My name is Terry and this is my blog.

I am currently living in Los Angeles.

I like films, music, and don't even get me started on long walks on the beach.

I don't read a lot of books, but am always fishing for book recommendations.

My parents are Vietnamese and I was born in America.

That's all you really need to know upfront.

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Thursday, March 29th

Journey From the Fall - The Video Diary

music: How Can I Ever Leave You? by Chang Siao Ying

Last nite I was feeling a bit nostalgic and decided to pull some photos from my time spent in Thailand whilst making Journey From the Fall. Some of my previous posts about the film felt a little too "promo"-y and stiff, so I've decided to change it up a bit here. I hope to continue posting about the film in the coming weeks until ALL OF YOU HAVE SEEN IT. Seriously, it's that important to me.

Now, all of these photos were pulled from a digital video camera, so they aren't of the best quality and wouldn't really qualify as "snapshots " of my time there. I also took a Holga with a Polaroid-back with me, and I may post some of those another time. Brace yourself, none of these photos have ever seen the light of day.



Here's a pic of Nguyen Thai Nguyen (American name equivalent would be "Smith John Smith") on set the day we shot the fall of Saigon scene. Nguyen plays the older verson Lai in the film. On most days I would have been stuck in my hotel room either sleeping or digitizing footage, but since I this would an eventful day on set, I decided to double my work the next day and shoot some footage. Nguyen wasn't in any of the shots, so he was standing around in the crowd watching the organized chaos. I like this pic because a girl on set decided to touch his nose for no apparent reason.

Nguyen was pretty quiet when he first came to the hotel and since his scenes didn't shoot till later, we got to hang out during the day. Most of what we did was drink soy milk and talk about his life in San Jose and school. Sometimes I would show him some of the footage and set pictures (I was also in charge of downloading set photos) and that was really fun too. He later became quite the talker and ladies' man on set.





Here are two photos taken in Van Number One, which kinda became my regular transportation van. Driver Number 1, I never learned his Thai name, was one of the nicest guys I ever met in my life. Rumor had it that he was the best transportation guy in Thailand and was the go-to guy for celebrities, politicians etc. On our last day in Bangkok he was telling our transport manager that he was very busy earlier that day drving around a big time sports guy. We asked who and he handed us V.I.P. Pass that read "Roger Federer."

When we first started riding with him I didn't pay much attention to these drawings but after noticing that he kept his van impeccably clean all of the time (compared to other drivers) we asked him why he allowed someone to vandalize his ride. He couldn't answer in English, so he pulled out a cd from his glove compartment and handed it to us. It was a Linkin Park cd. Chester or one of the other guys must have tagged it.

Driver Number 1 had a running joke with me in that everytime he saw me he'd just come up to me and start rubbing my shoulders. You see, a week or two into the telecine I had an unexpected delay with a session, and instead of staying at the post facility and trying to watch Thai TV, I asked one of the drivers to take me to a LEGITIMATE massage parlor. He did the exact opposite, but I ended up getting a LEGITIMATE massage anyway at the expense of becoming the butt of joke amongst the drivers. I'll spare you the details of the overly excited parlor manager, the fishbowl of women, etc.



This photo was taken at our hotel in Chantaburi, a country-side province that luckily had a Walmart-like supermarket. As the 2nd Asst. editor, I worked mostly nights and would often venture downstairs with my producer's iPod and and a soy milk to get some fresh(er) air. The iPod was on loan to our room, as the producer never had time to listen to it anyway, and luckily it was more or less a clone of the director's iPod. The iPod had a lot a lot of Britpop on it, and since I didn't have a computer or iPod, it was quite the blessing.

One night while I was sleepwalking, I decided to let the desk girl listen to a few songs, as she was always very nice to me and she had an uncanny resemblance to a college friend of mine. I can't remember if this photo was taken while she was listening to "Chickfactor" by Belle and Sebastian or "In My Place" by Coldplay, two songs which she liked.



