(OT) Dream Dinner Party

[Heathen72]

Hi everyone!
This is is one of those "this is who I am... who are you?" sort of posts - I know it's a long one, but bear with me...

Imagine that you are having a dinner party, and all you have to do is invite ten guests. They can be anyone you like, as long as you follow these criteria:
1) They must be alive... Shakespeare's great you know, but he's dead.
2) They must be real ... Sherlock Holmes is cool too, but he isn't real, people. Michael Jackson just counts.
3)There must be a variety of people, from different backgrounds. Sure, you could put down 9 of your favourite movie stars, but then, I wouldn't learn anything about you at all (and that is why I am doing this.)
4) No more than 10 guests. And try to balance the men and women a little - after all this is a dinner party.


So here is my list. A lot of these are heroes of mine, particularly the first five or so. They really had an impact on me at different ages in my life.

1) David Bowie and 2)Iman. Apart from loving his music, he changed the way I view music, art and all sorts of stuff - believe me, he is number 1 for a reason. Iman is his Supermodel wife. It only seemed courteous to invite her too.

3) David Attenborough. He had a huge impact on me when I was a child. Shows like Life on Earth were just astounding. I almost became a zoologist because of this guy. I met him when I was 10!

4) Keith Johnstone: Author of Impro and Impro for storytellers. A major influence on me in my last years of school, and as an actor. I can honestly say that reading Impro changed my life - changed me. I've been lucky enough to meet him too, when he ran some Impro workshops here a few years ago.

5) Jacki Chan. Just an astonishing performer, and as far as I can tell an all round nice guy. Watched him filming some stunts for a movie he filmed in Melbourne a couple of years ago. He had so much time for the fans that it really endeared him to me. Not everything he has done has been great, but when he turns it on, no one else can match him.

6) Kevin Sheedy. Coach of the Essendon Football Club (Aussie Rules) for the last 20 years!! Another fantastic guy with a lot of time for the fans, and the four Premierships he delivered our way made me very happy indeed. He's a little strange sometimes, but that's okay - it would only make dinner more fun (certainly more interesting than if I chose David Beckham!

7) Ursula Le Guin. The Wizard of Earthsea trilogy had a major effect on me when I was a kid. She was a tough choice, but my first choice is long dead (C.S Lewis) (I considered Neal Gaiman for this spot, too but I didn't like American God's. You can do better, Neil - Hugo or no Hugo.)

8) Eddie Izzard. Amazing comedian, and a good actor too, if his turn as Chaplin is anything to go by. A bit of a catastrophy, apparently, but that's OK. He appeared on Parkinson ( a british chat show) with my next guest (and David Attenborough, funnily enough) and they didn't quite get along, so I would have to sit them apart from each other...

9) Nigella Lawson. Everyone takes the piss out of her, but I think she is cool. And she could help me with the cooking too!

10) That cute girl at my local book store that I keep bumping into on Tram's and stuff. I'm sure she thinks I am stalking her. She looks like Snow White, but much shorter. So of "Snow White, and the other seven Dwarfs" She's really cool, but I can't seem to talk to her without making an utter ass of myself, so I stopped. But we keep on bumping into each other, and now its all awkward. Still, I'm sure if I could invite to a party like this...

So that is my 10 - A Rock Legend. A Supermodel, A natural Historian, an Improvisation Guru, A Kung Fu superstar, A Football Coach, A Fantasy Author, A Stand Up Comic. A Smart and Sexy Cook, and some girl I want to impress.
Who are yours?

Edit - I meant American Gods...

 

[Sixchan]

Hmm...

1) Mamoru Oshii. A Japanese Film Director who does mostly Anime, Including Ghost in the Shell and Patlabor, two of my favourites.

2)Jackie Chan. I would invite Bruce Lee, but he's dead. I love Martial Arts films, and I'd love to meet him.

3) Megumi Hayashibara. She's a Japanese singer, and I love her music.

4) Fred Gallagher. Author of Megatokyo a Webcomic I absolutely love.

5)Bill Gates. Because who wouldn't want to meet Bill Gates? Being both God and Satan while running a massive corporation must be tough work, and the guy deserves a break. Plus, he might bring me an X-Box as a present.

6)Brian Cox. My favourite actor, mainly for the outstanding performance as Goering in the Mini-Series Nuremberg.

7)George Bush Jnr. I'm sure that he's a very nice person, and we'd have a lot to talk about.

