Mediterranean lifestyle for the rich and poor

It’s my last full day in Shanghai. The hotel breakfast is becoming monotonous. Noodles and dim sum at 8am are no longer a novelty and I would pay many Yen for a bowl of Coco Pops. I’m on an enforced egg diet. For breakfast the options are eggs boiled, fried or baked. At lunch most soups seem to have either a preserved, picked or boiled egg. For supper any rice dish that is not just plain boiled has an egg thrown in for good measure.

Today has been the first day of rain since I’ve been in Asia. The temperature has been an unseasonably high at around 14C. The metro station Shanxi Road on Metro Line 1 is a few yards from my hotel yet I still get asked 5 times if I want to buy ‘Rolex, Gucci, Lady? Just look?. The aggressive street hawkers might be because the infamous Xlanggyang Market near Central Huaihai Road has been demolished. On my hunt for North Fakes, the Chinese equivalent of North Face clothing, I asked where the market was. A passerby pointed at a huge vacant building plot.

The Shanghai Metro carries 1.9 million people everyday, yes that figure is correct as of 2006! A policy of no food and drink certainly seems to help keep the system clean and a rather German/Swiss feel to the stations. Trains seem to be frequent and single metro tickets get recycled which is a fantastic idea. The issuing machine charges them with you chosen fare/destination and then the barrier machine keeps them on exit. It makes me wonder what happens to the thousands of pink paper tickets that get issued on the London Underground system everyday. How green is our transport system? Something for the new or existing major to consider.

As I crossed over the Wusong River today’s daily bizarre bike was a man carrying a big basket of racing pigeons which he released across the Creek.

Creek Art an art centre and (expensive) restaurant sits on the banks of Suzhou Creek. Their website is not shy to describe the location set amongst the slums and abandoned factories of downtown Shanghai. Inside this former flour factory can be found uber contemporary installations and art. The current exhibition is Deep Breath: Explore the Female Strength in Chinese Contemporary Art. 19 participating artists born between 1950’s and 70’s use various materials and media. The staff are very protective about any pictures being taken which I can understand regarding the art work but not the building. Check out their website for official pictures www.creekart.org

To try to show the contrast between rich and poor yet how closely they rub next to each other I photographed this al fresco kitchen for one of the slum houses. This was within yards of the entrance to Creek Art with its elegant top floor restaurant were diners sip imported wines to accompany their Italian cuisine.

As I was still in the north of the city I thought I would head to Duolun Road also known as Cultural Street. In the early 20th century many of the buildings were home to famous Chinese writers and political figure heads. Today the street has reemrged from a major restoration project and is a popular tourist attraction. Duolun MOMA stands as a large contemporary black building at the beginning of the road. There are numerous antique shops and teahouses along the pedestrian area. At #123 is The Old Film Café. From the outside it looks like a haunted house and the interior has the same feeling not helped by the creeking staircase and dimly lit rooms. Sitting having a cup of tea you feel like you are in your grandma’s best room on your best behaviour. Movie buffs will enjoy the photos of the vintage Chinese movie stars and the screenings of classic films from the '30s.

‘I’m an actor and a tree’.

October 07

‘I’m an actor and a tree’.

Steve Buscemi

With thanks to S who works at The Times we got tickets to a National Film and Television School Masterclass as part of The Times BFI 51^st London Film Festival.

Host Briony Hanson was interviewing Indiewood’s most well respected character actors, Steve Buscemi. You say boosemi I say boo-SHEM-ē. Actually he does not mind how you pronounce it which only goes to emphasize Steve’s non-egotistical attitude.

What came across in this interview was his modesty about his acting and directing talent. He has a rare quality unknown in many Hollywood stars as having the ability to laugh at himself. Perhaps this comes from his background as a stand up comic. He described himself as an actor and a tree causing the audience to chuckle.

When asked about why he still takes roles in the high profile blockbusters such asMr. Pink in Reservoir Dogs, he said that he uses them to fund his indi work. However he was quick to point out that he is still selective about which scripts he accepts.

The obvious question was asked about being type cast as s dysfunctional character.. His response was that it is inevitable however does not consider his characters to be losers. He talks about them with some affection and naively refers to them as ‘just people with problems’.

It was encouraging to hear that even Buscemi has the dreaded writers block. He too finds it difficult to write and it frustrates him that this delays his creative process however ‘anything you write is worthwhile and it’s ok to tear it up’, sounding a bit like a life coach.

Buscemi openly admitted, again showing he is not afraid to share his insecurities, that he finds directing on series such as Homicide, his first series as director as ‘terrifying’ and ‘petrified’ that he has no time to prepare. Tree’s Lounge was his first feature film as writer and director and he described the experience as a learning curve. A process that he is still riding.

The audience had a chance to ask questions and it was interesting to hear about the production/technical side of his work. On his series work he has limited editing control particularly on Sopranos. Unless he is in LA tapes have to be sent back and forth hence the limited amount of input he can put in. He agreed that advances in technology are making it easier for people to make films however distribution has become much harder. Other questions from the floor were cringeable with one bizarre fan gleefully telling Buscemi that she found one of his films on DVD in a charity shop.

Sadly I never got the chance to ask him what kind of tree he sees himself as.

Steve Buscemi’s latest release is Interview

I would like to thank...

Wednesday 21^st March

Today was award day – lots of photos, smiling and cringing when they played my video piece in the huge presentation area at Cyberport. It was bad enough having a banner with my face looming at me while I ate my lunch but I had to listen to myself over loud speakers. I should have brought my ear plugs from the airplane.
During the rest if the day we attended the Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum (DELF). We got to listen and mingle with some very distinguished speakers here are some of them;

Scott Ross CEO of AWOL Pictures, Founder and Former Chairman and CEO of Digital Domain (Apollo 13, I Robot).

Warren Franklin CEO of Rainmaker (De Vinci Code, Garfield).

Paul Wang Imagi (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

Edward Jones The Light Exchange (Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Witches of Eastwick, Happy Feet etc etc)

Michael Stephens who is a leading film and entertainment lawyer from NZ - WingNut.

Stef and Scott Ross:

I agree with Stef's comment , 'The Digital Pioneers programme is all about challenging our preconceptions and our business models.' Read his blog for a much more in depth viewpoint of the Digital Leadership Forum.

Cyberport arranged for a behind the scenes tour of Happy Valley racetrack.

A surreal experience because the race track was floodlit with a backdrop of the HK skyscrapers.

Multicoloured race pages are frantically studied by a strange mix of ex-pats drinking Pimms and locals eating noodles. This man told me to put a bet on number 10...it came first. If you know who this man contact me we have some race tracks to visit!