Me, after a hard day's work. I must have been complaining or falling asleep while the person operating the camera was interviewing me about the glamour of being a 2nd Asst. Editor. The shirt I'm wearing is an Akira shirt that I bought the weekend before at a stall that sold a lot of cool Anime t-shirts. In retrospect, the shirt was a bit small for me. Funny thing was my friends in college used to call me Tetsuo just because I was Asian and it was their only Asian reference aside from Bruce Lee. Fuckers



That's it for now, maybe some more tomorrow . . . depending on how I feel.

terry on 03.29.07 @ 07:12 PM PDT [link]


Wednesday, March 28th

CORRECTION - Journey From the Fall Opening Weekend Numbers


EDIT - I've been editing and reposting this entry since 7pm of today and finally at 822 pm PST, I think this is the final version.

Looks like I was off when I first posted about the opening numbers for Journey From the Fall - Here's the official press release from ImaginAsian Films (the distributor)

BEGIN PRES RELEASE -

ImaginAsian Pictures JOURNEY FROM THE FALL tops the charts! #1 per-screen average in the country at $21,861 per screen

NEW YORK, March 26, 2007-

ImaginAsian Pictures first theatrical release, JOURNEY FROM THE FALL made a spectacular bow in the opening weekend of its rolling theatrical release, earning the highest per-screen average of any film, specialty or mainstream, in the country with $21,861 per screen. Playing in four theaters, the film grossed $87,442 for the weekend.

"This is a defining moment for Asian American cinema and is a testament to the talent, determination and vision of the filmmakers and producers involved. All those who champion independent productions should draw inspiration from this!" said Michael Hong, CEO of ImaginAsian Entertainment, Inc.

Currently playing sold-out screenings in New York City, Westminster, and San Jose, and expanding nationwide beginning March 30, 2007, Journey from the Fall is directed by Ham Tran and is inspired by the true stories of Vietnamese refugees who fled their land after the fall of Saigon, and the struggles of those who stayed behind and suffered the brutalities of the re-education camps. The critically acclaimed film was an official selection of both the Sundance and the Pusan Film Festivals, and has won more than 10 awards at 20 festivals around the world.

The film stars Kieu Chinh, Long Nguyen, Diem Lien, Nguyen Thai Nguyen, and Jayvee Mai The Hiep.

Journey from the Fall (www.JourneyFromTheFall.com) is an ImaginAsian Pictures release, a division of ImaginAsian Entertainment, Inc.

END PRESS RELEASE

I've been snooping around other Viet Blogs and found this great post from Enderminh. Check it out.

In response to Enderminh's parenthetical "boy, do I hope this will also air in Vietnam" - I wouldn't hold your breath, bro. I would further assume that bootleggers in Vietnam are going to stay away from this one to avoid arrest/even jail.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Culture has to approve all scripts of films proposed to be shot in Vietnam and I know that the Journey script with its political overtones would have never passed the Ministry's approval process. That was one of the main reasons Journey was shot in Thailand. A lot of the Vietnamese crew also worked under pseudonyms to avoid trouble when returning to Vietnam. I remember some conversations on set amongst the Viet Kieu's about working under a pseudonym to avoid any possible future Visa denial issues, but nothing ever came of it.

I am curious if the Vietnamese government has anything to say about this film. A few years ago I put together a panel for the DC APA Film Festival that included Ham Tran (when he was touring with his Oscar-shortlisted short film The Anniversary at the time) someone from the Vietnamese Embassy, and other filmmakers/academics. I remember the VN Embassy rep did not have much then to say about The Anniversary which explores the civil tensions of the Vietnam War. Most of The Anniversary was shot in Vietnam, but the VN war parts were shot in California, and I remember Ham telling us that the original script was rejected by the Ministry, but they ended up making it anyway (don't ask me how they did it). Don Doung, the lead Vietnamese actor in the film later had his VN Passport revoked because of his politicized role in the Mel Gibson vehicle "We Were Soldiers." The VN government takes these things very seriously, to say the least.

Hopefully the film makes its way to Los Angeles sooner than later and opens wider across the country. Having already seen the film in various stages, including a cut that was close to a final, I want to reiterate that this film is not your run-of-the-mill foreign film with subtitles, but a deeply moving film about perseverance, hope and reconciling with the past. I know I've said this time and time again, but working on Journey From the Fall was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and the time we spent in Thailand making it was probably the most brilliant chapter of my young life.

