Dining with Destiny - How much is the Tab ?

[Mandon Knight]

I'm stealing the concept idea from BBC 1's 'I'll Get This', a celebrity dinner game, where through a series of individual games, the diners are whittled down until the last 'loser' pays for the meal.

So, you are allowed 5 actors or directors (male or female in either) as diners, through history, dead or alive, who you would wish to sit down to dinner with and spend the evening with and discuss their life and work (I think many of us would pick our favourites, this will help as you'll need knowledge of their work), at the end of the evening, someone has to pay, you can choose who that is of your five, but you have to give reasons that they should pay. Is it that of the five, their film wasn't as good, because their film wasn't as successful, or got bad reputation etc. These are example reasons, but you have to give a 'negative' (even if you still like their work of the five, given you picked them in the first place I'm guessing) as to the reason why that person regarded as the loser must pay the dinner.

Hope it's clear.

Good luck all.

 

[Mandon Knight]

Okay, I'm going to go first, after some thought of choices overnight.

Guests

Alfred Hitchcock (favourite director)
Steven Spielberg (joint favourite director)
James Stewart (favourite actor)
Deborah Kerr (actress who I am fascinated by her work & choices in roles)
Christopher Reeve (actor known for portraying my favourite CBM character)

Questions asked during the evening

Was the set of Black Narcissus as fraught as is held in discussion over the years and what where Powell & Pressburger like to work with ? - to Kerr

What was really your problem with Tippi Hedren ? - to Hitchcock

Have you felt you've carried George through your career ? - to Spielberg

People have underestimated your acting chops over the years - Why do you think that is ? - to James Stewart

Outside of Superman, what was your favourite role ? - to Christopher Reeve

Reasoning for choice paying the bill

Surprise choice in that I have chosen Alfred Hitchcock to foot the bill. I value his work so very much and he is, along with Spielberg, the director who has shaped my own personal & creative life, Vertigo, outside of CBM's is my 'go to' favourite film but I cannot sit comfortably with his views and actions towards his female actors. Reading about his childhood, there are reasons for his 'views' on both female & actors in general, an incredibly private individual but could be considered to be a 'controlling bully', so for me, separating the man from his work is incredibly difficult and doesn't stand well for me as he holds character traits I fundamentally disagree with and I would press him on this during the dinner.