8)Terry Pratchett. Because I liked Small Gods, and he was the one that wrote it, says my book.

9)Angcru. Otherwise the party would simply be boring.

10)My Ex Girlfriend. I didn't realise until last week that she'd still have sex with me even though we broke up.

 

[dave_o]

1. Glenn Danzig - I'm totally in love with The Misfits (circa 1977-1983), and there's really no other band like them. He's generally an ass now, but I'd still like him around.

2. Gwen Stefani - No Doubt is, and was a really amazing band. And Gwen's been one of my larger female idealisms since I can remember.

3. Bam Margera - People describe me as the blonde Bam Margera, 'nuff said. (He's a professional skateboarder, did the skate films CKY, CKY2K, CKY3, and CKY4, which were the pre-cursors to Jackass, on which he also appears)

4. Salem Webster - My girlfriend, and since she's a whole country away right now I'd invite her so I could see her. (Right now, it's looking like I will in a couple weeks, November at the absolute latest)

5. Glen Cook - Author of probably my favorite fantasy series, The Black Company. It'd be hilarious to see an author among all these punk rock icons.

6. Jenn Revell - Bam's girlfriend, since he'd bring her anyway.

7. Peter Clapp (aka Johnny Knoxville) - Another one of my sorta idols. (also on Jackass)

So my dinner party would probably be a little lax on the dinner and heavy on the party.

 

[Seonaid]

In no particular order:

1) Andre Norton, to ask her what she was *thinking*
2) Peter Wingfield, to drool over
3) his wife (because that's only polite)
4) David Brin, to see if he's really as articulate as he writes
5) A. J. Feeley, to offer sex to in exchange for free tickets to all his games (unless he quits the Eagles)
6) Bret, to offer sex to because I didn't when I had the chance
7) Mercedes Lackey, because even if I don't really read her any more, she's still cool
8) Dalai Lama, because he's just really swell, not to mention a half-decent writer
9) Ben Affleck, to see if he's really as much of a jerk as he seems (I would kick him out if he was)
10) Lisa, so she can meet all these people too

 

[green slime]

I guess you wanted famous people... I'm not to big on those.

The dinner party I'd want, I'd invite:

1 & 2) My friend Agladan and his gf.
3 to 6) Our mutual friends, Palle, Fredde, Mackan, and their respectives
7) My mother
8 & 9) Becky, a very dear friend. with her Craig.
10) My cousin Dave.

Some of those people I haven't seen for ten years

 

[Heathen72]

I guess you wanted famous people... I'm not to big on those.

Not necessarily. It tells me a lot about you that you value your friends and family so highly. It just helps when they're famous because everyone knows who you are talking about. Also, the reason I chose 'famous' people was because they (particularly the first five or six) are genuine heroes of mine who I'd love to meet, and I'm in the lovely position where I am in regular touch with almost all the people I love
Thanks for answering!

 

[MThibault]

Hmmmn, I'm assuming that I don't have to invite my own family to my dinner party.

1) David Byrne -- Because, he seems like he could chatter on any subject.

2) Salman Rushdie -- He's a great writer and rude enough to keep Byrne from getting too esoteric.

3) Isabella Rossellini -- Because she is beautiful, bright and elegant and I want to know what it was like growing up with Ingrid Bergman (who I would have invited if the deceased were not disqualified).

4) & 5) My best friends Chris and Sascha because they are as smart and witty as anyone on the list and would enjoy the experience as much as I would.

6) Bishop Desmond Tutu -- I want to know more about the successes and failures of Truth and Reconciliation as a healing process.

7) Friedensriech Hundertwasser -- I love his art and arcitecture. I hope he speaks English, though, or Sascha will have to entertain him for the evening.

8) Peter Gabriel -- So I could broker a collaboration between him and Byrne.

9) Atom Egoyan -- Seems like a genial, yet brilliant man. I like all of his films, even the CBC movies. I think he and Hundertwasser could learn from each other although I'm not sure they would get along.

10) Roberta Bondar -- Astronaut, Engineer, Neurologist and Photographer. She's a freakin' real-life Buckaroo Bonzai! She's gotta elevate this crowd of pikers.