If you want to learn more, here's a recent interview with director Ham Tran. (via angryasianman)

terry on 03.28.07 @ 08:01 PM PDT [link]

Banned SNL List

music: He's A Rebel

Here's a comprehensible list of people banned from SNL via zimbio.com via wikipedia. Some on the list were not surprising (Martin Lawrence, Cypress Hill and Sinead O'Connor) , but others like Charles Grodin (of Beethoven and Beethoven's 2nd fame) and Adrian Brody made me raise an eyebrow. I remember watching the Adrian Brody episode years ago and found nothing controversial with his performance. Here's the explanation -

[Adrian] came out to introduce reggae musician Sean Paul, while wearing Rastafarian attire including faux dreadlocks. Without any prior notice, Brody began rambling in a Jamaican accent for close to 45 seconds before finally introducing the act incorrectly, misannouncing "Sean Paul" as "Sean John."

Note: Michaels is notorious for his dislike of improvisation and unannounced performances, and was furious with Brody for not obtaining clearance before performing this "monologue."

I don't remember the rant being 45 seconds. But Sean John? That's about as bad as when Jack Black pronounced John Mayer as John Meyer.
(via BWE)

MW, do you have anything to add?

terry on 03.28.07 @ 07:27 PM PDT [link]


Monday, March 26th

My Candidate for The Next Star Wars Kid


Or maybe he's the next Little Superstar

Is there anyone else besides me who thinks "Irreplaceable" could be the single of the decade? The song has one of the greatest pop lyrical misdirects of all time ("To the left, to the left"). I've always wanted to say "pop lyrical misdirect."

via BWE


terry on 03.26.07 @ 08:28 PM PDT [link]

Journey From the Fall - The Numbers


After a quick search on Technorati this morning, I found this bit of encouraging good news -

"In limited release, historical drama Journey from the Fall took in $76,000 on only four screens, for a chart-leading per screen average of $19,000. Sony Classics Offside took in $19,000 on five screens, and Yari Film Group’s First Snow grossed $15,500 on three screens."

- from Guess The Gross, who I assume is the most reliable source for this kind of stuff.

Has anyone seen it yet? Thoughts?

terry on 03.26.07 @ 08:19 PM PDT [link]

Downward Facing Dog

music: She Bought From a Rubber Man

Patton Oswalt wrote a True-Life Tale for the NYTIMES Sunday Magazine this past weekend about Yoga and guns. Yes, Yoga and guns.

This is fitting because Patton Oswalt's one of my favorite comics and being someone who does yoga, I found the article to be informative about the balance of the violent and peaceful self. Well, not really, but it made me El Oh EL on an otherwise dreary day.

I used to joke with a girlfried that introduced me to Yoga that my favorite pose was the Corpse pose. I told her that I liked the pose so much that after a morning class I would go home and continue the pose. In bed. Till 3 in the afternoon.

terry on 03.26.07 @ 08:08 PM PDT [link]

AD BREAK - ADIDAS - DAVID BECKHAM

music: And We Don't Care About the Young Folks

I saw these ads a few weeks ago, but since I'm going through a horrible bump personally and professionally at the current moment, now would be a good time revisit this inspirational story from soon-to-be Angeleno David Beckham.

The spots were directed by Sean Thompson and Dean Maryon. 180 Amsterdam was the agency.

The first spot is the 1 minute version.

The second spot is an extended version/making of.

As a bonus I've included the two clips that are mentioned in the spot - Beckham's red card in the 1998 World Cup against Argentina and the famous free kick against Greece during the World Cup qualifiers. The red card clip is in Japanese and you have to stick around the very end to see why he got the red card. Enjoy.










terry on 03.26.07 @ 07:16 PM PDT [link]


Sunday, March 25th

Let's Just Be Honest About Things . . .


Via best week ever.



terry on 03.25.07 @ 04:43 PM PDT [link]


Thursday, March 22nd

Aimee Bender, Greg Behrendt and Ben Lee

music: I'm Just Coming Here to Come Down



What do all of these people have in common? Last night all three were at Largo night club reading and performing for an 826LA benefit and I had the fortune to be there.

