You can find out a lot about a person by asking them about their favorite movies of all time.
Are they romantic, adventurous, intellectual, mysterious, or athletic? To some extent, his movie preferences will tell you.
For example, I’m a big fan of “The Natural,” the baseball movie starring Robert Redford.
Tell me about this movie, and you’ll hear how I played ball, how I find the idea of a boy coming back inspiring, and how I’m one degree away from one of the supporting leads in the movie.
So you’ll probably know more than you ever want to, and I haven’t even gotten to “Fahrenheit 451,” the movie made from Ray Bradbury’s book of the same title. The theme of the banning of books in a society hypnotized and addicted to the big and small screens is even more relevant today than it was a few decades ago, when the book and the movie were released.
I’ll tell you, I’ve always wanted to know what Ray Bradbury thought of the movie, and I had the opportunity to ask him one summer night as we stood on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills.
“It made me cry,” he replied, and me too.
Look at all the fun we’re having and I haven’t even mentioned the great Frank Capra movies or “Heaven Can Wait” with Julie Christie and Warren Beatty.
When you need a great icebreaker, just ask about the movies, and you’ll get a good ear!