It’s not the first time he “retires,” and who knows if we’ll see the same thing happen again, but it was officially confirmed by Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki that Hayao Miyazaki is working on a new feature film for the studio. To be honest, I’m much more interested in hearing about other future plans for Ghibli, as I would certainly love to see other creators continue to make films for the studio.
Less surprising for the fact that it has finally happened than the fact that it took so long to do so, but the Maricar go-karting service is being sued by Nintendo for trademark infringement.
That’s the name of an exhibition taking place at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (until March 20), curated by Naoto Fukasawa (one of my favorite designers, and I still think the Neon is the best mobile phone I’ve owned). The Japan Times interviews him about the show, which compares modern design to crafts.
The title of this post is literally the name of the new compilation that brings together highlights from Yasuharu Konishi’s drama soundtrack work over the past decade — the joke is that it often ends up being used as background music in variety shows as well. I quite like the Debusen soundtrack he did last year (even though I’ve never watched the series), and so I imagine this is something I’d quite like too. You’ll find more details on the release in this post over at Tokyo’s Coolest Sound. Also of interest, this new compilation by DJ Hasebe, Butter Smooth – Tokyo 90’s Groove, which Patrick says is Shibuya-Kei centric.
My friend Louis-Étienne Vallée — who interestingly, I’d see at my PauseTalk events whenever he was in town for visits, and then again in Montreal where he was based before I moved there, and now he finds himself having moved to Tokyo — is an illustrator whose latest project sees him obsessing with faces. He wants to draw more of them — especially within a community — so get in touch with him if you have suggestions. Via Canvas.
I can definitely enjoy a good musical — my issue with Moana was that I didn’t like the songs — and Les Demoiselles de Rochefort (The Young Girls of Rochefort) is truly a classic. By the director of Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg), it features a fantastic soundtrack, but more than that, the star of the show are really the fashions and the colors on display throughout. I love this movie, and it’s fun seeing Gene Kelly show up.
The last time I watched this movie was when I was a kid, and I remember hating it. Sure, it’s a Bond film, but it’s a parody of one, and I just didn’t get it. Re-watching it now, I still hate it. I just don’t find it funny at all, and nothing in it makes any sense. Sure, it’s neat to see all of these actors, but it’s just such a mess of a movie that it’s a chore to get through it. The only saving grace for me is that I love the soundtrack.
Continuing with my 1967 movie marathon, I re-watched Point Blank, which I had first watched a few years ago. I really like this movie, and the reason I had checked it out was because I was such a big fan of Darwyn Cooke’s Parker graphic novels, which are adaptations of Richard Stark’s series (this movie is itself an adaptation of Stark’s The Hunter, which Cooke also adapted). It’s noire, it’s about revenge, and I quite like the way its shot (it was directed by John Boorman). Well worth watching if you’re into crime flicks.
The latest post up on the State of Tokyo site is a beautifully shot look at the latest PauseDraw event. It’s great to see the event get a nice bit of coverage like this, and big thanks to Alex for the PauseTalk mention — I miss doing those events too.
I have lots of fond memories of the 21_21 Design Sight, from the excitement when it was first announced — I mean, a building designed by Tadao Ando, and led by Issey Miyake, Taku Satoh, and Naoto Fukasawa, holy shit — to getting to work with them a couple of times through PechaKucha, by way of a kids workshop and event as part of the “Design Ah!” exhibition and Roppongi Art Night 2013, and then another event the following year. Not only are they celebrating 10 years — time sure flies — but they’re also converting the restaurant space that was on the left side of the main entrance to a new gallery space. Via Spoon & Tamago.