Earthquake Time Tokyo: March 11, 2011

While my experience with the devastating quake of last Friday was in no way like that of those in Northern Japan, it is a day that will be impossible to forget. I am dedicating this blog entry to my personal experience.

For me, it began with a trip to Kasai, a town on the Tozai train line located in eastern Tokyo. On my way to a part-time gig, I wasn't a minute off the bus when I noticed that my feet weren't hitting the ground where I was aiming, like I was drunk at 2am and stumbling around in search of a cab home. But it wasn't yet 3pm, so that could hardly be the case.

Turning back to the bus stalled at the stop, I saw it was bouncing up and down, appearing to be almost leaving the ground at points. My balance became an issue, and I fell back onto a knee-high wall beside the sidewalk. Cars on the suburban street had stopped and jumped about like plastic toys. A child with her mom, on their way out from the restaurant behind me, was screaming hysterically, her cries barely audible over the din of every structure in the area bending and bulking as they rocked on their foundations. The quake intensified and I kept the power lines in sight that can kill as effectively as a falling building can. Not like I could dash away should a pole fall. Some insane, unseen force drove the ground, rolling and rising, like a rocky wave. Finally, the quake subsided. Traffic started up and I was back walking to work.

My job on this day was located in a local department store. When I arrived, the place had been evacuated, but I was allowed in to check on my working condition. Around the store, shelves were knocked over and glass was everywhere. Back outside I met up with a co-worker, and with her, experienced the first of many aftershocks that were to come. Work was canceled and I was told to make my way home. But how? I was 15 miles as the crow flies from where I live.

I set 3 stages to my journey home:

1) Akihabara Station

2) Shinjuku Station

3) Shimokitazawa

With buses not running, or at least not coming, I walked back to Kasai Station. As expected, the Tozai train line was out. People stood around the station, waiting for some kind of word. I asked a station man and was told to take a bus to Akihabara. I got on line, hoping buses would eventually show. A 1/2-hour later, buses began to appear, but only local ones, nothing heading into Tokyo. The line grew and grew. An hour went by. No one working at the bus line would say a thing. Finally, out of frustration, I went to the depot office. "What's going on?" I asked. "We don't know," was all they would say. I was pissed. It's OK to not know, but to not say anything only makes people nervous. So, there I was, the non-Japanese bringing the Japanese people on line who have been waiting and waiting some kind of news. Based on this, as I figured, some people went for other means to get home by buses with destinations different from Akihabara. Me, I had no choice. It was Akihabara or bust!

I thought to get a cab, but traffic was slow, and cabs, the few that there were, were all taken. But at last, a bus came an hour later. Quickly it filled to capacity - beyond capacity, actually. I just barely got on, pressed in by the front door.

I'm unsure how to describe the driver. Despite the bus being incapable of holding any more people, he drove to the first stop and opened the door as if it were a normal day of operation. Right away angry people outside began to demand that they be let on. "More can fit on! Make everyone move to the back!" A man outside yelled. Some even began pushing their way on, and as impossible as it seemed, three did, in fact.

Somehow the driver managed to get the door shut, but it seemed up to me to have to state the obvious, "Do NOT stop at another stop or else you're going to have trouble." The real issue for me was, why was only one bus dispatched? I saw some buses on the road with the "out of service" sign on. Considering the amount of people trying to move around it seemed to me buses were the best choice. It got so bad that when we did stop to let people out of the exit in the back of the bus, people outside forced themselves onto the bus through the exit.

The ride to Akihabara took nearly two hours. It's normally a 30-minute ride. We inched and inched along into the city. But Akihabara was no haven. The streets were full with displaced people and the JR train line was out. You could walk into the station, but unlike the workers at Kasai station, the JR people were clear: No more trains today. I hung around, looking at people lining the walls. No one seemed to have any idea what was going to come next, what they were supposed to do, or where they were supposed to go.

By this time I was getting hungry. I went into a 7-11 type store, shocked to find all the shelves stripped of food. Fortunately I found a "beef bowl" style restaurant across from the station, waited on line for 20 minutes, and when I finally was seated, ordered an extra large bowl, unsure when I would be eating again.

After eating I thought to get a bus to Shinjuku, but the lines were impossible, and it didn't matter since traffic was hardly moving. It seemed that walking was the only alternative. Oddly enough, there were no police around, and, in fact, no one you could say who was in authority. Typically in Japan, when you need help, you go to the police; here, you go for help, help doesn't come to you. I figured in a case like this it would be different, but it wasn't. Sure enough, I went to the station and outside the police were standing about offering advice to people.

The officer I spoke to gave me two options: spend the night at the shelter or walk. I debated spending the night in the local elementary school, but I really wanted to check on my apartment. My building is old, and though it seems very sturdy, who knows? Although my feet already were hurting from standing for the past several hours, I decided to walk anyway.

Following the directions given by the officer, I walked up to the main road he said went straight to Shinjuku. My jaw dropped when I found find it congested with people as far as I could see, with people on both sides all heading in the same  direction.

What can I say? As a life-long movie fan, I was reminded of every alien invasion film I've ever seen where society breaks down and everyone tries to make it to some imagined safety zone.

With no options, it was my only choice. I begrudgingly got on line. Above, the moon shone down. Crescent shaped and bright white, it became tonight nature's guiding beacon, hanging high above an endless line of people trekking across the city of Tokyo. At least, I thought, trying to find the bright side, it wasn't raining; I was feed, and while cold, it wasn't winter like cold.

Along the way I was astonished to see absolutely no police presence. On the one hand you could say this reflects well on the Japanese people, as other than a looter in the department store at the start of this insane experience, everyone was behaving and making the most of it. But on the other hand, it's in moments like these that men dressed in uniforms give one the sense that society remains intact and that there is a plan of action being executed. The only time I saw police was at an intersection where the road to Shinjuku takes a confusing turn. Two officers were out with Darth Vader light sabers waving people in the correct direction.

