Filed under: Journalists, Juche Rules Film, North Korea, film
Check out my Q&A on StoryLink by blogger Debra Eckerling.
It coincides with my nomination for “Best Screenplay” at the Edgemar Short Film Festival in Santa Monica.
http://www.storylink.com/blogentry/83817
North Korea film and documentary viewing
Filed under: Journalists, Juche Rules Film, North Korea, film
I’ll be guest speaking and presenting some of my North Korea reports at a “showing” and panel discussion in Pasadena.
Two award-winning films, De-Faced and Kim Jongilia the Movie will be screened there. I’ve seen parts of those movies and they look amazing.
Come out and support if you can!
http://www.brehmcenter.com/event/2009-11-19–north-korea-in-cinema–deface-and-kimjongilia/
Truth way stranger than fiction
So the truth finally comes out. This is account is certainly more credible than the North Korean propaganda of stating that Laura and Euna were giddily excited that they had ventured into forbidden territory. But though it’s credible, a lot of questions remain over whether the journalists were actually set up.
Juche Rules Trailer
Filed under: Journalists, Juche Rules Film, North Korea, Uncategorized, film
Check out the trailer for our new short film, JUCHE RULES …
Tales from one of the few westerners to land in N. Korea
Filed under: Journalists, Juche Rules Film, North Korea, Uncategorized, film
Fascinating article from the L.A. times on Charles Jenkins, the army deserter who spent four decades stuck in North Korea.
My favorite lines from the article are: His time in North Korea was part comedy, part horror. He says he and three other American deserters mocked their political minders, whom they nicknamed Whitey, the Fat Cadre and the Colonel in Glasses.
That’s the essence of my short film, Juche Rules, which will be finished shortly… stay tuned….
North Korea sadly making the headlines…
As we just wrapped up filming my screenplay, Juche Rules, about a journalist who obtains secret footage in North Korea, I find myself eerily looking at the news headlines, where American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee are now on trial in North Korea. It is a case filled with so many questions– Did they actually cross the Sino-Korean border? Are they being treated well? Are they being used as political pawns? Does anyone have any idea how the North Korean court system works? Having traveled to North Korea twice, all I can say that is if someone claims to understand the North Korean mind, then they probably have no idea what goes on in the North Korean mind. Most of the people are essentially brainwashed drones. I recall looking out from my tour bus, and into the fields, where I could see such mindless, ordinary people, marching out to plant a flag. I recall watching South Korean tourists yell into the mountains to hear their voices echo through the beautiful Mount Kumgang. At the same, time, North Korean guides, just watched with completely blank expressions, wondering what could be so interesting about hearing your own voice echo. Unfortunately, their own voices are completely lost in the desolate country. But I’m curious to know, how many people do have independent thought there, and how many of them are able to break through the brainwashing. I am sure the vast majority do not. However, I interviewed several defectors many years ago, and f0r most of them, there was a particular moment. Perhaps they got a small glimpse of the outside world, and something penetrated their mind, allowing them to feel conscious for the first time in their life. For most of them, there was almost always a moment of truth where they had to decide to make a break for freedom, which also meant leaving their families behind forever. That is courage, and at the same time, some might think selfishness. For what happens to their families can be shame or even many years in a labor camp. No one has the answers to the right or wrong of that decision … no one.
Hello world!
Hello Everyone…. welcome to my site.
Great news for my play Juche Rules. I’ve been working on the short screenplay version for a year, with the main difficulty being trying to shorten a 30 minute play into a 15 minute screenplay. Well, it is finally becoming a reality.
We are scheduled to begin shooting next month in March 2009!
The film will be directed by Kristina Romero and stars Roy Vongtama and Ryun Yu, two actors who were in the original play. Mike Dusi is now aboard to produce and we’re off and running.
One of the difficulties regarding budget and time is that I happen to make snow and winter the setting. This is Southern California… so obviously, the budget multiplies once we have to take our actors, crew and hit the road to colder temperatures.
Fortunately, I’ve been doing some research, and me, Kristina and Roy just went on a search to find snow in L.A. That “Quest for Snow” brought us to the edge of the Angeles Forest close to Palmdale… and as we got closer and closer to the mountain, despite all warnings not too… sure enough… we all started screaming like children when the flakes started dropping down on our windshield.
Will the snow still be there in a month when we shoot? Don’t know… that’s all part of the filming game. But we’re also up against the fact that the authorities shut down the roads when snow falls in that area. Gonna be a tricky one…. but I was amazed at how the terrain does resemble North Korea!