The Interviewer Meme: MrPeenee asks StinkyLulu...

A new variation on the "5 Questions Meme" is beginning to buzz,
this round courtesy of the Immoral Matriarch. So, when one of my
favorites, mrpeenee, took on a set of questions from Café Muscato,
well, I took the bait...

mrpeenee asks:
1) Could we have a short bio about the mystery that is StinkyLulu? Are you really the reincarnation of Thelma Ritter?

In my mortal incarnation, I'm just another overeducated GenX-er whose early access to home video had a life-altering impact. As for StinkyLulu? Well. I can honestly say that I didn't choose StinkyLulu. StinkyLulu chose me. And I continue, every week, to discover the consequences of that choice. Finally, while I'd be thrilled to claim Thelma Ritter as my spirit guide, I suspect I'm more likely the reincarnation of Maria Ouspenskaya or Beulah Bondi, though I'll never be as skinny as either.

2) Is there any movie that you think is great, but that you couldn’t stand to watch again?

Wow. That's a toughie. Part of my moviesluttishness is that I'm real easy for rescreening movies, even those I couldn't stand on first pass, 'specially if they pop up on a tv station with commercial breaks. Hmmm....
I'd probably have to say any "quality" war epic -- like, say, Saving Private Ryan or the theatrical version of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers -- that is both (a) without humor and (b) includes extended, intense and graphic battle scenes. I'm not squeamish, necessarily. I just find the lavishly produced spectacle of war really, really tiresome.
Oh, on a different front, I'd probably have to say that David Lynch is probably the only contemporary filmmaker whose work I (a) never miss and (b) will only rescreen when absolutely necessary (Blue Velvet being the exception that proves this particular rule).

3) Are there any things about your movie tastes or opinions that have changed as you’ve matured?

The best things about becoming a wizened old movie crone is that I never feel obliged to like anything. This year alone I've come out against Wall-E (whatever), The Dark Knight (that one got me in a bit of trouble), Slumdog Millionaire and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (talk about movies I hope never to see again...my basic dislike for that one seems to grow with each passing day).
In contrast, twenty or so years ago, when I was but a teenaged pre-Stinky possessed of grandiose cinephiliac airs, I remember feeling obliged to defend pedigreed tripe like Out of Africa or Agnes of God or (ack) Children of a Lesser God or even -- I'm ashamed to say -- Forrest Gump. It's not that the intervening years have made me less kind. To the contrary, I feel I enjoy a much more adventurous (if less arty) cinematic palate than I did as a college student. It's just that, as I'm edging toward the old crone privilege of not HAVING to like anything, oddly enough it seems to make it easier to like MORE. At least that's how it's working for me and I'm grateful for it.

4) What was the biggest fuck up the Academy ever made in picking an Oscar winner?

The mind reels. So. Many. Possibilities. Swank. Oliver! Benigni. Eighty days. Loretta Young. I could go on. But I suspect the notorious 2005 Oscars were so very difficult for me not simply for that Best Picture problem, but because that evening marked Dolly Parton's second snub for Best Song. Dolly's loss in 1980 (when she was nominated for "9 to 5") remains surprising only until you consider that year's competition, which included both Willie Nelson's annoying but enduring "On the Road Again" and that year's winner -- the title song for the movie Fame (which, my lovely readers will already know, holds a special place in my cinematic heart.) I'm not sure I thought Dolly's 2005 song ("Travelin' Thru" from the tranny weepie TransAmerica) was all that, but when Three 6 Mafia won for the uplifting ditty, "It's Hard Out There for a Pimp" (from the "why pimps are American heroes" movie, Hustle and Flow), it hurt my feelings. Plus, it made me mad all over again that Dolly was neither nominated as Best Supporting Actress in 1980 (when she sorta deserved it) or in 1989 (when there was plenty of room). So, yeah, it still pisses me off that Three 6 Mafia has an Oscar and Dolly doesn't. I doubt I'll let it go until the broadcast brings Debbie Allen back to stage a comprehensive production-number retrospective of Best Songs.

5) Your blogs (Film of the Month Club, StinkyLulu, and StinkyLulu’s Stinky Bits) each seem like a huge responsibility. The idea of maintaining all three makes me want to go lie down with a wet cloth on my forehead. What do you think about them? Compare and contrast.

Oh, mrpeenee, I have so many blogs. If you only knew...
Well, first off, Film of the Month Club isn't "my" blog. The very impressive Chris Cagle is the real hostess over there and I'm only an intermittent guest/contributor. (Next month, though, I get the privilege of choosing the month's film, so look for announcements regarding that in the next week or so.) I also have the privilege of being a contributor to several other blogs: the seasonal Idol Pool 3D blog run by the inimitable Joe Reid (though I rarely do anything there) as well as a couple "private" blogs organized around a couple of writing networks I participate in (those blogs are visible to "authors only" and don't appear to the nekkid eye). [I also use a blogging platform for my university teaching -- mostly because I hate powerpoint and the blog platform's way zippier for me at this point -- but we won't get into that here.] Really, though, I truly think of myself as having only two blogs. One is StinkyLulu, where we sit now. I consider StinkyLulu my main location for all my nefarious bloggish activities, with StinkyBits operating as something of an annex to StinkyLulu. I think of them sort of sorta like Filene's/Filene's Basement, or Gap/Old Navy. Things are a little shinier at the main store (StinkyLulu) but there are treasures to be found at the annex (StinkyBits) if you have the patience to rummage a bit. My REAL "second" blog is called BitsyBobs (who I think of as StinkyLulu's more prim and much shyer sister). That's where I write only for myself, mostly "prewriting" material that I plan to rework for other purposes. And that's it. So I blog a lot, I guess, in a lot of places. But it's mostly because, at this point, I'm writing or readying to write (as MrStinky says) "all the time" and using the blogger platform for most of it is very helpful. The only real downside, beyond writing all the time? I blame StinkyLulu for the fact that I don't see more trashy movies. And I blame StinkyBits for the curious "impending homework/deadline" pressure I now feel anytime I watch any movie. (Of course, the reason I started StinkyBits was to enforce some writings discipline on myself and, yes, I embarked on Supporting Actress Sundays to address some of the conspicuous "quality" gaps in my own screening history.) As you can see, I'm never satisfied and I'm very creative in finding things to complain &/or feel pressured about, so it's not really the fault of the blog at all...

Thanks, mrpeeneee, 'twas fascinating.

At least it was so for me; I doubt anyone else is much interested in my metablogging. If I'm wrong, holler in comments.

So, lovely reader, do YOU want to be part of the "Interviewer Meme"?
If yay, simply follow these bossy instructions:

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions,
including the original link/s for the meme.
4. You will include this explanation and
an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed,
you will ask them five questions.