Each step of the way was painful on my feet, and while I wanted to sit, I felt I just had to keep going, not knowing what the next moment would bring. Too many unknowns were going on around. The roads were lined with high-rise offices, and should another quake strike, would they come crashing down? Would the power go out? Cars were moving, but slower than the people walking. What if people got out and left their cars? And the line of people was intense; it couldn't handle anymore. Me, I just wanted to get to Shinjuku.

Several hours after leaving Akihabara I was finally nearing Shinjuku station. But then it struck me: And then what? It was still a haul to my town of Shimokitazawa.

Shinjuku, like Akihabara, was another gathering point. The streets were congested with cars and the sidewalks with people. As along the way, people here could be seen wearing hard hats, and I even saw in the Citibank by the Kinokuniya bookstore people with silver emergency blankets getting ready to sleep in the lobby for the night. While some restaurants were open, most were not. And all the convenience stores were stripped of edibles. The one McDonald's open along the way had a long line out the door.

I walked over to the Keio line to see about a bus or a taxi. Forget the taxi: the line was over 300 people long! I asked at the bus depot about buses and the worker began telling me that buses had finished running for the night. WHAT? He said it was just too late for a bus. I guess he hadn't noticed that this was not an ordinary day. As I wrote earlier, buses are probably the best means of moving people around. They should be out in force! But then, fortunately, another worker said that the Keio train line had started up.

I rushed down the stairs to find the area before the Keio line entrance packed with people. Trains appeared to be running, but only local lines. People were being let in until a train filled and then the gates would shut. Guards stood by, directing people in. I worked my way up to the front and was let in with the next batch. "Don't run!" The guards ordered as we followed the stairs down.

Suddenly the buzzer that sounds when a train departs went off. In a panic, people began running for the train. The buzzer continued to blare as the train filled with people. And then, for no reason, it went off and we sat there for ten minutes. Excuse me? What was that buzzer for? Telling people not to run, and then edging them on with a meaningless buzzer is, at best, bizarre.  

Twenty minutes later I arrived at Shimokitazawa Station, aching feet and all. I was happy to see buildings in the area standing. My own building had a fresh crack on the stairs leading in, and when I opened the door to my room I was greeted with the unwanted sight of a toppled CD collection, and my DVDs covering over my bed. Luckily I had secured some furniture to the walls otherwise they would have come smashing down.

This was my second major quake in Japan, the first being the Kobe quake of '95. As with that, I consider myself lucky to get out in one piece. I have to be thankful that it was, for me, more an inconvenience than a life altering experience. It wasn't until the next day that I begin to see the images of destruction that people around the world were already privy too. I wept many times. The intensity and the meaninglessness of such destruction is a fate no one deserves. My heart goes out to all who died, were injured, or suffered a personal loss.

HELLDRIVER Tokyo Premiere

Quick entry here:

Friday night saw the Tokyo premiere of the Sushi Typhoon movie HELLDRIVER. A zombie movie, it was the closing movie in a week of zombie films playing at the Human Trust Theater in Shibuya. 

Kind of an odd name for a movie theater, especially one showing zombie films...

I went earlier in the week and caught a screening of DAY OF THE DEAD, which I hadn't seen in a theater since its first run back in 1985, although I have seen it countless times since on video, Laser Disc, DVD and now Blu-Ray. I have to say, DAY has aged well, and might even look better now than it did back in the day. (Get it? "Back in the day"? OK. I'll stop now...) Day movie has some of the best dialogue of all time. Even when there are no zombies or visuals to keep your attention, your attention is kept because of the intensity of its words. Of course the dialogue is liberally peppered with vulgarity, but so what? Life is vulgar. Don't blame Romero; don't blame the messenger!

The HELLDRIVER screening was utter insanity, as any event centering around director Nishimura and his band of filmmakers usually is. He did his usually "fundoshi" appearance, which isn't really but looks very much like a diaper. He was on stage swinging the prop of the baby zombie by its umbilical chord and having a grand time.

The cast of HELLDRIVER turned out as well, and everyone got on stage to say something about the film following the screening. Set stories and other fun comments, all lead by Nishimura in his diaper and with that dead fetus. I was called on stage to say a few words about my part in the film. I even wore my "Bach's Arco Pitcairn" T-shirt, which is what I wear in the film. 

Also, as it was a screening of the "international version," the film shown this night had subtitles I wrote. It was my first time to see them in a theater and I'm really happy over how they looked and read. I did a number of unorthodox things in them, and one in particular went over really well. When subbing, I feel it is important to create a speech pattern for each character. This way the subs become an organic element of the film.

One of the most fun things of the night was during the screening, I went out onto the streets of Shibuya with HELLDRIVER lead zombie Ken Kishi. We did a photo shoot while he was scaring everyone on the street! I swear, the guy is fearless!

Following the party we had a staff/cast dinner, and then in the wee hours of the night, a few of us went to a bar and drank until the sun rose. Although unconventional, Nishimura and the people around him are some of the best people I've met and befriended in Japan. I'm proud to contribute to his films.

Until the next entry...

FYRO

Blog - Back on the Radar.

I decided to take my blog down for a couple of months while I work on various projects, deal with various assignments, and enjoy the various things that I enjoy in my life. And, honestly, blogs don't make that much sense to me anyway. At their worst, they are promoters of narcissism; at their best, they are a quick way to let friends and family in on the goings-on in one's life, sparing the writer (in this case, me) from having to repeat themselves over and over in customized letters. So, there you have it. My thoughts on blogs. Meaning, I'm back for the moment... Lucky you.

 

With that said, I couldn't possibly cover the past few months of my life in one entry. Too much going on to do so. Some of the highlights were, for starters, being a guest at TPG (Tokyo Project Gathering) at the Tokyo International Film Festival at the end of October, 2010. As stated in a previous entry, TPG introduces select film projects to various people and companies who can help see said project to fruition. Although only 3-days, it was an intense whirlwind of day meetings and evening parties. I had a great time, and met many interesting people in the film world, as well as saw a number of people I hadn't seen in many years. My project associated with TPG is still chugging ahead, albeit slowly... I'm actually not at liberty to talk about it publicly...

