SFIAAFF Panel Included Hawaii-Raised Filmmaker Jon Moritsugu

Jon Moritsugu's "Scumrock"

Michael Guillen has posted a transcript of the SFIAAFF's panel discussion, "Down and Dirty Pictures" with Gregg Araki, Roddy Bogawa, and Jon Moritsugu, moderated by Strand Releasing's Marcus Hu. (Thanks for the link, Kevin!) The filmmakers discuss their own filmmaking experiences, lament about the (sad) state of (Asian American, independent, general) filmmaking today, and talk trash about James Schamus and Justin Lin. It's well worth the long transcript read!

Hawaii folks will be interested to know that Jon Moritsugu was born and raised in Honolulu, attended Punahou and Brown, and made a name for himself as an underground filmmaker in New York and San Francisco. His films include Scumrock (2003), Fame Whore (1997), and Mod Fuck Explosion (1994) and Terminal USA (1993). Moritsugu is based in Seattle now, but did live in Honolulu recently, teaching a class at UH, playing "scuzz punk and bliss pop" around town with wife and collaborator Amy Davis, and apparently, finishing a Hawaii-based script: "I finished a script when I moved out to Hawaii. I wanted to shoot a big budget movie in Hawaii. Everything got chaotic and fell through and I left Hawaii. I don't live there anymore. That script I put on a back burner because right now it would be difficult logistically to try to make a movie in Hawaii."

>> 2007 SFIAAFF: Down and Dirty Pictures" Panel Discussion with Gregg Araki, Roddy Bogawa, Jon Moritsugu and Marcus Hu -- Part 1, Part 2 [The Evening Class, 3/27/07]

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