"The Show Girl 34"

One of the series I'm currently directing, producing & editing for AOL called "The Show Girl" - a weekly roundup of all news related to TV. This one is on the upcoming Golden Globes..

Let's Play Who's Greedier!

Around the same time last year, I wrote a blog about MTV possibly going dark. Well Time Warner Cable and Viacom obviously struck a deal, otherwise you would never have experienced the sheer entertainment that "Jersey Shore" has provided us! Anyhow, in '09 it's not Viacom that's threatening, but another media behemoth Fox, which has a multitude of channels including broadcast Fox, FX, AND Fox Sports. They have been very vocal, arguing that because of the changing landscape of many viewers migrating to cable, the precedent of carriers being provided Fox, along with NBC, ABC, and CBS for free, in their eyes is no longer sustainable. They argue that they get deserve higher fees, similar to pay cable nets like TNT - 'it's the new broadcast network'. Fox is pushing to get $1 per subscriber for regular Fox. TWC sees this as unfair and bullyish. Both companies have their moments. Here's some propaganda that both companies are pushing.



And Time Warner with a whole web campaign to combat the new fees, which inevitably might be passed onto the consumer..



Choose your side, I know mine. Fox should take the precedent CBS took earlier in the year when they locked down $0.50 per subscriber. We'll see what happens.

"Transsiberian"

I like all types of films. But thrillers usually top my list of favorite genres, and while flipping through On-Demand, this little co-production gem pleasantly surprised me. The IMDB logline reads "A Trans-Siberian train journey from China to Moscow becomes a thrilling chase of deception and murder when an American couple encounters a mysterious pair of fellow travelers." "Transsiberian" stars Woody Harrelson as a geeked out tourist, Ben Kingsly as a Russian drug mobster, and Emily Mortimer as our heroin, who deftly becomes the murderer in the film - a twist I never expected. Without spoiling the film too much, I was very impressed with the quality of writing and in particular, Emily's performance, which contained so many great subtleties. I imagine some film theory classes around the world using this film as a good example of substantive use of filmic space, being confined on the train, which lent an uneasy suspense that played well with the film. I recommend watching, here's the trailer..

"The Magnitude of the Continental Divides"

I can dig it. I'd actually like to work with this guy, so if you happen to read this, I got my eye on you!

"King of Hollywood" / Glenn Plummer

Another vignette from the '06 dark comedy I wrote/directed called "King of Hollywood". So far you should've seen the scenes with Todd Bridges and Ike Turner. This one stars Glenn Plummer, whose played seminal characters like O.G. Bobby Johnson from "South Central" and High-Top from "Colors". In particular when he played Bobby Johnson, here I wanted to create a curious parallel to that storyline where he's again playing the concerned father, but this time around of a troubled Hollywood teen with a whole new set of challenges/obstacles. And thanks to my buddy Jesse Taylor, who hooked up the location Rudolph's before it opened. [Disclaimer: I have no affiliation nor endorse the website being promoted on the video]. Here it is..


Jacky Jasper is Good for the Kids!

Jacky Jasper | MySpace Music Videos

Obama Thiz!

Haha, apparently people are banking on hope in other ways! Here's the post.

Voting Ends Dec. 6!

Babelgum.com, a very dope online channel, is having a contest where the best videos are displayed in NY Times Square during Xmas..



Please vote for my 2 video entries. The first is one that Kofie, Flying Lotus, and I put together called XXL MEDIUMS, where Kofie illustrates how everything around him is a medium. The second video is Rachele & Taz, a hybrid short/experimental video where a mysterious girl stalks Taz in his dreams. You can vote once/day and there's no sign up. All you do is hit the 'THUMBS UP' and that's it. Takes a nano-second, support your dude!

Oil War in Los Angeles

Thanks for the find Raymond. In light of me writing the feature "Black Gold" about the Nigerian oil industry, I've discovered we're having our own clandestine oil war right here in LA. Have you always wondered what the flowered-pattern tower spewing out smoke next to Beverly High is on Olympic? Or that inconspicuous DWP building on Pico, just east of Bevery Dr? I had a sneaking feeling, this confirmed it. My only qualm with the video is the host keeps referring to all these sub-neighborhoods as West Hollywood. Nowhere in LA does Pico even come close to running through WeHo. Nevertheless here's VBS exploring LA's oil underground..

Pacquio v. Cotto / Pic by Pic

Let's get ready to... recap.

















Cotto kept going, despite his face.










I don't blame Cotto's wife.





And that's that. Last round TKO. Pacman snatches the Welterweight title from Cotto, who fought valiantly.



Pound for pound, Pacquio will make you 'peel da pury'!



Next up, Mayweather. Still proof that while UFC is more brutal, boxing remains classy. And why was Larry Merchant hating so hard on Pacquio? Because when you're that good, somebody has to.