I spent the holiday time in Tokyo, working on my writing: scripts, a book, articles, poetry... The days of writing go so fast, as enjoyable days unfortunately do. I did take the occasional break to visit some movie sets. One was a low-rent vampire action film, which on hindsight was kind of a waste of my time. The other was the film "Messiah" directed by my buddy Shusuke Kaneko. That was a lot of fun. It was a beautiful day out and with the production close to Mount Fuji I was able to get some great photos of the mountain. Oh, and the shoot, too, was a lot of fun. 

I also directed a sequence for Haruka Orth, a director / actress I met at Yubari Film Festival last year. There is a scene in her film where two of the characters reach gargantuan size and battle it out in a city landscape. As I have vast, on-hands experience on many giant monster film sets, Haruka asked me to put the scene together. Unfortunately, there wasn't the budget to build a miniature city, so the shoot was done green screen and the actors are to be dropped digitally into the Tokyo cityscape. But even on films with budgets this seems to be the norm today. The shoot was a lot of fun and went very smoothly. We even wrapped up almost two hours early!

My budding career as a subtitle writer / creator has been picking up steam as well. I completed two major releases this winter. One is the Nikkatsu film "Karate-Robo Zaborgar," which premiered at the Rotterdam Film Festival and will show again at the Yubari Film Festival. Another was "Bakamono," a film by Shusuke Kaneko. The "Bakamono" gig was really tight. Nine days to turn in a complete script. However, the company was impressed enough to offer me more work, subtitling major, mainstream movies / TV shows. It's great! I love this work, love bridging the cultures, loving finding the phrases that allow non-Japanese viewers the chance to see and enjoy Japanese cinema. Moreover, I look forward to the chance to develop my skill and apply my philosophy on what I believe constitute good subtitles. 

Speaking of Zaborgar, I had a hell of a time over at the Nishizo end of year party. I admit everyone there is slightly “odd,” but in their way they are great people, and their work is quality stuff. I’m proud to be associated with their films. So, getting drunk, and standing around screaming with Nishimura, Iguchi, Chiba, Yoshiki, Shimizu, Taiga, Kishi, Maki, Nana, Emiko, Yumemi, Asami, Sarasa, Alex, Mimoto (no, he did not kiss me), Yui and even Nakoshi (in small doses) was a lot of fun. It was a hell of a year working on both HELLDRIVER and ZABORGAR.

And speaking of Yubari Film Fest, I've decided not to go this year, although I did subtitle 5 movies playing there this year, and I act in two films. I'd like to go, but I'm still tired from the one last year. Ha ha ha ha...

Oh, yeah... and my movie, The iDol, played in Santa Fe the other day. It would have been nice to go, but I was just to busy with work. 

Of course not all of life is great, and I did have to deal with the loss of someone very close to me. Life is a very fragile thing and most of us live thinking the friendships and relationship we have will never end. But they do. In the end, none of us are immune to The End. All we can do is make each day count, giving special attention to those who go out of their way to help curb the hardships of our lives. Anything less will bring nothing but regret later in life. Trust me on that one.

Until I find the time for the next entry... Be cool!

Summer of 2010, that it was...

 Been much time between blogs. I hate to say it, but it's kind of a low priority thing with me – although I do enjoy the casual writing about the many paths my life-road takes. And the past few months have been insanely productive, so it's been tough to find the time.

Where to start? First off, the hellhole that was one of the hottest summers I can recall in Tokyo saw me scribe 3 feature pieces for Fangoria: HELLDRIVER, VAMPIRE GIRL vs. FRANKENSTEIN GIRL and HOUSE. They are all bundled in the cool as ice "Halloween issue" going on sale in a week or so. Check out the cover on the side.

Huh? Gene Simmons? I loved Kiss when I was in high school, and still do for that matter. But it wasn't what I was expecting. Still, I like that it's a hand painted cover. I'm tired of photo only covers. Paintings have a quality photography almost always lacks: the world as it resonates emotionally from a single artist's viewpoint. If you don't know what I mean, go on-line and check out old issues of Famous Monsters. Man, who doesn't love those old Famous Monster magazine covers? So yeah, IMO, the cover rocks! And I like how my work is summed up on it simply as "Japanese horror."

HELLDRIVER I've talked about ad infinitum.  It had its official premiere at the Sitges film fest in Spain a week ago. I finished my subtitling work on it at the 11th hour, only scant days prior to director Nishimura rushing off to its first screening. The final subtitling session was a lot of fun, but utterly long. I'd been working on the film throughout editing and invariably there were changes that screwed with the timing. Also, things dropped, things added, but that's to be expected when doing sub creation during editing. I went to the cast / staff premiere at Imagica only a few days before the final subtitle studio session and gave myself a good head slap at the amount of changes from my last work print. I had my job cut out over the next few days. But, we nailed it in the studio and it was a great experience. Thanks again to all the fantastic people I worked with at Nikkatsu on HELLDRIVER.

The photo of Shiina Eihi and Nishimura is from our little afterparty following the first screening for cast and crew. Oh, why did I let Nishimura talk me into eating raw horse...

Another film I cover in the new Fango is VAMPIRE GIRL VS. FRANKENSTEIN GIRL, a set I visited before I took up blogging. The DVD is FINALLY coming out in the USofA this month from Funimation! As Japanese DVD releases in the US invariably lag behind that of their releases in Japan my piece on the film is only coming out now in Fangoria. I went to the VG set in March of 2009! That's too long ago! I can't remember that far back!

Seriously however, I spent much of the summer of 2009 involved with promoting the film in Tokyo, which is when I started this blog. If you page back you can find some info with photos from earlier entries. I also subtitled the film. I had a lot to draw on and feel I did a decent story. VGvsFG is a solid, low-budget film stocked with a lot of imagination. And a lot of blood. Yeah... A LOT of blood!

