subject: If Heaven Exists [print this page] If Heaven Exists If Heaven Exists
During an interview, the actor Harrison Ford was asked "If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say to you when you reach the pearly gates?" Harrison Ford replied "You're much better-looking in person". Inside the Actors Studio, Harrison Ford was interviewed by James Lipton
Ilike to watch a TV series called Inside the Actor's Studio hosted by James Lipton. Since its premiere in 1994,Lipton hasinterviewed over 200 guests including just about any actor you can think of including Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Cate Blanchett, Paul Newman, Halle Berry, Steven Spielberg, Barbra Streisand, Samuel L Jackson, Ben Stiller and Harrison Ford.
Lipton explains the show's humble beginnings like this,'At a point and time, I had three lives. I was the dean of the Actors Studio, the writer of the series, its host and executive producer. I maintained a preposterous sixteen hour schedule'. Inside the Actors Studio is nowbroadcast in 125 countries around the world reaching 89,000,000 homes. From tiny seeds grow mighty trees.
The New York Times sumsup the enduring appeal of the show like this,'In Mr. Lipton's guest chair, actors cease being stars for a while and become artists and teachers.' Each of the hour long interviews withachosen actor or director is guided by Lipton's trademark index-card questions. Lipton is knownknown for hisimpeccably well researchedknowledge of each guest's life, often startling some. On one such occasion, Billy Crystal told Lipton, "You know you're scary, don't you?"
Watching the show is almost likewatching the fabric of someone's life unwoven - from where thepersonplayed as a child, to the influence of their parents, to what they would do on an averageSaturday, to whether they finished college, to their failures and successes, chance meetings, hopes and dreams. Life flashing past.
At the end of the interview, Lipton always asks his guests the same 10 questionsusing a questionnaire concept was originated by French television personality Bernard Pivot. These famous10 questions are:
What is your favorite word?
What is your least favorite word?
What turns you on?
What turns you off?
What sound or noise do you love?
What sound or noise do you hate?
What is your favorite curse word?
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
What profession would you not like to do?
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
The last question always makes for interesting answers. Over the course of an hour, each guest has seen their life replayed, now they get to this final question... what would you like to hear God say? Robert Redford answered 'you are too early', Cameron Diaz replied 'nice ass' (ermmm...?), many guests including Tom Cruise would like to hear God say 'come on in, you did a good job'.
For many of the guests, the answer revolves around how they looked or what they achieved. I wonder though if God is actually more interested in who we are. Why not let me know what your 10 answers are and, whatyou would like to hear God say?
'You know me inside and out,you know every bone in my body;You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,how I was sculpted from nothing into something.Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;all the stages of my life were spread out before you,' Psalm 139 v14-15, The Message
