10,000

I’ve never run 10 kilometres before, mainly because…well, I never saw the need to. And I still don’t.

And there I was, at the Singapore Bay Run on Sunday morning, getting warmed up for a sweat fest I didn’t even signed up for.

Ok, it was a company thing (even though only a third of our staff took part) and being in a position where I suppose I should show an example and some spirit, I went along with it. The 6km Fun Run actually appealed to me more, but I was to have no choice. It’s 10k or the walk of shame.

0745: Off I went, iPod blasting.

1km: Feeling good.

2km: No problem.

3km: Keep breathing, keep breathing…

4km: Should have chosen the Fun Run. I was made for the Fun Run.

5km: Only halfway? WTF??

6km: The thought “Why am I doing this?” crept into my head for what would be the first of at least 6 times. I was dying out there and no one gave a shit.

7km: That’s it. I stopped for a cup of 100 Plus. Like the first taste of wine after crossing a desert. Hot women ran past me as I tried to hide behind a paper cup over my mouth.

8km: Picked a good-looking gal to pace, but she soon pulled ahead, leaving me grasping for air.

9km: Final push. I imagined Richard Simmons chasing me. My head was about to explode.

10km: Who’s the man? WHO’S DA MAN?!

The most ridiculous part of the morning was yet to come: Everyone gathered at McDonald’s for breakfast. I had a hash brown and a McGriddle (which was disgusting). My body must hate me.

Postscript: I just signed up for the Standard Chartered Run in Dec. 10km, baby. I’m so owning it.

 

Comic Con 2008

And so here we were – at the fabled San Diego Comic Con.

I’ve seen some big shows (NAB in Las Vegas probably topping the list) but this is just something else.

The beauty of the whole thing is that it’s for the fans – from the gigantic pimped out booths to the sprawling hordes of costumed aficionados. The 4 days were one big celebration of all things sci-fi, fantasy, comics, anime, popular entertainment culture and above all, the untouchable joy of pure, absolute fandom.

What amazed me most were the speaker panels. There must have been at least a hundred, probably more. I could only attend a few, and none of the ‘big’ ones such as the Watchmen and The Spirit panels cause the crowds were just impossible. But even those I attended fed the soul like chicken soup for a cold.

That’s what special about the Con – you hear from the folks actually creating the work – artists, writers, production designers, animators. Some are young and genuinely brilliant; others older but speak with such reverence (often about the fundamentals of the craft) it’s hard not to be captivated.

Just listening to Stan Lee talk about the creation of Iron Man and his process that led to the character’s development was a fascinating and unforgettable experience.

From left: Mark Fergus (Iron Man co-writer), Zak Penn (Incredible Hulk writer), Stan Lee, Jeff Goldsmith (Creative Screenwriting Magazine)

It’s certainly an energizing change from the usual business conferences where network executives talk about stuff that more often than not feel rehashed.

Comic Con was everything I’ve been told it is and more. It’s an awe-inspiring experience that affirms the wonders of imagination and celebrates the child inside every person that never grows up. It’s an event every creator in the field of popular entertainment (or otherwise) should attend at least once, with costume or not.

Sign me up for 2009. I might just bring along my lightsaber the next time.

 

Opening the Bird’s Nest

WOW.

Did anyone expect anything less from China? After over a hundred years of ‘humiliation’ by the West and even Japan, this was the moment for China to make an official announcement of its status as an emerging superpower; to throw a party that would make every country – especially those that excluded China from their parties before – look on in awe and astonishment.

The messages of world unity, friendship etc. were all there at the opening ceremony. But the resounding message I hear all night is: “Top this, World.”

You get the feeling that Zhang Yimou, the director, was handed a blank cheque – spent all you need, just make sure that this is a show that owns them all.

And it was. Stirring, mesmerizing and at times genuinely moving, it was as much a spectacle as it was a catharsis for Chinese pride; a vindication of the trials and tribulations that the country has endured, despite its many imperfections.

When an airborne Li Ning sky-ran the circumference of the Bird’s Nest roof to ignite the Olympic cauldron, accompanied by a galaxy of fireworks, any Chinese watching must have felt a palpable sense of history and pride.