The HOUSE story was based on an interview I did with director Nobuhiko Obayashi. I visited his office over in Seijo during the summer and spent an afternoon with him and his daughter Chigumi. Had a lot of fun and enjoyed listening firsthand to their tales of making HOUSE. I hope I was able to capture the spirit of our talk in the Fangoria piece. HOUSE is a seriously entertaining film and I highly recommend it.  

Other things... Let's see. I visited the set of Shusuke Kaneko's new film, "Pole Dancing Boys" the other day. Quiet the title, no? It's Kaneko's lowest budget ever, and his shortest shooting schedule. But I have to say, the guy is such a pro that the production didn't feel rushed or in a mad panic, which is usually the case on films with big ambitions and a lack of time / resources.

The film follows the exploits of some young men who find themselves in the world of male pole dancing. Pole dancing has been the rage in Tokyo for the past few years, although females mostly perform it. The film stars a lot of up and coming male "idols" so the audience target is, naturally enough, women. I introduced my actress friend Cay Izumi to Kaneko before shooting and he cast her as one of the female leads. Cay is a fantastic pole dancer and has acted in a number of films, such as MUTANT GIRLS SQUAD and HELLDRIVER. I'm glad that worked out. I enjoy helping friends out like this and I think it's good for her to step into something a bit more mainstream.

I also did some acting in a V-Cinema film. Don't know the name of the film or anything about it. I just appear as a favor to the director. Maybe I shouldn't even mention it here... That photo at the top of this blog entry is from the shoot. That's a bomb strapped to her chest, by the way.

Before this blog gets too long (and believe me, it could if I touched on everything I'm working on) I want to get to my main news, which is my new film proposal is part of something called "Tokyo Project Gathering" at this year's Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF). This is a section of the fest where they help select projects meet their budget goals. TIFF is at the end of the month. Until then, I'll keep re-working the script, working on designs. Lots to do to prepare.

I'm also happy that once again my friend Bob Eggleton is working on conceptual illustrations. Bob is a world-renowned artist who has won 9 Hugo awards! I swear, when I get a chance to visit his home I'm going to make him let me use them as bowling pins, he has just the right number. If it's OK with my producers, I'll put some samples up in a future blog.

That's all for now!

(ORFU)

Helldriver

Sorry to start off with the weather, but, damn, it's hot out!

So when did summer start exactly? I hadn't even noticed. It's like, one day I'm hanging up my winter coat and the next I'm sponging sweat from my brow. The kicker is, summer doesn't really take hold in Japan until the cicada begin their horrid, scratchy cackle. We're still weeks away from that.

Things have been moving along since my last entry. For starters, I've had several articles published, in-print and on-line. Two were in the last issue of Fangoria (#295). One was (finally) my DEATH KAPPA set visit. The other was a look at Nikkatsu Studio's new Sushi Typhoon label and Yoshinori Chiba, the producer who started it. I'd say the article is more about Chiba than it is Sushi Typhoon, as the label is a manifestation of his filmmaking philosophies.

What I mean is, I suppose I could have done a piece focusing on the growing catalogue of Sushi Typhoon pieces – giving plot synopsis, cast / crew lists, and gushing over how there have never been films like this in the history of cinema - but I felt Chiba's story had more human interest in it and, thus, was the one more worth telling. Besides, Chiba's a good guy. He laughs at my jokes. People who laugh at my jokes are OK by me. 

I'm also happy to report that the movie HELLDRIVER has finally been officially announced. Another in the Sushi Typhoon line, this one is a zombie epic directed by Yoshihiro Nishimura (director of TOKYO GORE POLICE and co-director on VAMPIRE GIRL VS. VAMPIRE GIRL). I did a piece on HELLDRIVER for the Fangoria website. Well, two pieces technically, but the second was only a collection of set photos I took.

Here's a link to the articles:

First story with photos:

Fangoria Helldriver Story 1

Second story, photos only:

Fangoria Helldriver Story 2

And something at Twitch I did:

Twitch Helldriver

I spent several days on the set of HELLDRIVER. It was the kind of fun I've come to expect when on a Nishimura set. However, there were times when it rivaled the toughest set experiences I've ever had. Let me tell you, if anyone makes claims that making film is lots of fun, they either don't know what they are talking about or they have been to a set and done nothing but sit on the sidelines. It's some of the hardest work known to man. Especially when the budgets are what they are in Japan.

I went the first day of shooting, traveling in a location bus all the way down to Choshi in Chiba. While the area there is picturesque with lots of quaint wood and porcelain roofed homes this being a Nishimura film meant that if there was a dung infested hole to be found, find it we would. And find it we did!

Sure enough, my jaw dropped to the floor of the minibus when we pulled into a stinky looking, dilapidated factory that I was told was now an illegal dump yard. It was f*king gross. There were huge cubes of compressed garbage wrapped in black plastic all about the place. Many were splitting at the edges. And the inside of the place was just so much rusted machinery.

Still, it was a great day and filled with the insanity and blood letting that only Nishimura can conjure up. Hell, I even got to do an acting part with some dialogue that I think came out pretty good.

But the really tough days were over by Mt Fuji. Two days cursed by a torrential downpour. Imagine being up in the woods, around you are 30 people made up as zombies, as many crew, and it's pelting rain like small rocks with no shelter to be had anywhere. If that's not enough the ground had turned to mud, like something out of an army movie, and the lightening equipment was just standing in the mud. If one of those things were to fall over, I wondered how many, if not all of us, would have died.  To make matters worse, I had been told shooting would start at 11am. It started at 7pm. I had been up since 4am. Standing there, my sneakers wet like two soak sponges, I'm ready to collapse, and looking at my watch I see it's still only 1:40am. Shooting wasn't going to end until 6am.

