2005 Shanghai Diaries Movie Club
Sideways stands tall (and no minority winners for the fourth year in a row)
OK. I’ll get this out of the way up front: There are no Chinese members of the Shanghai Diaries Movie Club. And only one member actually lives in China. The SDMC was formerly known as the Orange Street Oscars and it was based in lily-white Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. We have moved our operations to Shanghai because labor is cheap, movies are cheaper and the Chinese appear to be on a cinematic hot streak (especially when compared to the Amish, who, frankly, have been a big disappointment since showing so much promise in Witness).
Released just in time to be dramatically overshadowed by the real Oscars, the Shanghai Diaries Movie Club is the year in film as seen through the eyes of five guys in Pennsylvania, one guy in Shanghai and another guy lost somewhere in New Jersey. We give you our Top-20 Films of 2004 and a glimpse of what the Oscars would look like if we were in charge. Scroll down and see rough biographical sketches and individual top-20 lists from each voter. (One movie club member only managed a top-12 list this year. Forgive him — he’s from Scranton.)
The SDMC is looking for new members — especially ones based in China. So, please leave your comments and your own top-whatever lists as comments to this post. We’d love to hear from you. Maybe we’ll invite you back next year. We know you are dying to learn the secret club handshake … and meet the man known to millions of women worldwide simply as Big Daddy.
Enjoy.
02.27.2005, 5:47 PM · Movies · Comments (55)
During the past 36 days, I …
… spent 33 of them in Hawaii.… fell in love with a little boy named Sam (and there was nothing illegal or inappropriate about it).
… realized that it rains in paradise during the winter.
… drank water out of the tap.
… watched not one word of President Bush’s State of the Union address. Nor the inauguration address. But I did catch the lowlights on the Daily Show.
… received one of the worst haircuts of my life from a barber who spoke perfect English. Soooooooo short. And he hacked off my sideburns without even asking.
… wrote a 47-page book proposal about The Trip.
… signed with a New York-based agent who thinks she can sell the idea.
… rode a boogie board.
… went snorkeling.
… woke up at 8 a.m. and watched live NFL football.
… realized that American groceries cost the same in Honolulu as they do in Shanghai.
02.18.2005, 10:50 PM · Diary · Comments (4)
Shanghai —> Beijing —> Yunnan —> Shanghai
Ever since The Trip, I’ve been getting a lot of emails looking for advice on traveling in China (which reminds me … I need to respond to some of those). Now, I’d like to turn the tables and get some advice from my readers. I get back from Honolulu on February 16. And then, on February 20, these freaks — Brian and Jill — fly into Shanghai from the Dirty South (Atlanta, not Guangzhou). They’ve got a little less than two weeks in China, and we have decided to fly all over the place. Here is a look at our itinerary:
Feb. 20-22: Shanghai
Feb. 23-25: Beijing
Feb. 26-Mar. 4: Yunnan
Mar. 5: Back to ATL
My questions to you are:
- In Beijing, we will do some of the obvious things: Forbidden City and The Great Wall. But what section of the wall do you recommend? I went to Simitai back in August because I thought it was one of the less touristy sections — and then I found out that it had a cable car. Also, this time of year, I suppose weather will be an issue … so keep that in mind.
- What is worth checking out in Beijing that’s not mentioned in the guidebooks? I’m talking about stuff that only the locals — and local expats — know about. We’ve only got two-and-a-half days.
- If you only had six days in Yunnan, what the hell would you do (after you got done crying about the fact that you only had six days)?
- My friends have shown an interest in Zhongdian, because they would like to get a Tibetan feel without actually entering Tibet. So, we might head straight to Lijiang and spend most of our time in Yunnan’s northwest. Weather-wise is this a wise thing to do? (Looks like it gets pretty damn cold there at night.) Any suggestions for getting away from the hordes in that part of the country? Any Zhongdian-specific suggestions?
- Or should we just say f**k it, head to Ruili and shoot up every day?
Thanks in advance for your help. You can either leave you comments down below for everyone to see or, if you are shy, you can email me privately at dan @ danwashburn.com.
Also, let me know if you happen to be where we plan to be. Maybe we can get together.
See you on the road … again.
[My apologies to Rick Lacey, whoever you are. It’s late and your book cover was the only image I could find to go with this post. And yes, I am aware that an “RV Adventure Across America” has very little to do with a plane trip through China. As I said, it’s late. Sue me. Wait … don’t sue me.]
02.03.2005, 7:25 PM · Travel · Comments (11)