"The Ed Hardy Boyz"

Very funny, why didn't I think of this!? From the online portal Funny or Die, growing proof that more and more people will find their entertainment of choice on the internet.

The Ed Hardy Boyz: The Case of the Missing Sick Belt Buckle from Jon Daly

"Chasing The Lotus" Screening Nov. 14

This Saturday, I'm hosting the LA premiere of the surf doc "Chasing The Lotus" at the Bel Air Film Festival. The film is a fusion of rare super 8mm film, photo stills and contemporary interviews blended together to be the most in-depth look at surfing discovery ever made. Directed by a friend of mine and fellow Gaucho Gregory Schell, it's also narrated by the dude, Jeff Bridges, who's starring in the new upcoming "Tron Legacy"! Here's the flyer..

"King of Hollywood" / Ike Turner

Another vignette from "King of Hollywood" I wrote/directed in 2006. This time with the late great Ike Turner and his son, Ike Jr. He had just got off a plane from NY and was exhausted. So exhausted that he had to read his lines off cue cards! No joke, here's the video..

Babelgum Competition

Babelgum.com, a very dope online channel, is having a contest where the best videos are displayed in NY Times Square during Xmas..



Please vote for my 2 video entries. The first is one that Kofie, Flying Lotus, and I put together called XXL MEDIUMS, where Kofie illustrates how everything around him is a medium. The second video is Rachele & Taz, a hybrid short/experimental video where a mysterious girl stalks Taz in his dreams. You can vote once/day and there's no sign up. All you do is hit the 'THUMBS UP' and that's it. Takes a nano-second, support your dude!



Oh, that's an early-morning snap of me that was featured on The Hundreds yesterday. Bobby is everywhere, you can't hide!

"Collapse"

The real 2012, a documentary by Chris Smith centering on the theories of Michael Ruppert, as Tribeca Film describes him, a former LAPD cop who believes that the current economic climate is a sign that industrial civilization is on the precipice of a complete meltdown. Who know what's to happen in what's only 3 years away. Here's the trailer..

"Where The Wild Things Are"

I'm sad to report, but I wasn't a fan of Spike Jonze's "Where The Wild Things Are". The book was coincidentally the first book I ever read, rented it from the Gardner Public Library when I was 5. I couldn't put it down, I ate every word like it was candy. The book was a creative awakening for me..



The film just didn't live up. My biggest beef with it was Carol and the crew's voices. They sounded more like the cast of a multicam sitcom than a fantasy film. The nasally voices never lent a single element of danger, which always kept me in a safe place I felt bored to be in. I would've loved to have heard deep, dark, ominous voices (similar to the Ents in "Lord of the Rings") where they were good guys, but you still had a degree of unease and felt harm was never out of arm's reach..



I was a kid at one point and the argument that it might've scared an 8 year old doesn't sit with me. Turn on the TV at any moment and it's all right there. Check out my recent Aug. 3rd blog on "Return to Oz", now that was a scary kid's film! Secondly, there was simply not enough narrative, just a bunch of frolicking. Although visually an accomplishment, the film's script just wasn't right. The dialogue distinctly felt like adults trying to write as kids, and in my book it failed miserably, every line feeling monotonous and lackluster. "Where The Wild Things Are" felt like a classic case of too much carte blanche provided to a director, who whilst undoubtedly talented, might have not been the right guy for the job. Tim Burton or Michel Gondry might've done better, maybe even Joon-ho Bong. Sorry Spike, I can't go with you on this. Nor the Kanye short film you did. Back to the drawing board please. By the way, I was Max for Halloween..



Good times on Saturday. Follow me on twitter why don't you? @dannylee78

Yippeee!

Today heard a big bang on my door, sounded like the cops. But it was just the Fedex dude..



Ripped the box open and it was my free copy of DJ Hero, courtesy of the kind publicists over at Activision..



Thank you Jordan Dodge in particular. I was dubious at first, but the game proves that it's not only really fun and well thought out, but truly an accomplishment in just its existence!

Tagbanging

Wow, this brings back memories. As a teen I dabbled with tagging, bus bombing, typical LA adolescent behavior. But when it got to this level, I opted out. Here's a video of how stupid in retrospect, the early-mid 90's phenomenon called 'tagbanging' was..

DJ Hero Launch Event

Last night, headed downtown for the DJ Hero Launch Event..









And Ben Baller, the host of the event aka the guy with more shoes that Imelda Marcos..



The music alone is worth the buy. And you can just let the game play for your next bingo party!

Imajimation

Yesterday, Bee and I visited Imajimation Studios, where the artists designing the characters for our new animation show, work by day. They call themselves the Mad Twiinz. There's Mark explaining the process of animation..