But that night was pretty amazing. Lots of blood and guts. I got tons of great photos. And it ended weirder than I could have imagined. Back at the ryokan (Japanese inn) I had to get into the shower with all the male zombie extras. Me, naked, with 15 Japanese men in zombie makeup. I slept like a rock for the entire four hours they allowed us to sleep. The next day too was a load of fun. A cameo by a famous director I've known for years. Also, Cay Izumi was doing some pole dancing, which they shot against "Good Times Bad Times" by Led Zeppelin. And, man, if that didn't rock!

My last day on the set was a lot of fun too and I got in my actor interviews and tied up all the little odds and ends I need to get for my articles before the set vanishes forever. More great photos too! I love taking set photos!

In sad news, voice actor / director Peter Fernandez passed away this month. I met Peter at a fan event in LA back in 1999. But, it turned out that this wasn't the first time we'd met. I, and several other writers, wrote a little tribute to Peter for the website Sci-Fi Japan:

Peter Fernandez Remembered

On an unfortunate similar note, Reiko Inoue, the wife of Godzilla art director Yasuyuki Inoue, passed away a few days ago. I'm very sad to hear this. Just the day before I was told she was expected to live a few more weeks and I was planning to pay her a visit. When I was filming my documentary, Bringing Godzilla Down to Size, Reiko really took care of all of us klutzy men. She always had big smiles and gave off nothing but warmth and affection. Like her husband, Reiko was an accomplished artist and I enjoyed her sculptures scattered about their home in Ebina. Reiko will be missed. I’m planning to attend the funeral this weekend.

Until the next entry...

Mutant Girls Squad

I continue to be tied up with work and all sorts of fun things. Well, mostly work things. But I like to work - so it's all fun!

I recently completed a subtitle gig for the Nikkatsu film "Mutant Girls Squad," which is part of their Sushi Typhoon label. I had a blast working with Shinako from Nikkatsu and Sasaki from Mahara-Mothra. We finished things off the other day in the studio, where we really fine tuned the subs.

As can be expected from filmmakers such as Iguchi and Nishimura, they've come up with moments in the dialogue that have no equivalent in English. Luckily for me, I was given carte blanche by the directors to apply my own bent view of things based on my knowledge of Japan, the west, and my long time relationship with the directors. After all was said and done, I really do feel that the subs are above average for this kind of film and that they will offer non-Japanese speakers greater insight into the blood splattered insanity of the film. I also owe a big round of thanks to my partner, Kenichiro Shimbo.

It's come to my attention that this subtitled version of Mutant Girls Squad will be playing at Theater N from this Saturday until June 18th. Here's a link to the announcement on the MGS blog.

MGS BLOG

One of the recent Nikkatsu films whose set I spent some time on has been officially announced. It's the movie version of the 70s TV show "Denjin Zaborgar," which is the original "transforming" robot TV show. I was going to report on it for Fangoria, since director Noboru Iguchi has made some rather Fangoria styled gore films, but the movie seems to be more action than splatter, so I sent some of my photos from the set over to the Twitch website along with a quote I worked out of Iguchi between takes. Here's the link to that:

TWITCH WEBSITE

In addition, I spent several long days on the set of Yoshihiro Nishimura's latest opus. As this hasn't been officially announced I can't comment on it. But I do want to say that it was one of the most intense films sets I've been to. It was tough, emotionally and physically, but I rate it high on my life experience list. I'll be writing about the film for Fangoria. I will say this, it's a film that has the potential to be one of the most explosive genre films ever to come out of Japan. I even got a couple of lines of dialogue in the film too! (But it should be good despite this...)

A short film that I wrote the script for, "Once More," will have its premiere at the Tokyo Short Shorts film festival this weekend. It was directed by Hiroo Takaoka, who was the cameraman on my films "The iDol," and "Bringing Godzilla Down to Size." Here's the link to the page at Short Shorts:

http://www.shortshorts.org/2010/en/official/a-e.html

Not sure if this will work, but Hiroo put the trailer up on Facebook. Here's the link to that:

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/video/video.php?v=453346989347&ref=mf

I notice that the Short Shorts page lists it as a "drama" film. Idiots! I guess this is because genre films get little respect at Japanese film festivals.

It was a fun script to write and I'm interested to see how it's turned out. It's the first time something I wrote wasn't shot by me. The story is basically science fiction but I strove to keep the human element strong.

Finally, my next movie is moving along. Not as fast as I'd like, but these things take time. I have a film company in Japan working on the production with me, although at this early point we're still raising capital.

Hopefully I'll have some good news about my newest project - like an official announcement - in the coming weeks.

Until then...

Full Steam Ahead!

I don't know if this is a blog or simply a list of things I've done between time point A and time point B. I wouldn't mind writing more often and in more detail, if only time permitted. Not even sure where to begin...

Well, since my last entry, I attended two screenings at Imagica. The first was "Death Kappa," an upcoming giant monster film by director Tomoo Haraguchi. It was the premiere screening of the film and attended by the staff and cast. I was there finishing up my story on the film for Fangoria magazine.

I love watching films at Imagica. Nice, large, cushiony seats, a bright clear screen and some booming audio. As "Death Kappa" isn't a major release it was screened in the smaller theater on the lot, but even that's not bad. Still, the large theater is my favorite screen in Japan and I've seen a number of big films there over the years.

Everyone went to a nearby Izakaya to celebrate after the preview. I spent the night wedged between the producers and cast. One thing I find amusing about these staff parties is how everyone separates themselves. At one table was the art department and VFX people, at another, the camera and sound crew, and at another, the director, producers and actors.

In any case, the night was great fun. Haraguchi and I go back to the set of "Gamera 3", and he even put a cameo in my first film, "The iDol." Haraguchi loves teasing me about this (among other things), leaving me in a position where all I can do is down as much alcohol as possible and tease him back.

It was only my second time to meet the film's leads, so I was still in the introductory stage of my meeting with them. You know, polite speech and lots of praising back and forth (so different from Haraguchi). However, two of the actors I've known for awhile. Hiroko Sakurai is always a sweetheart, and seems to have a smile permanently plastered on her face. The other actor, Ryuki Kitaoka (guess he changed his name), I've known since 1999 when I met him at some low-rent "giant monster" festival in LA.

