I just finished watching the series Fullmetal Alchemist. It was 51 Episodes long - a fictional journey that I've taken for 3 months. And in the end, it was poignant, rich, and satisfying. I'm so susceptible to the anime conventions - Optimism and Tragedy; great explorations and the heightened suffering that eastern heroes endure. I realize that modern fiction has so much more to offer than these sweeping operatic outlines, but I don't think I need it. Of course, I wonder if my addiction to these themes says something of the limits of my character. Does my attraction to these colorful worlds imply that I'm unable to see the subtleties of my peers? Do I envision people as caricatures? Or is it my everyday disappointment that feeds my desire to see stories played out in such black and white strokes?
Shrug.
Anyway, the point is, for those of you who like anime - or if you're curious and looking for a place to start, I'd suggest FullMetal Alchemist. I think it comes out on DVD in the states sometime next January. Or you can Bittorrent it nearly everywhere. The last episode was just aired in Japan on October 2nd; this is the first time that I've had to wait a week in-between episodes like anime's intended audience does - I can't wait to rewatch the entire series (~25 and 1/2 hours!) back to back.
God, it was good. And there's a movie coming out next summer.
In other news, I'm back in Amsterdam. Fantastic. Last night was the wrap party for DB2 - I played both shows at Boom so I didn't show up until 2am. Most people were still there; Rob Schneider came over and thanked me (!?) again for my work, and I thanked him for letting me be a small part of the film. So weird. I mean, really really really weird. Weird. I had a couple drinks and said goodbye. Next August, look for me in the background of one shot for about 1/2 second. And then imagine how I shot that line 14 times, and how they flew me to Spain to shoot it. The film industry is totally insane. No one has a grasp of reality behind the scenes, and there's no way to put anything in perspective. It's just insane and I don't have the vocabulary or focus to articulate it better.
Let's look at it this way:
It cost them an estimated:
300 euro to fly me to Spain. 280 per day to put me up (=1400 ro) 180 per diem total 650 day rate *2 ________________ 3180 Euro for my 2 lines in the movie.
That's 176 Euro per word that I speak on film. Or, assuming I'm not cut at all (and that it takes me 10 seconds to speak those words), my (remember, I'm an unknown actor) hourly dollar rate for films is = $1,420,638.
The film industry is insane.