Cheers

 

[Kerrwyn]

1- James Hetfield (of Metallica). Why? Because the man is absolutely amazing. His lyrics and singing can just get to the heart of almost anything.
2- Robin Williams. Why? Why wouldn't I want to have the world's funniest stand up comedian at a dinner party? The fact that he plays D&D doesn't hurt either.
3- Neil Gaiman. Why? Because he's an awesome writer, and the Sandman is hands down the best comic book I have ever read. And I liked American Gods. And Good Omens.
4- Morgan Freeman. Why? He's an amazing actor. The Shawshank Redemption is one of my favorite movies ever.
5- Rob Zombie. Why? Because unlike most people, I saw House of 1000 Corpses. The man needs a hug.
6- The Undertaker. Why? He's my favorite pro wrestler ever. Hulk Hogan would have been here, but the Undertaker is bigger. We need someone to keep Neil and Morgan straight after they've been hitting the sauce.
7- Jeff Corwin. Why? I respect his show. The man knows what he's doing. That and I think him and Robin Williams would play well off each other.
8- Tori Amos. Why? I respect her work. My wife likes her work. My wife also threatend bodily harm if I didn't.
9- Shakira. Why? 'Cuz she's freaking hot.
10- And last but far from least, my best friend/sister Rachael who lives in California now, who I haven't seen in four years. Why? Because I can.

 

[Morrus]

Hmmm... difficult one! OK, here goes:

1) David Bowie. Spunkrat, you have fantastic taste in music.

2) Al Pacino. Bestest actor ever! Except, maybe, Robert deNiro, but I'm not sure he'd be much fun at dinner.

3) John Cleese. Who wouldn't want Basil Fawlty to dinner?

3) Sharon Penman. Great author of historical fiction. I'd love to discuss some of Britain's history with her, and chat with her about the research she did for her books.

4) Monte & Sue Cook. Now I sound like a real creep! But they are very cool people, and I think I share quite a few interests with Monte (other than the obvious, of course). Some people from these boards, too, but I'm not going to name names!

5) George Lucas. Just so I could offer him a few tips.

6) Halle Berry, because she's lovely!

7) My girlfriend, because she's lovely (don't tell her I said that!) and very, very funny. She'd be guaranteed to keep everyone entertained.

8) Robbie Coltrane. I'm not sure why, but I think he'd make a fabulour dinner guest.

9) My bank manager. So that I could poison him...

 

[blackshirt5]

OK, here's my 10:
1) Eric Noah-I'm determined to eventually get EN a bit drunk to apologize for my behavior a few months ago; plus, he seems like a pretty cool guy.

2) Henry Rollins-I'm replacing Chris Cornell with Henry Rollins; if you don't know who he is, then SHAME ON YOU! Rollins is a prolific writer and poet, as well as being a comedian and the singer for the Rollins Band(and former singer for Black Flag). I think he'd definitely have some intelligent things to say; plus, I can ask him if the thing about the "huang in the toilet seat" is really true.

3, 4, and 5) Angcuru, RakeRon, and Vechs 3.0; not necessarily in that order. Plus, RakeRon can bring along some Old World pizza!

6) Heather Matarazzo-A very talented(not to mention very attractive) actress(she starred in Welcome to the Dollhouse, among her many movies); it'd probably be the end of the night, right when she was walking out the door, that I'd work up the fortitude to ask her out.

7 & 8) Jon Bongiovanni(a.k.a Bon Jovi) and Richie Sambora- Growing up in New Jersey with MY mother, I was basically taught the the order goes "Jesus, followed closely by Bon Jovi." He was held up as a shining example by my family of what YOU CAN DO with your life if you try. Plus, I've heard he's a really nice guy. Same thing with Richie Sambora, plus I get to ask what it's like being married to Heather Locklear.

9) Robin Williams-I've always loved Robin Williams, and now that he's proven that not only can he make me laugh so hard I stop breathing that he can scare the living crap out of me, he's SO invited.

10) Edward Schall the 4th-My brother in law. The man who's teaching me to play the guitar, and an amazing human being. Plus, he'll bring his dogs along, so they can clean up the leftovers.

There you have it, my list. A bit strange, and it seems like a lot of the conversation will be kind of well, strange, but there ya go.

And yes, everyone in that assembled party who plays an instrument has to have one with them.

As for WHAT we'd eat, that's a bit tougher; I'd say something exotic, but eventually I think it'll consist of a few of us running out and bringing back a mix of Pizza, junk food, Chinese food, and of course some chocolate covered pretzels for Kevin Smith.