Japan 日本 Someday...

On my bedroom wall, next to a map of the world, I taped up the following: At least once in your life visit Japan. It's from a travel advertisement, I'm a sucker for a good slogan. I felt compelled to tear it out and keep it. It's a hope, a daydream, a dare, and a promise...

In 7th grade, I had a Japanese pen pal from Shizuoka, Japan. That experience led me to doodle Japanese characters all over folders. I learned to fold a tight origami crane. I even taught myself traces of Japanese. Some of it stuck, like gum to the bottom of a forgotten pair of shoes.

By college, the fascination had bubbled up again. I applied to the JET program [ Japanese Exchange and Teaching Programme], completed all the requirements, got my recommendations, and promptly chickened out completely. I wasn't ready to travel overseas to such a foreign culture for such a long time.

In recent years, I've reinvigorated this desire for Japan-- learning more of the language and trying to commit to learning some hiragana and katakana (phonetic Japanese characters.) After New Zealand won out as my last travel destination, Japan was next in line... rising like the sun as my near future destination. Now, I discovered, I am a bit older, more knowing of myself, more confident in delving into such a foreign culture from my Western upbringing. Now, I am ready.

Unfortunately, Japan is not.

***

The crows were circling. At the end of February, Christchurch, New Zealand was hit with a powerful earthquake. Petra Nemcova, the Czech supermodel that famously survived the deadly 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia was announced as a contestant in this year's Dancing With The Stars. Charlie Sheen went off the deep end and we watched him drown. Then on Friday, March 11, Battle: Los Angeles opened at the cineplex. Destruction brought on by alien invasion was fine by us. We ate it up like popcorn, despite bad reviews. We wanted to see destruction, armageddon, fire, death until-- until it all became too real.

It is with great sadness that I watched with the rest of the world [what seemed to be never-ending] footage of destruction in Japan the weekend of March 11. The nuclear radiation fears, the torturous tsunami-- all of it set forth by a massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake that alone, would've crippled any other land, including my own.

This past Sunday, I braved heavy rain to attend the Los Angeles Times Travel & Adventure Show at the Los Angeles Convention Center. I'd been looking forward to gathering information about an upcoming trip to Japan. With hundreds of exhibitors from around the world within my reach, I found no travel exhibitors from Japan. There were no tour operators pushing trips to Mount Fuji. No, Japan was eerily silent. They had a presence, but it was one of peace and hope and unity. At a booth near the front, volunteers sat quietly folding origami cranes from colorful paper. Others stood, hands outstretched, collecting Japan relief money into tin canisters. I dropped some money in, as I walked by.

"Arigato," said a Japanese woman, her head bowed to the ground.

"Douitashimashite," I said, smiling back and giving a little bow myself.

At least once in your life visit Japan.

It's a hope, a daydream, a dare, and a promise...

Help Japan 日本

©2011 by KLiedle

First episode of 'the Web' ~ A Smoggy spin-off series...

First episode of 'the Web' leaked to Youtube.

[ We think it was that Tyler kid... he seems a little passive-aggressive.]

the Web #1

Love,
It's Always Smoggy In L.A.

Why Being On Set Is Like Being On A Deserted Island

If you were stuck on a deserted island... What would you bring? Your favorite book? A movie? Your ipod? A notepad, a notebook, crayons? Who would you want to accompany you?

It's the standard 'deserted island' scenario, but being on a film set is much like being on a deserted island. For one, you don't know how long you'll be there. Certainly, you have a general idea of how long your day might be (at least 12 hours), but even if you swim away, you might end up back there tomorrow. In reality, you don't get to leave until they, ' get it' and 'getting it' means everything.

Secondly, you generally don't get to choose the people you're stuck with. Sure, you might recognize them from other projects or learn to like them or even forge fast friendships or relationships, but if you weren't stuck on this filming island, chances are, you'd have no reason to talk to most of them-- not that some of them aren't nice people, but day in, day out-- you have these same people to talk to. It's like being stuck with the people on your airline flight for days on end; A mix of personalities thrown into a test tube. All of them, including yourself, really wants is to go home. We can only be Gilligans for so long until it gets old... really, really, old.