This was actually my second 826LA benefit. My first benefit event was at UCLA's Royce Hall for the Bookeaters event which featured Andy Richter, John Krasinski (filling in for a scheduled Jake Gyllenhaal), The Mountain Goats, Sara Vowell and Jenny Lewis Jenny Lewis Jenny Lewis (I love typing that name).

Last night's event did not dissapoint (even the food was okay - penne with smoked salmon). Aimee Bender read a salacious short story from he collection, Greg Behrendt did some excellent stand-up comedy, and Ben Lee performed a mix of old and new songs. I will admit that I was never a fan of ANY of these people before the show (I was invited last minute) but afterwards I gained an appreciation for all their work.

The funny thing about Greg Behrendt was that I knew he was an author and that he used to write for Sex and the City, but when a friend of mine told me he used to have his own talk show I was surprised because I've never seen or heard of it. But when he took the stage in his casual clothes, I immediately recognized his face and realized that I did see his talk show when I was back home in PA doing nothing during the day but watching day-time talk shows. I juts never put the two and two together because his talk show was HORRIBLE (one episode focused on the models from NBC's Deal or No Deal giving relationship and beauty advice). I guess network television never allowed him to really shine, because he was hysterical last nite.

To sum it all up, 826LA always puts on a good show for a great cause, so I recommend you check out an upcoming event. The night was a bit of a trade-off because I missed the red-carpet premiere of Journey From the Fall in Orange County, only because I couldn't leave work early enough to sit on the 405 for a few hours. I'm sure I will make it down to the OC to see the film and maybe grab some of the best pho in the world. Seriously, anyone down for a road trip?

I'm off to see some grindhouse films at the New Beverly, so I will update later with links and stuff


terry on 03.22.07 @ 06:14 PM PDT [link]

Journey From the Fall Opens This Weekend


Here is a plug for a movie I had the honor of working on a few years ago. I want to talk more about the film, but for now, let's just spread the word -

JOURNEY FROM THE FALL opens in Orange County, San Jose and NYC on March 23rd, and then rolls out to different markets every weekend. Buy your pre-sale tickets today!

And please MySpace them, send a text to a friend, blog it, tell your family and friends in other states, or if you do one thing this month to support a worthy cause, make that one thing buying a ticket to JOURNEY FROM THE FALL.

www.journeyfromthefall.com
www.myspace.com/journeyfromthefall

SUNDANCE 2006 - OFFICIAL SELECTION
WINNER OF 12 INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS INCLUDING:
Milano International Film Festival 2006 - Best Cinematography
Newport Beach Film Festival 2006 - Special Jury Prize
Amazonas International Film Festival 2006 (Brazil) - Grand Jury Prize
San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival 2006 - Audience Award
Boulder International Film Festival 2007 - Best Feature Film


"movingly depicted" - Kevin Crust, LA Times

"Striking in its timeliness, unforgettable in its impact, this is a JOURNEY that must be taken." -Todd David Schwartz, CBS Radio

"A Post-Vietnam War boat people saga is launched to compelling effect" - Russell Edwards , Daily Variety

"a deftly directed movie" - Howard Feinstein , Indie Wire

"careful and intelligent story-telling" - Jonathan W. Hickman , Entertainment Insiders

terry on 03.22.07 @ 04:38 PM PDT [link]


Tuesday, March 20th

I WILL MASTER YOU

music: I Sleep With My Hands Across My Chest

Not much to report today, as my day at work will have to be cut short due to professional committments. I am happy to let you all know that I am slowly mastering the art of T9 texting. T9 was so frustrating before when I didn't understand it, but now I think it will save my life.

Lame entry, I know. But I'll have more later this week. I'm taking a hint from my friend MW and hopefully I will hit my stride sooner than later.

terry on 03.20.07 @ 01:22 PM PDT [link]


Monday, March 19th

AD BREAK - 2X by Darren Aronofsky for Montana Meth


Here are two spots that acclaimed film director Darren Aronofsky did for Montana Meth. There are more of them at the website and Adcritic (a subscription site) lists Tony Kaye as the director for some of the others. Harris Savides (Zodiac, Birth, a bunch of Mark Romanek videos) was the D.P. for both the Aronofsky spots.

