The Scribosphere Meme Begins

I don't know about the rest of you, but the Scribosphere does not include all the blogs I read. I have a number of other blogs that I check on a regular basis, and/or keep on RSS feeds. One of the things that I always feel left out of, however, is when my friends on those blogs pass around memes.

For those who are unfamiliar, and without going into the origins of the term (you can read that link if you like), in terms of the blogosphere, memes are essentially lists of questions that someone posts on their blog, with their own answers. Then they will "tag" some others, and those people will repost the meme on their blogs with their own answers. It is a fun little game of sorts, and also can give us a bit of a window onto the bloggers' personalities.

But I rarely get tagged, since most people know that I keep my blog exclusively screenwriting/film-centric. Occasionally I have been tagged, and responded to those memes in the comments sections of the blogs where I was tagged. Still, I feel a bit left out of the fun (and what could be worse for someone nicknamed Fun Joel, right?).

So I decided to take matters into my own hands, and create a meme specifically designed for the Scribosphere. Sure, it can go outside of it too, but it is meant for us -- FuBu for the screenwriting bloggers! I know we had Red Right Hand's One-Page Challenge, and that was a meme of sorts. But this will be a more "traditional" blogosphere meme. So I'll post it and respond, then tag a few people. Hopefully they will respond as well, and then tag others.

So, here goes:

ONE (1) earliest film-related memory:
The first movie I ever remember seeing in the theater was a Disney movie about a football placekicking mule, Gus. If that was, in fact, the first movie I saw in the theaters, it would have made me 5-years old at the time. If I'm not mistaken, my parents took me to see it at a theater in Verona or Montclair, New Jersey, not far from my home town of Livingston. (And Mom or Dad, if you read this, can you confirm any of this for me?)

TWO (2) favorite lines from movies:
Not necessarily my two absolute faves, but two that are among my faves.
"Blutarsky, zero-point-zero." - Animal House
"You're gonna need a bigger boat." - Jaws

THREE (3) jobs you'd do if you could not work in the "biz":
Architect
Chef
Fisherman

FOUR (4) jobs you actually have held outside the industry:
Construction laborer
Private chauffeur
GMAT/LSAT teacher & tutor
Medical/psych research subject (I was the "control" group, okay?!)

THREE (3) book authors I like:
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
John Steinbeck
Brian Michael Bendis

TWO (2) movies you'd like to remake or properties you'd like to adapt:
The Unseen Hand (four-part comic series by Terry Laban, Ilya, and Andy Parks) -- I only read the first two parts, but it seemed like a good movie premise when I read it about 10 years ago)
Eddie and the Cruisers -- but I have a completely different take on it, so it isn't really a remake, more just using the core concept as a launching point

ONE (1) screenwriter you think is underrated:
Woody Allen. Now hear me out for a second. Everyone recognizes him as a director, but many people forget that he has written almost every film he's ever directed, plus a few for other people. Not that he gets no recognition for this, but significantly less than he deserves, in my opinion. He releases a movie every year (on average), and has been doing so for over 30 years. Sure, some of them suck, but the bulk are at least good, and many are great. It's time he's recognized for his writing as well.

THREE (3) people I'm tagging to answer this meme next:
Warren, Shawna, and Chris.

Tags: Scribosphere, screenwriting, blogging, memes