Theater Thursday

Theater Thursday

Theater Thursday, because Stone Cold Said So.

The Day After Tomorrow has opened...and disaster movies are once again in vogue. This week's Theatre Thursday questions are about those motion pictures that make us want to avoid the water, planes, tall buildings, large cruise ships, angry atomic reptiles and everything in general that makes life enjoyable...

This one's got my name written all over it.

1) What's your favorite disaster movie of all time?

I don't know. There are parts I like in all of them. I like the melodrama of Armageddon. I like the self-importance of Deep Impact. I like the indomitable spirit of Charlton Heston in Earthquake!

It's a mini-series, not a movie. But The Stand mini-series is something of a disaster movie. I enjoy the first couple of episodes in The Stand. Where everybody dies of the superflu, and the second episode, where everybody starts digging themselves out. Right now, I'll call that my favorite.

2) Do you prefer a disaster movie with tons of special effects, carnage and general mayhem (i.e. Armageddon) or would you rather see one where the focus is on the people and the event's effects on their lives (i.e. Deep Impact)?

Mayhem. General Mayhem. Where lots of people die.

I've always kind of felt Armageddon and Deep Impact were like the male and female versions of the same movie.

3) Of all the disaster movies you've seen, which depicts the most realistic portrayal of what might happen in an actual disaster? Which was the most far-fetched?

See, here's the deal. None of us knows how we're going to react to a giant fire-breathing lizard stomping down Broadway until it happens.

Unfortunately, I take a rather dim view of a lot of humanity nowadays. A lot of people were bugged by the people standing around like idiots in L.A. during the tornado scene in Day After Tomorrow. I tend to think some people are idiots, and there'd be a fair amount of them standing around as such during a tornado storm.

Now, why they weren't swept away by downblasts and wind shear, that's a horse of a different color.

To be honest, I liked how the people reacted in Deep Impact. In general. Plus, Morgan Freeman was leading them. Always listen to Morgan Freeman.

Bonus) Which character would you be if you were in a disaster movie - the tough hero, the corrupt businessman who profits from it all, the old lady who runs around and screams "We're doomed!!!", the kid who saves the day, the young guy who buys it in the first five minutes of the disaster, or another stock character?

I'd be Kareem Abdul Jabbar, ringing the bell foretelling the world that the Monster is Here! And then celebrating, because I was right.

And then Randall Flagg would strike me down. And Larry Underwood would find me dead in Central Park.

That's it till next time! Be sure to leave your name and blog address in the Comments when you've answered the questions.

And remember, in the immortal words of Maureen McGovern:

There's got to be a morning after
If we can hold on through the night
We have a chance to find the sunshine
Let's keep on lookin' for the light