Lacroix's Sleeping Beauty

I just saw the trailer for the new French version of Sleeping Beauty.   The main character falls asleep at 6 and goes into a series of adventures in her dreams for the next 10 years. French director, Catherine Breillart, who did a very strange retelling of the already morbid tale, Bluebeard, is back revamping and eroticizing another familiar fairytale.   I don't think I'll be able to take kids to see it.  


What would make for a very interesting animated version would be the great French fashion designer Lacroix's Sleeping Beauty.  Here are some images from the illustrated book.   A must-have!  I heard John Galliano's version of another tale is in the works.  Keep all these beautiful collectibles coming.

Amélie is 10.

10 years ago this year, the most charming movie ever played to audiences worldwide.  I have yet to meet someone who loathe Amélie.  It should be one of the few movies that was universally loved.  It remains as the highest-grossing French film in the U.S. and in other countries.

Everything about it makes me smile.  Audrey Tatou and her glowing wide eyes.  Paris at its greenest.  The accordion music.  Crème brulee.  Amélie’s comfortable loneliness.  Her neurotic and dysfunctional childhood.  Her pranks.  The unrequited love.  Her desire to be loved.  Clutter in every frame.  The breakneck pace that leaves me full, happy; wish it’d never end.

It’s been 10 years and I have yet to see a movie that conveys the feeling of falling in love as beautifully as Amélie.

R.E.M.

I'm a big fan of R.E.M. but news of the band's break-up didn't really affect me.  The band's demise happened after the follow-up to their 1992 album, "Automatic for the People".  In my book, that's the greatest album of all time (or maybe as great as Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours", Prince's "Purple Rain, and The Beatles' "Rubber Soul").  I would rush to the record store every time an R.E.M. follow-up album is freshly released, and would get disappointed each time.  "Automatic" was enough to seal their place in music history.

Lead singer Michael Stipe is a known lover of film.  He even dabbled in movie-producing.  That's obvious in Stipe's music videos and compositions.  Movie references abound.  The video below is inspired by the dramatic and surreal opening of Fellini's "8 1/2".  "Departure" was written for River Phoenix after he o.d.'d.  "Monty Got A Raw Deal" was about the handsomest Hollywood actor ever, Montgomery Clift. "Man On The Moon was an homage to comedian Andy Kaufman, and inspired the movie of the same name.  Ang dami!  That's why I like love listening to their songs from the 80s and "Automatic".  They're cryptic, rich in subtext, and make for perfect soundtracks to movies -- including "ang soundtrack ng buhay mo".  You celebrate, but mostly, wail, hurt along with Michael.

Anderson and Gloria

CNN reporter Anderson Cooper has a new talk show -- Anderson. From the clip below, it seems like intelligent talk TV, none of Tyra's phoniness. I hope we'll see it on local cable soon.

In this interview with mom Gloria Vanderbilt, one of the most famous rich women from the last century, he asked her to recount the last moments before his brother's suicide. She was right there before he jumped off the balcony. "I think about it all the time...you never get over it", said Gloria.

I was also the last one to see my 5-year-old brother before he accidentally drowned in the deep end of an un-chlorinated pool without anyone seeing. The memory remains fresh 36 years after. It's not an internal rumour, like how one writer describes memory. I always dream about it, and frame-by-frame it's how it similarly plays in my head during my waking hours.

After seeing how boldly Anderson confronted his mom about Carter's death and how he fought back his tears, I've been thinking of asking my mom how she survived my kid brother's death. It appeared to me then that her healing process was quick. But I was young, impressionable enough to think that her grief ended when she tucked away my brother's clothes and toys. I am so curious but not as brave as Anderson.

Hail to the Imp!

The year’s breakout role for both film and TV must belong to Peter Dinklage, the diminutive actor who plays Tyrion Lannister, or the Imp, in HBO’s Game of Thrones.  He's just won an Emmy  and his fans are rejoicing.