Two weeks later, I went over to Haraguchi's home where, amidst wild props from his various productions and his incredible still and movie poster, we conducted an interview about his work and intentions for the "Death Kappa" film. It was basically a follow up interview to the one I did with him during shooting.

Also during April was the premiere of the film "Natural Woman 2010," which I did subtitles for earlier in the month of April. While not a major release, it was a quite an enjoyable job. The premiere at Image Forum in Shibuya was a blast. All of the film's actresses were on hand, along with director Seiichi Nomura, a well known photographer in Japan who came up with the idea of running photos of pretty girls at the head of Japanese manga, an idea that could be said to have become culturally significant. The premiere featured a talk on stage with the director and the films four main actresses.

I dragged my friend Shusuke Kaneko to the screening (which made a stir backstage). After the screening, Kaneko, myself, Yamazaki (assistant producer), her sister and Ayano, the lead of "Natural Woman," went to a small restaurant around the corner and spent about 5 hours talking and basically just laughing it up. 

The following week saw another "Natural Woman" event, this time attended by the two leads, Ayano and Shiomi, and director Nomura. It was also my birthday, and, coincidently, assistant producer Yamazaki's too. After the screening, Excellent Films president Ito-san took us out for an excellent birthday dinner! (Get it? Excellent films. Excellent dinner... Ah, forget it!)

I spent the night getting to know Shimoi and getting to know Ayano better. Shiomi works mostly as a model and was the face for a line of cosmetics for cosmetic giant Kanebo. She had some interesting stories about modeling trips to Spain. Ayano, on the other hand, was a film student and it seems she's become an actress only because she happens to be entirely cute. The food was fantastic, and desert was a big dish of different pastries with Yamazaki's and my name written across it in chocolate syrup.

The Dawn of the Dead Box Set I worked on came out a day or two before my birthday, and the company sent me a copy, which is great as the 20,000 yen price tag is a bit steep. I don't know if I'd call the cover 'exciting,' more like 'sophisticated,' but the set gets my approval.  In addition to the various versions of the film, there are lots of nifty bits on the extras disc, too many to mention here. As I announced in a previous blog, I wrote a couple of pages for the 64page pamphlet. Writing about my favorite film of all time and getting paid for it is one of my greatest joys! There's nothing like money made from doing what you like doing.

Between blogs I also did subtitles for a film called "Mutant Girls Squad," which is an upcoming film from Nikkatsu Studio on their new Sushi Typhoon label. Directed by three men – Nishimura, Iguchi, Sakaguchi – MGS is a totally over the top gore fest with some decent action scenes and a good sense of humor from start to finish. Writing the subs was challenging, as some of the sections have no English equivalent. One reason I got the job is because director Nishimura insisted that I do it. I've known Nishimura for years now and I know how he thinks and where his sensibility lies. I also did subs for his "Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl" film last year and those came out well.

As if this wasn't enough, I also spent several days on the set of two new Nikkatsu films, but as these remain officially unannounced, I guess I shouldn't mention them in any detail yet. Hopefully by the time I find a moment to update this blog it will be OK for me to talk about them.

Until then...

Yubari Final and other Stuff

Wanted to do a more detailed blog on my time at Yubari - as per the last entry - but since getting home from Hokkaido I've hit the ground running and been bogged down with work. So, that kind of entry is no longer possible. But the work I've been busy with is good. No complaints.

One of these jobs - and one I just completed today - was doing subtitles for an upcoming film in Japan called "Natural Woman 2010." It was a fun gig. I enjoyed the performances of the two lead women, actresses Ayano and Yukari Shiomi.

Not counting my own films, this is my third subtitling job. (To date, I've done the indie kaiju film "G" and "Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl.") I like subtitling and find it stimulating coming up with equivalent English phrases and expressions that will allow non-Japanese speaking people the opportunity to join in on Japanese cinema. It also offers me a terrific outlet in which to express my understanding of Japanese culture and to do so in the medium of film, which is my art form of choice. I've got an offer now to sub a major release in Japan and will announce that here if I secure the job. Should find out over the next month. Looking good though.

I also had a great gig last Saturday night at Theater N in Shibuya, where they were screening a remasted HD print of DAWN OF THE DEAD, my all-time favorite movie. When I get into my Yubari recap later on in this blog, I'll write about a similar job I did of hosting a DAWN show there, which is what led to the screening in Shibuya last weekend.

Back in the early 1980s I made several trips to the Monroeville Mall, the location for much of DAWN OF THE DEAD. Although the Mall still stands today, almost every store seen in the film has shut down. I took several rolls of film back then when it was still very similar to how it looked during shooting. For my talk show, I ran through a slide presentation of the best of these shots, comparing them to frames from the film, and related stories of being at the mall, what the place is like, and my experience of working with director George Romero eleven years ago on the Biohazard II TV commercial.

One of the highlights of the Theater N show was when I pulled out an actual piece of Mall marble I picked up from the loading dock of the mall 25 years ago. The audience gasped, surprised to see such an insane item as this. With it held firmly in both hands, I marched the small slab through the center isle of the theater, inviting people in the audience to touch it. It was a funny moment, and terrific for me to see so many people with wide smiles plastered across their faces as they reached out to give my marble a few hard rubs.

One more thing about this night: For sale in the theater were a bunch of DAWN t-shirts. Some were cool, others were whatever... But there was one that simply blew my mind! It didn't even say DAWN OF THE DEAD anywhere on it. I mean, leave it to the Japanese to come up with as insane an 'otaku' items as this. What I'm talking about is that there was a shirt with the words "Bach's Arco Pitcairn" printed on the back! 

What?!?
You don't get it? OK... Let me explain:

There's a scene in DAWN where a zombie with a baseball glove sits down in front of Fran, the female lead, and the two stare at each other through a pane of glass. Well, some nut heads in Japan went to the trouble of making an exact copy of the shirt the zombie was wearing! Thus, the words, "Bach's Arco Pitcairn." Man... What could I do other than get one for myself! I suppose this means that I still have some otaku left in me after all. It's now my favorite shirt of all-time and space!

