Thoughts on Oscars 2007

Right, I'm a couple of days late, sorry about the lack of updates. I've been busy playing Final Fantasy 12 like a possessed madman, weeping like a Taiwanesehousewife while watching the dorama version of Ima ai ni yukimasu and falling asleep on the sofa trying to reignite my artistic fire, thus I hadn't had the time to post that much, hence asking my sister to post a few more of her kiddie pictures as distraction.

One reason why I didn't come up with my Oscar predictions this year is, well, I didn't manage to watch most of the nominated films, and even though I know whom the hot favourites were, I felt that it would be pointless if my predictions were same as everyone else's. No chance for me to predict some based on my own gut feelings (although for a while, I started thinking that maybe Little Miss Sunshine would actually take it all, instead of my earlier pick, The Departed based on its momentum).

Visiting Filmmakers Anonymous 2, Central Market Annexe

So yes, just as I've mentioned here, I went to Filmmakers Anonymous 2 at the Central Market Annexe last night for the Malaysian premiere of my latest short film, Girl Disconnected.

It was an interesting experience watching my film again on a big screen. It was first screened at Murdoch Uni in Perth last December, but unlike the rushed version shown then, the Girl Disconnected I submitted for last night was pretty much the definitive version that I'm satisfied with (I did some re-editing at the last third of the film, slightly increasing its running time, changed some music during my trip in India earlier this month, and had been working non-stop on it in the few nights leading up to the Filmmakers Anonymous 2 gathering... hence the lack of updates on the blog lately)

Of course, one of the worst things about being a perfectionist is that some of the teeny weeny flaws would bother me greatly. During a ballerina scene towards the end of the film, I almost gasped in horror when I noticed I made an embarrassing editing goof where I didn't manage to cut off a split second of unwanted footage. For a while, I got really scared that other people at the screening would notice my mistake too.

One of the most pleasant surprises was seeing my old friend, Kai Wen, who really managed to make it to the screening, and Danu, a friend of mine I met at Murdoch Uni whom I haven't met for a year since her graduation.


Danu and I


Kai Wen and I

I looked... stoned.

But anyway, here are some brief thoughts about the films screened last night.

An Interview With Quentin S. Crisp

I've talked about Quentin S. Crisp before - he's one of my favorite living writers. His 'demented fiction' is unrivalled for its poetic quality and general, um, dementedness, and I suspect it won't be long before he has a major mainstream breakthrough - not that there's anything particularly 'mainstream' about him, but his stories and novels are certainly of world-class quality. Anyway, I sat down with him recently to discuss his writing, his favorite films, pop music, the meaning of Mishima's death, the real reason why most people study Japanese, and other relevant topics. Suffice it to say that this is probably the most important thing I have yet posted to this site, and it certainly touches on more or less everything Swifty and I have put up here at some point. It is thus mandatory reading. Apart from that, it's probably the last substantial thing I'll post for a while, time constraints being what they are. Read on and learn more...

Malaysian Premiere of my short film, 'Girl Disconnected' this Friday

Reminder to anyone living near Kuala Lumpur: My latest short film, Girl Disconnected, will have its Malaysian premiere this Friday (23rd of February) at Filmmakers Anonymous 2. Screening (which is FREE!) will begin at 8:30pm, the venue is Central Market Annexe. Central Market Annexe is located behind Central Market, near the Pasar Seni LRT station.

The version shown on that very day is the newly edited version of the film different from the one that was screened in Perth last December. (I fixed it while I was traveling at India)

Make sure you arrive early because Girl Disconnected is going to be the FIRST FILM screened at the event.

Hope to see you there! (there will be a Q & A session after the screening)

Here's a teaser of the short film I put together last year, uploaded by my cinematographer, Brian.


Preview of the ballerina scene in Girl Disconnected


You can also check out some screenshots and production photos of Girl Disconnected on my Flick account.

I've also written and posted a video of Filmmakers Anonymous 1 here early last month.

Tags: girl disconnected, edmund yeo, filmmaking, filmmaker, anonymous, malaysian, premiere

Twins Mission 雙子神偷 is a depressing film

TWINS EFFECT was a self-inflicted punishment.

GHOST RIDER

The following were a few of predictions I made when the Ghost Rider trailer first came out months ago:

VERTICAL DISTANCE - A Romantic Comedy By Edmund Yeo

It's Valentine's Day, what better time than this to officially launch my romantic comedy short, Vertical Distance?

