Wednesday, August 24, 2011

TAKE THAT APES

Last weekend, two local Taiwanese movies You Are the Apple of My Eye, and Jump Ashin!, beat out all Hollywood movies at the box office, including Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which also just opened. Growing audiences for locally-produced movies have been a trend for the last few years, ever since 2008 and the breakout of Cape No. 7, but I think this is the first time since I've been back in Taiwan that I've seen two local films both doing so well (so well, in fact, that they're competing directly with each other for the much-coveted youth audiences).


Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

SECRET SUNSHINE

Why are Korean directors so good?



Monday, August 8, 2011

WOODY ON WRITING

"That's where 90 percent of everything fails, is in the writing. It usually doesn't fail in the acting, and it usually doesn't fail in the directing. It fails in the writing".

"First you write the script. Then you write it down".

Thursday, August 4, 2011

NOTHING IS ORIGINAL

"Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don't bother concealing your thievery - celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: "It's not where you take things from - it's where you take them to."

- Jim Jarmusch

MURMUR

I've been listening to this album non-stop recently. Ah, 1983...