There is waiting and waiting and waiting followed by serious bouts of busy-ness and then waiting and waiting and waiting again until those rare moments of exhilaration when things go particularly right. Everyone wants to make the day-- accomplish all the day's work before time runs out. Since any moment may require your attention, even after hours of nothingness, you can never venture too far from the flock.

Sometimes, you'll get into deep conversations with people and just as mysteriously, one of you will abandon (with a call on the radio) or else you'll just stop talking for no particular reason and go back to your book or your crossword. I have a standard activity kit in my backpack for such occasions. It's not too different from the activity kits any parent has packed for their kid before a long car trip. I have books, magazines, my ipod/charger, notebooks, paper/pencils, etc. Anything you might bring for a long journey. I even taught myself to crochet which has proved useful.

No matter what you end up doing during those long stretches of nothingness, you'll eventually start wandering around the set (i.e. island.) The thing you have to remember is: You're never entirely sure what's real and what's not:

Is this a real wall?
Oh, whoops-- there is no longer a way into this room that used to exist.
So, that's where they put the dummy body for the morgue...

You'll find books with real hardcovers and no text inside, notebooks with blank pages. Calculators that look good, but don't work. I was doing some artwork on-set and was elated to find a huge box of glue sticks-- exactly what I needed. The problem? Even the ones still wrapped in plastic were completely dried out and useless.

Movie Listed: 15 Standouts

I keep a list of every movie I see. Yes, I know this may seem weird to most people. When I first started doing it, it felt weird to me, too. After a short amount of time though, it became a habit. If you're a movie-lover or a film professional, keeping a movie list of some sort makes total sense. Most of the films I see are new to me, but I bust out my favorites ever so often, too.

The best part about having a list, is that I can look at it at the end of the year and know how many films I've experienced for curiosity's sake. I'm also reminded of the standouts-- the movies that truly made a difference for me... or the ones I'll remember for years to come.

Here are 15 standouts for me from the last couple of years (in no particular order.) Some of the films were released in 2010, but not all. None of them were in 3-D. Thank you very much. Additionally, some 2010 favorites like 'Black Swan' and 'True Grit' are excluded from this list since I viewed them... in 2011.

*FROST/NIXON (Dir: Ron Howard) / 2008
A drama. Historical. Political. Sure, doesn't sound particularly interesting on paper, but believe me, it's oddly compelling and the acting is superb.

*INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (Dir: Quentin Tarantino) / 2009
When I first saw the preview, I had no desire to see this. Luckily, I didn't skip it because it proved to be one of my favorites-- in fact, I dare say, one of Tarantino's best.

*BOB AND CAROL AND TED AND ALICE (Dir: Paul Mazursky) / 1969
How open-minded are you when it comes to marriage? An interesting romp from the tail end of the '60s.

*AN EDUCATION (Dir: Lone Scherfig) / 2008
A beautiful coming-of-age story. I can't imagine anyone being better cast than Carey Mulligan. She deserves every ounce of recognition she got from this role!

*THE LOVELY BONES (Dir: Peter Jackson) / 2009
Some die-hards panned this movie. In fact, I didn't see it for a long time because I was a huge fan of the book. But a book is not a movie. Stanley Tucci's performance was fearless and Saoirise Ronan's was hauntingly beautiful. The kaleidoscope of Susie's depictions of heaven are downright gorgeous and I'll admit: I cried.

*CRAZY HEART (Dir: Scott Cooper) / 2009
A good ol' story about a down-and-out country star who's seen his better days and a woman reporter who makes him examine himself from the inside out until he is motivated to become a better man.

*WHIP IT (Dir: Drew Barrymore) / 2009
A surprisingly well-done directorial debut for Drew Barrymore. The sense of girl power and the motto of "Be Your Own Hero" are both things I can get behind when they're done well, as they are here.

*CYRUS (Dirs: Jack and Mark Duplass) / 2010
There are times I squirmed because the moments were so awkward and so funny because they were awkward. Very well-written and a good turning point for Jonah Hill. He should do more like this.

*EASY A (Dir: Will Gluck) / 2010
Emma Stone owns this role! This film could easily be slighted because it appears to be a high school flick about a girl's tarnished reputation, but it is so much more than that!

