Brent and Shun Wish you Happy New Year

Brent and Shun Wish you Happy New Year
Originally uploaded by daneeta.

Food for thought.......

If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios
remaining the same, it would look something like the following:

There would be:

57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south
8 Africans
52 would be female
48 would be male
70 would be non-white
30 would be white
70 would be non-Christian
30 would be Christian
89 would be heterosexual
11 would be homosexual
6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be from the United States.
80 would live in substandard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth
1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education
1 would own a computer

When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent.

The following is also something to ponder...

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness...you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ...you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death...you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep...you are richer than 70% of this world.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace ... you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.

If your parents are still alive and still married... you are very rare, even in the United States and Canada

If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you, and furthermore, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world that
cannot read at all.

Someone once said: What goes around comes around.

Work like you don't need the money.

Love like you've never been hurt.

Dance like nobody's watching.

Sing like nobody's listening.

Live like it's Heaven on Earth.

Happy New year

Happy New year
Originally uploaded by daneeta.

Cards

I've been working on the index cards. This is where I go through the footage, organizing the material by putting potential scenes on individual index cards. The material can be broken down as follows:

Possible Sequences with Main Characters
Interviews with Main Characters
Gaijin Interviews
Nihonjin Interviews
Places
Stereotype/Non-Stereotype scenes (e.g. Taichi in the park vs. Homeless in the Park)

Each index card holds a gem. This film could be four hours long. The next step is to begin to structure...arranging the index cards. Then I can start to delete cards until I have a tight structure. I'm trying to do as much as possible for the editor before he comes on board.

I'm gonna try to upload some of these cards as examples, but the website and blog have taken a second seat.

Thank goodness Patrick is getting a little bit of work because the Tokyo Cowboys money has run out. I really don't know how we are managing to survive, but somehow, at the last minute, someone helps us out with a donation of money or food. What kind of life is this? People always say, "do what you love, and the money will come." I'm putting that theory to the test. We've managed to pay our rent and eat, but that is it. Is this it? No, no...I'm thankful for being able to work as a filmmaker full time. That's my full-time work, and I am lucky. I am doing what I love.

Finally...

finished the budget and the one-pager. I don't know why the one-pager took so long. It's just supposed to be a one page description of the film. But I was struggling and struggling, then finally decided to go the poetic route.

Didn't get much done yesterday. Robert dragged us to the Punk Rock festival at the Astoria. I'm glad I went, but I felt guilty for now working. Then I thought, "It's Sunday, for God's sake." I'm working too much and too little, I think. Must learn more about time management.

Switching Gears

I spent the whole day yesterday trying to sort out the budget for %$£& Films. All of the budget and expense files for TC are in a million different files, so consolidating them and re-formatting them to industry standard was such a chore. I still have more to do today. It's amazing how much of the work that I do has nothing to do with what will be up on screen. It's frustrating.

I had this strange sensation while entering all of the receipts into Excel. As I looked at the dates, how much was spent and on what, fragments of the shoot drifted by my mind's eye. On this day, we ate at this place and that was the day that we shot X. It was sort of Proustian in a way.

PFD David Charap's Talent Agent

PFD - Europe's leading literary and talent agency.

One Pager

Spent loads of time yesterdary trying to write a "one pager" for %$£& Films. It's a one page description of the project aimed at broadcasters. I was struggling really hard with it for about an hour when I had a breakthrough. It was the language that was bugging me. Then, all of a sudden, I started to use a different kind of language...my poetic language. Everything started to click. I've got a good draft, which I'll put up here when I'm done.

I'm seriously thinking about stalking one of the UK editors who I think could handle this thing. There's a guy called David Charap who has edited about 8 features and countless documentaries. He might be the one. But I definitely would have to stalk him.

Some Relief from %$£& Films

I had a meeting with S. and J. from %$£& Films yesterday. They are really keen to help post-produce the film. They can help me find an editor and get the thing finished. They can also help me to raise the rest of the money. I like those guys. They are just the right combination of laid backness and the business.

As for editors? I would like David Charap (My Summer of Love), Justine Wright (Touching the Void), Richard Hankin (Capturing the Friedmans) or Doug Abel (Metallica: Some Kind of Monster and The Fog of War). Sylvia says "It doesn't hurt to ask." So, if any of you out there knows one of these fine, fine editors, could you please put me in touch?

Endless

The footage is absolutely endless...a sea of it. I watch it every night...every day. I don't watch TV anymore...I just watch "the footage." Faces fast forwarded, lists of sequences, transcripts of interviews. It just keeps on going. And once I've been through it all, I go back again. When will my savior of an editor find me? When will I find them?