Vertical Distance is the first of the two short films I made last year (the other being the often-mentioned Girl Disconnected). Shot in Perth sometime in May last year, with music by Arshi Tope and the popular Malaysian Jazz duo, Rhapsody.

Interestingly, a friend of mine, Crystal Yong aka finkl, the current finalist of Singapore's My DreamD8 II show on MTV, was involved in this production, she and I had cameo roles during the 1:40 minute mark. (all crew members of the film had cameo roles :D)


Vertical Distance

Tags: short film, vertical distance, perth, youtube, video, romance, romantic, crystal yong, finkl, edmund yeo, swifty, my dreamd8, valentine's day, singapore, singaporean, cute, asian, girl

Watch these music videos during Valentine's Day

Last year, I posted three lists of recommended films to watch on Valentine's Day, one for Hong Kong films, one for other Asian films (Korean, Japanese, etc.), and one for Hollywood films. Until now, I wouldn't really update these posts since they are so bloody awesome (all right, maybe I'll add Before Sunrise and Before Sunset on the list of recommended Hollywood films, but other than that, nope), so yeah, they are a must-read for the hopeless romantics out there.

This year, I'll do something different by compiling a list of nice music videos to watch on Valentine's Day, with your loved one, or by yourself if you like to wade in self-pity by indulging in your loneliness.

The list is compiled with the help of some friends.

Derek Yee's Protégé 门徒

When I first looked at the poster of Protege, I had expected yet another stylish cop crime thriller in the vein of those Infernal Affairs films or perhaps something like director Derek Yee's previous foray in the genre back in 2004, the fabulous One Nite In Mongkok that roped him a Best Director award at the Hong Kong Awards. And based on the summary I read about the film, Andy Lau playing a big-team drug dealer, Daniel Wu being his apprentice (or protege) who is actually an undercover cop, I thought if this isn't a cop thriller, maybe it'll be like Johnnie To's Election movies, or maybe it might be more like this little-seen 2001 Daniel Wu film, Cop On A Mission, where an undercover cop who infiltrated a triad group gradually becomes a true scum.

THE HOLIDAY

And then, there's another kind of love: the cruelest kind. The one that almost kills its victims. Its called unrequited love. Of that I am an expert. Most love stories are about people who fall in love with each other. But what about the rest of us? What about our stories, those of us who fall in love alone? We are the victims of the one sided affair. We are the cursed of the loved ones. We are the unloved ones, the walking wounded. The handicapped without the advantage of a great parking space! Yes, you are looking at one such individual. And I have willingly loved that man for over three miserable years! The absolute worst years of my life! The worst Christmas', the worst Birthday's, New Years Eve's brought in by tears and valium. These years that I have been in love have been the darkest days of my life. All because I've been cursed by being in love with a man who does not and will not love me back. Oh god, just the sight of him! Heart pounding! Throat thickening! Absolutely can't swallow! All the usual symptoms.

I sighed during the opening voiceover of The Holiday (delivered by Iris, played by Kate Winslet). It just hit a little too close to home. Such uneasiness was intensified when I became increasingly conscious of the fact that most people sitting around me in the cinema came in pairs. Such is the pain of being a closet sucker for romantic comedies (the only justification I can come up with is that, well, I'm a Piscean), while watching these fluffy feel-good films in the cinema, I am sometimes unintentionally reminded of my own misery, which, of course, adds more to the saddening poetry of my situation.

Unfair treatment of a certain guest blogger who shall remain anonymous

Swifty has a photo on this blog. (Well, okay, it’s his blog so it’s fair.)

Justin has a photo on this blog. (Well, okay, he is a permanent guest blogger so it’s fair too.)

Swifty-chan has a photo (PHOTOS!) on this blog. (Well, okay, it’s fair because she is a guest blogger related to Swifty and has very cute cheeks.)

Spongebob Squarepants has a photo on this blog. (What do you mean he is not a guest blogger?)

Has anybody thought of *MY* feelings? Oh no, let Justin get the last piece of pie (Justin: You said you were on a diet and food made you cry!), let Swifty see Dalai Lama (Swifty: You were thousand of miles away. How could…how can…what the…?!?!), let Swifty-chan get the big teddy bears (Swifty-chan: Put the sponge down, May Zhee, put the sponge down), what do *I* get?

HAH?

A small little May Zhee under every sedulous post I make.

Well I don’t care anymore!



No Swifty, Justin or Swifty-chan was hurt in the production of this blog post. However the same cannot be said for Spongebob Squarepants.

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Bye people! Swifty said he’ll be back on Feb 9 so my duty as a guest blogger is done. If you miss me, you know where to find me.