For What It's Worth

My Samurai Friend

Mark Dacascos is the most multi-talented friend I have. He has a TV show on the History Channel on March 16 that I want you to watch: Samurai. More on that in a moment...

You probably already know about Mark one way or another even if you don't think you do. Care about martial arts? He's one of the top fighters in the world and has carved out a film career that's made him globally famous. Ever seen "Iron Chef America?" Mark is the Chairman. Did you catch "Dancing with the Stars" last season? Mark came in near the top. Do you like the character of Eric Draven or "The Crow?" Mark starred in that role on the TV series.

Mark and I became friends while working together on "The Crow: Stairway to Heaven" about ten years ago. Here's an essay about the whole experience that was written when the series came out on DVD a few years back. 

I like this composite picture of Mark (to the left) because it so captures the duality he has. He's the yin and the yang; the fighter and the lover; the East and the West. He's multi-racial; multi-cultural; and, as I say, multi-talented. My wife Jackie and I have developed another TV series with Mark for him to star in that takes advantage of all these attributes but that's a matter for a future post. But it was during this process that Mark told us about his travels for this film and it sounded like a thrilling adventure ride that I want you to know about. So right now, let's head east to Japan, the Land of Samurai...

"Samurai" on History Channel is a two-hour special which documents Mark's journey to Japan (a return, sort of, since he also has, I think, one-quarter Japanese blood flowing through his martial artist veins). Once there, he retraces the footsteps of the most famous samurai of all, Miyamoto Musashi. 

According to the promo blitz, samurai culture has always interested him. “They were always calm and relaxed right before they drew their swords and fought." This is why, for example, if I ever want to try a new restaurant in a dicey neighborhood, I would like Mark in the dinner party, walking me to my car. In any case, here's more from the background info these warriors:

From the History Channel website:

The samurai, members of a powerful military caste in feudal Japan, began as provincial warriors before rising to power in the 12th century with the beginning of the country's first military dictatorship, known as the shogunate. As servants of the daimyos, or great lords, the samurai backed up the authority of the shogun and gave him power over the mikado (emperor). The samurai would dominate Japanese government and society until the Meiji Restoration of 1868 led to the abolition of the feudal system. Despite being deprived of their traditional privileges, many of the samurai would enter the elite ranks of politics and industry in modern Japan. More importantly, the traditional samurai code of honor, discipline and morality known as bushido--or "the way of the warrior"--was revived and made the basic code of conduct for much of Japanese society.

The film, though, is about one particular samuarai -- Miyamoto Musashi -- who was born in 1584. Apparently, Musashi perfected the two sword killing style. Today he is the prime example in Japan of how to live and work. His philosophies that he wrote down in his final years of life in his book The Book of Five Rings, is what guides many Japanese businesses today. I haven't read it yet, but Mark has, which is probably why he comes off so much more enlightened than I do in network pitch sessions.

Here's another odd reason to watch. If you're watching HBO's "The Pacific" about the Pacific theater in World War II, you will hear references to Kamikaze pilots who intentionally flew their planes into allied boats to kill their enemy. Well, folks, the samurai were their inspiration.

This film is about Musashi, yes, but it's also about Mark. Filmed as Mark's own personal journey to understand this iconic Japanese figure, he shows viewers this warrior's influence still lives in the hearts and minds of the Japanese today. He shows the locations of Musashi’s legendary battles and the training that the warrior inflicted on himself. 

But -- in the totally cool category -- Mark also puts on 16th century armor and re-enacts the way the warriors of the past lived their lives. Mark shows viewers some modern-day masters as well as the secret craft of forging a samurai sword. One more time from the History Channel people:

Actor/martial arts champ, Mark Dacascos, explores the story of Miyamoto Musashi, the most famous Samurai of all time, and trains in the weaponry and wisdom of Japan’s great warriors. Set to the action-packed, battle-scarred backdrop of Japan’s warrior tradition, this new two-hour special takes viewers on an immersive journey through historic Japan in the footsteps of Musashi, Japan’s legendary swordsman and warrior. As Mark learns about ancient Samurai culture, the action is brought vividly to life in a dynamic and innovative way through cutting-edge animation.

"Samurai" premiers Tuesday, March 16 at 8 PM ET on History Channel.

 

Giving Peace a Chance: Between Shalom and Salaam

If you live anywhere near Santa Barbara and you care about bringing peace to the Middle East, I'd like to invite you to come visit us at the 2009 Israeli-Palestinian Film Festival.

Hi, I'm Lauren Zabel, the Head Chair of the Event.

This year's festival is being held between Monday, May 4 and Thursday May 14.  We have a collection of films that are guaranteed to expand your horizons, make you think and see the world with just a little more perspective.  We open with "Waltz with Bashir" but keep the momentum going with 11 more truly impactful films.

