Radio Tania

Wim Wenders and Steven Soderbergh and me

OK, so I have a couple of exciting interviews coming up in the next week and while I normally don't voice my excitement over these sorts of things (people had to pry it out that I had interviewed His Holiness the Dalai Lama), this time I am changing my ways. Maybe it's a 2009 thing, the year of the ox supposedly, a year of great struggle and great work. Maybe it's just that I am really looking forward to these two interviews with Steven Soderbergh and Wim Wenders. Regardless, I wanted to share a few things about each director. First, Philip and I just got through seeing CHE, Soderbergh's epic film about the legendary, near mythical revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara, played by a subdued and potent Benicio del Toro. It was an interesting role for him, and one that must have meant a great deal to him since he co-produced CHE. It takes great passion and drive to produce a film. I also wonder about the challenges of making films about legendary figures. The film was gorgeous and deserved the four plus hours of screen time because it offered the pace and sense and challenge of starting revolutions. From the lush, jungle quality of Cuba's countryside to the arid mountains of Bolivia, the cinematorgraphy was magnificent and real. For those interested in revolutionaries or in Che himself, I recommend it. Then next week, I am speaking with Wim Wenders about his recent film Palermo Shooting. I have interviewed Wenders before but I have always worried that in that interview I confused him with Werner Herzog. I think I might have said, "in your previous film, Grizzly Man...." Oops! I hope that didn't happen but at least I have a second chance to redeem myself!

 

The Changing Face of Retail

I live in San Francisco and today, while walking on Fillmore Street, I noticed how many stores were either having massive sales or had just closed down all together. What brought me to that area was The Storeroom, a pop-up department store curated by CITIZEN: Citizen (which is owned by someone I respect very much). For five weeks, The Storeroom will bring together brands that they believe are interesting, engaging and beautiful and offer their products at a remarkable value. It's a sign of the times, no doubt, but it also raises the issue of what we value, how we value it, the ways that is reflected in retail and how it is evolving as our economy changes and we are asked to be more creative. Unconventional retail spaces is hardly a novel concept. Take for instance, The Wrong Store or The Pirate Store or The World's Smallest Department Store. All of these and many more play with our notions of consumerism and remind us of our habits of consumption. But for now, we can just have fun with it all, explore the ways creativity seeps itself into everything and experience The Storeroom.