Adcritic boasts that for the Mother spot (the second one below) " . . . Aronofsky needed but one take to nail something he expertly handled in Requiem for a Dream. "

The message is pretty clear: JUST SAY FUCK NO TO METH. Sure beats the drug ads of the 80's - especially this snake drug dealer PSA

WARNING: Neither spots are for the faint of heart. The Friends spot (the 1st one below) lifts a scene from Soderberg's film Traffic, but does not lose any of its intended effectiveness.





terry on 03.19.07 @ 07:53 PM PDT [link]


Sunday, March 18th

RECENT CONCERT - El Perro Del Mar @ the EXPLX




Pic via: knark.blogg.se/musik.html

My first great concert of 2007. I opted to see her show last Tuesday opposed to the Wednesday Hotel Cafe only because the original venue was the Rec Center Studios, so I assumed it was going to be a rather intimate show. The day of the show the venue was changed to the EXPLX, which is right below the Echo, a basement of sorts. When you step down there tho, you are immediately impressed by the wide open space, the leather box couches (which you can move to the stage) and the candle-lit atmosphere.

Rosie Thomas was the opening act, and I was impressed, then again, I never heard her music before. El Perro Del Mar, stunning and tall, took the stage with 3 back-up musicians (guitar, bass and keyboards) and waltzed through a set that included most of the songs from her sond self-titled album along with newer songs and a stunning Velvet Underground cover - I Found a Reason. Best song of the night? Her Spector-influenced "God Knows," the song eveybody was waiting to hear.

You can find both of the songs at the Hype Machine.

BTW, here's a fun fact about me that I never told anyone - my favorite word in the whole world is "chanteuse."

terry on 03.18.07 @ 06:25 PM PDT [link]

Absolute Brilliance


Keith forwarded this to me. Ricky Gervais can do no wrong. It must be recent, considering the "added date" on youtube. A bit long but well worth it. Somebody needs to subtitle this, as some of the British humor/accents get lost.

Enjoy -



terry on 03.18.07 @ 05:47 PM PDT [link]

Bracketology and Supercenters.

mood: doing alright, kids

So it looks like Butler has dashed Maryland's hopes of making it to the Final Four. I had Maryland making it to the FF only to lose to North Carolina. I knew I should have picked Florida. I'm not out of it just yet, as I have North Carolina winning it all and I could probably pick up some more points as long as Ohio St and Kansas keep winning. The irony is that I don't have a television at home, so I had to watch most of the games during work, but most of my co-workers were stepping out of their offices every five minutes to check the scores and watch the last few minutes of each game.

Not bad for someone who didn't pay attention all year, though there's a lot of red there and I can only imagine that it will get worse. Believe me, on my first attempt at the bracket, I had the Cavaliers going all the way and UCLA losing in the second round. Call it wishful thinking and ignorance. After being chastised by EVERYBODY in the office (even all the extra freelancers), I did a little research on Deadspin and turned in another bracket.

On a similar note - some bad news, actually - my superiors just installed a 42" HD plasma televsion (Samsung, and yes it's beautiful) IN MY OFFICE last Thursday and on Friday my boss tells me they plan on getting me MY OWN DirecTV receiver. The DirecTV receiver makes absolutely NO SENSE at all. Maybe it's a test, in that case I'll make sure the TV is simply unplugged during the day. The decision to put a 42" HD plasma televsion isn't completely unwarranted, there's a huge cosmetic change happening in my own office, which included the addition of 3 very expensive Barcelona chairs.

The idea is that the company hopes to bring me more editorial work, work that would require I edit with the agency/client in the room, hence the need for being fancy. So far this year I've cut two spots for our nation's largest employer (hint: it rhymes with Falmart). With advertising dollars dwindling, it seems like editorial is being packaged with the production packages. Good news for me, though the experience was nerve-racking - I had to edit in PAL, with a rented PAL monitor, which I spent hours the night before troubleshooting, and there were 6 people crammed into my room at one point during the session (including animators from Aardman Animation of Wallace and Gromit fame). In the end, we got everything done on time and everybody was happy with the result.