Please feel free to visit our website for details.

Or you can download a PDF of our flyer.

We hope you'll think of us as an organization worthy of your support.  We're student run and we appreciate whatever you can do but mostly we'd like you to come see one or more of these films.

UCSB's very own Israeli Palestinian Film Festival grew out of a tiny film club that met weekly to watch and discuss the latest and classics of Israeli cinema. Looking for a way to dive into the societies of Israel, beyond the news and the surface facts, was the main purpose for many of the club's initial members. Many had a solid understanding of Israeli history and current events, while many others were completely new to the culture and just looking for an approachable angle.

Whatever the cause, the club spawned a similar chapter when founder Herschel Colbert arrived in Santa Barbara. While not the film major or film buff he is often thought to be, Herschel took a liking to the window into daily life that films can bring and the healthy environment that UCSB fosters for debate and the Middle East. He wanted to show fellow students "the real Israel" that he lived in, not the one spoken of by both news media and university professors.

Israeli Palestinian Film Club joined forces with several on-campus organizations and departments in Spring quarter 2007 to bring to UCSB the world's first and only festival dedicated to both Israeli and Palestinian cinema. The first festival spanned an entire quarter and had highlights of the composer and ensemble of the film West Bank Story and a powerful visit by director Eytan Fox and his film Walk on Water. Now planned and run by a student committee, the festival enters its third year and we are determined to make it even better.

We are now a collaboration between the following groups: American Students for Israel, Amnesty International, Lebanese Club, The Muslim Student Association, Persian Student Group, Santa Barbara Hillel, Students for Justice in Palestine and Students for Understanding the Middle East.

We're not going to lecture you, though.  We're going to give you a film experience that you're just not going to have in a multiplex.

Hope to see you in Santa Barbara.  Our site has directions and more information.  Come early on film days and enjoy the wonderful ambience of Santa Barbara.  Springtime is truly spectacular in our wonderful town and campus.

They May Just Start Liking Us Again...

I've just returned from a visit to Europe.  We visited London, Venice, Brussels and Bruges.  Everywhere I went, my daughter and I wore our Barack Obama buttons (see photo) and it helped us make a lot of new friends.  Honestly, if Europeans voted in this election, well, they wouldn't have to bother with ballots.  They could just do it by acclamation!

While there, I also picked up a copy of the Newsweek international edition with an article by Stryker McGuire, "The Global Election."  He makes the point that "the world has never watched any vote, in any nation, so closely. In country after country, polls show record-high fascination with the outcome of the U.S. elections this Tuesday."  McGuire makes it clear why they're interested.

"...the election played large and transformational: a 21st-century man with whom the whole world can identify versus an old cold-warrior out of synch with the complex political and economic crises of our age. The election, it seemed, had morphed into a meta-election. If at home, especially as the election neared its end, Obama seemed to be playing down his blackness, his intellect, his eliteness and his progressive ideas, these were the qualities that more and more drew the rest of the world to him. The world loved the idea that a man named Barack Hussein Obama could become America's 44th president after a 200-year string of white guys named Washington and Jefferson, Clinton and Bush."

That was definitely my conclusion.  We were stopped by restaurant owners, taxi drivers, hotel clerks and even fellow tourists; every single one wanting to make sure we knew that they, too, wanted him to win.

I realize that Europeans liking Obama would be red meat for a Sarah Palin speech, using it as evidence of how weak he is: to be supported by the French!

It's no reason, by itself, to support Barack Obama, I suppose.  Even the Europeans think he's going to drive some hard bargains if he wins.  But they seem ready to like America again.  If we give them the chance...

Lost... and Found

While we were returning from Ireland two days ago (geez, it seems like a month ago and a dream at that), one of my pieces of checked luggage didn't make it from Dublin to Chicago. Then it didn't make it from Chicago to Los Angeles. We filed a lost baggage report.

They told us that they try to get it back in 24 hours and would deliver it to our house. But all day yesterday, the airline kept showing status reports on the internet and over the phone of it continuing to be lost. The video camera you see to the left was in that bag but the good news is that, at the last minute, I stored the two tapes we'd shot in my carry-on and put the camera in the other bag that got checked. "It's only money" I reminded myself; I'd saved what was important, the memories.

I gave up hope of getting the bag back as the clock ran out on the first day. Then I got sad remembering that the luggage had all the t-shirts I'd bought in Ireland, including my two Rolling Stones Slane concert tees. It had some other stuff, too, that had some attachment, plus the bag was new. What really depressed me was the feeling that a robbery victim must have: you've been violated, and there's nothing anybody can do about it.

This morning it looks like they found the bag! Even though I've slept only a couple of hours from this topsy-turvy jet-lag, I'm wide awake and feeling fine. Over a few tee-shirts. Go figure...

