80TH ACADEMY AWARDS

Random thoughts...

- Dissapointed "There Will Be Blood" did not win Best Picture. Was fine with the Coen Brothers getting Best Directing, assuming that they were going to give TWBB Best Picture. Glad it got Best Cinematography at least...

- Super happy about Glen Hasnard and Marketa Irglova winning Best Original Song.

- Cate Blanchett should have gotten Best Supporting Actress. C'mon now, seriously.

- Juno for Best Screenplay, very nice.

- Marion Cotillard is fking gorgeous. Would have been fun to see Ellen Page to win Best Actress, but Marion probably did give a more worthy performance. Didn't see "La Vie En Rose", but loved her in "Jeux D'Enfants".

- As a whole "Into The Wild" was robbed of deserved nominations. Throw "Michael Clayton" the hell out of the Best Picture nomination and insert "Into The Wild".

- Super happy about Daniel Day-Lewis and Javier Bardem's wins, of course.

- The nominated live action and animated short films are playing at IFC Theatre for you fellow New York residents, I plan on going to check them out.

Overall pretty good show this year!

ASIANAMERICANSFOROBAMA.COM

Actress Kelly Hu, director Eric Byler and some supporters have a roundtable.



Yul Kwon (Survivor) talks to Asian American supporters in San Francisco.



Kelly Hu and two old men from Hong Kong! (HAHA these guys are awesome!)

BLOOD BROTHERS

I just watched an awesome film.

Alexi Tan's "Blood Brothers".



I had heard a lot about this movie and had been wanting to see it when I finally got my hands on the DVD.

Fung (Daniel Wu), and brothers the gentle Hu (Tony Yang) and tough nut Kang (Liu Ye) - as they leave their quiet village in search of fortune in big city Shanghai. Their ambition to become waiters quickly becomes superseded by grander aspirations as Kang lands a job at hopping nightspot the Paradise Club run by powerful hood Boss Hong (Sun Honglei). After Kang puts in a good word for his brother and his pal, the three quickly find themselves working on some shady jobs, something Kang takes to more than the others. Fung’s intervention when a rival mobster catches Hu and Kang red-handed saves the brothers and earns them the approval of the boss, Kang fast-tracked into the upper echelons of heavies as Fung and Hu fret over their novel and unwelcome status as gangsters, the latter turning to the bottle for solace. Meanwhile Fung is transfixed by Boss Hong’s star attraction at the club, would-be movie star Lulu (Shu Qi) who is deep in a clandestine relationship with Hong’s wavering right-hand, ruthless assassin Mark (Chang Chen). When Hong discovers the betrayal and demands retribution, our three friends’ loyalties are laid on the line.





It stars Chang Chen (known for his work with Wong Kar Wai - 2046, Eros, Happy Together), Daniel Wu, and Shu Qi, and was actually produced by John Woo.

This was Alexi Tan's directorial debut, surprisingly enough, coming from a successful career as a fashion photographer:

Blood Brothers is Alexi Tan's first feature film, though Tan has referred to it as "a combination of all my collaborators' work" including costume designer Tim Yip, cinematographer Michel Taburiaux, and of course producer John Woo.

Tan has stated that he draws upon his upbringing as an overseas Chinese, such that his vision of China and Chinese society will at once be Chinese and at the same time "different." Tan notes that his film is an attempt to combine Eastern and Western influences, in that it is his attempt to transport the style of classic westerns, in particular those of Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinpah, into the setting of 1930s Shanghai.

The film was just exciting from start to finish, beautifully photographed and gorgeously art directed. Whoever did costume design deserves praise for capturing the era and putting together some AMAZING outfits for these characters. Wow, I loved the clothes soooooo much. Amazing trench coats, hats and suits.

THE FLU

About three hours ago I was in some excruciating discomfort, due to coming down with the flu. Seems like everyone is sick right now, its ridiculous. After some serious medication I'm currently able to function, but we'll see how long that lasts lol.

It definitely does not help that that Spring is non existent in New York, and despite March being around the corner it is still painfully sub-zero outside.

Currently listening: "All Of My Days" - Alexi Murdoch

MARATHON FILMMAKING

Yesterday was the shoot for my new short film "The Insomniac Lounge"... walked into the location at 9AM, and left 14 hours later with a new movie in the can hahaha. Grueling, but my crew was enthusiastic and everyone held up the whole way through. For me, it was the quickest 14 hours has ever gone by, as I always love every moment of doing this.