There's Mike..



The Twiinz created the online toon "Blokhedz", which lives on Gatorade's content microsite..



A newer character..



Panels..



Vinyl Blokhedz..



Imajimation was started by Michael Schultz and his son Brandon. Michael directed a broad range of movies from "The Last Dragon" to "Krush Groove". There's his gold record for "Car Wash"..



The Twiinz created a comic with the RZA..



A vinyl Flavor Flav..



1 of 2 workstations..



Here's an episode of their online animation series "The Blokhedz"..



Talented brothers. Stay tuned for the animation collaboration :)

Art For Obama

Got a package from UPS the other day, opened it and read it, it said there was hope!



In it was the "Art For Obama" book, a compilation and reflection of the Manifest Hope campaign, which I had the blessed opportunity to capture on video in Denver and DC. There is no doubt that the Manifest Hope campaign was critical in getting Obama in office..



Also you may have heard about a month ago, but one of the critical soldiers in that campaign was recently and specifically targeted by Glenn Beck, who eventually had him ousted from his White House press job. You may know Yosi Sergant. Jeff Chang broke it down well in this article. PS to certain repubs, hopefully health care will NOT be Obama's Waterloo, nor ours. Sickened that anybody would even root for failure. Sickened!

"Muto"

Stumbled onto this little gem of a film by international artist Blu, essentially using the city as his animation canvas. brilliant and so creative..

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Hip Hop Recession

As seen on the Daily Show, pretty damn funny.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Slim Thug Feels the Recession
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

"King of Hollywood" / Todd Bridges

A vignette with Todd Bridges. Written and directed by yours truly..

Shhhh... I'm Trying to Watch!

Read a fascinating article today about how web companies are conspiring to make your television watching experience more expansive. There are so many pros/cons here it's almost dizzying. For instance, the author writes, "Revenue loss -- hell, revenue tracking -- is a legitimate concern, but would allowing a non-subscriber to watch True Blood by linking through a subscribing friend's television cripple HBO, or expose new audiences to a program they might otherwise have missed?" I think the revenue loss would in fact be crippling. But some pros like enhancing marketing research and increased program awareness just might shadow those cons to internet behemoths like Facebook and Hulu, who will no doubt push us into a new entertainment paradigm. In fact, they won't relent until the idea of getting together with your friends on Sunday to watch Mad Men or Entourage are a thing of the past - just join the chat/watch room. While we are definitely in uncharted waters, the innovation unraveling in front of our eyes is pretty damn exciting!

"Crips and Bloods: Made In America"

Just rented Stacy Peralta's latest documentary last night. I dug it. The film was chock full of archival footage and in my opinion, provided a solid look at the conditions that gave birth to this violent subculture. Although I would've liked to have seen more 'active' documentation, the cast of certified gangsters were good and the interviews honest. Peralta proves again that he is absolutely a quality documentary filmmaker. Here's the trailer..

Gaslamp Killer Set

Off Red Bull Music Academy Radio's library. GLK is a friend of mine who also happened to have a cameo in "The Clinic". GLK aka Willow hits a niche that very few DJ's can hit, let alone master. Dark and swampy, that's how I like to describe it. Check it for yourself..

"Tyson"

Rented the Mike Tyson documentary the other night and hoped for alot, and it delivered just under. Iron Mike was the favorite boxer of the 80's, not to mention I played his Nintendo game incessantly! Mike was probably the biggest paradox sports has ever seen - a caged brute that was surprisingly soft-hearted and intelligent. Overall and in hindsight a pretty crazy dude. Mike and his life was as enigmatic as any figure in modern history. Now the guy parties and is on a lot of meds - you can tell by his slurred speech in the documentary's interviews. Although entertaining, I felt the filmmakers simply didn't do a thorough job. It was just one day with Mike (in the same outfit), a few ancillary interviews, and archival footage. I would've liked to have seen interviews with Evander, Don King, etc. Who knows, maybe they tried. At least let's see Mike in his current daily life, there was none of that. Nevertheless, here's the trailer..

Mike Tyson Documentary [Trailer] / NEW
by PeteRock

Here's also a low-fi, but good collection of Tyson's beatdowns..

Diamond Life

Yesterday went up to Nick Diamond's house, founder of premiere skate fashion brand Diamond Supply Co. We're working on something ultra-fresh, you'll hear about it soon. Nick's also building a skate ramp in his backyard, you'll find the pics here when it's ready. There's Nick imagining the layout..



He hyped me to a few projects he's got going on. Here's his new skateboard and tee collaboration with legend Christian Hosoi, my personal favorite skater from the 80's. Look how they're maintaining the O.G. hammerhead style, nice..



Another collab, this time with Rick Ross and his Maybach Music group..



More to come.