothers when his beloved parents died in a car crash but could still lead a rumble when necessary.

Doc Holliday - Tombstone - played by Val Kilmer...  This is one of those movies that I can watch over, and over, and over again, and mostly it's because of Val Kilmer's portrayal of Doc Holliday.  So many good lines, and his delivery is fan-freakin-tastic.

Christian - Moulin Rouge - played by Ewan McGregor... He's a writer and a dreamer; he's in love with a woman knowing that she has a less than stellar profession; he sings songs, writes plays, and has a "ridiculous obsession with love".

Ouiser Boudreaux - Steel Magnolias - played by Shirley MacLaine... One of the beauties of this near-perfect movie is that all of the cast and the characters are stellar.  Superb.  Irreplaceable.  But, I get more laughs and more love from watching the antics of Ouiser. 

Jenny - Forrest Gump - played by Robin Wright... I admit when I first brainstormed and wrote my list, the character of Forrest was listed.  He's a wonderful character.  So heart-warming.  But, as I think more about the movie, the character that is the driving force for me is Jenny.  She is so, so flawed...but we pretty much know that her childhood trauma messed her up, and she tried all she could do to escape the pain of her past.  I think the ugliness of what Jenny experiences, the pain she endures, and the hurt she causes creates such depth to the overall story. 

Sean Maguire - Good Will Hunting - played by Robin Williams...  First, applause to Matt Damon and Ben Affleck for writing this character, and Robin Williams plays it brilliantly.  So real.  So genuine.  So many little bits of life lessons.  So much "good stuff".  This movie wouldn't resonate the way it does if this character hadn't been written and portrayed so perfectly.

Honorable mentions that almost made the cut:  Carl Lee Hailey from A Time to Kill, Wooderson from Dazed and Confused, Bud or Sissy from Urban Cowboy, John Bender from The Breakfast Club, Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Rayon from Dallas Buyers Club, John Creasy from Man on Fire

Do you agree on some?  Disagree on others?  Quickly, list your 8 favorite characters.  Or...create your own post and let me know.  I'd enjoy reading it.

Actress to play me in a movie

There's a Sisterhood of Bloggers Award post floating around that I've read a few responses.  One of the questions - Who would you want to play you in a movie?

I'd want a Texan.  I got to thinkin' about Texas actresses.  None really seem to suit me.  What do you think?

Beyoncé - born and raised in Houston, TX.  If there was a way for me to look like anyone in the world, I'd choose Beyoncé.  So, maybe a movie role with her playing as me is the only way for that to happen.  The resemblance is pretty close, right?  Right?! 

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Eva Longoria - born and raised in Corpus Christi, TX.  I'm pretty sure I haven't been her size since I was maybe eleven.  She's probably closest to my age out of this list, but there's that whole Latina thing that she is, and I'm not.

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Leighton Meester - born in Fort Worth, TX, raised in other parts of the country.  So, she's looks nothing like me, and she's much younger than me.  Plus, I've typecast poor Leighton, and I'm no Blair Waldorf.

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Kelly Clarkson - born in Fort Worth, raised in Burleson, TX.  I think her only acting role was in From Justin to Kelly.  Maybe movie roles aren't her strong suit.  Too bad because I love myself some Kelly Clarkson.  Plus, she's probably the only one with my body type. 

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Angie Harmon - born and raised in Highland Park, Texas.  Another one that is age appropriate for casting the role as me, but even with a blond dye job and contact lenses, I'm not sure there are enough similarities.

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Selena Gomez - born and raised in Grand Prairie, Texas.  She is a lovely girl, but she was born the year after I graduated high school.  Too young. 

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Jerry Hall - born in Gonzales, TX and raised in Mesquite, TX.  Jerry is almost 20 years older than I am.  But, damn, she's cool.  She's lived a cool life.  Modeled.  Married to Mick Jagger.  Regular at Studio 54.  A small part in Urban Cowboy.  Owned her own Texas ranch.  Acted in theatre.  She's lived in England for decades, but she still sounds like a Texan, and I like that a lot.  Here's a quote from where I retrieved this photo:

"I’ve never really thought of Jerry Hall as a “natural” woman since she often sports gaudy makeup and extravagantly tacky clothing, plus she was married to Mick Jagger for quite a stint there, which seems to add to the generally sleazy vibe that I’ve always caught from her."  

I think this was meant to be insulting, yet it makes me like her even more.
I choose Jerry Hall!

Source

 Who would play you in a movie?

