I know its early but thats because Ron tooks forever to get his interview in. Anyways this is my buddy Votto and we discuss movies, baseball, and little bit of football...
1. Now if you havent been paying attention to ESPN, Bill Simmons gave his "Movie of the decade" and I am curious whats your opinion on the movie of the decade?
It is always difficult to choose the movie of the decade. Any decade. So many factors go into it, so I could make three or four different lists. Do you do the what film best represents the 00's, or what is the single best cinematic achievement of the past ten years? Or could it be the film that has the highest repeat-viewing occurrence? Well, if I had to narrow it down, I would say the follow:
Best Cinematic Achievement: Dancer in the Dark (Lars von Trier, 2000, Denmark) - Great film with an interesting concoction of dramatics and musical qualities.
Best Film That Represents The 00's: There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007, United States) - A larger-than-life ego thirsty for competition and industry. Ring any bells?
I can never give a straight answer on these types of questions, but those two are among the best films to be produced in the last ten years.
2. What has been your favorite movie in 2009 so far and why?
So far, the year has produced some gems that I never thought I would like (The Hangover and Star Trek, among them), but I have to give the front runner status to Pixar's UP. They have my best of 2008 with Wall-E, and this picture looks like a hard one to beat for the rest of the year. I've never been captivated and emotionally moved so quickly within the running-time of the picture as I was in UP. I haven't liked Pixar's banner pictures (The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, Cars) but the last three have been above excellent. They have proven that animation is not just for kids.
3. Staying on the 2009 theme, what is the one movie you are looking forward to seeing?
The film I'm most anticipating is a little-known action-mockumentary called District 9 by first-time feature director Neill Blomkamp. If you haven't heard of this movie, you will within a month, because this has sleeper hit written all over it. Produced by Peter Jackson, the film is a mockumentary about the persecution of an alien race living in a modern Johannesburg. The movie looks like a two-hundred million dollar production, but it was made for thirty - this guy is the real deal. He was slated early in his career to be at the helm of the Halo adaptation before the budget blew up and the studios got scared off. Hopefully, this movie will make Blomkamp the next Spielberg and that picture can get made. If you haven't seen his work, check out the trailer for District 9 and his commercials for Halo 3. Unbelievable.
4. Now I watched Back to the Future Part II tonight and in my opinion, it might be the most dated movie out there with flying cars by 2015 although still watchable. What movie to your memory is the most dated?
I would have to say that an older film like Death Race 2000 would be a great candidate. To think that someone in the mid-1970's would think that by the year 2000 we would have a cross-country racing circuit that rewarded drivers for plowing into pedestrians is kind of ridiculous. Awesome movie, nonetheless.
5. If you had to hang out with one Michael J. Fox character who would it be? Teen Wolf, Marty McFly, or Alex P. Keaton?
Wow. Never has such a question been posed to me. I think I would have to go with Marty McFly because he's got everything a guy his age could want. He's got access to a pretty sweet ride (just can't punch it to 88 all the time, but it is definitely a chick magnet), a friendship with probably the coolest old dude of all time, and he can time travel. That trumps the awesome basketball skills of Teen Wolf and the conservative-aspirations of Alex Keaton any day of the week.
6. What is your favorite genre of movies and why?
I would have to go with horror - no doubt about it. I like it because it has so many avenues and so many different results. You have zombie, vampire, werewolf, slasher, torture, and many more sub-genres to choose from that you don't have with something like dramas or war films. It is also one of the few genres where watching the worst pictures are sometimes the best viewing experiences. If you don't believe me, watch "Death Bed" and tell me you didn't have a blast watching that awful piece of junk.
7. We have discussed at lengths about Entourage and I will be honest I am concerned its headed downhill quick, do you agree?
I was concerned about Entourage at the end of last season, when I saw Martin Scorsese rear his head. I knew how the next season would open in that very instance. What is Martin Scorsese's worst film? Bringing Out The Dead? New York, New York? Those two movies are the worst he ever made, and they are totally above average cinematically. So of course Vince is going to be back on top, just like with Aquaman. So now where to go? Boys playing with toys is how they have gone, and frankly, I've seen that. I can show you when the show has jumped the shark: the Ferrari race in last week's episode.
8. Is there any chance we might see a screenplay by Mike Votto in the next couple of years or is that something you wont pursue?
I've written SEVERAL screenplays in the past, but none of them have honestly impressed even myself. I actually like working more within literature instead of films, so I've been working on a massive novel for the good part of five years now. You'll all see that soon.
9. Now lets go on to sports, we put a Sunday ban on the Brewers so we will not give them much mention except this.. how happy are you to see Bill Hall go to AAA?
Ecstatic. Obviously, by the end of July 31, we will see him dealt to another team in a multi-player deal for a prospect or maybe a middling pitcher. He's not a good player anymore, and for a team with raw talent working the infield, he's just holding players like Mat Gamel or Casey McGehee back. I have some affection for Bill Hall - if one can remember back far enough, he was the bee's knees in Milwaukee. I loved watching Hall swing the bat back in the middle part of the last decade, but like all things, over time it just wears away. Hopefully he'll ride off into the sunset of his career - I just hope he finds a team other than the Brewers to do that with.
