Hi. This is Anna. I am going to be one of the two writers on this blog. The other will be my husband of almost 5 months. His name is Konstantine. His family calls him Kosta, but most folks call him Koko. We are coming to you out of south Florida where it is still stinking hot and probably will be for another month before it starts to cool down.
We both work at the same public library. That's how we met, actually. Almost 5 years ago I started as a new Reference Librarian at the place where he had been working at the circulation desk. We were friends for a year, and then we were more. After 2 1/2 years of dating he asked me to marry him, and last April 25 we got married. We are disgustingly happy. At least, with each other.
We're not so happy with our jobs anymore, but that's a story for another blog. (And one that won't get us fired, thank you very much.) We have both been writers for a very long time. Since we were both able to pick up a pencil, we've been writing stories. We are in the process of trying to break into screenwriting, which is incredibly difficult, and a very painful and arduous task. But one, we feel, that will be extremely rewarding and satisfying if we succeed.
That, actually, is where this blog comes in. We are both voracious readers, and have a huge library of books at home. While we are both extremely well read, there are major holes in our knowledge of movies. Koko knows lots about older movies (from the 60's and before), and I am more well-versed in contemporary films (being 18 years younger than my husband will do that). So when I was sitting at the reference desk yesterday, I got a wild hair up my butt to try this idea:
Since the beginning of the Academy Awards, there have been 81 winners (to date) for something equating Best Picture. I found that "Best Picture" was an award the academy started bestowing in 1962. Before that it was "Best Motion Picture," and other different arrangements of words that basically come out to the same thing. I wanted to watch them all and get a better idea of what The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences considered to be the cream of the crop over the years. But I didn't want to just go down the list either. So what I did was I wrote all the movie titles down on little slips of paper, threw them in a box, and we are going to draw them out one at a time. We'll watch the movie together, then we will each put some thoughts together, and write about it.
I like the idea. It pleases me to know that not only will I be learning more about movies, but we will be able to share our ideas with anyone who cares to read about them. Blogs are an interesting phenomenon. Anyone with the know-how and an idea (no matter how kooky) can put together a blog on whatever they damn well please, and anyone in the world can read it. In the old days of writing, it was so important not to let anyone see your work unless it was published through the proper channels in order to maintain integrity. And while I would still never be caught dead self-publishing anything, blogs seem to be a socially acceptable avenue for getting your voice out there. I am not saying I am trolling for a book deal out of this, but if someone wanted to offer me one, well...
And trust me, you will hear two distinct voices in this blog, with two distinct opinions. I am really excited about this project. Of course, we will continue with our screenwriting efforts. We need this creative outlet now more than ever to get us out of the misery that is our daily jobs.
So the first movie drawn out of the box? Cecil B. DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth, winner of Best Motion Picture in 1952.
Oh, and just so you know, I am not going to give spoiler alerts. Know that if you read the blog post, you will know how the movie ends. If you want to be surprised when you watch it, then don't read the post until after you have viewed the movie.
~Anna
We both work at the same public library. That's how we met, actually. Almost 5 years ago I started as a new Reference Librarian at the place where he had been working at the circulation desk. We were friends for a year, and then we were more. After 2 1/2 years of dating he asked me to marry him, and last April 25 we got married. We are disgustingly happy. At least, with each other.
We're not so happy with our jobs anymore, but that's a story for another blog. (And one that won't get us fired, thank you very much.) We have both been writers for a very long time. Since we were both able to pick up a pencil, we've been writing stories. We are in the process of trying to break into screenwriting, which is incredibly difficult, and a very painful and arduous task. But one, we feel, that will be extremely rewarding and satisfying if we succeed.
That, actually, is where this blog comes in. We are both voracious readers, and have a huge library of books at home. While we are both extremely well read, there are major holes in our knowledge of movies. Koko knows lots about older movies (from the 60's and before), and I am more well-versed in contemporary films (being 18 years younger than my husband will do that). So when I was sitting at the reference desk yesterday, I got a wild hair up my butt to try this idea:
Since the beginning of the Academy Awards, there have been 81 winners (to date) for something equating Best Picture. I found that "Best Picture" was an award the academy started bestowing in 1962. Before that it was "Best Motion Picture," and other different arrangements of words that basically come out to the same thing. I wanted to watch them all and get a better idea of what The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences considered to be the cream of the crop over the years. But I didn't want to just go down the list either. So what I did was I wrote all the movie titles down on little slips of paper, threw them in a box, and we are going to draw them out one at a time. We'll watch the movie together, then we will each put some thoughts together, and write about it.
I like the idea. It pleases me to know that not only will I be learning more about movies, but we will be able to share our ideas with anyone who cares to read about them. Blogs are an interesting phenomenon. Anyone with the know-how and an idea (no matter how kooky) can put together a blog on whatever they damn well please, and anyone in the world can read it. In the old days of writing, it was so important not to let anyone see your work unless it was published through the proper channels in order to maintain integrity. And while I would still never be caught dead self-publishing anything, blogs seem to be a socially acceptable avenue for getting your voice out there. I am not saying I am trolling for a book deal out of this, but if someone wanted to offer me one, well...
And trust me, you will hear two distinct voices in this blog, with two distinct opinions. I am really excited about this project. Of course, we will continue with our screenwriting efforts. We need this creative outlet now more than ever to get us out of the misery that is our daily jobs.
So the first movie drawn out of the box? Cecil B. DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth, winner of Best Motion Picture in 1952.
Oh, and just so you know, I am not going to give spoiler alerts. Know that if you read the blog post, you will know how the movie ends. If you want to be surprised when you watch it, then don't read the post until after you have viewed the movie.
~Anna
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