*THE LAST STATION (Dir: Michael Hoffman) / 2009
I knew nothing about Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy and I was fine with that, until this film made me care. An exploration of the tension and struggles between Tolstoy and his wife in his final years.

*IT MIGHT GET LOUD (Dir: Davis Guggenheim) / 2008
A jam session and open discussion between guitarists Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, The Edge from U2, and Jack White of the White Stripes.

*SEARCHING FOR DEBRA WINGER (Dir: Rosanna Arquette) / 2002
An intimate discussion with actresses of a certain age and the challenges they continue to face in Hollywood.

*SMILEY FACE (Dir: Gregg Araki) / 2007
OK, not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination. Anna Faris though? She rocks it into absolute hilarity with her portrayal of a chick that is so high on life that she can barely hold it together.

*WONDERFUL WORLD (Dir: Josh Goldin) / 2009
Few people probably saw this. In fact, it may not have even had a theatrical release. The unlikely blossoming of a relationship between Ben Singer (Matthew Broderick) and his roommate's Senegalese sister proves that opening yourself up to other cultures and ideas can truly alter your life in amazing ways.

*SOCIAL NETWORK (Dir: David Fincher) / 2010
How do you make a Facebook movie? Make it about a guy with an immense, almost hypnotically determined desire to succeed. Add conflict, tension, intense success and shitloads of money beyond anyone's wildest imagination and explore how that strains all the relationships in a guy's life. Make it all talk and fast-paced. Cast great actors. Done.

©2011 by KLiedle

From The Big Screen To The Palm Of My Hand

The magazine rack is where I noticed him first. He was in his sixties, bearded, a bit scraggly, thumbing through a Hollywood Reporter.

"This the Awards edition?" he asked me.

"Not exactly," I told him. It's the new format of The Hollywood Reporter." [Slick and glossy. Nestled next to People Magazine's announcement of the newest baby bump and a bunch of US Weekly knock-offs.]
He seemed displeased.

"You know how hard this was to find? There' s no newstands anymore. There isn't even a bookstore in this mall. Remember Rolling Stone? The large format? A buddy of mine was a journalist at Rolling Stone. There aren't journalists anymore. Remember LIFE? You're too young to remember, but..."

"I remember Life!" I protested. "I'm not too old for that," I assured him. Then, I backed away slowly to extract myself from a conversation I knew would go on for far too long.

I do remember life. Life when 3-D was just a matter of walking outside and experiencing the world. Life was when the feature presentation of a movie presented itself in 35mm on the big screen and you were happy to share this experience with other people. Laugh when they laughed. Cry when they cried. The floor might've been sticky and the popcorn might've been stale, but you were having this shared experience with strangers.

A couple weeks ago, when I went to see True Grit in Hollywood, the theatre manager apologized as he told us they were having problems with the digital format of the film. Instead, they'd thread up the 35mm print.

35mm. In the Cinerama Dome. For a modern take on the old-fashioned western by none other than the Coen Brothers. I couldn't think of anything better. Indeed, the 35mm print was richer and more layered than even the crispest digital print could've been.

I enjoy seeing films on the big screen. I also enjoy seeing them at home. Like most people, I've embraced most of the newest entertainment viewing options. DVDs, Netflix, even streaming on my Wii. To each advance, there is a loss that is never completely re-gained.
For instance, how do I deal with subtitles on a streaming movie? Sometimes there's no option to turn them on and other times, they're rendered useless when they are cut off at the bottom of the frame. If the film's been re-formatted to fit my screen, I can't help wondering what's going on along the edges I can't see. Streaming films don't offer the director's commentary and other extras that DVDs typically offer either.

Recently, I read [in the print version of The Los Angeles Times] that during this awards season, Fox was experimenting with allowing SAG members to download award screeners from Itunes. In many ways this makes sense, saves money, and levels the playing field for films to be viewed to the wider audiences of award-voting guilds.

I think voting members would feel somewhat obligated to view the contenders in their respective categories. But who has the time? Downloading the movie to your ipod/pad/laptop/fingertips allows you to do your "homework" on a transcontinental flight, bring it with you while you're hiking, or heck, bring it into the bathroom with you while you're also brushing your teeth. It's called multi-tasking. Why not?