Cut to a day later and the Singapore National Day Parade. One can’t help but feel a little sorry for everyone involved in what must cruelly feel like a sideshow to the event that transpired in Beijing 24 hours earlier.

 

LA/Comic Con/Tokyo Part 1

It was a draining 16-hour flight, but not much worse than any other long haul flights I’ve been on. At least it was direct. I could have done without the eagerness of the Indian bloke beside me raring to get a conversation going though.

Flight: Singapore to LA (direct)

First thing Indian bloke said: “So, you going to LA?”

……

Most of what I feel about the US in terms of personal experience is based on New York City since it’s the place I’m at the most when I’m in America.

Now NYC can get a little rough. It’s a city throbbing with energy and urban culture and there’s much to like about it, but it’s a tough-talking town and there’s a relentlessness to the city’s pace.

LA, on first impressions (it’s 18 years since I was there), seems far more laid back. People seem to take their time going about their business. It feels like a Sunday afternoon on the streets of Sunset Boulevard even though it’s pushing rush hour on a weekday. And the supermarket cashier actually thanked me with a smile after I paid for my groceries.

Strangely enough, the place reminds me of Perth – really spread out, low rise buildings, a fair amount of greenery and quiet at night.

Most of West Hollywood actually feels like a pretty nice neighborhood. I didn’t feel compelled to have a roam of Rodeo Drive mostly because it was baking hot. But we did drive by and I caught a queer-looking Asian man in a glitzy green tuxedo suit arguing with a shop owner.

I was told there’s a shop there with no price tags on their goods. Apparently if you had to ask for the price, you shouldn’t be in there the first place. That’s just deranged.

After weeks of practicing right-hand-side driving on Grand Theft Auto IV, I’m glad we ended up not needing to rent a car. My good man and agent Troy was kind enough to chauffeur us around town for our main appointments at the studios.

Walt Disney Studios, Burbank

Jim Henson Company (coolest offices I’ve seen. Just edges past Studio Ghibli)

The meetings went well enough. I’m getting used to this speed pitching thing, though it does get tiring and by the end of the day part of me actually didn’t give a damn about the show anymore. I just wanted to lie down and watch Comedy Central (it’s a sin that it isn’t available here in Singapore).

The combination of traumatic jet lag and full day schedules means there was little time for partying. But I definitely aim to check out the scene at the Sunset strip the next time I’m over.

Next Up: San Diego Comic F*****k Con!

 

TDK

After The Dark Knight, Chris Nolan could direct a kitchen sink and I’d still wait in line to see it.

You couldn’t compare The Dark Knight with Iron Man or Spider-man or any other superhero movie that’s ever been done. This is a complex, character-driven crime film deeply rooted in psychological and moral conflict. It transcends the genre in a way that completely validates the power of great direction, screenwriting and performance – even when dealing with a character dressed up as a bat and a villainous clown.

And Harvey Dent – I didn’t see that one coming. His tragedy is almost Shakespearean in scope. I’m still floored by how the Nolans (screenwriters) brought it all together on the page – the character arcs of Batman, Dent and Gordon while the elemental Joker tears through each one like a poisoning force of nature.

I sincerely hope the film gets best direction, adapted screenplay and acting nods for the award season on top of the technical categories it is sure to be represented in. This is an amazing piece of film making and storytelling that stays with you long after you take in the sad fact that the irrepressible Heath Ledger will not be in the next film.

The Dark Knight is riveting, gut wrenching, emotional and utterly unforgettable. Its ending is tragic, hopeful and heroic all at once and I for one would have little complain if the series ended there.

It’s unthinkable that a third film would top this one, but I still hope to see a properly decked out Batcave in the rebuilt Wayne Manor.

 

One Night in KL

It’s always a little embarrassing that I’ve traveled a bit but haven’t seen much of neighbouring Malaysia. Last month I went up to KL for only the 2nd time I could remember, with CK and CM for a meeting.

For someone used to the glitzy décor of Terminal 2 and 3, T1 was slightly sobering. I haven’t stepped in the grand daddy of Changi in over 10 years. It’s sprawling with foreign workers, Asian tour groups and all types of colourfully-dressed business travelers jetting around the region on budget flights.

Not that it’s run down at all (impossible after a $500m upgrade), just a different crowd. Mind you, it’s still a hell lot better than the European and American airports I frequent. Wish I had grabbed some shots, but taking pictures at the home airport somehow didn’t come naturally.