He must have the biggest fan base amongst GOT lovers.  If you haven’t seen the series, you must. Importante sa buhay si Peter Dinklage.  If you’re too lazy to follow the complicated plot, just pay attention when the Imp is on.

It must also be the biggest breakout role in many, many years.  Here is a actor who dwarfs (sorry, can’t help it) other actors for his amazing take on the role of a dwarf, who has to survive in a world dominated by brute strength, through his intellect, wit, wealth and acid tongue.  And he always gets by.

Short people have come a long way.  Now there are roles for them that are not one-dimensional and created just for laughs.  Weng Weng should have been around to witness this.

The Chucky Effect

It just never ends – the fascination for beautiful things to adorn my flat. Yesterday was spent in one of my little Disneylands, the home furnishings haven LRI Plaza in Reposo.  I bought this quirky lamp at PNKY. The most congenial shopowner Miss Pinky made it herself, reinventing our grandmother’s charcoal-powered flat iron into a lamp, and shaping the shade like the iron itself. 

The flat iron, which must be at least 40 years old, weighs more than 5 pounds.  Pity our lolas and yayas of old.

I’ve been wanting to collect old little things for my place.  They’d be the perfect counterpoint to its modern look. I saw this old santo in an LRI curio shop that looked like a harlequin but was actually the Virgin Mary.  Also old mirrors, cupboards, side tables that were made in the 30s through the 50s, now sold in Evangelista Street, Makati.  But friends have told me not to. Ricky D. has a mirror consigned to him several years ago.  It’s tucked away in his garage after several people witnessed an old lady jumping out of the mirror.  Another friend bought an old rocking chair, and then experienced spooky things in his sala.

Can inanimate objects retain people’s feelings, thoughts, and energy long after they’re gone?  An object that had been strongly attached to the living, or had been a key prop in his death, could become haunted, paranormal believers say.  The movies have weighed in on this theory with Chucky the doll from hell and Charito Solis’ refrigerator in the first Shake, Rattle and Roll.

I just pray that the yaya who once used my flat iron happily ironed the linens away despite its heavy weight.

Stylist: A Misnomer

It’s easy enough to echo what a national artist for literature recently said about contemporary Pinoy culture – that it’s shallow.  But I won’t go there.  Suffice it to say, the perception is all generational and anecdotal; shallowness, not a national malady.  Though I’ve just witnessed mediocrity in a production meeting back in my agency.  I hope there’s nothing more to the person’s laziness.  A sociological dissertation should not be necessary.

This woman calls herself a wardrobe stylist.  She presents pegs cut out from U.S. fashion magazines.  She uses all the clichés I’ve been hearing since I was an advertising trainee:  hip, young, aspirational, cool, a representation of the brand’s colors.  She stops there.  I could’ve done that myself and gotten the hefty fee she’s charging us.  There’s no attempt to put the costume design in proper perspective.

Anyone who dares to call himself a stylist must understand the essence of styling, and that’s in the storytelling part.   He must flesh out the characters in the film, and give the film a visual life through costumes.  It’s not just about what’s in vogue, what he himself would like to wear, or what’s easily available in Landmark.  It’s not stereotyping – a call center dude would wear this, a class AB working professional would that.  Dude or Inday, define the character with his wardrobe!

Sometimes I think some stylists are not as motivated to do research for contemporary characters.  They’re more attracted to the creation of elaborate costumes from decades past.   But creating modern wear for film is much more challenging.  They need intelligence, restraint and subtlety in sourcing costumes for contemporary clothes that support character development.