Well, I do want to wrap up my Yubari report. Guess I'll present it in what bits stand out in my mind...a whirlwind blur in my mind.

First and foremost was the screening of my movie, IT'S ALL GOOD, my main reason for traveling up to the cold wastelands of Hokkaido. It was shown the morning of the first full day of the festival. There were three other films on the bill, with mine up first.  The directors from the other films and I, along with Yoshihiro Nishimura, who worked on all three films, gathered off stage where we got mentally ready for the screenings.

My favorite moment came when they ran the introductory video that was shown before each (and every) screening at Yubari. Among them was a commercial for Yubari ski resorts and featured a bit with four children standing in a line rocking side to side, their heads poking out from behind the one in front. It is a hysterically charming commercial. As it played for the audience the four of us, who had gathered in a circle off in a dark space to the right side of the screen, starting swaying our bodies around like the kids in the video. We were all giggling hard when they called us on stage.

It's important to watch your film with an audience. It allows you to see things with fresh eyes. I'm happy to report that, other than the fact that the film was still missing some of its CG work, I couldn't find much to fault in it. That is, it had reached the point of being as good as it was going to get.

After the screening, I took the stage to talk about the film. I enjoy this kind of thing. I rattled off some production stories and talked about the film's inspirations. My friend and writing partner Mie was hosting the show. As my actors couldn't join me at Yubari, having Mie there was the next best thing.
I got a lot of great comments after the screening (and throughout the show). My favorite was from someone who said that every Japanese should see my film. I'm for that!

Later that night I met up with my friends: directors Shusuke Kaneko and Takeshi Yagi, writers Jiro Kaneko, actor Takashi Nishina and  and "Bakamono" producer Okimoto. We all went to an Izakaya to pig out.  At the table next to us was the Nishimura / Iguchi clan and across from them was the Shun Oguri / Mata Yamamoto group. I was able to catch up with Ryohei Suzuki, one of the starts of Oguri's film, and introduced him to Nishimura and Kaneko. Lots of drinking, talking about film, production stories, etc etc. All in all, a really fun night.

The next day I spent in and out of film screenings, sitting around talking to people and / or taking quiet walks through the Yubari snow. It's an interesting town. It used to have money, but that has dried up along with the young population. Most of the people there seem on average 60 years old.

Despite it being the middle of winter and cold as all hell, Yubari holds an outdoor barbeque for the festival. The specialty this year was deer. Ugh... Sure... I'll eat deer. I eat cow, so why not deer?

One of the people I spent a lot of time with at the show was Nakoshi, who if you don't know, I'm not even going to bother explaining. She's beyond explanation. I simultaneously loathe her and love her. I'm the first to admit that being around her is a dangerous endeavor. She is prone to causing people physical pain if she so decides. If you've ever seen any of Nishimura's films, you've seen Nakoshi. She's in "Tokyo Gore Police" as one of the exotic, mutant dancers, and is the dethroned wrist cut champion in "Vampire Girl vs Frankenstein Girl."

At the barbecue Nakoshi and I went around to the many outdoor hotplates, gathering up food and then joined my friends where we ate huddled around an outdoor stove. My only complaint here is that there weren't enough hotplates and the food would be gone about 3 seconds after it was done. So, I can't really say I filled up on Bambi meat like I would like to say.

That night was the midnight screening of DAWN OF THE DEAD. It featured a dubbed version of the film in Japanese, which I had never seen before. I, along with Egia Hi-Ho writer Yoshida, hosted the show.

First off, I have to admit it: I drank a lot beforehand. But, in my defense, I think everyone at the show was drinking heavily. And since I was drinking throughout the whole show, it was one of those drunken moments where you're just sort of maintaining a buzz and not wasted.

With that said, OK, yeah, I admit it, I was drunk when I took the stage with Yoshida. In fact, before the screening, I was confronting members of the audience, going up to them as they took their seats asking, "Hey, have you seen DAWN OF THE DEAD?" If they answered "Yes" I would "allow" them to stay. If they dared utter "No," they were struck bewildered by me yelling, "Get the hell out of here!" It was all done in jest, of course.

As that blasted promotion video of the Yubari ski resort was playing before DAWN, I saw this as my chance to have a little fun. When the 4 children in the ski video were standing in a row, swaying back and forth, I ran out on stage and, with the screen behind me, acted as if I was in the film with them. The audience roared with approving laughter as I rocked from side to side. I think that by this point everyone was sick of seeing that video.

Like I was to do later on in Shibuya, I projected photos I had taken at the mall and told stories about the DAWN location. I was so full of enthusiasm and energy that I managed to fall off the stage when I ran up to point out something on the screen. Kind of messed up my right leg...

The viewing of the film, probably my 240th time (I stopped counting at 210) was great. And my date for the show was Nakoshi.  It was her first time to see the film. I love seeing DAWN with first timers, especially cute girls. And as odd as Nakoshi is, she always has some interesting thing to say later on.

The next morning was the obligatory guest photo session. In a light snowfall, we were whisked by bus to a wide, open area where we took spots along a long platform. In front of us were dozens and dozens of reporters snapping our photos. It would have been more fun if it weren't so blasted cold!

That night was the closing party of the festival in the hall of one of the hotels. Lots of food and lots of people to talk to. Again, I hung out with the Kaneko clan and Nakoshi.

Oh, let me illustrate the kind of person Nakoshi is. There was a film she starred in playing in this year's competition, one I went to see that day. It was kind of a mixed bag. Nakoshi is good, but some of the direction was muddled, the shooting visionless, and the audio awful. I only mentioned this to her since she asked for my honest opinion and since she said she hated the film anyway. After telling her what I thought, she told me to hold on. A moment later she returned with the director, a young guy probably not more than 23. Nakoshi said, "Norman, tell him all the film's bad points like you just told me." Nakoshi is the type that likes to put people in compromised, embarrassing positions.

