Category: Quotes

The Nineties Blogfest

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle30 Comments

1990 – Favorite Movie – Goodfellas – Best Gangster Movie Ever

1991 – Favorite Sitcom – Seinfeld – although it debuted in 1990, I didn’t start watching it until season 2.

1992 – Favorite Album and Album Title – 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of . . . by Arrested Development – Song:  Tennessee, Mr. Wendal, People Everyday.  Favorite Lyric:   “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, teach him how to fish and he’ll eat forever.”

1993 – Favorite Reality Show – The Real World Los Angeles – MTV was the only channel that was doing reality shows and The Real World was the original.  This season featured Tami, David, Beth, Jon, Aaron, Dominic, Irene, Glenn, Beth.  It was more then 7 because David got kicked off by his roommates for inappropriate behavior and Irene got married.  This show has come a long way.

1994 – Favorite TV Drama – My So Called Life – The whole series the cast would refer to other characters by their full name:  Angela Chase, Rayanne Graff, Jordan Catalano, Rickie Vasquez, Brian Krakow (I did that from memory.) It was a great show despite being cancelled after the first season.

1995 – Favorite Movie Character Name – Keyser Soze from The Usual Suspects

1996 – Favorite Concert – The Fugees – Tallahassee, Florida

1997 – Favorite year for Movies – Titanic, Good Will Hunting, As Good as it Gets, Starship Troopers, Grosse Pointe Blank, The Devils Advocate, Boogie Nights, G.I. Jane, L.A. Confidential, Donnie Brasco (“For get about it”), Deconstructing Harry, Amistad, Face/Off, Contact, Affliction, Eve’s Bayou, Gattaca – Now, I am sure you could do this with any year, but truly some great movies came out this year along with a few of my all time favorite; Titanic, Good Will Hunting and Face/Off.

1998 – My favorite Book – Bag of Bones by Stephen King – one of his best.

1999 – Favorite Acting pair – Edward Norton and Brad Pitt in Fight Club

What are your favorites from the 90’s? 

Sydney Quotes the Movies – Ridley Scott Goes All In Every Time

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle2 Comments

Ridley Scott is one of my favorite movie makers. He has this amazing ability to create ‘all in’ movies.  By ‘all in’ I mean he completely commits to showcasing not only amazing characters, but amazing scenes and amazing worlds.  There are no breaks, no waisted scenes and no unnecessary moments.  He goes all in.   No matter when it was made or what genre the movie is. Whether it is a CGI epic or beautifully choreographed action, his scenes never cease to draw me in completely.  Here are just a few of my favorite examples with my favorite quotes:

Alien Movies:
Alien (1979) – the quintessential alien movie. “You still don’t understand what you’re dealing with, do you? Perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility.
Prometheus (2012) –  alien planets aren’t clean, slick and mechanical , they are messy and dirty. “At this moment of our civilization, we can create cybernetic individuals, who in just a few short years will be completely indistinguishable from us. Which leads to an obvious conclusion: WE are the gods now.”
 
 
Military Movies:
G.I. Jane (1997) – military training, not for the faint of heart. “Pain is your friend, your ally, it will tell you when you are seriously injured, it will keep you awake and angry, and remind you to finish the job and get the hell home. But you know the best thing about pain? It let’s you know your not dead yet.”
Black Hawk Down (2001) –  The complexity of the battle at Mogadishu. “No one gets left behind, you know that.’
 
 
 
Historical Epics:
Kingdom of Heaven (2005) – “You are not what you were born, but
what you have it in yourself to be.”
Gladiator (2000) – I know this quote by heart. – “My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.”
 
 
 
Mystery, Suspense, Thriller Movies:
American Gangster (2007) – “The man I worked for had one of the biggest companies in New York City. He didn’t own his own company. White man owned it, so they owned him. Nobody owns me, though.”
Body of Lies (2008) – where as Denzel was his brother favorite, Russell is Ridley’s favorite actor. – “Nobody’s innocent in this shit.”
 
 
 
 
What is your favorite Ridley Scott movie. Do you get that ‘all in’ feeling when you watch his movies?  

Related post:  Sydney Quotes the Movies – RIP Tony Scott

Sydney Quotes The Dowager Countess of Grantham

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle9 Comments

To celebrate Maggie Smith winning an Emmy for her roles as Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham. I decided to post some of my favorite lines from season one and two of Downton Abbey, my new favorite show.

She is such a smart ass, you know, for a Lady.  Read each of them out loud with your best English accent.  For my English friends, just read it in your regular voice.  Enjoy!