I just worry about what's lost when a film meant for the big screen gets shrunk down to something the size of my palm. Could I, in good faith, judge its art direction or sound editing? Would the wide-screen cinematography be as breathtaking? Would I get swept away with the story? Would I be as immersed in the time and place or as invested in the characters? I don't think I would be. How can something as special as a film seem bigger than life if I can hold it in the palm of my hand?

I agree wholeheartedly that the various entertainment guilds need to look at different ways to get their members to screen award contenders. I also think that those members have to consciously think about how they are viewing and judging films... and if their viewing habits are doing justice to the filmmakers and entertainment professionals that put it all together.

©2011 by KLiedle
Photo credits:
Library Of Congress/Commons

Santa says "He's Just Too Into You"

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I haven't had a chance to post much this month since I've been crazy busy. Alas, all the hours of last-minute editing before Christmas has been worth it!

We are proud to announce, "He's Just Too Into You," the latest episode of the web series, It's Always Smoggy In L.A. Now available for viewing on Funny Or Die. [ If you enjoy this episode or any others, please VOTE on Funny Or Die!]

It's Always Smoggy In L.A. - "He's Just Too Into You" - watch more funny videos

©2010 by KLiedle/ It's Always Smoggy In L.A.

He's Just Too Into You
Starring Julianne Dowler, Mat Lageman, Bunita Tilley, and Bethany Therese.

When The Four Quadrants Fall Flat

I've never been into math or numbers or anything of the sort. The X-Y axis, the quadratic formula, the pythagorean theorem... are all terms from my past that I have subsequently avoided [rather easily] in my adult life. 'Four Quadrants' may not mean anything to you. It doesn't have much to do with mathematics, per se, but lots to do with numbers and money--lots and lots of 'box office' money.

In Hollywood, the rise of the 'Four Quadrant Picture' is most evident during the summer months and the holidays when the movie-going public is most likely to be on the prowl. To Hollywood, the four quadrants represent distinct demographic segments according to age: under 25, over 25, and gender: male, female. These are the blockbusters, the popcorn movies, the ones that bring in the bucks; Movies you can see with Grandpa as well as your little cousin. Some of them are obvious and begin with Marvel: i.e. Spiderman, Ironman... and Disney, such as the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Pixar has had its share, too-- even though at first glance, an animated movie like Wall-E or The Incredibles doesn't appear to be a 'four quad film,' it is, and a highly successful one at that. The goldmine is to greenlight a film with such broad appeal that everyone and his mother goes to see it [more than once] and buys the merchandising associated with the film as stocking stuffers. This is great and all, but--

The problem is that not every movie is a 'four quadrant' movie. And many of them still try. I just saw one-- it had the potential to be a great film. All the elements were there, but ultimately I felt it didn't succeed because it was trying to do too much, to be everything for everyone. Instead I came away thinking of it as a bit of an unfortunate, meandering and unbalanced mishmash. It was about such-and-such and then once I'd become invested in that storyline or those characters, it became something else entirely. Sometimes [as the above example] it's the execution that doesn't jive right. Other times, the 'P&A' [publicity and advertising] is to blame. When films are misrepresented in marketing to appeal to the widest audience possible it only succeeds in pissing certain 'quadrants' off as they realize they've been duped.

Filmmakers are always making compromises: some good, some bad, some consciously, some unconsciously, in an attempt to get financing, to secure cast, and ultimately to get audiences to buy tickets so they can support themselves and continue making films.

Filmmakers: If you know your characters inside and out and you know what your story is and what you're trying to say, you will have a focus and your movie will find a connection with its intended audience. Don't throw in misfit scenes, lines, jokes, or extraneous characters that have no purpose other than to appease one segment of your audience because there's another segment of your audience that's going to notice: "That's not genuine, that's not real. He wouldn't do that or say that or be there" and deep in your heart, you know they're right.

When we pass on, we can count our films.
They will count their money.
~Hal Ashby
[on the difficulties of Hollywood politics]

©2010 by KLiedle