Lost In Translation

Picture busy Tokyo streets, rushing Asians bouncing briskly by, yammering in Japanese, lights flicker in every shade of neon as the noises of an urban setting coupled with the bells and whistles of the nearest high tech video arcade scream constantly. Then envision a Japanese zen garden. Bright skies adorned with neatly trimmed landscape and handsome hedges. Buddhist monks chanting and playing drums sound the backdrop. In the recently released film, Lost In Translation, two Americans meet in a Tokyo hotel and harshly juxtapose the aforementioned setting. The writer/director/Hollywood nepotist, Sophia Coppola is incredibly successful at getting us lost. And ironically, in that goal, she has succeeded. However, her characters are poorly discerned and unsympathetic from the perspective of a simple commoner like me.

Bob Harris, played by Bill Murray is an ripening Hollywood film star. He has grown tired of traveling, photo shoots, the reason he came to Asia, and the relationship with his all- to-normal wife, who humorously sends him color samples for the rug to be placed in his den by Fed Ex. It seems, the importance of burgundy is all they have in common.

Charlotte played by nubile hottie, Scarlett Johnson, is a brand new college grad, directionless and lethargic. She has followed her husband, a photographer played by Giovanni Ribisi, to the Tokyo hotel because she, seemingly, has nothing better to do. A waif, she knows not whether to wander around the city or look up old acquaintances and party.

And… they're… off! It's movie award season, which means that after a whole year of watching performances which were all dubbed "Oscar Worthy," we get to finally see who walks away with a statue, and who has to settle for a wiener. While the merit of the performance does come into play, it's really the marketing and publicity that dictates who gets nominated and who wins.

How Marketing Helps

Within the entertainment industry, studios take out ads in trade publications like Variety that read "for your consideration." If you haven't seen them, these ads remind Academy Members of the studios' films throughout the year and ask voting members to consider each film and its notable participants for nomination them for an Oscar. That's all well and good, and frankly, I wish I were selling ads for Variety during awards season. This form of marketing is necessary because when films and actors are nominated, it can dramatically increase box office revenue.

But before the "for your consideration" ads come out, the subliminal marketing campaigns begin. In England, one is born into royalty - and every so often the Queen will Knight or Dame an individual she deems deserving (for example Sir Paul McCartney or Dame Diana Rigg.) In Hollywood, the royal title is either "Academy Award Winner" or "Academy Award Nominee." Granted, it is an achievement to earn either of those distinctions, but I get tired of being hit over the head with that reminder during every single movie trailer that I see. "Coming soon to a theater near you… blah blah blah starring Academy Award Winner Sir Anthony Hopkins, Academy Award Winner Dame Judi Dench and Academy Award Winner Sir Michael Caine." Christ, start the movie already. I know who they are.

The winners of the second Project Greenlight contest have been announced. The latest amateur screenwriter has gotten her foot in the door. Erica Beeney won for her screenplay, The Battle of Shaker Heights and Kyle Rankin and Efram Potelle were the winning directors. They will direct the winning screenplay, which will be produced by Miramax. Congratulations to the lucky winners and the best of luck in your careers.

The dreams of three aspiring filmmakers have begun. So many people want to write -- most people either want to write the great American novel or they have a great idea for a screenplay. These days, it seems the latter is the more common goal and also the easier of the two to see to fruition. Even though it's easier than getting a book published, it's still very very difficult to accomplish. If writing and selling a screenplay is a goal of yours, here are resources and advice to help you achieve that goal.

Hip hop is a way of life that's evolved into many things over its lifespan. It's grown out of the inner cities whence is sprang, and up to the very height of popular culture. Its financial contribution to the music industry has ascended from a hill of beans into one of the largest movers of money in the world. Its reach is heard and felt across boudaries both cultural and national.

The question is, what has it really become? Does it now exist in contradiction with its intended message? Does it now tower over our world in spite of its roots? Is it still art, or is it now merely a cog in the money machine?

Listening to the radio one night, I tuned in to Chocolate City, one of the many outstanding shows on KCRW. Chocolate City has long been my favorite program on the station, thanks in no small part to deejay Garth Trinidad. That night I tuned in to hear Garth reading an essay that someone had forwarded to him. It was called Fuck Hip Hop, and it was about how the last black arts movement had died. As Garth read it, I was hit by how powerful and brilliantly written it was, and I couldn't stop shaking my head as the essay touched on points that I had been thinking about for years, but no one had been saying.

Garth was reading an article from a site called ExitTheApple.com, and this amazing essay had been sent to him, and he had been as compelled to read it, as I had been to listen. The author is Pierre Bennu, and I knew immediately that I had to talk to him. (Please make sure you find time to read the article, it will be well spent.)

I got in touch with both Pierre and Garth, and we sat down to talk about some of the issues that Pierre's article got so eloquently into. What follows is a discussion between the three of us about the state of hip hop as an art and culture, and its future or lack of future, in light of the current state of music and societal attitudes toward all the images that are associated with hip hop.