Thursday Thoughts vol.1

Apparently, Beyoncé bought some shoes that cost $312,000, and some criticized her for it.  I'm sure if you compare Beyoncé's financial portfolio and mine, that would be like me buying a pair of shoes for $5...a drop in the bucket.  Yes, it is an exorbitant amount of money to spend on shoes, but she has an exorbitant amount of money in her bank.  What's the difference between $300k+ diamond-encrusted shoes and a $300k+ diamond-encrusted necklace?  I can assure you there are many wealthy people wearing jewels that cost that much.  Queen Bey is a philanthropic, charitable celeb.  I am certain that she has donated more than $300k+.

from The House of Borgezie

I must admit, I'm more sad than I should be over a celebrity break-up when it comes to the announced split of Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale.  Gwen Stefani is one of those that gals who I want to be happy.  I don't know why.  Maybe it was because No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom was one of the soundtracks of my early twenties, and it was filled with lyrics about heartache and love lost.  Way before Taylor Swift become the queen of lyrical heartache and ex-boyfriend chatter, Gwen was doing it.  So, she hooked up with Gavin, who seemed like a naughty boy that the nice girl tamed.  They got married with Gwen in the most amazing wedding dress ever, and she gushed about marrying the third guy she ever kissed, and they had three adorable, ultra cool kids...they seemed like a celebrity couple that I cared about working out.  Alas, it didn't.  I'm sad.  But imagine the lyrical content Gwen has now.  (too soon?)

On the other hand, I could care less about Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck and an alleged cheating scandal.  Call me heartless.

Remember a few weeks ago when there was a shark encounter in South Africa at a surfing competition?

That surfer is world champion Australian Mick Fanning.  I watched Australia's version of 60 Minutes Sunday night where he was interviewed the first time as he went back in the water.  It makes for a good story - he's a good lookin' guy who has been at the top of his game, the shark encounter happened on live tv, there were 9 (long) seconds that we couldn't see him after seeing the shark approach, he punched a great white shark...plus, his family lost his brother in a car accident years ago, and you could feel his mum's anxiety of those moments feeling like she could have lost her other son.  I might have got goosebumps...and a little teary. 

I know many bloggers make confessions on Wednesdays.  I've got one to share today...on a Thursday...I'm  a rebel like that.  If you read Constantly Seeking Wonder, you know that Kati is a massive One Direction fan.  I witnessed Kati's twitter excitement when 1D released a new song this week.  I confess that I watched One Direction's performance of their new song "Drag Me Down" on Good Morning America, and I liked it.

I like to share my thoughts, and I like to be random...so, a link-up that is a place for random Thursday Thoughts?  Sounds good to me!  Join in:

Fall Film Challenge

A friend of mine is hosting a film challenge.  She asked me how many movies I watch per month.  I'm not a good one to ask.  Sometimes, I watch 3 or 4 movies in a weekend.  Sometimes, I don't watch a movie for 3 or 4 weeks.  She's playing along in my book challenge, so I thought I'd play along in the film challenge.
(You can read about it HERE or you can join HERE because I think you should play along too.)

I have three months to watch these - September, October, November - and here are my choices:

one. any action/adventure flick - Captain Phillips

two. any shot in bupapest, hungary - The Raven

three. any awarded an oscar for best cinematography - There Will Be Blood

four. any drama/biography/documentary - Artifact

five. any awarded an oscar for best film editing - Traffic

six. any science-fiction/fantasy flick - Divergent

seven. any starring an actress whose last name begins with the letter g - Texas Killing Fields (Annabeth Gish)

eight. any set during any holiday - Labor Day

nine. any from internet movie database's top flicks list - City of God

ten. any starring an actor whose last name begins with the letter j - Prisoners (Hugh Jackman)

eleven. any starring an actress whose last name begins with the letter k - Rabbit Hole (Nicole Kidman)

twelve. any shot in london, england - RocknRolla

thirteen. any awarded an oscar for best original score - Babel

fourteen. any adapted from any novel - The Great Gatsby

fifteen. any awarded an oscar for best original screenplay - The King's Speech

sixteen. any awarded an oscar for best picture - 12 Years a Slave

seventeen. any featured on american movie classic's fifty great movie quote's list -  The Hours  - "Someone has to die in order that the rest of us should value life more."

eighteen. any romance or comedy - Dedication

nineteen. any sports flick - Invictus

twenty. any thriller or mystery - The Return

twenty-one. any starring an actor whose last name begins with u - Star Trek Into Darkness (Karl Urban)

twenty-two. any shot in a country you've never visited - Blood Diamond (shot in South Africa and Mozambique)

twenty-three. any shot in wilmington, north carolina - Blue Velvet

twenty-four. any western or war film - The Alamo

twenty-five. any from american film institute's greatest american movies of all time - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Since we're talking about movies, I will end with a picture from my favorite Robin Williams' movie performance, Good Will Hunting, which I will watch this weekend.