Another notable movie for my young friend who can play games on my computer
but only if he watches a movie with me.

I think I had not seen THE STING since it was a big deal in 1973 and
everybody was humming Scott Joplin. Of course I remembered the final
outcome, but I did not remember how they got to that point and we had a
great time following the story together. He kept asking me questions like,
“are they really FBI?“ and I had to admit I just didn’t remember and I was
wondering the same thing. It was fun.

He said it wasn’t the greatest movie he had ever seen but the acting was
some of the greatest.

Who is that actor playing Gondorff?

That’s Paul Newman.

How old is he now?

He’s dead.

Well darn. He’s really good.

Another actor that impressed him, believe it or not, was Harold Gould. It
wasn’t so much his acting as it was his clothes. The kid is 18 and really
concerned about his appearance and he thinks Harold Gould, who is something
of a dandy in the movie, really knew how to look sharp.

I have found that as long as I keep showing him good movies, he keeps
coming back for more.

--
Bill Anderson

I am the Mighty Favog

On 2024-03-23 23:27:39 +0000, Bill Anderson said:

> Another notable movie for my young friend who can play games on my computer
> but only if he watches a movie with me.
>
> I think I had not seen THE STING since it was a big deal in 1973 and
> everybody was humming Scott Joplin. Of course I remembered the final
> outcome, but I did not remember how they got to that point and we had a
> great time following the story together. He kept asking me questions like,
> “are they really FBI?“ and I had to admit I just didn’t remember and I was
> wondering the same thing. It was fun.
>
> He said it wasn’t the greatest movie he had ever seen but the acting was
> some of the greatest.
>
> Who is that actor playing Gondorff?
>
> That’s Paul Newman.
>
> How old is he now?
>
> He’s dead.
>
> Well darn. He’s really good.
>
> Another actor that impressed him, believe it or not, was Harold Gould. It
> wasn’t so much his acting as it was his clothes. The kid is 18 and really
> concerned about his appearance and he thinks Harold Gould, who is something
> of a dandy in the movie, really knew how to look sharp.
>
> I have found that as long as I keep showing him good movies, he keeps
> coming back for more.

I'm with your friend, I've never liked this movie.

On 3/23/2024 7:27 PM, Bill Anderson wrote:
> Another notable movie for my young friend who can play games on my computer
> but only if he watches a movie with me.
>
> I think I had not seen THE STING since it was a big deal in 1973 and
> everybody was humming Scott Joplin. Of course I remembered the final
> outcome, but I did not remember how they got to that point and we had a
> great time following the story together. He kept asking me questions like,
> “are they really FBI?“ and I had to admit I just didn’t remember and I was
> wondering the same thing. It was fun.
>
> He said it wasn’t the greatest movie he had ever seen but the acting was
> some of the greatest.
>
> Who is that actor playing Gondorff?
>
> That’s Paul Newman.
>
> How old is he now?
>
> He’s dead.
>
> Well darn. He’s really good.
>
> Another actor that impressed him, believe it or not, was Harold Gould. It
> wasn’t so much his acting as it was his clothes. The kid is 18 and really
> concerned about his appearance and he thinks Harold Gould, who is something
> of a dandy in the movie, really knew how to look sharp.
>
> I have found that as long as I keep showing him good movies, he keeps
> coming back for more.

I think that, if THE STING were released today without having been
preceded by its dozens of knockoffs of knockoffs, it'd still be a smash.
I still remember the assassin...

On Sat, 23 Mar 2024 23:27:39 +0000
Bill Anderson <bill.anderson@my-deja.com> wrote:
> Another notable movie for my young friend who can play games on my computer
> but only if he watches a movie with me.

[...]

> Who is that actor playing Gondorff?
>
> That’s Paul Newman.
>
> How old is he now?
>
> He’s dead.
>
> Well darn. He’s really good.

So your friend is 17-18 and he hadn't come across Paul Newman before ?
Quite striking. I assume that U.S. channels show plenty of Newman movies
so does your friend not watch anything older unless it is with you ?
I don't remember when was the first time I saw Paul Newman but I had
certainly seen plenty of his movies on Greek television before I was 17.

Spiros Bousbouras <spibou@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sat, 23 Mar 2024 23:27:39 +0000
> Bill Anderson <bill.anderson@my-deja.com> wrote:
>> Another notable movie for my young friend who can play games on my computer
>> but only if he watches a movie with me.
>
> [...]
>
>> Who is that actor playing Gondorff?
>>
>> That’s Paul Newman.
>>
>> How old is he now?
>>
>> He’s dead.
>>
>> Well darn. He’s really good.
>
> So your friend is 17-18 and he hadn't come across Paul Newman before ?
> Quite striking. I assume that U.S. channels show plenty of Newman movies
> so does your friend not watch anything older unless it is with you ?
> I don't remember when was the first time I saw Paul Newman but I had
> certainly seen plenty of his movies on Greek television before I was 17.
>

That’s an interesting question, one that occurred to me a couple of years
ago and inspired me to “require“ him to watch movies with me. He has been
raised in an unusual situation which there’s no need for me to get into,
but yes, he is lacking exposure to a lot of popular culture that you and I
probably take for granted. He spends most of his screen time with his face
buried in games on his iPhone or laptop. He hasn’t watched much television
at all, and when he does watch he prefers anime to almost anything else.

I have been surprised a couple of times when I’ve suggested we watch a
movie that it turned out he actually had already seen. I was astonished
that he knew all about “Some like it Hot,” “the Princess Bride,” “Jaws,”
and maybe one or two others I can’t think of right now. But that has been
it.

The truth is he actually did tell me that he recognized Paul Newman‘s face
but had no idea where he had seen him before. I couldn’t come up with any
Newman movie I had shown him, so I just don’t know. I did not ask him if he
recognize Redford, but I think he did not.

I think kids these days are not watching Channel 13’s “Million Dollar
Movie“ late on Saturday nights anymore. They have lots more options.

--
Bill Anderson

I am the Mighty Favog

On Sun, 24 Mar 2024 16:52:40 +0000
Bill Anderson <bill.anderson@my-deja.com> wrote:
> The truth is he actually did tell me that he recognized Paul Newman‘s face
> but had no idea where he had seen him before. I couldn’t come up with any
> Newman movie I had shown him, so I just don’t know.

Newman does have a striking face. Once you see it , it stays with you.