There are quite a few celebrities we admire, about whom we’d
like to know a bit more, yet, we hold ourselves back because there never has
been a platform to interact with them. With this WeChat contest, we could
atleast get our creative juices flowing and bring together motley of people,
fictional and non-fictional, whom we admire into the same chatroom. Thank god
for creativity, it helps us break the shackles and go to places within our mind
which we never knew existed.
I have always wondered how it would feel like to jump from
high above the sky with nothing to hold you back. What goes through your mind
when you are traveling at the speed of knots? How prepared would you have to be
to pull off a stunt with such daredevilry? What drives you to do such
breathtaking acts, that if gone wrong could result in your death? When I read
of Felix Baumgartner’s astounding achievement last October, it made me think of
all that the human body can accomplish only if it controls its mind. Felix
Baumgartner had set the world record for skydiving when he had jumped from the
stratosphere, having broken the sound barrier by reaching an estimated speed of
1357.64 km/h jumping from a distance of 39 kms into the stratosphere. His
Wikipedia page may have well captured the numerical details of the jump, the
distance, the test jumps, the dreary side of it. Yet the Wikipedia page misses
the human element of the jump, the emotion that Baumgartner would have gone
through, the feeling of ripping through the clouds like Superman – is that a
bird? Is that a plane? No, it’s Felix Baumgartner! What did it feel like to be
plummeting into earth on a wing and a prayer, Felix?
What we would talk
about
What drove you to do something so ballsy? What was going
through your mind when you were piercing the skies? What is it with this death
wish of pushing your mind and body over the limits that it could handle?
Has there in recent times been any storyteller who has been
able to capture politics, betrayal, vengeance and carve myriad characters –
each more engrossing than the last – as successfully as George R R Martin
(GRRM)? His fantasy fiction epic Game of Thrones was first published in 1996,
the story takes place in the fictional lands of Westeros and Essos with a narrative
that covers the events in various Houses or dynasties. Larger than life,
gripping, and awe-inspiring, GoT is as ambitious in its storyline as its
characters, now adapted into a television program for a larger audience, GoT
has become a pop-culture phenomenon that has received bouquets and brickbats,
has won over audience from all demographics, and even left ardent lovers of the
television show heartbroken and enraged by killing off what were seemingly main
characters with calculated brutality. GRRM is not just a storyteller, but a
visionary whose magnum opus is not just characters written over paper, but a literary
leviathan whose fan following is growing every time GoT trends on twitter. Unlike
many writers these days, who tend to portray women in weak stereotypical roles,
GRRM’s writes women of substance, graceful under pressure.
What we would talk
about
As baffling as the narrative structure is, I would also like
to quiz GRRM on what made him choose the fantasy fiction genre to pen his saga,
what makes him at the age of sixty-five – when people hunt for retirement homes
– get out of bed and create mythical lands and layered characters? Also, from a
writer’s point of view, I would also like to ask him how he gets out of the rut
if and when struck with writer’s block.
Ask any movie buff and he’ll tell you the impact that
Spielberg has made in international cinema over the years. Spielberg’s movies
have always covered a huge canvass – be it war, or the Holocaust, or alien
invasion, or huge prehistoric creatures walking the earth, not only has he
captivated the audience’s imagination with the grandeur and jaw dropping
visuals of his movies, but also has always managed to win their hearts by
always telling a compelling story. The bloody and brutal realism shown in the
opening sequence of his WW-II drama Saving
Private Ryan had even the real WW-II veterans squirming in their seats
during a special preview for them. His not charging a single dollar for making Schindler’s List shows us that Spielberg
is not just a filmmaker who makes movies to rake in the moolah at the box office,
but is also a philanthropist who via the medium of cinema likes to tell stories
of all the injustice and struggles that humanity has gone through. (Read
Amistad, Color Purple, Empire of the Sun).
Having GRRM and Steven Spielberg in We Chat’s group conversation
would be any bibliophile and movie junkie’s dream. If I am lucky I could even
spark off a collaboration of sorts between these two giants, a movie written by
George R R Martin, directed and produced by Steven Spielberg – given their love
for monumental storytelling, it won’t be a surprise if the movie lasts for
three hours stretching till five parts!
What we would talk
about
Making a movie is no child’s play, and to make Oscar
contenders year after year even drains the energy out of a grown adult. What
has gone into all the effort that has translated into some of the most stellar moments
seen on screen? Which was his toughest movie to make, and why? Who has been
most favorite actor, and if there were any movie that he shouldn’t have made,
which would be it? And as with every artist who secretly wishes had painted a
piece of art that he never could, I would ask Spielberg of that one screenplay
which he couldn’t get to direct.
