Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Takashi Miike to Direct Film Based on Nintendo DS game – Phoenix Wright Miike’s next film following his 13 Assassins and Ninja Kids… This man keeps busy, and it’s striking that anyone will make a film based on a DS game. That’s how strong DS is in Japan. “In a typical “Ace Attorney” game, you’d hunt for clues in various locations and talk to persons of interest who might info on a case. Then, like a “Law & Order” episode, the action shifts to a courtroom where you put witnesses on the stand and whip out evidence that shatters their alibis.” (IFC - Miike Phoenix Wright) After the Quake: Sake Returns! Takahiro Hirai says, “I thought the fermentation had gone too far and we’d have to discard everything. I had almost lost hope,” he says. “But it turned out to be full of life, with an excellent strong, thick flavor, although very different from our usual style.” It turns out that although the many sake houses damaged from the quake are re-finding their stride. The rice used isn’t from the quake zone, but are from Western Japan. Perhaps there’s a few relaxing times ahead. (Time – Sake is back) China slows down Rail Expansion The story might not be that exciting, sans this one passage: “A corruption scandal ousted China’s speed-loving railway minister Liu Zhijun, amid reports he kept multiple mistresses nationwide, and concerns over safety and cost persuaded his replacement to lower top operating speeds from 217 to 186 mph.” Guess what he wanted the high speed railways for? (USA Today – Bootie Train) 40 Ways The Chinese Economy Is Beating The Living Daylights Out Of The US There’s probably more than 40, but this scroll through list is a good quick way to catch up on how strong China is at the moment. “Since 2005, the U.S. has spent $1.1 trillion in Chinese products and services, but China has only spent $272 billion on American goods and services” (Business Insider – 40 Ways China Leads) Old School Asian American Actor – James Hong “You know the face. but you may not know that actor James Hong, who voices Panda’s papa, grew up in Minneapolis “They couldn’t find a role for me in high school because they said they didn’t know what to do with a yellow face. And even at the U of M, they’d say, ‘What would we do with a Chinese man in our plays?’ ” James Hong is one of those actors who has contributed to the growth of Asian Americans in Hollywood, but in the end, he gets just a pat on the back, if even that. (Twincities – James Hong)
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Beer Can Pouring Mastery “By attaching the device to a can of beer, one can achieve the perfect balance of beer and head when pouring into a glass.” Okay, no big, life-changing news in this story really. But there is a “cool” factor here which we thought you’d enjoy. The Japanese are renowned for their desire to achieve perfection in even the smallest things, and the simple act of pouring some cold brew from a can appears to be no exception. The Takara Tomy company is responsible for this one. After watching the video at the link you’ll probably agree with us that this is a perfect idea. (Japan Probe – Good Beer Head) It’s a “Hangover” For Ang Lee’s Son “A large portion of the business has less to do with your talents and more about your resourcefulness and willingness to adapt.” His father has directed some of the finest films of the past twenty years, including “The Wedding Banquet”, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Brokeback Mountain”. So you might think Mason Lee would naturally try to leverage the respect and success his dad Ang has earned in Hollywood. Not so. In fact, Mr. Lee is a humble NYU acting student who had to audition for his key role in “The Hangover, Part II” just like anyone else. (Wall Street Journal New York Culture– Mason Lee) There is also a brief video interview with Lee and other Asian-American “Hangover 2” cast members on Channel APA. (Channel APA – “Hangover 2” Asian-American Cast) The Miraculous Lone Pine Tree Brings Hope “Only one tree, estimated to be 270 to 280 years old, survived the tsunami. It has been a great emotional support to residents.” If you’ve seen any of the videos of the black, all-consuming waters of the tsunami that struck the Japanese coast after the March 11th earthquake, you will agree it is amazing anything survived. But one pine tree out of a beach-front forest of 70,000? To guess that the odds of this are extraordinarily high would probably be an understatement. Yet it happened in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, where botanical scientists have carefully taken branches from the survivor tree and grafted them onto other pines with the hope of recreating the forest that once stood. If all goes well, and there is no guarantee of that, the seedlings resulting from the grafted material should be ready for planting in three years. (Detroit Free Press – Lone Pine Tree) Kim Jong Il Repeats Himself in China. A LOT. “The sameness of Kim Jong Il’s toasts when he visits China is striking.” There really is no humor in what Kim Jong Il’s dictatorship has done to the people and resources of North Korea. It’s just wrong. However, there is a lot of humor to be found in the ways the strange man with the huge glasses presents himself to the world outside North Korea. In China, for example, he has a habit of basically saying the same thing every time he makes...