Up next was my first flight on a budget airline (I was really feeling like a first-time flyer by now). The Thai stewardess was nice enough but she stamped her authority when I stopped halfway along the aisle to stash my bag into the storage above me.

“PLEASE DON’T HOLD UP THE LINE!” she shouted from the front of the plane.

Memories rushed back to primary school and first day on the school bus. I quickly sat down like a scared puppy.

The 45-minute flight into KL was, needless to say, a breeze compared to the usual 13 and 20 hour flights I’m more accustomed to. I’ve barely chosen my songs on the iPod before the pilot announced he was descending. The only thing that felt weird was flying an airline sponsored by Manchester United (their logos were everywhere). I’m a Liverpool supporter so it’s like sleeping with the enemy. I wanted to humiliate myself.

The KL LCCT (Low Cost Carrier Terminal) is visibly less impressive, but efficient. Suddenly T1 felt like the Taj Mahal. I walked off the plane, crossed the runway and headed towards the gate. Theoretically, I could be run over by a plane.

Once out of the terminal touters flocked to us like moths to a lamp. We tried damn hard to be cool, like we’ve done this hundreds of time. (I’m pretty sure we failed miserably). Next thing we knew we were being led to a dark, shady corner where a beat-up Proton Wira was waiting – engine running, ready to hit the dirt.

A lady was behind the wheel, sucking the life out of a dying cigarette. I reached for the front passenger door, but was halted by the man who led us there. He pointed to the rear seats, just as the woman got out and moved into the front. The man is driving, and I wasn’t about to fight the woman for a front seat view.

So three Asian boys sat thigh-to-thigh at the back of the car as we rolled into town, hoping to spot the unmistakable shape of the Petrona Towers soon just so we know we aren’t being shipped elsewhere.

Of course we got there safely, checked in to Novotel and went looking for food at Jalan Alor. Had some awesome chicken wings and dark, disgusting-looking noodles that look sinfully unhealthy but taste fantastic.

On the way back we bought a large bottle of beer for the night cap. Couldn’t find an opener in the hotel room, so three of us took turns at attempting to pry open the stubborn cap, which went on for 15 minutes. The beer was warm by now. Out of ideas, we finally called the concierge who sent someone up with an opener. The guy walked into the room and froze – in front of him were three Chinese men in their boxers and t-shirts, foreheads glistening with sweat (from struggling with the bottle), and one holding helplessly onto a bottle of Tiger beer, with American Idol blasting on the telly.

It was a classic ‘Moment of Wrong’.

Anyway we finally opened the damn bottle, drank warm beer and watched David Cook and David Archuleta fight it out.

The meeting the next day went well enough. It’s funny though – no matter how far you are away from home, be it an hour away by air or half way round the world, it takes one night in a foreign bed, regardless of how comfortable it is, to make you miss your own sack.

 

Indy Movie

“Must…escape…this…movie.”

Lots came and went over the last month. Will try to pick the interesting bits to update this weekend.

Before that happens, just want to get this out of the way: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull sucked, and it’s heartbreaking.

 

Heavy Metal

Take a bow, Jon Favreau and Bob Downey Jr.

Who’d have thought a director (and sometimes actor ) whose best known film before this was the Will Ferrell farce “Elf” could pull off what is surely one of the best examples of a superhero movie done right. VERY right.

At the time of posting, Iron Man has a 94% rating on RottenTomatoes.com, with over 150 North American reviews on the chart. To give a comparison, Spider-man 2, widely acknowledged to be the best superhero movie ever, scored an eventual 93% over 228 reviews.

And Robert Downey Jr – hands down the best superhero performance I’ve seen (aside from Chris Reeve’s original Superman). Magnetic, nuanced, funny and powerful, his casting is a master stroke. To think that Tom Cruise at one point wanted the role. Sometimes development hell has its merits.

To put it simply, this is the best origin story since Batman Begins and possibly even better than it. For me, 1978’s Superman tells the quintessential birth of a superhero, and Iron Man comes close to hitting that note with a character that is marvelously flawed and even unlikeable at first but grows to become a true protector.