Frustrated

Getting so damned frustrated with this whole thing. The paper edit is endless. The footage is endless, and I feel as if I am out here on my own. An editor and a producer would be good. Sometimes I feel like it was really stupid to do this whole thing independently. You have to motivate yourself constantly, and sometimes I really don't feel like it.

I'm tired...can't seem to get enough sleep...EVER. And, I go back and forth...is this good? Is this shit?

Snow

Stole away to Sweden for a few days to try to get some perspective. I didn't write anything while I was there, which is pretty unusual. When a thought came into my head about the project, I didn't write it down. Instead, I tried to sleep as much as possible, read some Wm. Gibson and sleep some more.

It snowed. It was beautiful. Now back in London, I feel like I'm swimming under a really heavy ocean. My head is achey and heavy. I'm praying for some kind of help, but I'm not sure what kind.

Referring Sites

http://pgaijin.blogspot.com
http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/
http://www.japan-101.com/information/links.htm
http://www.funayado-mikawaya.com/mika_nori.htm
http://homepage3.nifty.com/massigla/diary/2004/200404.html
http://discosada.jugem.jp/?cid=1

Int'l Box Office: Fahrenheit 9/11 passes $100m

Int'l Box Office: Fahrenheit 9/11 passes $100m
Robert Mitchell in London 27 October 2004


Albeit off  the chart, Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 became the first documentary to achieve $100m from international markets during last week. The film added $392,745 over the weekend with Japan and recent launch territory Hong Kong currently providing the highest numbers. The film has taken $100.8m and may get some boost still from next week’s US Presidential election.

Japan's Gaga bought by Usen Corp.

Courtesy of one of the investors:

Japan's Gaga bought by Usen Corp.
Mark Schilling in Tokyo 28 October 2004 04:00


Japan’s Usen Corp. has announced the purchase of Gaga Communications, a leading independent film distributor.

Usen, a major supplier of broadband services in Japan, plans to acquire a 57.6% stake, amounting to $94.3m (Y10 billion) and operate Gaga as a subsidiary. It will invest the funds in two share issues that Gaga is planning for the latter part of December 2004 and the first part of January 2005.

Also, Tatsumi Yoda, the honorary chairman of Avex Group Holdings will invest $28.3m (Y3 billion) in new Gaga shares, taking a 17.3% stake and becoming the company’s second-largest shareholder. Gaga will thus gain a total of $122.6m (Y13 billion) in new investment, while issuing a total of 15,330,000 new shares.

For the fiscal year ending September 2004 Gaga recorded a loss of $141.5m (Y15 billion) on its consolidated earnings, compared with a loss of $74m (Y7.9 billion) for the previous period. Among the causes for the poor results were rising acquisition and P&A costs as well as declining TV sales.

Founded in 1964, Usen boasts the largest share of the Japanese cable broadcasting market. In 2001 it became the first in the world to offer a commercial Internet access service via optical fibre cable. It has capital and business ties with Sony Communications Network Corporation, supplying the cable infrastructure for Sony’s So-net Internet provider service, and SKY Perfect Communications, a cable and satellite broadcaster.

Founded in 1986 by entrepreneur Tetsu Fujimura, Gaga has since became a major film distributor, handling everything from Asian art films to Hollywood A product, including Chicago, Kill Bill, Hannibal, End Of Days and The Green Mile.

Wheatgrass

Mark Saft tells me to eat more wheatgrass. "It gives you the energy," he says. I tell him that I am no longer a member of the consumer class. Not being so, I am classless. I don't exist. I don't buy, therefore I am not.

Films to Research

http://www.outfoxed.org/

tarnation

Notes about Music

Flaming Lips
Radiohead
the cure
god speed!
Mogwai
Neil Young
Brian Eno
the eagles

Notes about Sound

THX-1138, early cyber-punk, analog roots, organic,

Picture by Michael McClure

JAPANDSTREET FLOP.jpg
Originally uploaded by daneeta.

I really could use a "Fear and Loathing" weekend.

I can't update my website at the moment as my modem broke for my PC. But, I've put your picture on my blog (www.tokyocowboys.blogspot.com).

And, speaking of pictures, do you remember those naked ones you did of me in Japan? Did you give those to Mark? I really would like to get ahold of them just in case I do become famous. I'd rather make the money from them Paris Hilton-style than someone else.

Hugs

Insomnia

Have had insomnia for over a week now, and it's really messing with my head. We're completely out of money again, so it's been difficult to work on the paper edit. Note for next film: have all of the money in place before going forward.