Monday Movie Meme - Raising Capital

Chris Ponder and his Mother Cindy are served a hot meal by Red Cross emergency response vehicle (ERV) volunteer Erica Tenpenny after a tornado that ripped through areas of Arkansas in the Spring 2014. Before paying tribute to servicemen of the U.S. Military who died in the line of duty, we covered fire damage to inanimate objects, highlighting one of many disasters that The American Red Cross responds to everyday.

Going forward, I invite you all to join me in raising awareness for this organization, as I take some time this year to host a fundraiser for the services they provide to survivors of disasters, big and small.

Long story short, one of the folks who worked on my film “ABYSS: The Greatest Proposal Ever” lost a home to a disaster while we were making the movie – not long after Hurricane Sandy had already caused a delay in the completion of this project.

Since Red Cross was there for one of my staff/crew members, I find it fitting to use this movie to support the Red Cross, in an effort to help them help other people who suffer losses or damages in the wake of a natural, environmental or man-made disaster. It is my pleasure to present to you the theme for this week’s Monday Movie Meme as also being the first installment of the themed weeks that we discussed back in the Spring: Raising Capital: Raising Capital.

Share on your blog or in the comments section, movies featuring people doing some sort of fundraising activity for a particular cause or to solve a problem. Here are my selections for this week’s Raising Capital theme.

My Tehran for Sale

An underground theatre actress sells all of her belongings in order to get money to pay for being smuggled into Australia, where she seeks to find better opportunities for artistic freedom and a healthier life, in this Australian-Iranian drama starring Marzieh Vafamehr and Amir Chegini.

The Full Monty

A group of blue collar workers form an all-male revue show after being laid off from their job, in this British comedy-drama starring Tom Wilkinson.

Waiting to Exhale

A housewife sells her cheating husband’s belongings in a yard sale, right on their front lawn, in this romantic comedy-drama starring Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine and Whitney Houston.

*Side note: Yeah, it seems that I’ve been getting a lot of “Monday Movie Meme” mileage out of this particular movie lately. Oh well. If it works, it works, right?! Ha!

What movies have YOU seen featuring people who participate in some type of fundraising activity?

**Photo (above at top) by Jason Colston/American Red Cross 

Monday Movie Meme – A Military Memorial

The theme for this week’s Monday Movie Meme is dedicated to the deceased servicemen (and women) of the United States of America: It’s Memorial Day. Share on your blog or in the comments section, the first movie(s) that come to your mind when you think of Memorial Day.

Here are my selections for this week’s Memorial Day theme.

We Were Soldiers

Of all the most heart wrenching scenes I remember from this movie starring Mel Gibson, the one where an Army wife gets that dreadful visit at her front door but despite the obvious, she refuses to accept that her husband is not coming back home – and is indeed another casualty of the Vietnam War – is the first scene that comes to mind when thinking about Memorial Day.

Pearl Harbor

Among the many deaths that occur during this war movie, starring Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale and Josh Hartnet, is that of an Army pilot.

Courage Under Fire

Cover-ups and skeletons in the closet are revealed during an investigation on whether or not a female Army Captain who died in The Gulf War is worthy of a Medal of Honor, in this dramatic thriller starring Meg Ryan and Denzel Washington.

When Memorial Day fell on a Monday in 2012, the Movie Meme focused on characters that were wounded while working in the armed forces. At that time, I didn’t fully understand the differences between Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day. Here’s hoping that the nature of this week’s Monday Movie Meme theme honors fallen soldiers properly in 2014!

Can YOU name any movie(s) that come to YOUR mind when thinking of Memorial Day?

Monday Movie Meme – Up in Flames

Tex Gilligan, a Vietnam War veteran, is overwhelmed with the thought that he could lose his home to the wildfires. He is staying at a Red Cross shelter at Yavapai Community college. Photo by Talia Frenkel/American Red CrossIf you’re anything like me, a certain series of unfortunate events such as tornadoes, hurricanes and even earthquakes are usually what come to mind when hearing or reading the term “disaster.” The fact of the matter, however, is that there are many catastrophic events that occur more often than what we would normally consider being disastrous.

If the food, shelter, emergency medical services and related care provided by the American Red Cross serve as any indication, multi-vehicle pile-ups on the highway, house fires and long-term power outages caused by winter snowstorms are just as devastating for families and individuals as those natural disasters.

So the theme for this week’s Monday Movie Meme is shaped by the tireless work of the Red Cross – an organization on call 24/7, responding to “everyday” incidents that are often overlooked by the rest of us, yet, claim lives and injure people like any other disaster: Up in Flames.

Share on your blog or in the comments section, movies featuring scenes involving fire damage to inanimate objects. Here are my selections for this week’s Up in Flames theme.

Backdraft

Several buildings are set ablaze in this action crime drama starring Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, Robert DeNiro and Donald Sutherland. Truth be told – this classic 90s movie is what first put Russell on my radar.

The Outsiders

Two poverty stricken teenagers rescue children from a burning church in this crime drama starring C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, Diane Lane, Tom Cruise and many more notable actors.

Waiting to Exhale

A grieving and furious housewife torches her husband’s car in this romantic comedy drama starring Angela Bassett, Michael Beach and Whitney Houston.

What movies involving objects damaged by fire would YOU add to this list?