In his eulogy to Don Escudero, one of the greatest art directors in Pinoy cinema (Oro, Plata, Mata his best work), director Peque Gallaga recounted, When we sat down on the thorny problem of what Daniel Fernando was going to wear in Scorpio Nights, and we were fully aware that he was going to spend an irritating amount of movie time in his underwear, I opted to go sociological and historical: this was the time of bikini briefs in zebra stripes and leopard spots.  Don again said no. “He is going to wear classic white Jockey briefs.” And those white Jockey briefs ended up defining Daniel’s character totally and completely.
   Yeah, it wouldn’t make sense to garb him in super sexy briefs.  He was a voyeur, hidden, not as yet sexually adventurous, not comfortable about showing off his body in zebra to the woman he covets.

That’s a smart answer to a seemingly simple wardrobe issue.  I wish I’d hear something as informed next time from someone who dares call himself a wardrobe stylist.

The Future of Mad Men

[The following piece appeared in the September 12th Campaigns & Grey 25th Anniversary supplement in the Philippine Star.]

Other than the fact that women in advertising agencies no longer wear pantyhose, the hit TV series Mad Men is one very distant and now unfamiliar flashback. 

In one scene, Roger Sterling, co-founder of the fictional Sterling Cooper agency, could say of a big client: "My name's on the building. They can wait for me."  Sterling would stand no chance surviving in today’s advertising scene.  There’s less indulgence.  It’s less about the marketer, his ego and lifestyle.  Advertising has gotten more serious and challenging.  There’s never been a better time to be in advertising.   

And a worse time, too, if you don’t know what the future looks like. 

The Philippines is already on the cusp of a creative crossover.  I’d give you 2 to 3 years if you insist on being a ‘mad man’ who thinks advertising is all about the following:

1.    Advertising that’s neatly packaged in a 30-second TV spot or a full-page printed material.   Think communication, not advertising. There are more platforms and touch-points to consider in reaching out to your target audience.   Mobile apps, social networking, the smartphone, the iPad will soon become as significant to the marketer as ABS-CBN.  ‘Digital’ is a world in itself that has no boundaries. 

2.    The ‘consumer’ can be captured through mass marketing.  He or she is no longer a simplistic statistic that can be easily persuaded by crafty jingles, selling lines and product demonstrations. He’s breaking free from the chains of captive and disruptive advertising.  He needs to be engaged, not just entertained, and he’d tell you your product sucks in real time, via a blog or a Facebook posting, and would make his extensive network of friends/consumers empathize just as quickly.

3.    The big creative idea can only come from a small group of smartly dressed agency executives.  Ideas can come from anywhere in the digital era.  Use that savvy then to spot the creative opportunities and turn them into stories (not just storyboards) that would engage your very complex and powerful consumer.

4.   Becoming a legend in the league of David Ogilvy or the Saatchi brothers.  If you want to retain the client-agency trust you’ve enjoyed through the years, sober up, be professional and just make each output work.   Beware: There’s always a shop knocking on client’s door that has charges less on account of less overhead and a leaner infrastructure.  He also won’t make client wait. 

5.    Loads of martinis.  Because there’s less money available for martinis and other indulgences.  The sacred agency compensation scheme has been revamped and it continues to dwindle.  On the bright side, digital opportunities are endless, and no one as yet knows how to charge for it.

The world is changing, faster than ever before.  Advertising is no exception.  The old model of the monolithic-one-stop-agency-that-earns-a-lot-through-catchy-commercials has been broken.  Make yourself an integral part of the new (digital) reality.   If you take that to heart, and the shifting paradigms on ‘who’s the consumer’ and ‘creativity is everywhere’, then you’re ok.   You’d also realize that the world of advertising, er, ‘communications’, would still a lot like Mad Men, at least in one aspect:  it’s fun, never boring.

My bucket list and Butch Uy

One movie that had a great idea that went wrong was The Bucket List (2007).  It cast two of the finest Hollywood actors – Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman.  It’s pure schmaltz.  It tries so hard to move you to tears.  I still recommend it, though, to students of film and advertising.  A lesson on how not to abuse the “green screen” technology.

It doesn’t take a trained eye to know that Jack and Morgan didn’t get to go to those places they had in their bucket list.   Dios mio, napaka-phony.  For a major studio release, directed by the very successful Rob Reiner, they couldn't get them on the plane?

