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THE CHINESE BOX OF CHINESE BOX OFFICE SALES
(this article was first published in CHINA-US FOCUS, October 25, 2014)Last EmperorBack in 1986, China was but a picturesque background for big Western films, not a market. The producers of blockbusters...
View ArticleAT LAST, A SONY JAPAN THAT CAN SAY "NO"
BY PHILIP J CUNNINGHAM“The Interview” may be a joke of a film, but the Sony hacking incident and escalating war of words between anti-Kim detractors and the pro-Kim hackers is deadly serious. Despite...
View ArticleCINEMATIC THRILLS AND THE CULTURE OF VIOLENCE
"The Interview" (2014) is based on a deeply-flawed conceit rooted in American exceptionalism; that a film about the killing a leader for the fun of it is funny as long as the target is unpopular and...
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FUJI: IMAGINING JAPAN INSIDE AND OUT
Fuji: A novel of Japan (Available on Amazon January 1, 2015)(An excerpt from forthcoming novel)"Even the cloudsOf heavenStruck with aweDare not pass Over that steep peakIt is a spirit that Watches...
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FUJI: IMAGINING JAPAN INSIDE AND OUT, Chapter Two
*AFTERSHOCKProud, and just a little bit superstitious, Jianhong was angry at the earth for shaking again. The day had started most inauspiciously, what with the ground jiggling underfoot,...
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FUJI, IMAGINING JAPAN INSIDE OUT, Chapter Three
*MOUNTAIN BOUNDEn route to Mount Fuji, comfortably ensconced in the plush upholstered rear seat of a Samurai Sedan, Miki Matsu rocked back and forth, alternately tensing thighs left and right, left and...
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FUJI: IMAGINING JAPAN INSIDE OUT, Chapter Four
*ON THE MENDMiki keyed the guest room door, stealthily entering a hotel suite redolent of the scent of an unwashed man. The fugitive gaijin was sprawled out on the king-sized bed, asleep in his...
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FUJI: IMAGINING JAPAN INSIDE OUT, Chapter Five
*BY THE BAY“Hey! You!” A staccato shout shattered the early morning calm, startling even the brazen seagulls feasting on trash. The white birds took flight en masse, gaining altitude across the...
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FUJI: IMAGINING JAPAN INSIDE OUT, Chapter Six
*RED AND BLUEAs if cued by a high-pitched whistle, audible only to hounds and heels, a dozen men, mostly drivers, lined up side by side along the rim of the gully. Before a stunning view of a...
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FUJI: IMAGINING JAPAN INSIDE OUT, Chapter Seven
*RARING TO GOEngines idling full blast, the convoy rumbled and hummed, but it wasn’t going anywhere soon. Parked in plain view of Mount Fuji, an assortment of men and vehicles bristled with impatient...
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FUJI: IMAGINING JAPAN INSIDE OUT, Chapter Eight
*BACK IN GEARSprawled out on the back seat of the sedan, Jianhong’s head lolled lazily against the armrest in a state of semi-slumber. Her thigh-revealing cheongsam dress split wide and suggestively,...
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FUJI: IMAGINING JAPAN INSIDE OUT, Chapter Nine
*FORSAKEN AUDIENCEThe security booth at the turnoff to the unmarked road leading to Yamato Lodge was unmanned. The front gate of the hilltop estate was untended and unlocked. The winding gravel drive...
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FUJI: IMAGINING JAPAN INSIDE OUT, Chapter Ten
*WORD WOLFHow the scenery could shift in the course of a few hours! From the salty air of the bay, to the pungent stench of sulfuric hot springs in the hills, from the rugged coastline of murky ocean...
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FUJI: IMAGINING JAPAN INSIDE OUT, Chapter Eleven
*FINE DAYAfter a second pit stop, with more of the same male-pattern unzippering and earth anointing conducted in plain sight, the motorcade resumed its journey onwards and upwards. The expedition was...
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FUJI: IMAGINING JAPAN INSIDE OUT, Chapter Twelve
*ALTITUDE AND ATTITUDERain-laden clouds darkened the sky. On the cusp of cloudburst the landscape took on a mysterious aspect; fog in the foreground, leaden mist in the distance. And then the sky...
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FUJI: IMAGINING JAPAN INSIDE OUT, Chapter Thirteen
*SAFE HEAVEN“Station Five!” the driver declared, rubber rumbling on the crackly, pot-holed surface as the car rattled to a halt.Collin’s excitement about pulling into the biggest commercial emporium on...
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FUJI: IMAGINING JAPAN INSIDE OUT, Chapter Fourteen
*PRIME REAL ESTATE Hardy leaves on scraggly trees caught the low sun, fluttering in the wind like forest sprites, alive and aglow. The hike up Fuji had begun.An elite VTR contingent led the way along a...
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FUJI: IMAGINING JAPAN INSIDE OUT, Chapter Fifteen
*MOONLIGHT IN THE MOUNTAINSEven as the guarded entourage plodded up the narrow path in the gloom of cold shade, the landscape behind them opened up, lit with fire. The unseen sun, eclipsed by the...
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FUJI: RE-IMAGINING JAPAN, Chapter Sixteen
*LET’S FRIENDA top-heavy stack of clouds towered precariously above the mountain, absorbing what light was left of the dying solar spectrum, flaring from pink to orange, red to purple and finally...
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FUJI: RE-IMAGINING JAPAN, Chapter Seventeen
*ON THE AIRTen seconds to air time… nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one…“Good evening and welcome to Nice News, this is Miki Matsu reporting from Mount Fuji,” the news anchor began,...
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