Episode 32: Merantau
The VCinema gang went on a journey to physical and spiritual enlightenment and all they brought back was this lousy podcast. Actually, this episode is elevated from lousy to decent status by the presence of guest host James from the Criterion Cast and cineAWESOME! who joins us in a feature discussion of the 2009 martial arts extravaganza from Indonesia, Merantau. Also in this episode, we have an interview with Teru Takayama, president of Japan Flix, a streaming-only film distributor who talk about their how they got started, their current business space, and plans moving ahead in the online world. All this, more talk about the New York Asian Film Festival and Japan Cuts in New York, Doctor Who spin-offs, why your butt is going to be landing in Pyongyang soon, why Mr. T doesn’t approve of downloading, and a whole lot more!
Email: vcinema@variedcelluloid.net
Formspring: http://www.formspring.me/vcinema
Manually download this episode here.
Subscribe to the VCinema RSS feed here.
Subscribe to the VCinema iTunes feed here.
About The Author
Jon Jung
Jon Jung (aka “Coffin Jon”) is the producer and host of the VCinema podcast and editor-in-chief of the VCinema blog. He is an avid movie fan who specializes in Japanese cinema, but enjoys everything from artsy high-brow to mega-billion blockbusters to straight-to-video turds. As an Asian-American, he got the best of all cinematic worlds as a child by receiving mega-doses of Ozu, Bruce Lee, Kamen Rider, and American drive-in movies in addition to a steady diet of punk rock, Japanese literature, and Buddhism. He spent six years in Japan as an English teacher and translator. In 2004, he returned to the United States to complete his Masters in Language Education and continue his career as a language educator and cultural anthropologist with a focus on language policy and language shift. Jon is a former Myrle Clark Award recipient for excellence in creative writing and has contributed to World Film Locations: Tokyo (Intellect, 2011).