The bucket list was last night’s dinner conversation.  I’ve never really thought about it.   

Maybe I should, especially today, which marks the 10^th death anniversary of dear friend and Campaigns & Grey Executive Creative Director Butch Uy.   I vividly remember having coffee with him the day after he was diagnosed about the gravity of his condition.  He said, Boboy, I’ll never get to see Europe.  That’s what I really want to do before I die.  

Here’s my list, Butch.  And I’m only including those that you would have been interested in as well.  I’ll take you with me in spirit.

• Watch the Broadway run of Billy Elliott, your favorite movie.
• Go to London and/or Sao Paulo for the Olympic opening.  But London is a must, since you like things dandy.
• Sample the king crabs of Alaska.  A few weeks before you left us, we treated you to a great crab dinner at my place like you requested.  Let’s check out the Alaskan kind.
• Rent a small car like your cute yellow car through Tuscany.   And drink the best wines from the region.  You always wanted to drink but couldn’t because of doctor’s orders.
• Shop for the finest white linen Guayabera shirts in Havana.  You wouldn’t wear anything but white.

I’ll stop here before I get as schmaltzy as Jack and Morgan.

Sir Christian LOL'd.

In designer James Reyes’ show yesterday at the Shangri-la, the show’s producer Inno Sotto led Christian Espiritu to our table which had one empty seat.  He asked if  Christian could seat with us.  Of course, my friends and I were only too happy to oblige because it was our chance to meet one of the icons of Philippine fashion.  I thought he was one aloof old man since I remembered him unsmiling in all of his photos from the 70s and 80s.  He turned out to be very kind and engaging to talk to.

Three minutes into our friendly exchange, I asked him the silliest question:  Sir Christian, I hope you don’t mind my asking.  But would you still have a copy of “Alaga”?  He LOL’d.   I was too embarrassed to press him for an answer.

Alaga was the one and only movie he produced and directed in 1980.  I didn’t get to see it because its theatre run was brief.   The film starred a very young Edu Manzano’s debut (losing vice-presidential candidate, top game show host, ex-husband of Maricel and Vilma, dad to popular host/actor Luis/Lucky).   The film revolves around a young, attractive man who exploits a rich older woman (Charito Solis) on his way to showbiz stardom.  Shades of American Gigolo, one of Richard Gere’s earliest movies.

The film generated a lot of buzz at that time because “it” boy Edu broke into the scene.  And more for Christian’s foray into film.  Many eyebrows were raised:  What does a couturier know about moviemaking?  A few people went to see it.  I’m quite sure the pervading cynicism towards Christian the director had a lot to do with its dismal performance at the tills.

Three decades later, ex-Gucci creative head Tom Ford screened a well-received debut in A Single Man.   Marlon Rivera, part-fashion designer, directed his first, Babae Sa Septic Tank, which wowed critics and audiences.  Times have changed.  A background in the art of fashion is now an advantage, not a liability.  Perhaps moviegoers are hankering for style and high concept.  Some may be excited to see great costume design.  I’m sure Alaga had much of that.  I was told Christian’s lovely Forbes Park home was Charito’s in the movie.   I can only imagine all that now.  Unless the kind Sir Christian would take my silly question seriously and lend me a Betamax copy.

P.S.  Sir Christian writes the most insightful and entertaining fashion reviews on Facebook.  http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000255741269&sk=notes

James Reyes channeling Patrick Nagel and Robert Palmer

Patrick Nagel was the most copied illustrator from the 80s (the kitschy Manila shop Blue Magic must have built its fortune on Nagel rip-offs).  He's known for his women, who somewhat all look alike -- square eyes, full red lips, washed-out facial features and all.  His strokes are bold and clean.  The colors are vibrant, reflective of the excess and decadence of the decade, though white is predominantly the canvas.  Overall, there's blatant sexiness, arrogance, self-assuredness.  No wonder, Playboy Magazine featured his graphics a lot.  And his extensive body of work was done way before the birth of Photoshop.  Kinamay niya lahat ito.