Iron Man, like countless superheroes, essentially chooses to use his powers for good (in this case a genius mind for weapons invention and obscene wealth). Conscience is a powerful driver and with Iron Man, especially in the hands of Downey Jr, you get a rare piece of character development that feels infinitely more epic than teenagers being bitten by radioactive spiders.

The sequel (and you can bet your life savings on there being one) is likely to be darker as Favreau has spoken about bringing in the arc of Tony Stark’s descent into alcoholism. Given Downey Jr’s history of substance abuse, one could only imagine the potential of that performance.

For now, a new hero has been built. Go see him soar.

 

In Memoriam: Ollie Johnston

I’m not an animator. Well, I’ve dabbled in it during my university days, building 3D models of ice cream tubs and animating them to fly through mountains and canyons made of ice cream…that was as close as I’ve come to being an animator.

But I love animation. I’ve loved it for as long as I can remember. In my formative years it was the classic Hanna-Barbera toons and the Disney holiday specials, then came the obsession with 80s toons and anime before the gifts of Studio Ghibli were discovered, followed by the magic of Pixar. The Internet also provided a chance to reach into the vault of classic shorts from America’s Golden Age of Animation: gems from studios like Disney, Warner Bros, MGM and the legendary Fleischer Studios.

But in terms of the transformative power of animated storytelling, the classic films of Disney started it all for me. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Dumbo, Pinocchio, Bambi, The Jungle Book, Sword in the Stone, Cinderella…the list goes on.

On 14 April 2008, Ollie Johnston – the last of Disney’s ‘Nine Old Men’ who were the animators responsible for the classic Disney features made from the 1930s to the 1970s – passed away at age 95, and with him goes a part of animation’s soul.

Johnston breathed life into films from Sleeping Beauty onwards. He made Pinocchio’s nose grow when he lied to the Blue Fairy, drew the adventures and terrors of the young Bambi (including the heartbreaking death of Bambi’s mother at the hands of a hunter), and created the exuberant dance of Baloo and Mowgli as they sang The Bare Necessities.

To date, the most treasured book I have on my shelf remains The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation, co-authored by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston – lifelong friends, neighbours and colleagues who were perhaps the two most accomplished of the nine ‘Old Men’ and the last to follow the first seven (Thomas passed away in 2004. He was 92).

The book is widely considered to be the definitive bible of modern animation. In it, Frank and Ollie (as they have been affectionately called for so long) documented the history, techniques, and more importantly the spirit and heart of Disney’s Golden Age animators.

I love the book so much it never left my shelf, even as I moved most of my reference and art books to the studio for the guys to use. But on learning of Ollie’s passing, it struck me: what good is a book that captures his life’s work as well as that of other Disney greats if it sits on my boring shelf instead of being in the hands of real animators? So from tomorrow onwards The Illusion of Life will be in the office, and I only hope that it can inspire the talented artists at Scrawl Studios as much as it has inspired a generation of today’s most prolific animators and storytellers.

Frank and Ollie

I’m not an animator, neither are millions of people who have grown up with Disney’s timeless films; who followed a wooden boy into the belly of the whale in search of a conscience and a father; and who cried silently in the theatre as Bambi takes one last, longing look towards the meadow where his mother used to be.

But it doesn’t take an animator to see and feel the emotional truths that Ollie Johnston, and indeed the great Disney animators, bring to their characters. It is a priceless reminder to all of us involved in animation that what we create on screen can and should be as personal and truthful as life itself – even one that is an illusion.

Rest in peace, Ollie. The Nine Old Men are back together again and heaven has just become a happier place.

Watch a moving Tribute To A Disney Legend and read a good remembrance here.

“Ollie was the only one of the Studio animators who was sensitive to character relationships and how they affected story. Back then cartoon characters seldom touched unless they hit each other. But one day Ollie said, ‘You know, the act of two people holding hands communicates in a powerful way.’ And he was right. His warmth made a difference in so many of our characters.”

- Frank Thomas ( 1912-2004 )

“Don’t animate drawings, animate feelings.”

- Ollie Johnston ( 1912-2008 )

 

The Manliest Thing I Did Over The Weekend

Ok, so it isn’t a new kitchen, but there were some big screws involved…

Yes, yes, I know. I’m into heavy carpentry AND I watch manly sports like football.