Long story short- I need to start paying attention to more sports. My little Cousin Bao was schooling me on my bracket over Instant Messenger the other day and this kid has only spent 7 years in this country. I also have to step up my professional game. For the first time in my life, and this sounds really smug, but I feel overrated. Hopefully this is a turning point.

Lastly, the Powerade commercial I edited last year is playing through out the tournament. It's the one with the Asian girl lifting a 10 lb weight in one arm and a 50 lb weight in the other. Not much of an editorial job per se - it was a 15 sec spot that required only setting an in and out point and choosing a freeze frame, but still I got paid, sucka.

terry on 03.18.07 @ 05:27 PM PDT [link]


Thursday, March 15th

RECENT MOVIE - BREACH


I saw this one a few weeks ago and liked it a lot. Probably a lot more than other people and I have my specific reasons -

1) I'm partial to films about/take place in DC only because I lived there for 3 years. Remember that HBO show "K Street" I watched 5 episodes of it until it got too weird and my HBO got cut off.

2) I actually worked for Eric O'Neill's father, John O'Neill, Jr (Eric O'Neill is the main character in the film played by Ryan Phillipe). Bruce Davison (Senator Kelly from the X-Men films and Kirsten Dunst's dad in Crazy/Beautiful) plays John O'Neill, Jr. for only one scene in the movie.

I was a nuclear energy paralegal (truth, I swear) for a top law firm in DC and John was the partner I worked under. Really nice guy, though he looks nothing like Bruce Davison. I can't think of a closer match at the moment, maybe an older Jack Black with a beard. Anyway, Eric O'Neill actually came into the office once with his wife and I only got a glimpse of what I could see above my cubicle at the time. But I will say that Eric O'Neill's wife is as attractive as the girl that plays her in the movie, tho in real life she's a blonde.

We once had a lunch meeting where John brought in and showed us the Dateline Special that they did on Eric O'Neill when the whole Hansen thing was well over with and they were starting work on the movie. At the end of the meeting, John told us what Eric's last words were to Robert Hansen -

"Catch you later."

The film changed this last exchange of words into something else that was more on the theme of the film and this was the only sticking point for me. Regardless, I recommend you "catch" it on DVD.

Anogther Fun Fact- One Robert Hansen's sons worked for a rival firm of Eric's, which kinda saddened me when I thought about it.

terry on 03.15.07 @ 07:43 PM PDT [link]

RECENT MOVIE - 300


I saw this last nite at the Vista with some friends. Here's my one line review:

Never has a film tried to be so heterosexual that it comes across as COMPLETELY homosexual.

To say the least this film is very gay. Take the homoerotic undertones of Spartacus put that on meth. I'm sure there's bath house scene demanding to put a part of the DVD extras.

I enjoyed it nonetheless as a bold cinematic achievement (a la Sin City) and the fight scenes were well choreographed but I could not help but snicker every minute like a 5th grader in a sex ed class.

Not to spoil anything, but some of the monsters/animals/manimals were ridiculous. If this is Sparta, count me out.

One of the few saving graces was Dominic West, who plays this politician in the film. I liked him only because I kept thinking about his character from The Wire and he reminded me of how awesome that show is and how much I want to watch the 4th season when it comes out on DVD.

terry on 03.15.07 @ 07:22 PM PDT [link]

Thank-You VCU


I caught the last 5 minutes of the Duke/VCU game when everybody left work. Nobody expected the upset, but I was so firm in my belief that this upset could happen that I boldy picked VCU on the bracket. Historically, I never liked Duke and it seemed like this year just wasn't their year (I'm talkin about basketball, people) Can't wait to rub it in with my jock co-workers tomorrow. Could VCU be this year's George Mason?

Now if only Stanford had won their game.

First round report coming soon . . . .

terry on 03.15.07 @ 06:44 PM PDT [link]


Thursday, March 8th

ZODIAC and Music

mood: The Lights Were Off in My Office All Day as I Listened to the New Arcade Fire Album with Head Phones

Yeah, it was that kind of work day today. Worry not, the glow from my computer screens was more than sufficient.