Nagel's aesthetic inspired one iconic music video from the 80s: Robert Palmer's "Simply Irresistible".  It still looks lovely and fresh 30 years after.

Nagel and Palmer are my best friend James Reyes' inspirations for his Fashion Watch Spring-Summer Show at the Shangri-la Makati on September 8th.  His pegs are enough to keep us all excited.

Bertolucci porn

Thanks for the heads-up, Jessica Z.   The greatest living Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci will be coming to Manila for the Italian Film Festival set at Greenbelt from November 9^th to the 13^th.   A film event that must not be missed.

Bertolucci did some of the most delicious movies from the 70s through the 90s:  The Conformist, 1900, Last Tango in Paris, The Last Emperor, The Sheltering Sky, Stealing Beauty and The Dreamers.  If you’re a true lover of film, you must have at least one Bertolucci in your collection.  I’d pick The Conformist and The Last Emperor as my favorites.

His themes are usually subversive, never bland or familiar.  But when I think Bertolucci, visual poetry comes to mind.  I was lucky enough to see most of his films on the big screen.  The small monitor in your living room or on your desk will never be able to capture the same visual excitement.  That’s why you ought to catch the Italian filmfest. 

It’s production design porn that’s most pleasurable, lustful.   The visual poetry supplants obvious characterization.  It’s like ballet – the performers don’t have to talk for you to get it all right.

Here’s a sampling of Bertolucci's lyricism.  

Martin Escudero: A Star is Born.

Is it uniquely Pinoy for friends to go to a theatre, then relive a great movie experience shortly after?   If it were a comedy, they’d laugh even harder when recalling memorable scenes.  Over callos, manchego and Merlot at Terry’s (plugging: their already inexpensive but good wines go on sale on Saturdays), that was what we did last night after watching Zombadings.

I prematurely proclaim it as the movie of the year, and that covers Hollywood.   The upcoming movies of Polanski, Scorsese, Almodovar, Payne and Brillante Mendoza better top this tale of a boy from Lucban, Quezon who likes taunting baklas, then pisses off a grieving gay who curses him to turn queer when he grows up. 

Here are 11 things in Zombadings worth recounting, also the best in many, many years:

1.    Best casting for a male lead: Martin Escudero.  He’s believable as a very straight bum.  He gets even better from the moment he dons the tight baby tee.

2.    Best dance scene:  Martin Escudero’s.  His hips are swaying uncontrollably.  He lets go and explodes in the gayest choreography reminiscent of Eat, Bulaga’s dance contestants from Barangay Krus na Ligas.

3.    Best Scene Stealer:  Janice de Belen’s sidekick, Nini.  The police line-up and interrogation scenes – pure madness.

4.    2^nd Best Scene Stealer:  Georgia from the panciteria.  “Lalayas na ‘ko.  Tingnan mo nga ako”.  She strikes a pose.

5.  Best Cameo:  the rollerblading Eugene Domingo.

6.    Best Comeback:  John Regala as Remington’s macho yet sympathetic father.

7.    Best Love Scene:  Remington and Jigs on the staircase.

8.    Best Rom-Com moment:  Remington and Jigs up on a tree, eating suman.

9.    Best Writing:  “Charoterang sprikitik, umapir ka vakler! Magpa-feel, magpa-sense, ditey sa baler.”

10. Best pro-Carlos Celdran statement:  “Bakla ka Father!  Bakla!”.

11. Best mirror of society’s changing attitudes towards homosexuality:  Daniel Fernando the bigot rants about gays but the Lucban marching band drowns out his oration.   The hatred just falls on deaf ears.

