Showdown at Shinagawa

Name: Showdown at Shinagawa
Rating: 4.5 (10 reviews)
Author: Zarchy, Bill
ISBN: 9780984919109

Zarchy, Bill

10 ratings by Goodreads

Language: English

Published by Roving Camera Press, Albany, CA, 2013

0984919104 / 9780984919109

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Paperback. Superficial marks on covers. Leading corners, edges and spine ends are slightly worn. Closed tear on spine. Minor mark on page block foot. Binding is intact, contents are clean and clear. AM.

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Title: Showdown at Shinagawa
Author: Zarchy, Bill
Publisher: Roving Camera Press, Albany, CA
Publication year: 2013
Condition: Good
Book Type: Used
Binding: Paperback
Language: English
ISBN 10: 0984919104
ISBN 13: 9780984919109
Seller catalogs: Sociology

Honored as Commended Winner in Non-Fiction, 2014 Self-Publishing Review Awards.

Part armchair travel book, part personal memoir, Bill Zarchy's Showdown at Shinagawa: Tales of Filming from Bombay to Brazil takes readers inside the international adventures of working film crews making a living in the fascinating, unpredictable, sometimes dark, often comical world of the film and video business.

Showdown features 18 tales (from Japan, India, China, Uganda, the Philippines, New Zealand, France, Singapore, England, Taiwan, Mexico and Brazil) and 21 pages of color photos, the rich experiences of a director of photography whose assignments have taken him to 30 countries and 40 states. Zarchy brings us along for the ride on a darkly funny bus trip down the deadly Bombay-Pune Road in "Wrecks and Pissers," drags us through the disorienting milieu of Singapore's high-tech cleanrooms in "No Worry, Chicken Curry," faces a surreal Tokyo bowling-for-budget match in the title story "Showdown at Shinagawa," and shares the challenge of filming former President Clinton while dealing with family tragedy in "Dog Years." And so on, across six continents, over three decades of his work.

Sometimes he deals with famous people-Clinton, Steve Jobs, and Morgan Freeman-more often with ordinary folks. Despite the numbing jetlag, cultural disorientation, frustration with clients, and unpredictable weather that are an inevitable part of international film shoots, Zarchy maintains his sense of humor and the ridiculous, and a strong belief in the warmth of people all over the world.

Zarchy's first filming trip abroad was a shoot for a Hong Kong-based tour company that took him to eight countries in Asia in 1975. Two years later, he accompanied the band Fleetwood Mac through Japan and Hawaii. Since then, he has shot projects of all kinds all over the world. In the course of traveling and working with clients and crew people from everywhere, he has developed a fine ear for dialogue, a witty style of storytelling, and a keen insight into the dissonance that often occurs when people in other countries emulate the style and outer trappings of American society, within the context of their own cultures.

Showdown at Shinagawa is more than a travel memoir. It is also a book about the film and video industry, a workaday account of doing business in a myriad of locations across the U.S. and around the world. Where many travel narratives detail searches for interesting encounters, environments, and experiences, Showdown at Shinagawa tells of going places with an agenda--a job to do, a crew to hire, a production to shoot. Unlike tourists visiting to see the sights or seek enlightenment, the author and his colleagues deal with the locals in substantive ways, and the results are often poignant, puzzling, or comical--sometimes all three at once.

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Review

"Funny, sweet, and wise...deeply moving human interest stories...the doctor in India who doesn't charge for treating people via telemedicine, the young man in England with cystic fibrosis who has a new lease on life thanks to a portable nebulizer, and the medical student in Uganda who is tirelessly working to help his people."--Foreword Clarion Reviews

"The author recalls his near 'big break'...as a novice director doing preproduction in the Philippines for a low-budget Japanese sci-fi film...Thumbs up for this filmmaker's collection of postcards from the edge."--Kirkus Reviews

"'Shanghai Lunch' is a funny little vignette about Westerners trying Chinese delicacies. 'The Big Break: Malaise in Manila' is a great little humor piece for those of you just dying to know how a B-movie gets made."--IndieReader

"While the book bills itself most as being about the experience of foreign filmmaking, it really pulls together as a narrative about humanity in general in a very intriguing and heartwarming way, even when talking about the worst sides of a production or the lowest moments life can offer."--Self-Publishing Review

"Many of the stories found ways to brighten my day, tug at my heartstrings, or help me understand my fellow humans a bit more."--BookIdeas.com

"A common theme...[is] the camaraderie he has found on movie sets. Be it with his regular collaborators or just one-time-only encounters, he has found the moving image to be a pretty darned good universal language."--Cleveland Movie Blog

"The book introduces us to wonderful online viewing where Zarchy's remarkable photographic talents are on display."--BookReview.com

"Well-written, sharp, often quite charming...His stories revolve not around technical or logistical problems, but miscommunication, cultural disparities, and the all-too-common human foible of not putting yourself in the shoes of others."--San Francisco Book Review

"Zarchy's writing style is superb, part memoir while providing intimate insight into the experiences of international film and video professionals. Revealing color photos capture the right moment. The book provides deep insight into different cultures and the risks and challenges of filmmaking."--Mindquest Review of Books

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