Got My Satisfaction: The Rolling Stones Play Ireland's Slane Castle

We flew into Dublin, Ireland on Saturday to see The Rolling Stones play before 70,000 fans at Slane Castle, just north of the city in County Meath. It was a great memorable night of rock-and-roll, not something we'll ever forget. The first time I'd ever seen the Stones and same for my family. Well, as the saying goes, better late than never.

The weather rained off and on throughout the day which set up the castle ampitheater for a lot of mud, making it seem like an Irish slice of Woodstock with all the slipping and the sliding. This was no take your seat and chill with a cold beer at Staples Center kind of experience. This was one-of-a-kind all the way.

And, as it turned out, the rain mercifully was pretty much spent during the show even though it was cold enough that every last piece of clothing and "official" t-shirt we bought was being worn by the time the night was over. One of our new-found Irish friends in "D" stands told my wife that if somebody saw her dressed like she was on the streets they'd give her money because they'd assume she was homeless! Maybe it was the three hats she was wearing at the time...

None of it stopped us from having the concert time of our lives here. But don't take my word for it. I'll leave it to the Irish Sun tabloid for the hyperbole. Here's how they began their article "The Stones Wow Slane with Great Big BANG!"

Rock legends The Rolling Stones wowed more than 70,000 ecstatic fans on Saturday night with the greatest live show Ireland has ever seen.

The other papers were similarly effusive here. The Irish Daily Mirror's article was "70,000 Satisfied" and The Irish Daily Star was "Rolling Thrones: Jagger & Co. Crowned Kings of the Castle for Second Time."

That's a reference to the fact that the last time the Stones played Ireland was also at Slane Castle, 25 years ago, in 1982. What makes this so special is that Slane Castle only stages one big concert like this every year and only U2 has created a similar sensation. This felt like a primarily local affair, heavily Irish, and Jagger even spoke a little Gaelic to the crowd.

We had our new BlackBerry "global" phone with us and managed to get off a couple of phone calls during the concert -- to my brother Alan who's been to Ireland twice before and seen the Stones years ago, and to my friend Scott Matis who has forgotten more concerts he's been to than I've ever attended. That was pretty cool -- being in the middle of a crowd of 70,000, having just arrived in a foreign country, out in the middle of what felt like nowhere -- and just dialing out a couple of calls to play a little Stones over the telephone connection. That's the world we live in now. Lauren was busy texting friends when her fingers weren't too numb.

Apparently, back-stage the Stones (who were flown in by helicopter) had a snooker table, massage rooms, satellite link to the English cricket final and even, yes, oxygen tanks and masks. We made do with a few less of the amenities, of course.

We got out here by bus (driving a car on our first day in-country would have been insane, let alone to a concert venue like this) and from the drop-off point you had to hike something like two or more miles (it seemed to me) to get to the concert.

I have to say that, despite the band having a combined age of 253 years they still know how to kick it out. The gig started with "Start Me Up" and ended with "Brown Sugar" and a huge fireworks display. They also played crowd favorites like "Midnight Rambler," "Tumbling Dice," "Miss You," "It's Only Rock and Roll," and a very different "Sympathy for the Devil."

So, bottom line, the rain at Slane couldn't stop the concert that, so far for me, was the concert of a lifetime. The papers have speculation that after the London concerts in the next few days, The Rolling Stones will retire from live touring for good. If that's the case, then this will be, as I said at the beginning, unforgettable. It's the end of an era probably, and we were there. Brilliant...

New York State of Mind

It's been alternately drizzling and drenching here in New York which makes it pretty miserable to be out walking around, especially given how hot it's been the past few days. After three days of walking the floor of the Javits Convention Center, schlepping books all over creation, going to two Broadway plays, and barely missing one terrorist event, Jackie and I are back in the hotel. We're kicking back, watching the New Hampshire Democratic debate unfold and waiting for the final episode of "The Sopranos."

I'll tell you one thing about the Book Expo. If Americans are supposed to be losing their taste for reading, you sure can't tell it here. Someone is reading all these books, there are thousands and thousands of new titles on display, and if I start tonight to read just what I'm taking home, I won't be done until Christmas. And, yes, I did get an autographed copy of Dr. Ruth's Sex for Dummies.

Saw a musical comedy and a great play here on Broadway. First up was Spamalot which I went into with low expectations, but came out with a big smile on my face. It just perfectly fit the mood I was in. My friends Scott and Andie had told me how much they enjoyed it and I'm glad we took their recommendation.

This afternoon we scored tickets to Inherit the Wind with Christopher Plummer and Brian Dennehy. I really enjoyed it but, given the spectacle we expect from Broadway, this felt like a high school play (it's performed everywhere) with great actors. I thought both Plummer and Dennehy were excellent as the Old Lions and worth the price of admission but the supporting cast had a few that could have been on a high school stage and nobody would have blinked. 

