Be My Guest: Renata Part 3

So here we go with the last part of my interview with Renata.

Me: What is your favorite classic movie series?

Renata: “Mexican Spitfire” with Lupe Vélez and Leon Errol. 

Me: I have seen one or two of these but it's was a long time ago.

Me: What is your favorite movie genre?

Renata: I love practically everything except westerns. I love screwball comedies, dramas, noirs and horror the most. I like musicals sometimes, but only sometimes. 

Me: That's cool Renata. I know several of my friends that aren't too crazy about westerns or musicals.

Me: What classic stars would you have love to met in person?

Renata: Irene Dunne by far!!! I would have also liked to meet those that died a long time ago. I would have loved to meet Carole Lombard and Lupe Vélez too. And even some “unknown” ones, just because they died 70, 80 years ago and they were too young when they died…I am really curious about those ones…to name a few: Dorothy Dell, Lilyan Tishman or Thelma Todd.

 Me: I would have loved to have met Irene and Carole as well.

Me: And finally, what is your favorite movie character? the one you can identify with the most?

Renata: Carmelita Lindsay (Lupe Vélez in “Mexican Spitfire” series). I do identify with her a lot, mostly because I am a Mexican too but her personality is very much like mine sometimes.

My favorite Irene Dunne character would have easily been Lucy Warriner from “The Awful Truth” but oh, she doesn’t like cats. Sorry, Lucy!!! =) 

Me: I see. Well I want to thank you Renata for being my guest for this month.I enjoyed having you here as I think my readers did too. Thank you so much.

Be My Guest: Renata (Part 2)

Back for part two of my interview with Renata....

Monty: What is your favorite classic movie decade: the 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's or 60's?

Renata: Ahhh Monty, definitely the 30s…but I also ADORE the early 40s. 

Monty: Hey, the 30's is my favorite as well.

Renata loves the classic films and stars....and who could blame her?

 

Monty: Name a few of your favorite modern stars.

Renata: NONE!

Monty: A few other guests of mine feel the same way as you do Renata.

Monty: Name a few of your favorite modern films.

Renata: None! Believe me, I’ve tried so hard to like new stuff but I just can’t! Even before watching classic movies. I remember when Titanic came out in 1997 and all my friends were just CRAZY about it and they’d see it 5, 6 times. I was like OMG who caresss! Haha I guess I’ve always been like that. I just don’t care about new movies or new actors but of course, I know there are new movies that are quite good, it’s just that I do miss those old faces so much, what can I do.

Monty: I can understand that Renata. But I do love modern films as well as classics, not as much, but I do.

Monty: What are some of your favorite movie quotes?

Renata: That’s so hard!!

I love those quotes from “Love Affair” (the same ones Janine mentioned last month!). My favorite:

“Wishing are the dreams we dream when we’re awake”.

From “My Favorite Wife”: “Oh, you can’t do that, your honor. I’m legally dead. Do you think it’s nice to take money from a corpse?”.

I love the “Rebecca” one too. “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again”.

Greta Garbo’s “I want to be alone”

“I’m Big, it’s the Pictures that got Small” from “Sunset Boulevard”.

Fred Astaire in “Roberta”: “Every day you act worse, but today you’re acting like tomorrow”.

“The Walls of Jericho will protect you from the big bad wolf “ Clark Gable in “IT Happened One Night”.

“Gastronomy…the Stars” From “I remember Mama”.

“He’s gone ashore, he’s gone ashore” (Ruth Chatterton in “Dodsworth”)

Monty: Some choice quotes there Renata.

So that wraps up part two of my interview with Renata. Be back shortly for the final part.

Be My Guest: Renata (Part One)

Well say hello to the biggest Irene Dunne fan I know, Renata. This is part one of my interview with her. I sent her the questions last month and she returned her answers that very same day. The fastest anyone has ever responded. So without any further delay, let's get started.


Me: Who are some of your favorite classic movie stars Renata?

Renata: That’s easy, Monty. My absolute favorite actress is Irene Dunne, she’s just the best!! But I also adore Carole Lombard, Lupe Vélez, Carolyn Jones, Claudette Colbert, Barbara Stanwyck, Ruth Chatterton, Joan Fontaine and Jean Arthur (to name a few)….as of the male actors, my favorite is Charles Boyer, followed by Fred MacMurray, Cary Grant, Clark Gable, James Stewart, Fred Astaire, Robert Montgomery and Edward G. Robinson.

Me: Yeah, I remember that we have Irene and Carole in flip flop positions. And the rest of your choices are good as well. Nice to see Ruth Chatteerton up there.


Me: Ok, so what are some of your favorite classic movies?

My favorite movie is “Love Affair” (1939) and it is hard for me to answer this question cause most of my favorite movies are Irene Dunne movies but I’ll tell you some of my non-Irene favorites too.

I adore “It Happened One Night”, “Nothing Sacred”, “Letter from an Unknown Woman”, “Rebecca”, “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane”, “Remember the Night”, “Gone with the Wind”, “Tomorrow is Forever”, “The Devil-Doll”,  “I’ll be Seeing You”, “Random Harvest””, “Dodsworth”, “The Girl from Mexico”, “Mildred Pierce”, “Marty”…..among many many others!

Me: Nice selection there Renata. Thanks for going outside of your fave Irene movies box. Can't argue with any of those that you chose that I have seen.


Me: Describe your first classic movie experience. Like where did you watch it..with who, what film was it, etc...

Renata: I grew up watching old Mexican movies in black and white and they were always part of my life and it was normal to see at least one every Sunday. But my first classic Hollywood movie must have been “Roman Holiday”. I think it was in 2004 when I couldn’t sleep and I found it on TV at 3 am. It was the only decent thing to watch so I watched it and I loved it.

But that wasn’t the official “first classic movie experience”. I guess the official one came after I became a huge fan of “The Addams Family” (the 1964 TV series) in 2006 and I wanted to see movies with Carolyn Jones and that’s how I started to see classic movies more often. I just loved them! I never liked new movies and then I knew why. 

Me: Great story Renata. Glad to have you as a fellow classic movie lover.

Me: Describe your perfect way to watch a movie.

Renata: Night time!! I hate watching movies during the day. I also enjoy watching movies when everybody else is sleeping (even my cat),lately it’s been a “must” to wait till my kitty falls asleep in order to watch a movie. It’s very peaceful to have her purring next to me and watch a classic movie at the same time. I just love it.
Me: That sounds wonderful Renata. You and my friend Irene would have a great time watching movies with you guys cats right there with you. 


I think this is a good stopping point for part one of my interview with Renata. We will be back shortly with part two.