I love Google Video!

So I was looking for Babyshambles music videos on Google Video and found this 58-minute documentary about my man Pete Doherty. It's a totally wild glimpse into this lunatic's life - sex, drugs, rock n roll, and Kate Moss. You can watch it below or on Google Video for a higher-quality version. Sweet!

EDIT- I forgot to mention that even if you don't feel like watching the whole movie - just watch the first 20 seconds. You'll get the picture. (No really, it's worth it!)

I can't stop listening to this song!

Pete Doherty might be the biggest fuckup in the world, but I still love him! I definitely thought he was through after he got kicked out of The Libertines, but now... I think Babyshambles is actually the better band. He might be a crack-head, but he still innovates song arrangement like no other. Seriously, I can't stop listening to this song from last year's album Down in Albion. Every time the chorus kicks in, I rock out like I'm 15 again. It's ridiculous.

"Out of the Poison Tree" premiere screening!

Saturday night I attended the first screening of the final cut of Out of the Poison Tree, a powerful documentary that I spent about 8 months working on back in 2005. I was really proud of the film's director, my friend Beth Pielert. It was definitely stressful to watch the documentary (that took 7 years to make!) in front of many of its subjects (including the entire Buth-Mam family!), but they all had big smiles on their faces at the end. So I was psyched.

I was especially ecstatic to see that my name was the third one up on the screen when the credits rolled - frickin awesome!

There was also a kick-off performance by Cambodian rapper PrachLy before the film started. Dude's wild - I love him! It was funny because the screening was at the swank Variety Club in downtown SF and the screening room has a giant blue monster from Monsters Inc on the left side of the screen and a big ol' shark from Finding Nemo on the right side. Like, we're talking full-on lifesize models of these things. Crazy.

Anyhow, this first screening was really a wrap party for all the amazing people who worked on the film, and now it's off to the festival circuit next, followed by a PBS airing in 2007. Wicked cool.

If you want to learn more about the film, you can check it out here: GoodFilmWorks.com.

If you click on the Crew section and scroll down a bit, you can even read my "bio."

Many congratulations to Beth!

(yeah, i don't know what was up with my hair that night.)

New Fashion Museum in Paris!

This happened a couple weeks ago, but I only just saw it on Purseblog.com - Work has started on a fashion museum that will celebrate French contributions to the art of apparel! The best part of this story is that it taps into one of the most long-standing luxury fashion rivlaries - Louis Vuitton vs. Gucci! I can't wait till they finish this thing - who wants to go with me? It'll be like 5 years from now...


PARIS (Reuters) - France’s biggest fashion group presented plans on Monday for a futuristic museum built out of glass to promote the heritage of its brands, promising the new Paris landmark would be a celebration of creativity.

French tycoon Bernard Arnault, chairman of luxury goods group LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, said the 100 million euro ($127 million) museum would show the art that has influenced its designers from Christian Dior to Marc Jacobs.

The “Louis Vuitton Foundation for Creation” will be housed in a glass-clad building soaring over the trees in the Bois de Boulogne park on the city’s western edge that Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry said was intended to resemble a cloud.

Critics immediately drew parallels between Arnault’s project and the museum plans of his arch rival in business, Francois Pinault, owner of the luxury Gucci Group.

Pinault, who also owns Christie’s auction house, unveiled his modern art collection earlier this year in Venice after attempts to build a museum on an island in the river Seine in Paris were thwarted by bureaucracy.

“It won’t be a purely contemporary art foundation,” said Arnault, knocking down comparisons with Pinault’s collection.

“Comparisons with other initiatives are not pertinent.”

Gehry, who designed the titanium-clad Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, Spain, said the commission for the Louis Vuitton building was like a dream.

“As I experienced the world, Paris became my favorite city,” said Gehry, 77. “So when a man who leads in fashion, who collects art that I love, invited me to Paris to do a building it was a heavenly assignment.”

Gehry said when he saw the site he thought of the writings of Marcel Proust and “wanted to cry with happiness.”

Arnault said the cost of the building to LVMH, which spends billions each year on advertising, would be spread over five years. He hoped construction could start next year and end before 2009.

Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe said: “This is an enormous present for Paris, and for France’s image in the world.”

French Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres promised the foundation would get favorable tax treatment.

Sweet Jesus this car is RAD!

I saw this on High Snobiety - Nigo's got a new car on the streets! This time is a wild pink camo Bathing Ape Bugatti Veyron. Now that's a lifestyle. Damn. Only $1.2 million.

Confession!

Confession- I love well-done tv commercials! Marketing-haters often forget that many of the great film directors started their careers in commercials, including City of God director Fernando Meirelles. Not to sound like a massive tool, but... commercials can be a great place for cinematic experimentation, with big budget branding dollars thrown into camera technique innovation. Lately, I've noticed a good number of producers are moving in the direction of real highend production quality, with more largescale physical effects and less cheapo cgi visuals. They might be ads, but good ads are still better than bad ads.

My roommate Adam called my attention to these insane commercials from Sony Bravia.

The first one (from director Jonathan Glazer) was done with 100% real paint explosions across a Scottish block, with zero computer effects. The result is a pure visual masterpiece that took a crew of 60 people more than 5 days to clean up. Check it:



The second video (from Danish director Nicolai Fuglsig) was actually the predecessor, accomplished by sending 250,000 multi-coloured 'superballs' bouncing down the streets of San Francisco on a hot July morning. The song they use is perfect and the resulting video is absolutely surreal - definitely inflates my sense of town pride too! Watch:

I couldn't resist...DEMOCRATIC VICTORY MAKES HOME-SCHOOLED CHILD CRY

Rick Santorum has lost his Senate seat! YAAAAAAAY for democracy! I frickin hate this guy. And yeah, I realize that posting a photo of his home-schooled brats crying is a bit...mean... but whatever - he started it!

Vote Early, Vote Often

Just another reminder - Tuesday is election day and you can vote until 8pm. I found this great nonpartisan site, smartvoter.org , which tells you your polling location, ballot information, and candidate histories. It's run by the "League of Women Voters of California," which I know nothing about, but like the sound of it.

Anyhow, here are the Beckster's endorsements:

US Sentate: I know I should be a good hippy and endorse Green candidate Todd Chretien, but I'm a registered Democrat and I like to win: I'm voting for Dianne Feinstein.

US Congress, 8th District: My same liberal-guilt applies here: yay for Green candidate Krissy Keefer, but I'm voting for crazy ol' Nancy Pelosi.

State Assembly: No doubt here, all about my boy Mark Leno (yay for the openly gays!)

Supreme Court & Court o' Appeals: I'm gonna confirm em' all - I heart activist judges!

SF Board of Education: Vote for JANE KIM - she's progressive as hell and a total hottie!

Basically for the rest of the State seats, I'm voting down the Democratic Party line, so I'll spare you...

Just remember - YES on 1D, 84, 87, 89! NO on 85, 86!

Sofia's having a girl!

Sofia Coppola announced to USA Today that she's going to have a baby girl - congratulations, Sofia! I thought this snippet from the article was cute:

Coppola knows something about pairing brains with fashion. Even on a grim, rainy afternoon, she is all effortless, downtown boho-chic. Her oversized blue T-shirt, paired with gray sweats, black slip-on sneakers and a sleek black Chanel bag, drapes around her growing belly. The fashion trendsetter, who favors Marc Jacobs and Chloe, hasn't shopped up a storm for baby — yet.

"I haven't gone crazy, but I feel like I'm on the verge," she says. "All those little dresses. I tried to be open about both sexes, but it's so fun to have little girl stuff."