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The Straight Graphical Dope on Nintendo “If you’ve never read about Nintendo’s history, it’s a fascinating story. In Japanese, the word Nintendo means ‘leave luck to heaven’.” And if there is a heaven, it seems to have been smiling on Nintendo for a very long time. Certainly since the company began producing video games in 1978. Many of us go through our daily lives using the products we like without giving much thought about the company behind the conception and manufacture of these products. Seriously, think about it: when you got your first NES or Gameboy you didn’t really consider where it came from, you just wanted to play with it and have fun, right? Right. Well, at the link there is an infographic which will give you a quick and interesting summary of Nintendo’s origins and historic sales and market share figures. At the very least, if Nintendo comes up at the next cocktail party you attend, you’ll be able to whip some heavy gaming facts on the less-enlightened martini-and-olive crowd. (Bit Rebels—Nintendo History) Prince Philip Unapologetic for ‘Slitty-eyed’ Remark “I’d forgotten about it. But for one particular reporter who overheard it, it wouldn’t have come out.” One day in 1986, on a visit to Xian, China, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (a.k.a. husband of Queen Elizabeth II) famously commented to a group of British exchange students “If you stay here much longer you’ll be all slitty-eyed.” Many of you are likely too young to remember this and other disparaging public comments the duke has made over the last 60 years. And you’re probably better off. Of the comment above, the duke recently said “The Chinese weren’t worried about it, so why should anyone else?” So much for enlightened attitudes and cultural sensitivity within the British Royal Family. (The Daily Telegraph UK – Prince Philip.) (For your further amusement and disbelief, an extensive list of “Philip-isms” can be found in this piece by The UK Independent: Insensitive Prince.) Mortal Kombat Legacy Slightly Flawed, but Good “Mortal Kombat Legacy seems to have the right production values. It’s no ‘big Hollywood’, of course, but it’s got primetime television level effects.” Seven episodes into this web series, and things seem to be going well. It boasts a cast of actors familiar to fans of science fiction TV programming (Jeri Ryan, Tahmoh Penikett, Ian Anthony Dale and Ryan Robbins), and is giving Mortal Kombat fans fairly interesting stories on the origins of key Mortal Kombat characters. The story on the origin of Raiden, in particular, has been praised as the series’ finest so far. Still, it is a fledgling show, and web-based at that; so it has been criticized a little for continuity errors and some production values that seem a bit less than top-notch. However, word is Mortal Kombat fans should not only check it out; they’ll probably like it quite a bit. (TG Daily – Mortal Kombat Legacy) China, Japan Look to Rebuild Chinese Tourism “Following the Tohoku quake and tsunami,...
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Tucked away at a full scale PR and Marketing company, 72andSunny near LAX is a workspace and gallery who are hosting, the partner – husband + wife team, Kami and Sasu, also known as Hitotzuki. Hailing from Nakameguro, Tokyo the duo have painted numerous murals in Japan and have worked nearly two weeks on a signature wall piece which will stay “permanently”. Both with a cheerful and happy worth ethic, they brought their three year old son who plays in the space while they’re work on individual paintings which will be hung on their mural. I’ve interviewed Kami in the past for the cover of Giant Robot #56 and also curated him in an exhibition into an exhibition at the Scion Art Space in Culver City. Insiders, Outsiders, and the Middle and it’s great that 72andSunny has picked up the “ball” and ran further with it by bringing his wife, Sasu to do a mural. I wanted to bring Sasu three years ago, but their son was a newborn at the time. The opening tonite is private, but maybe you can catch it down the road. To view the pieces Please email events@72andSunny.com The gallery will be open until June 26th M-F 10-5 We have some Kami goods left at the GR store. Not a lot, but hard to get.
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