Regardless, I saw Zodiac last night and to say the least I fucking liked it a lot. Robert Downey, Jr. is worth the price of admission alone. Yes, the movie is long, but so was Cold Mountain, so get over it.

Aside from the powerhouse performances from Jake Gyllenhaal, Downey, Jr., Mark Ruffalo, et al, the excellent cinematography I personally enjoyed how the film focused on the idea of the city under siege and the obsession with catching the killer. This idea is nothing new (Summer of Sam, Dirty Harry) but I lived in DC when all that sniper shit was happening a few years ago, so I could relate to living with a mandated curfew and being paranoid about everything. I avoided art stores (such as Michael's where several victims were shot) and I used to take cab rides from the metro station back to my house at night, despite the 5 minute walk. Once during a Badly Drawn Boy concert, Damon Gough decided to end his set a few songs early, just so we could "all get home safely." Nobody complained.

I won't say much else about the movie except that David Fincher is one of my favorite director's based on his use of music alone. Without spoiling anything, his decision to use Donovan's "Hurdy Gurdy Man" to bookend the film was quite brilliant as the song's dark mood mirrored the tone of the film. The song will forever creep me out in the same way Silence of the Lambs rendered Q Lazarus's "Goodbye Horses" unlistenable. At my 26th birthday party, the song came on randomly while we were all dancing and it was immediately skipped over 30 seconds in by my former roommate who exclaimed "Dude, we are not dancing to the song that played during the dick-tuck scene, man." So we went outside and beat the shit out of a whale pinata instead. O, the Maltman house memories . . . .

Back to Zodiac and Fincher and his use of music.

Most of us fondly remember his use of the Pixies' "Where is My Mind" at the end of Fight Club, but my favorite music moments were actually from his underrated film The Game. There's Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" that plays in the middle of the film and at the end over the credits.

But my favorite music moment is the scene where Michael Douglas's character steps into the Chinese Restaurant and finds a headshot of the Game's interviewer, while Teresa Tang's mandarin classic "Tian Mi Mi" is playing in the background.

This reference is lost on almost everybody, but for those who know of Teresa Tang and her legacy (me and most Chinese people), it was quite a poignant moment as it came out of nowhere. For further information check out the Hong Kong romantic "Comrades: Almost a Love Story" starring Maggie Cheung and Leon Lai, I guarantee it will not dissapoint. The music of Teresa Tang is prominently featured in the film to great emotional effect. Another Fun Trivia Fact: Brett Ratner used "Tian Mi Mi" in Rush Hour 2, on the yacht scene.

Lastly, Zodiac is the 3rd film I've seen to effectively use a Donovan song to close out a film. Steven Soderberg's The Limey has Terence Stamp singing Donovan's "Colours" in a brilliant flashback moment at the end and Gus Van Sant's To Die For (starring Nichole Kidman) ends with Season of the Witch.

If you haven't seen either of the aforementioned films, I highly recommend you do so. As for Zodiac, I highly recommend that you do not see it alone. The walk home from the theater last nite was not as easy as I thought.

terry on 03.08.07 @ 08:05 PM PDT [link]


Friday, March 2nd

Here Comes Treble - The Indie Rock Version


More references to The Office below. If you don't watch the show, stop reading this entry and get yourself the 1st and 2nd season on DVD.

Andy Bernard, eat your heart out. Depsite the fact that I did like Andy and Jim's jam on "Closer to Free," these clips are pretty hilarious. But The Postal Service? Why must they ruin songs I hold dear to my heart?

The first clip is "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight" and the second is "Such Great Heights." If you can only bring yourself to watch one of the clips, go with "Such Great Heights." It's sung by some UMD girls and the dancing is kinda sexy. Go Terrapins!


- EDIT - WARNING: You may lose your shit around 1:31 on the Such Great Heights Video. I did.

- EDIT - A quick search on Youtube reveals that the Treblemaker girls have also murdered/killed songs by Gwen Stefani, Dusty Springfield and my favorite Britney Spears song - Everytime. Yes, I do have a favorite Britney Spears song.

Via inkiostro via bwe






terry on 03.02.07 @ 05:40 PM PDT [link]