The Indie Revolution

Yesterday, I decided to buy tickets to the indie film, Zombadings 1: Patayin Sa Shokot Si Remington hours before showtime.  I knew it’d be hard to get in if I did any later.   The ticket lady did confirm my hunch when I asked her if it was a hit.  “Hay naku, Sir, sobra!  Mas malakas pa sa Wedding Tayo, Wedding Hindi.” That film was produced by giant film company Star Cinema.  It’s been relegated to a theatre smaller than Zombadings’.

There.  Finally.  We’re experiencing a cinema revolution in the Philippines.   The unthinkable is happening.  Moviegoers are going for original and intelligent fare, produced on a shoestring budget and not released by major distributors.   This must be a wake-up call to the film industry.

Zombadings’ success also underscores a great advertising crossover.  Its promotion was largely confined to the Web.  It obviously didn’t have the money to do TV advertising, or the support of a large media network that trumpeted its Metro run on mainstream channels like TV, radio and print.  The consumer is online, and spends more time  there than  on any other medium.   If you Facebook, blog or Youtube it, he will come.

Mr. Jimenez, I have one small request.

The Philippine advertising industry must be happy and proud about the appointment of one of its own – Mon Jimenez – as the new tourism secretary.  I wish him well.  He steered his old agency Jimenez-Basic to great heights.  He created several successful and iconic marketing campaigns.  His managerial skills and marketing savvy would certainly come in handy as he takes on the monumental task of turning the tourism business around.  It’s about time. 

We live in a time when most people on the Net annoyingly turn expert on any burning issue (the arts, tourism slogans, politics, contraception).  I don’t want to add to the madness by telling Mon J. how to do his job.  I’m sure he knows better than most of us.  I just have one small request:  Please fix our airport.  It doesn’t take an expert to know the importance of airports.  They’re economic engines.  They generate billions in economic activity.  More importantly, they define the communities they are in. 

That makes us one ugly nation, then?

The fees are steep.  Public transport is spotty and inefficient.  There aren’t enough decent restos.  Shopping sucks.  The toilets don’t work.  The lighting is incomplete and dizzying.  Plants in sorry claypots greet you upon arrival.  The guitar-playing chorus is too folksy.  The wall needs a new paint job.  The airport personnel are lethargic, dour, not looking at all smart (abominably un-Filipino!).   The only saving grace is Grey Goose.  It’s cheaper at the Duty Free.

My fave travel writer Pico Iyer devotes one chapter on airports in his book, The Global Soul.  He calls the airport as a postmodern metropolis, a space that has a distinct culture of noncultures.  It’s a showcase and laboratory for commerce, nourishment, entertainment, technology, education and social interaction.  But we have none of that, Pico.  I know you’ve been to Manila before.  Perhaps your NAIA experience was too dreadful to store in your travel memory bank.

Has there ever been a movie shot inside the Manila terminal or a replica of it?  I’ve seen many local movies shot outside the terminal, for tearful farewell scenes.  But the camera never manages to get through the main gates; it seems uninterested.  Because NAIA makes for one lousy backdrop.

Maybe it would do if the movie were poverty porn.

Now that's a perfect airport shot.  From "Catch Me If You Can".

Ferris Bueller and Campaigns are 25.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is 25 years old this year.  And so is my agency, Campaigns, which has been my second home for nearly that long.

The movie and agency do not seem to share anything in common.  Ferris celebrates free spirit.  The quintessential coming-of-age story.

When I walked into the doors of Campaigns, I knew that was the beginning of a purposeful chapter, something that was and continues to be adult and professional.

But perhaps there’s one thing that’s Ferris-like about my life in Campaigns.  Life, as Ferris famously remarks, moves pretty fast.  If you don't stop and look around you might miss it. For Ferris, it took all of one day to embrace life and have fun.  Mine has been almost a quarter-of-a-century-long stop.  I still enjoy every minute of it.  La vie est belle dans la publicité.

It ends there. I’d like to think I’m not looking like Ferris of today.