I'm really quite lucky to have a crew that was willing to put in so much work, as this realistically should have been at least a two day shoot... but due to constraints with people's schedules, it really would have been best to knock it all out in one marathon.

Post production will start this week, will need some help with sound design stuff so hopefully it doesn't take toooooo long to wrap it up. Will update on progress here though.

OK PONY

I know I talk a lot about my hometown of Portland, Oregon on here. I assume most of you know me, and have visited me there or are even from Portland yourselves.

But for any readers that may not have had the guaranteed life changing opportunity to visit my beloved city, you may be curious as to what life is really like out there.

"Its a small city, so is it boring?"
"But I've heard about so many people moving out there lately, why?"

Portland has gotten a lot of attention recently, being hailed as a mecca for independent thinking, art and a fantastic music scene. Well, all of the above is true, but often times words do not express what pictures can.

So I urge you to check out OK PONY, an awesome photo blog that captures a wide variety of Portland life. From our infamous protests, to nightlife, to random quirky scenes being played out in the streets, OK PONY gives you a pretty good glimpse into the weird little city that I love and call home.

http://okpony.com

I HATE ORLANDO BLOOM

Actually not really, but I kind of do because here he is photographed wearing the the most amazing coat I've seen in a long time.



Oh my God. Seriously, that is like the PERFECT color. If anyone has ANY information at all as to where the hell that came from, who makes it, etc... there will be reward money for your assistance.

Thank you for your time.

100 YEARS IN IRAQ? YES I CAN!

Check out this McCain-aimed parody of Will.I.Am's "Yes We Can" video:



Quite funny, but at the same time, it really isnt.... astonishing that this man is even still around having made such ludicrous statements. He is literally a madman.

Arigato to Steve Harris for the heads up...

EDIT:
Did anyone else see McCain call that CNN reporter a jerk out of nowhere?! WTF is wrong with this kid?

COVE PARK

Mike Huckabee just said that the difference between America and "Islamic fascists" is that America believes in "right and wrong" and that we would never strap a bomb our own children... that "we would never kill our own children", and I found that incredibly ironic.

Conservatives are so cute.

In any case, I got a new camera (Panasonic DVX100) and I am exciiiiiiitteeddddd! Couldn't wait to go shoot some stuff so I made this random little short the other day called Cove Park. Check it out:

THE 503 - "THE STATE OF THE UNION"

Episode 3 is here! The final episode until summertime.

Chronicles the final days of winter break, and introduces the new theme...

YES WE CAN

Here's Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas' star studded Obama video, "Yes We Can"...

Just saw this earlier, and wow, its pretty awesome. I love the idea of singing the actual speech... cameos from supporters Scarlett Johansson, Common, John Legend, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Herbie Hancock, Tatiana Ali, Kelly Hu, Taryn Manning, Eric Balfour, that chick from the Pussycat Dolls...

And apparently this was directed by Jesse Dylan, Bob Dylan's son??



FIRED UP!

LISTEN UP, SUPER BOWL HOOLIGANS

You are free and encouraged to shout and yell however you wish in the privacy of your home. But when you speed down the avenues honking your car horns, ignoring traffic signals and nearly running me over as I cross the street, we will have issues. You may gather in your sports pubs, packed in so tight the windows fog up, and do all the caveman-esque hollering you wish... but please refrain from stampeding down my street outside chanting and screaming. You don't see me acting like a neanderthal during the Oscars (which is the closest thing I have, and 10 times more adrenaline inducing), so your yearly Super Bowl antics will eternally puzzle me... but please, act civil or you will force me into unfortunate actions.

SNOW BRAWL

This is an instant classic.

So back home in Portland it's apparently snowing like madness. My little brother Keenan and his friends decide to go out and have some fun in the snow. They start pelting this guy driving by with snowballs, and well... the video is pretty self explanatory HAHAHAHA:



HAHAHAHAHAHAHA oh my god. The best is how he trips and eats slushy goodness TWICE while chasing that one kid.

Nice to see the legacy of mischief I caused as a youth is being carried on successfully hahahahaha.

CHANGE

Barack Obama, on the youth:

"They're not tied up with the world as it is, they imagine the world as it might be."

RAG & BONE F/W 2008

Only posting my personal highlights of the collection...











Details of that large neck coat:



Details of ankle cuffs:





Awesome collection in my opinion. Everything is masculine, super wearable, and yet still takes chances and definitely isn't too safe. Which pretty much sums up Rag & Bone as a whole, but this collection excels I think.