If I could win the lottery, these are the things I would do in order of priority
I would employ a cleaner and a part time nanny........
then I would order so many films and books about films the postal service will have to charter a special van to deliver it all to me.......
I'd book a few holidays, for friends and family and myself......
I'd probably have more children, if I don't have to clean, tidy, wash and generally pick up after them I would have more energy to have more. As it is two is enough to keep me on the right side of sanity......
I'd like to get everyone here together so we could have a few days of watching movies and talking film....
Once I'd done all this I'd think of the longterm.
If I could have just one wish I'd like to have a switch to be able to shut off all the noise for an hour everyday. It would be so nice to just stroll in the sunshine listening to the sounds of nature without the sound of traffic, other peoples music, voices etc.
It doesn't take much to make me happy. Anyone else got any ideas how they would spend their money or wish
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
Are you referring to a very large sum of money? First I'd figure out how much to set aside for myself to live on a bare-bones budget. The same for my mom and the rest of the immediate family. The rest would go to children's charities, animal welfare, and scholarships for the underprivileged.
"I hate, loathe, despise, and abominate money."
My wish: that no one was ever in need of anything. Sounds like I'm competing in a pageant of some sort, doesn't it?
I'd give some to charity. My decisions are things I'd do almost instantly and then think of what I'd need to live on and move so we had more space. I wouldn't shop 'til I dropped.
I think it's good to give. I'd love to turn up and see the looks on children's faces as I dropped off a lots of toys.
I once used to take cat food to a cat charity quite regularly, after I'd been there on three seperate occasions and came away each time with a cat I started donating by standing order.
I'd get the kids a horse each, my house would have to have some land so I could keep a goat, a donkey and a duck pond. I could enjoy myself growing fruit and vegetables and looking after a menagerie of animals.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
I'm like you, the postal service would have to charter a special van just to deliver all the books and DVDs.
After figuring out the finances for me and Mr Cutter for a comfortable life, I would use the left-over money to help preserve a couple fo neon signs in Las Vegas and then devote my time and resources to helping preserve films and collections at UCLA Film and Television Archive.
Maybe make a nice sized donation to the new Academy of Motion Pictures museum that is to be built in Hollywood.
And travel, can't forget that.
Lynn in Lake Balboa
"Film is history. With every foot of film lost, we lose a link to our culture, to the world around us, to each other and to ourselves."
"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese
I like Alison's idea of a mass get-together for our own film festival.
I'd take care of my retirement finances. Some charity. Some fun. Maybe get my own theater for the best movies and my own radio station, even if no one
listened. Radio is so bad.
Take my wife to Italy. She'd be a happy girl.
Chris
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
Lest anyone think I'm shallow and don't give a damn about anyone else, let me dispel those thoughts. If, and that's a big word, I won mega millions in the lottery, I think I would give a fair share of it to five charities in particular. First, I would give to St Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN because they do what no other research hospital does. Secondly, comes the Pediatric AIDS Foundation for obvious reasons. Third would be the Ronald McDonald Houses so that the families of sick children could stay with them for as long as need be (and because the charity was established by my hometown football team, The Philadelphia Eagles.) Fourth, The Wounded Warrior Project, because simply put, the government just isn't doing enough for those people that enough can't be done for. Finally comes the ASPCA so that they can continue to help those that can't help themselves. That being said, if there were enough left over, I probably would move to Tahiti or someplace similar (like Maui) where I would build the home of my dreams complete with a high powered telescope under a retractable roof so that I could view the cosmos as I've never been able to before, a state of the art home theater seating about 50 (having lots of money seems to attract lots of friends!) and the requisite in-ground, indoor, heated and illuminated swimming pool. I'm not a skier but a chalet in Switzerland might provide a nice change of pace. A nice small private jet like a LearJet 45, something in the $10 million range would suffice (no need to be ostentatious.) And given that I will need to get from here to there by more conventional means, one each of all five Aston Martins (DB9, DBS, V-8 Vantage and Vantage Roadster, and for special occasions, the V-12 Vanquish.) I won't let money spoil this boy however, chauffeurs are terribly gauche don't you think? However, I will equip one of the Astons with an automatic transmission. Since I'm a neat freak but abhor the drudgery of household chores, I guess I will have to hire a small staff of servants and a cook (all well paid with benefits) to attend to those details. Finally, if my friends needed financial assistance, they'd know where to turn as long as they were honest about it and didn't get greedy. Having money, it seems to me, wouldn't be much fun if you couldn't share it with your friends. That's my story, and because it's so highly unlikely to ever happen, I guess I can stick to it. How's that Klonnie? A little more "Tolstoyesque?"
As always,
Hollis
Last edited by Hollis on June 10th, 2008, 9:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
First, I would make sure my daughter was "comfortable" (but not so comfortable that she had nothing left to strive for).
Then, I would set up a fund to ensure proper food and nutrition to hungry children in my own country, and contribute as much as I could to such funds internationally. I would keep my own operation small and efficient, and make sure that the money went where it was intended, not into the staff's pockets.
Next, I would set up an endowment for the Brooklyn Public Library, an entity that was so important and generous to me when I was a child. I would give a special gift to the Mapleton Branch (it was the best!).
Next, as I've previously imagined to you, I'd give a big chunk of my money over to film restoration, and set up state of the art film theaters all over the country where I would screen the movies for free.
I think I'd also have a foundation for free music education for children and adults - any kind of music they liked, but they'd have to learn the basics first.
And for myself -- I'd like to have my own personal designer/dressmaker, maybe a pet shelter, a swimming pool I'd never have to share with anyone else, and then -- I'd finally get myself that damn pony I was constantly being promised when I was a kid.