 
“Why does every day involve a fight with an American?” – in reference to sitting in a swivel chair invented by Thomas Jefferson.
“So that’s Mary’s replacement.  Well, I suppose looks aren’t everything.”
“I have plenty of friends I don’t like.”
“Last night! He looked so well.  Of course it would happen to a foreigner.  No Englishman would dream of dying in someone else’s house.”
“Is this an instrument of communication or torture?” -in reference to a telephone being installed at Downton. 
“Why do you always have to pretend to be nicer then the rest of us?” -her chastising her son for his optimistic outlook on most things.
“I couldn’t have electricity in the house, I wouldn’ t sleep a wink. All those vapors floating about.”
“No. She isn’t until she is married, then her husband will tell her what her opinions are.” -in reference to her granddaughter having an opinion. 
“Edith, you are a Lady, not Toad of Toad Hall.”
“I’m a woman Mary.  I can be as contrary as I choose.”
“I don’t dislike him, I just don’t like him.  Which is quite different.” -Logic of Lady Grantham
“No doubt you will regard this as rather unorthodox, my pushing into a man’s bedroom uninvited.”
“I was watching her the other night, when you spoke of your wedding.  She looked like Juliet on awakening in the tomb.”
“Don’t be defeatist, dear, it’s very middle class.”  – my favorite line in two seasons.

Do you watch Downton Abbey?  What is your favorite Lady Grantham line? 

Sydney Quotes the Movies – Super 8

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle15 Comments

I know I am a little late seeing this movie, but I was confused.  I thought it was a kids movie about aliens.  I didn’t realize it was just a movie with a lot of kids in it.

It was not a kids movie.  And, it was really good.

I was blown away by the cast and the acting skills of these kids.  This movie covered some pretty heavy material and these kids did an amazing job.

You have a group of kids making a horror movie for a film competition and while taping one night, a car crashes into a military train carrying some questionable cargo.  The train derails and the kids find themselves in a horror movie in real life.

“Stop talking about production value, the Air Force is going to kill us.”
“Guys, I have never had a teacher aim a gun at me!”
“I can’t believe we’re breaking into the school. Who does that? Nobody does that. Idiots do that.”
“Kids walking around with there own stereo is just what we need. It’s a slippery slope, my friend.” -Funny ipod reference.
“I think it’s the Russians.”
“I’m just kind of shocked at this entire conversation.”
 “I’m thirsty. I’m in a war zone.”
“I’m just doing the best I can to save you.”
“Bad things happened. You can still live.”

It was an intense action packed movie.  I would expect nothing less from JJ Abrams and Steven Spielburg, but it was sweet and funny, too.  Joel Courtney is just too cute and acted his butt off in this movie.  You don’t hear too much about male kid movie stars anymore and this kids is just that.  I am looking forward to seeing some of his other movies. I had no idea how good he was, plus, he is the most famous person I have following me on Twitter. How cool is that?

Have you seen Super 8?  What kid was your favorite?

Character Profiles as a Marketing Tool

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle6 Comments

I was watching one of my 4 English channels.  Yes, my much anticipated move to Shanghai reduced my tv watching options.  Recently, they have been heavily advertising a new show called Last Resort.  It stars Andre Braugher and Scott Speedman(the hot guy from Felicity).

One marketing tool they use in Asia is marketing the show as airing the same week as the US telecast.  I don’t really get that one, I mean really, who cares.  It’s not like I am calling up my friends in the US to see if they caught the latest episode of The Amazing Race season 400.  It’s kind of an expensive call, we stick to important topics.

But, a more effective marketing tool they are using is 15 second character profiles.

Still hot.
The first profile they show is of Scott Speedman’s character, Sam Kendal.  
In 15 seconds you learn:
Sam is the XO on the USS Colorado.  
He is the morally conscious character.  
He spells charm without a c. (not sure what that means)
Committed and Determined
He’s as loyal to his country as he is to his wife.
*Imagine these lines delivered by the movie trailer guy voice.  

In an action packed promo, they tell who he is, his motivation and his role in the series.  They use images and quotes from him that make you instantly like him, relate to him and want to root for him.

In a clearly action packed type series; regular promos show submarines, bombs, and drama, drama, drama,  ABC understands in order to have a successful series long term, the audience has to get to know and care about what happens to the characters.

This is a great tool to use in book promotion as well.  A book and a television series are similar in they takes some commitment from the reader and view in order to be successful.  If you don’t like a movie, well, you only committed a couple of hours.  No big deal. But, most series want you to stick around for at least 20 episodes. In books, you want people to read until the last page.

So, how do you keep people turning the page until the end.  They have to either like, hate or at the least, relate to the character. So, why not tell them about your characters early on in the promotion of your book.

My MC Character Profile: 
Sierra is smart, funny and reliable to a fault.
But, when it comes to her own happiness, she has a history of putting others needs above her own.
When she meets John, she realize she could easily fall into her old patterns, but she is determined to not let that be her legacy. 
*In the movie trailer guys voice.  

Use your characters in your marketing to get a head start on letting your audience know why they need to read your book.

Also, it doesn’t hurt to have an awesome  quote like the one used below in every Last Resort Promo.
“I am not going to annihilate  3.4 million Pakistanis without hearing directly
Greatness of Andre Braugher
from someone whose authority that I recognize.” Marcus Chaplin played by Andre Braugher.
 

Share three statements about your MC that will make readers want to read your book.