10. Whats one team that you feel needs to make move before the trading deadline tomorrow?
Normally, I would say the Milwaukee Brewers, but we are sitting at four games back to a blistering hot Chicago Cubs and a newly-reworked St. Louis Cardinals, so I'm going to have say that a team like the Colorado Rockies or Atlanta Braves are going to have to do some work to make a run at the wild card. Both are in divisions with surefire champs sitting at the top, so they need to make like the Brewers of '08 and shell out some top prospects for the glory of a wild card entry.
11. How would you feel if you were a Pittsburgh Pirate fan and your team traded 8 out of the 9 guys on the opening day roster? Would just leave them or do you stick with them?
Honestly, the Pirates are the laughing stock of the NL Central, which has been dubbed in the past as one of the worst divisions in the MLB. And I think that the front office has gotten sick of it, and they are legitimately trying to make a change. If I was a fan, I would be apprehensively optimistic at the gung-ho response to restructuring a god-awful team. A team like Pittsburgh needs the city to be behind their team, just like Milwaukee. If we don't have faith, we don't show up - and the Pirates are showing their fans that they want to make a run eventually.
12. Whose the one team that has "won" the trading deadline?
The Philadelphia Phillies, without a doubt. They pick up a former powerhouse in free agency (Pedro) and trade for a surging Cliff Lee - they want the World Series more than any other team in the league. While the Dodgers sport a better record, I think the Phillies are still the best NL team, and they aren't sticking with the tried-and-true. This front office wants to crush in the post-season and with that roster, they are definitely on their way.
13. The PED List has struck again with David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, do you care and does the list need to come out?
To an extent, I do care. Baseball is a hell of a sport, and one that has been a part of my life for a long time. I want it to be a level playing field with the few true stars shining brightly because the better the competition, the better the games. With this latest revelation, it does nothing more than confirm fears about these two players that I've had for the good part of a decade. It sucks to have that thought in the back of your head every time a superstar comes to the plate because that just signals the death of something innocent about the game. They should just release the list, ban every player who test positive from the Hall of Fame in hopes that they are forgotten by future generations. We shouldn't idolize the Manny Ramirezes of world while the Wille Stargells are being forgotten.
14. Tell everyone at Chucks Corner, why you hate Joey Votto who shares a last name with you..
.
I hate that he pronounces his own last name wrong. It is not "Vah-toe" but instead it is appropriately pronounced "Vote-o". Apparently, many of my northeastern relatives have pronounced it the way Joey does, but that doesn't make it correct. On top of that, I also loathe the questions about my relationship with him from pretty much every person I meet. No, I don't know him. Yeah, I know our name is pretty rare and unique. Yes, I'm sure that I don't know him. Not to mention I hate hearing Steve Phillips say my last name wrong in MLB2K9 for the Xbox 360.
14. The standard question on the interview... whose your world series matchup and why?
Phillies and Red Sox because I think that the two have the best pitching staffs to handle the post-season. Phillies are proven and the Red Sox, even though their success are only recent, are ready to go toe-to-toe with a great pitching team because of their season-long experience with the Yankees.
15. How happy were to see Brett Favre not become a Minnesota Viking?
I have been a Packer fan for as long as I can remember. For most of my life, Brett Favre was my sports god. He could do no wrong because he brought me the greatest sports joy of my life - a Super Bowl. But before I am a Brett Favre fan, I am a Packer fan. What he did last year was beyond betrayal for me. He had it all during that first retirement: the admiration of millions of Packer loyalists, the respect of the notoriously fickle media, and the legacy of a man who somehow grew bigger than a team that was already larger than life. Then he forced the hand of a coach and front office that wanted to build the Packers into a championship-caliber team without him - and then the New York Jets made him an offer he didn't want to refuse. He came back with one of his worst seasons, and subsequently re-retired, but this time it seems to be for good. I'm happy he won't be donning a Vikings jersey, but Brett Favre died a long time ago for me. There is still a part of me that wanted to see Favre get sacked by the Pack just to exact a little revenge on him.
16. Does the media make NFL a much bigger deal than it needs to be with all the training camp coverage?
I think that training camp coverage is a bit overblown as of late, and a lot of that has to do with the past couple of Brett Favre debacles. Unfortunately, the Favre situations in Green Bay, New York, and Minnesota held great sway over the architecture of each team, so knowing where he would end up was an important question that needed to be answered. But the one thing I hate most about the coverage is the quarterback duels - who cares and why do you insist on creating drama between teammates? Just wait until week one and find out who's your quarterback for the rest of the year.
17. Continuing on with that question, when do you care about football again, either college or NFL?
When it comes to College Football, I don't really care about it until the last two weeks or the division championship games. The structure is so out of wack that I don't tend to care much unless it is a big-time battle or there is a trip to the championship on the line. The NFL, on the other hand, is something I watch from two weeks prior to the first game because that's when you get a glimpse of the team that will be carrying your hopes for the next couple of months.
18. Plug anything you want to, the stage is yours
Chuck's Corner is a great daily stop for all my sports needs, so if this is the first post you read, stick around because Charlie is an absolutely insightful writer. If you are ever looking for a more alternative blog for movies/television/media/music, come over to my blog AmericanFerox (http://americanferox.blogspot.com). I've also launched a 24/7 video channel that specializes in exhibiting exploitation cinema called Cloudburst Releasing on LiveStream (http://www.livestream.com/cloudburstreleasing). We show film programs every Monday-Friday from 6PM-11PM CST. Stop by anytime and check out the unique content we have streaming.
Thanks Mike.
-Charlie.
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