After the party, a group of us went across the street to an Izakaya. This was probably the most enjoyable moment of the whole show. Everyone was drinking, talking film and just having a good time in general. Having had enough of Nakoshi, I sat with Yui, who stars in director Iguchi's "Robo Geisha"'s spinoff. I did bring Nakoshi along as Nishimura had returned to Tokyo. Unfortunately, she wasn't on best behavior and tore some chest hair off of Shusuke Kaneko and shoved a fork up another guy's nose.

Yagi got an idea to shoot a film, so we all went out into the cold where he directed a silent flick about a gang that attacks the wife of one of the guys in our group. I got knocked down into the snow when her husband came to rescue her. Freaking cold! But, ah, I love snow! Wish we had just a little more in Tokyo. I should also mention that my buddy Benny was there too. He's a great guy and always turns up in Nishimura films.

The following day the festival ended with a screening of Shusuke Kaneko's upcoming film "Bakamono." I guess the English title would be "The Idiots". It's about a young man who meets a slightly older woman and how she corrupts him before leaving him. He then turns to heavy drinking and destroys all the relationships in his life. From there comes the rebuilding process, until he meets her again ten years later where it seems likely that it might start all over again.

This was my second time to see the film. It's a really great movie, kind of a throwback to Japanese films of the 60s and 70s, and Kaneko tells the tale well. I saw the film at a staff screening and loved it so much I recommended it to the Yubari people. They liked it too and included it in the show. As I thought, there wasn't a dry eye in the house when the film finished. The screening was followed by the farewell party where we have to listen to several boring speeches and are served food made by the locals. At least the beer was free...

From there came the odious task of returning to Tokyo. It's a two hours bus ride to Chitose Airport, and then the flight back. At least this time we weren't grounded for hours and hours. After getting back to Tokyo, Kaneko and I rode the trains back into Setagaya, talking about the festival and what's next on our agendas.

Well, all in all, another successful screening of another film of mine. After returning home I received the viewer feedback reports and my film averaged 4 out of 5 stars. I supposed that's a testament to my drive and ability. Once I get the film's final footage and finish it properly, I plan to show it at more festivals around the word.

But then, I also have some new films I'm working on. Including one with Nakoshi... I take my life in my hands...

Yubari Film Festival 2010: Day One

Hooray! I survived the 20th Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival. I'll be updating the blog over the next week to relate my experience at the show.

Day 1:

Things started off shaky. Rushed off early to Haneda airport only to find that there were severe fog conditions up in Hokkaido and that all flights to Japan's northern region were grounded. Luckily I was traveling with one of my staff members, Mie Kurokawa, and so had someone to pass the wait with. A pain, for sure, and the airport got insanely crowded, but it was no ones fault. Four hours later we were airborne and headed for the Northern part of Japan.

Even though the flight from Tokyo to Hokkaido takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes, the bus from the airport to the small town of Yubari takes about 2 hours. Nothing to do but look out at snow covered landscapes or sleep. I did a little of both.

We guests arrived at Yubari hours late and so were rushed to the opening ceremony where there was a long line of non-guests waving to us as our bus pulled in. Stepping off the bus, we were greeted by a row of old ladies handing out potato balls and warm milk. As actor Ryo Ishibashi noted later on: The milk was amazing!

The first order of the Yubari Film Fest is the ceremony, which is held in the town's lone movie theater. A bit run down with seats fitted for Japanese of a previous generation, the theater isn't the best around, but it has a certain flavor. One by one, each film was spotlighted on the screen while the guest(s) connected to it were introduced. When my film, "It's All Good," was announced, Mie and I stood and waved around the place.

This was my second time at Yubari. I was there in 2008 when my film, The iDol, was in the competition. This time my film was just enjoying a normal screening. I prefer this as I hate competitions. All in all, the ceremony was the usual Yubari fare. First up were some people playing shamisens. Then the town's mayor made a speech. Then the judges of the competition made speeches. Then other people made speeches. I grew sleepy--and hungry! Why do Japanese love speeches so?

Following this was the premiere of the film "Someday Surely." I have to say that this was one of the worst films I have ever seen. Sometimes it's just a matter of taste whether one likes something or not. Make no mistake about it, there was no choice in the matter here - this was crappy filmmaking at its highest level! I couldn't agree with ANY choices the director made! As Mie said later, all film students should watch this as an example of everything one should NOT do when making film. It was directed by 28-year idol actor Shun Oguri who, along with the film's actors, attended the screening.

It turned out that I'm friends with one of the main actors. However, due to the outlandish "star" clothes all the actors came in, I didn't recognize him. It was Mie who said, "Isn't that guy your friend?" Sure enough it was Ryohei Suzuki. Ryohei, who was just as surprised to see me at the show, and I had a good laugh over this the next day.

Following the film Mie and I went to the hotel to check in. She was bunking with two press people and I had my own room (thank god!). After dumping my bags I rushed downstairs to the opening party on the second floor.

I walked in and although only 10 minutes late, the place was already jam-packed. As I hadn't eaten all day, I was famished. I went from table to table, but all the food was gone! I couldn't even find clean chopsticks! I made my way to the table at the base of the stage and there I spotted some pizza and salad on a tray. I dove for the food, managing to get my grubby hands on a couple of slices, but I still lacked chopsticks for the salad. I started to grumble when someone handed me chopsticks. I looked up to see it was the mayor of Yubari! He went into service mode, dishing me salad and noodles. Then he grabbed a beer and poured me a cup. As he did, the town's elite watched and laughed. It was kind of a funny moment.

After the party I went to the screening of Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl. But I only stayed to watch the opening (directors Nishimura and Iguchi going at it) and to show Mie a bit of the film. Despite being 1/30th the budget of the festival's opening film, it is 100 times better made.

Following this I caught up with some film friends and then went home to call it a night. My film was playing the next morning and I wanted to get some sleep.