"If we could just agree that God used evolution to get the job done, then we could get out of this damnably hot courtroom and grab a cold beer."

Tomorrow we're doing meetings during the day on various projects, then eating with friends. Almost time to go home. I know we're over the weight limit with books, still have to figure that part out.

Books, Books, Books

Sitting here at Book Expo 2007 at the Javits Convention Center in New York with about a minute until my internet buy runs out on me. I'm in the support role here as my wife, Jackie Zabel, has the big-shot book out. It's The Hollywood Cookbook which has been extremely well-received in its short life. Now the plan is to take it international and this is the place to start. My own interest is in talking to people about The Winter of Our Discontent: The Impeachment and Trial of John F. Kennedy, an alt-history book I'm co-authoring with Harry Turtledove.

Monday Memo (4.23.07): 'Manifest' Destiny, Funeral for Camelot, and Motels from Hell

Just returned from Newport Beach where I moderated the screenwriters' panel consisting of Steve Oedekerk ("Ace Ventura," "The Nutty Professor," "Bruce Almighty"), Jeffrey Arch ("Sleepless in Seattle," "Iron Will") and Brad Gann ("Invinceable"). While we were there we also attended the premiere of my buddy Don Most's "Moola." At the afterparty, took this picture with William Mapother who a lot of you may remember as the snoopy, needle-wielding Ethan who is mysteriously missing from the plane's manifest on ABC's "Lost." That's my son, Jonathan, the USC School of Cinema near-grad. And, no, Mapother is not in the least creepy like Ethan. In person, he seems like a great guy, Don loved working with him and he does a very good job in the film.

• Meanwhile, our internet debut of Winter of Our Discontent: The Impeachment & Trial of John F. Kennedy book project continues. Every Monday brings a new installment in the novel-in-progress being written with alt-history author Harry Turtledove. Today begins Chapter 3: Damage Control which deals with a couple of funerals: reporter Lefkowitz attends the Arlington Cemetery burial of Secret Service agent Clint Hill along with a disgruntled LBJ while Duncan gets to fly to Dallas with JFK who's giving the eulogy for Governor Connally who died when the bullet intended for Kennedy took his life instead.

• Over at Movie Smackdown!, we're continuing to add more "referees" to our film critics group. I want to increase the overall content on the site which means I can't do it all myself. This week we introduce recovering TV newsman Mark Sanchez with his look at "Vacancy -vs- Motel Hell." You've probably already noticed Jonathan Zabel weighing in with "Meet the Robinsons -vs- The Incredibles" and "Grindhouse -vs- Pulp Fiction." Last week we add Jay Amicarella who reviewed "Disturbia -vs- Rear Window."

Signs of the Times: Cruisin' Mazatlan

My son Jonathan, the USC student who is actually majoring in Videogames, has turned me on to a new sport: looking for odd, poorly translated signs in English that usually pop up in foreign countries. He bagged quite a few good ones while traveling in China, Japan and South Korea over the past couple of years.

Our family has just come back from a week-long cruise through Mexico on the Royal Caribbean line of ships. We boarded on New Year's Eve so we got to celebrate the bringing in of the New Year in the Grand Ballroom. As the writer of one of the THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE re-makes, it was pretty crazy being on a cruise ship where you've written scenes that capsize a ship on New Year's Eve. Our boat, however, was not toppled by tidal waves or terrorists and proceded without incident through the rest of the cruise.

We had the most amazing day in Puerto Vallarta (more on that later), but we also ended up spending a day in Mazatlan where we found this sign. I think you'll agree that it pretty much speaks for itself.

That's right. "HERE IS MEXICAN BOB BARKER STORE COME ON DOWN THE PRICE IS RIGTH."

A little on the long side, maybe, but catchy nonetheless...

Deep Impact

Honestly, I only have a 50/50 chance of hitting a moving opponent in a laser-tag match so what NASA has done really does deserve a moment of appreciation.

They sent a refrigerator-size probe 83-million miles away from Earth over a six month journey and, traveling at 23,000 miles per hour, they hit a bullseye on a comet known at Tempel 1. Keep in mind that this is a comet that they had never technically even seen when they started this mission. Based on light waves, math so far beyond my comprehension and other scientific measurements, they just assumed it was there and went after it.

We have impact!

I know the scientists are thrilled that it worked out just as they planned and the results were as good as they could hope for. I just thought it was amazing they did it at all.

In Hollywood the only comets that count are the ones about to hit the Earth and end life as we know it. We actually hit this one first. This could come in handy the next time we need to load up a tactical nuke and deliver it to one of these things before they put us in the same boat as the dinosaurs.