Why Mr. Bond? Because he was one of the first movie
characters who had left an indelible impression on my young mind back in the
day. Fast cars, cool gadgets, gorgeous locales and femme fatales, all that even
at the age of 40! What wouldn’t we all be willing to part with to have a life
like that? But let’s not forget that with great power comes great
responsibility, and Monsieur Bond’s responsibility is greater than what you and
I have – that of saving the world. You certainly didn’t imagine that charming
the folks at MI-6 would get you everything that James Bond had, did you? Apart
from being suave and charming and blessed with good looks, James is also a
skilled assassin, a sharpshooter who is also adept at hand to hand combat, and
has the cojones to pull off acts of
daredevilry like skydiving, car racing and jumping off and on speeding trains!
Well, isn’t he the complete package! No wonder he gets the
ladies.
What would we talk
about
Having faced megalomaniacs all over the globe, with each one
tougher than the last, I wonder who Mr. Bond rates as his most formidable
adversary, a perfect question to ask during the WeChat conversation. He has
toured to some of the most exotic places we wouldn’t even know about, and has
had flings with a bevy of beauties, as a perennial 40-year old I would like to
know when he is going to settle down. Has Vesper Lynd’s death hit him so hard
that he has decided to roam around the corners of the world preventing it from
destruction, but still come back home to an empty apartment?
What was his favorite assignment? From Sean Connery to
Daniel Craig, who has played his role better? And what is his secret for staying
a 40-yr old for more than fifty years now? These are a few questions I would
like to shoot at Mr. Bond, let’s see how good he is at dodging these bullets!
In an industry where men have been calling the shots for
decades, Meryl Streep seems to be one of the few women who has clout to dictate
terms, and why wouldn’t she? With 17 Academy award nominations, having won
thrice, she is regarded as one of the most complete actors of our times. Have a
sample of her filmography and you’d nod in agreement. From playing a woman
estranged from her husband and child to a cold hearted boss, to a Catholic nun
to Margaret Thatcher–Miss Streep has essayed all her roles with aplomb. And for
someone who will be turning 64 soon, she doesn’t look it either.
She has strangely not been cast by Spielberg in any of his
movies, a strong character actor, she could easily have a literary character
tailor-made for her by George R R Martin, she would even play M in the James
Bond movies with much conviction. And given her acting talent, with some good
makeup, she could even play Felix Baumgartner if ever a biopic was to be made. It
would be great to see the men in the chat group sell their ideas to Ms. Streep.
What we would talk
about
Being an actor who has played so many roles that have
garnered fame and awards, I would ask her of what her most favorite role was
till date. How does she prepare herself to get into the skin of the character? If
there is any personality, dead or alive whom she would like to play, who would
it be?
To invite a tough-as-nails character as Lisbeth Salander to
a group chat would be no mean feat. Having grown up with a troubled past that
contributes to her trust issues, the heroine from the Millennium Trilogy is a wild
child who lives life by her own rules. She prefers leading an isolated life, and
is unwelcome to all those who have ever tried getting close to her. Never the
one to seek compassion from others, she is adept at solving her own problem
through any means necessary. Do not be fooled by her punk rocker look that is punctuated
with tattoos and piercings, her rough exterior exactly does what it’s supposed
to do: to ward off people. Your first impression of her may be of a girl who
has lost her way and wrecked her life for good. But little do you know of her
prowess as a brilliant investigator and a genius hacker who has helped solve
cases in Sweden that were left unsolved for decades. With a keen eye for research
and deduction, she is the perfect foil to journalist Mikael Blomkvist, the only
man whom she respects, and also has hidden feelings for. In this day and age
where women are looked down upon and treated with no respect, with a rising
increase in violence and crime against them, Stieg Larrson’s Lisbeth
Salander is one woman you’d root for. Cross her once, and you will pay for
it. She is the kind who wouldn’t flinch while
shoving down your crown jewels down your throat. Independent, combative, and
someone who could held her own in the face of adversity, Ms. Salander might as
well belong in GRRM’s universe.
What we would talk
about
I would measure my words before asking any sort of questions
to her, for fear of having my computer hacked, or worse, be subjected to her
violent actions. As she possesses a brilliant investigative acumen, and I being
someone who likes to read a lot on crimes and mystery thrillers, it would be
natural of course to ask her about which unsolved case would she like to dig
deeper into, the Zodiac Killer maybe? And, with James Bond in the chat group, she could always be a
great ally to the smooth and suave Bond, from solving crimes she could go on to do bigger things like saving the world from nuclear annihilation. A bit of training is required but I am
sure Bond can take care of that.
A novelist, a movie director, a diva, a superspy, an
adrenaline junkie and a street-smart urchin from the literary universe, my
WeChat group sure is an eclectic mix of people – living and imaginary – from
all walks of life.
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