They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, the weekly column where we grab someone in speculative circles to gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we sit down with Speculative Chic contributor Venessa Giunta, whose debut novel, Jivaja, was released earlier this fall!
What does Venessa love when she’s not writing about a character who can kill with a touch? Spoiler alert: a movie that will rock you, a show that’s both progressive and getting back to its roots, writing to win, and a trailer with the perfect amount of Poppins. Curious? Read on to learn more!
Bohemian Rhapsody
I just returned from my second time seeing this biopic in the theater. Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of Queen and particularly Freddie Mercury. I just have so much awe for his talent, his vision, and his drive. Especially his drive. So this movie hits me right in the feels! Check the trailer:
It is not a perfect movie. The subtexts about Freddie’s gayness can have problematic interpretations. And the timeline around his HIV diagnosis and Live Aid is just flat out wrong — and not in a minor way. By years.
I am not one to accept… I can’t even call them errors, because the writers and producers couldn’t have been ignorant of how wrong these things were. These sort of blatant inaccuracies are usually a complete dealbreaker for me in a movie. But…
Rami Malek was as close to Freddie as I think any actor could have gotten. The actors playing the other Queen members, Joseph Mazzello, Gwilym Lee, and Ben Hardy, were just as amazing. Both Gwilym Lee and Joseph Mazzello looked so much like their real-life counterparts that it was almost surreal.
And the cinematography! I could probably write half a blog post on that itself.
So, the bottom line is, even with the completely erroneous timeline, I still love this movie. It still made me cry, more than once, in the second viewing. It was a really emotional movie for me the first time. And now the second time.
If you haven’t seen it, I recommend it highly. I’ll go with you. 😉
Doctor Who
How much do I love Jodie Whittaker as the 11th Doctor?
SO MUCH!
Before I get into gushing about Jodie, I want to also note that I love the new season even beyond our new Doctor. Doctor Who was originally conceived as a way to bring an interest in science to children. It was always a kids’ show. I think the reboot seasons lost sight of that.
But this season seems to be bringing the educational aspect back. And with having a Doctor who is a woman, I have hope especially that girls (because it is still a kid-friendly show) who have an interest in science will have that interest stoked, because the Doctor looks something like them.
Okay, now the gushing…
My favorite Doctor is the first one I ever knew — Tom Baker. And he will always, always have his own special place in my heart.
Of the new Doctors, I like them all, but really loved David Tennant and Matt Smith (who reminded me a lot of Tom Baker, incidentally).
But Jodie.
Jodie.
Unlike Peter Capaldi (who I did also grow to like a lot once he got it together), Jodie had a handle on her Doctor from the moment she hit the ground (literally and figuratively). She blends so many aspects of the Doctors that I love. Matt Smith’s goofiness in the face of danger. David Tennant’s way of having conversations with himself to sort things out. Tom Baker’s penchant for non-sequiturs.
In short: I love her.
NaNoWriMo
While not specifically spec fic, I almost always use it for spec fic, so I’m gonna say it counts. 🙂
National Novel Writing Month just ended (November 30). For those who don’t know, NaNo is a personal challenge to write a 50,000 word book in 30 days. While you do get some swag (which is usually in the form of discounts off of things that are of interest to writers), it’s really more about having done it and won. Bragging rights.
Also, there’s the minor achievement of having written 50k words on whatever your work in progress is. Yeah, you’re right. That’s not minor.
I don’t always win. NaNo has records back to 2011 (though I did it several years prior to that). I’ve participated every year, but only won about half the time. I recall one year I was in grad school, so I knew I wouldn’t win. And one year I was taking care of my grandmother after she broke her neck, so I figured I wouldn’t win. But I tried anyway. And at the end of the month, I still had more words that I did at the beginning of the month. So even though I didn’t hit 50,000 words, it was still a win.
Anyway, NaNo is one of my favorite things because it is usually what I use to get a great start on a new book. I won, though I didn’t just do a book. I knocked out a 10,000 word short story, then the remainder was work on the sequel to Jivaja. That book still needs about another 20,000 words, but I got more than half of it done. And that’s also one of my favorite things!
Mary Poppins
And finally… Everyone’s favorite nanny! (And if she’s not your favorite nanny, don’t tell me; I’d rather remain blissfully unaware.)
Mary Poppins is hands-down my favorite Disney movie ever.
When it was announced last year that there was going to be some remake or sequel for it, I was terrified. Hollywood had already ruined my second favorite kids’ movie (Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory), and I was having none of the talk of doing something with Mary Poppins. I vowed not to see it, ever!
And then, a couple months ago, the trailer for Mary Poppins Returns dropped. And I watched it out of curiosity.
As I did, I actually teared up. I’d been afraid they would ruin it. But, at least from the trailer, it looks like they did it exactly as it should have been done.
I watched it again. And again. Probably five times in a row total. Then I made my husband watch it. When I was at my mom’s later that week, I pulled it up on my phone and made her watch it. Here, now you can watch it too! 🙂
There are subtle nods to the original, which brought me so much joy. And while I don’t think Emily Blunt got her perfectly, I do think that she got her perfectly as Emily Blunt — meaning, I don’t think she could have done it better. Practically perfect in every way.
Needless to say (but I’ll say it anyway), I am really looking forward to seeing it. A close friend and I even have reservations for a special Mary Poppins High Tea at a local tea shop, which I think (hope) includes tickets to an early screening!
So, yes, I think it’s safe to say that Mary Poppins is one of my favorite things pretty much always!
Venessa Giunta is a writer of weird things, an editrix extraordinaire, and a little bit of a nerd. She is a published author, with non-fiction essays, short stories, and a couple novels (including two under as pen name) under her belt. Check out her Soul Cavern series. She is a dedicated viewer of the show Supernatural and was devastated when Sense8 was cancelled (Damn you, Netflix!).
Venessa enjoys giving back to the writing community. She served as Guest Liaison for Seton Hill Alumni Association’s In Your Write Mind Workshop (Pittsburgh, PA) for six years and has been Assistant Director of the Writers’ Track at Dragon Con (Atlanta, GA) since 2011. She is also the Director of the Write Track at MultiverseCon, the new by-the-fans, for-the-fans SpecFic convention in Atlanta, GA.
She’s been called the kind of evil that inspires hugs.
Follow Venessa on Twitter @troilee or, especially if you’re a writer looking for advice, visit her website.
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