Nietzsche

I read somewhere that "one way or another...all postmodern roads lead to Nietzsche." So I do some research, but Nietzsche is so way over my head.

Beginning Voice Over

27 September 2002

[footage from Narita bus trips]

We arrived in Tokyo today, and everything has changed.
But I still have the feeling of coming home.

Even the language, which at one time seemed so impossible, floods my head instantly.

When the Japanese feel nostalgic they feel "Natsukashii"

I rode the bus from Narita Airport into the city...a two hour ride. When the jet lag hits, it's like falling into a dream of Tokyo. You have to close your eyes and settle into it.

This is where it begins.

[continue on with bus shot w/ no v.o. for a while]

I'm looking for something out here, but I'm not sure what.
Something about the Cowboys who come here...
the gaijin...
the foreign men who leave everything behind and cross oceans.

I'm sure they come for the money, but...somehow that doesn't seem quite right.

It's only the first layer.
But it's the one I'll start with.

[gap here]

There's a guy I know from my time in Japan...came here in the early nineties...just after the bubble had burst.

Back in America, he had been corn fed on the idea that Japan was a place to make your fortune...
despite the economy.

It was a land of opportunity and freedom.

In the beginning of the 21st Century, my friend owns one of Tokyo's top indigenous headhunting firms,

so he's plugged into both the gaijin and the Japanese professional communities.

I wanna know if living on the post-modern urban frontier has lived up to his expectations. I wanna know if money bought him freedom and peace.

Love from a Cowboy

Brent sent this along:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TSWaKWiAhY

In Tokyo you are released from the pain of hating yourself. You come home.

Voice Over

Been working on the voice over lately. Trying to find the right tone. I've been writing overly poetic, I think. Yesterday I experimented with a more journal-like tone, and it seems to be working. I also had this idea of using the voice over as a process of discovery. What did I go there to find? Something about the Cowboys and what causes them to cross oceans to get to Tokyo. Money, Opportunity, Freedom, Peace. This is the journey that they take. And this can be illustrated by the voice over.

On the Shoulder of a Giant

Shooting the BBQ

Inside Cloudy's Brain

Jackie and the Lizard

Arcade

Shooting at World Family

White Balance

Eye of the Cloud

Check out Cloudy's new website.

Sunday

Voice Over

They all went looking for something...
more...
different.
Adventure
Freedom
Money
Fame
A sense of belonging.
They went to find themselves.

They traveled to the wild, wild East
to Tokyo:
the postmodern urban frontier.
They brought what they could carry
always arriving invited

Tokyo welcomes all those with
college degrees
achievement in arts or sport
or
those who can labor at something
that the Japanese cannot.

They tasted of her many fruits
and they were
intoxicated.

And there was always more.
She is ever constructing new realities

And they stayed...
And they tried to find a place...
And they made her the home of the
Tokyo Cowboys.

How Can I?

March Update

Dear Friends of Tokyo Cowboys,

I hope this update finds you healthy and happy. I apologize for not being in touch with ya'll for a while, but things have been busy on the Tokyo Cowboys frontier.

Since my last missive, Patrick and I have been working steadily towards the first cut, and we are right on target for our July 31st deadline. The structure is finally coming together, and I can see a big super nova at the end of the tunnel.

Thanks to the kindness of two of our initial investors, we are FULLY FUNDED! There are no more Tokyo Cowboys shares available for purchase. (You can, however, get them off investors for a much higher price than the original. We plan to be trading on the LSE soon.) This last push will take the project through to completion. If you are an investor and do not have a contract or a Certificate of Ownership, which includes an official Japanese inkan stamp, please email me.

I am steadily working on the marketing plan, however much it takes a back seat to the editing. As you know, until a big fish comes along and swallows us whole, we are marketing as an independent film without all the big studio muscle. That means grass roots efforts. I would like to ask all of you to be on the lookout for festivals, grants, news or grass roots' marketing ideas. If you see anything in whatever you're reading or watching that might help us to get Tokyo Cowboys to market, please email it along.

As always, I will be posting as vigorously as possible on the Tokyo Cowboys Blog (www.tokyocowboys.blogspot.com). We will also be uploading new clips to the website as we cut them (but not too much...we don't want to give away the ending!).

Thank you for continuing to support us with all of your emails, calls, visits and efforts.

Hugs,

Daneeta
Director/Producer
Tokyo Cowboys

The Wall

Spent a bit of time working on the wall today. It's a paper edit of sorts but it takes up the entire length of wall in our hallway. I can put all the pieces together. As soon as I get me hot rockin' Nokia 6280 as a thank you from T-Mobile for being a loyal customer, I will take pics and post here.

That is all.

Beginning Voice Over

It's not that I'm a Japan-o-phile.
It's Tokyo I love.
I recognize brilliance when I see it.
It's the greatest city on the planet...
one of our finest and most intricate creations.

Tokyo is Japan's answer to the Atom bomb.
a polite and resounding:
"fuck you."

Understand this city, and you might crack the enigmatic Japanese.

A two thousand year old culture that grew fat with hubris, was destroyed and then
reinvented itself...
again and again and again.

Tokyo is constantly reinventing herself.

And you are a part of it.
She calls you to her.
You are one of her...chosen.

and you make your way to her however you can.
across oceans and land and time
eschewing your own construct
and joining with her
in
the
great
human
experiment.

She promises you everything...
"It's all here for you," she says.
Devote yourself to her, she says.
Become part of her.

So I did.
But...

The freedom was overwhelming...
it was too much,
and I broke under the pressure

leaving

the
postmodern
urban
frontier.

clinched teeth bit out the promise
"I'll never go back."

But, she said:
"It's not like that. It's not like that at all."

She said:
"Let me show you...Let me tell you the true stories of the Tokyo Cowboys."

The Shares have Gone

We have just received into the Tokyo Cowboys account the final round of funding. This will take us up to the July 31st finish line, folks. The funding comes from two existing Tokyo Cowboys investors who wanted to up their shares in the project. Thanks to you both, we are good to go!