'Lost in Translation'
The Ringer's Bill Simmons and Amanda Dobbins head down to the hotel bar at the Park Hyatt in Tokyo to rewatch Sofia Coppola's 'Lost In Translation,' starring Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, and Giovanni Ribisi.
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Quote from Rog's review:
“Bill Murray has never been better. He doesn't play 'Bill Murray' or any other familiar character; he plays Bob Harris from the inside out.”
Also praised: 'Two wonderful performances.'
- The karaoke scene – Murray singing Bryan Ferry, Scarlett singing Brass in Pocket, the tender 'More Than This' moment.
- The lying-in-bed scene.
- The ending / final whisper and embrace.
- Early 2000s Tokyo as a movie location.
- The soundtrack – Phoenix, Jesus and Mary Chain, Roxy Music all aged incredibly well.
- Pre-internet/pre-texting era: faxes, cell phone calls, disconnect adds to the story.
- The opening shot of Scarlett's butt – discussed in terms of Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory.
- Scarlett walking through Shibuya (filmed without permits); the final hug with the crowd around them.
- The elevator goodbye – hotel singer doing 'I'm So Into You' (real slow version).
- Jesus and Mary Chain's 'Just Like Honey' at the end.
- 'More Than This' by Roxy Music during karaoke.
The phone calls with the wife – 'if he's about to call the wife, I might go make some popcorn'.
- Scarlett Johansson being 18 during filming (playing ~24).
- The prostitute/masseuse scene – pronunciation humor feels insensitive.
Cameron Diaz's career was never the same after this movie – 'her IMDb just goes off a cliff right after 03'.
- Sofia Coppola said she wouldn't make the movie without Bill Murray.
- Jack Nicholson floated but too debonair – you'd think he'd make a move on her.
The masseuse/prostitute scene – completely over the top.
Anna Faris playing the Cameron Diaz-inspired character – 'incredibly wonderfully vicious'.
Can't recast Bill Murray; Will Ferrell as a contemporary equivalent – 'this is the movie he never made'.
- Budget $4 million, made $118.7 million.
- The Suntory whiskey commercial was partially inspired by Francis Ford Coppola's real Suntory commercial in the 1970s.
- Michel Gondry confronted Coppola at the NY premiere about the Spike Jonze-based character.
- Bill Murray – yes for 'older Murray' (combined with Royal Tenenbaums); younger Murray's apex is Ghostbusters.
- Sofia Coppola – probably yes, Oscar win, breakthrough film.
- Park Hyatt Tokyo – no question; Suntory whiskey – definitely.
- Charlotte's marriage timeline doesn't add up – graduated from Yale, would be 22-23, already married to a jet-setting photographer.
- The wife Fed-Exing carpet samples to Tokyo on a 3-day trip – she would have to mail it the day he left.
- Has the seeds of a White Lotus season – 8-10 episodes in Tokyo, more of the Anna Faris character.
- Both agree: untouchable as a movie, glad it stayed a movie.
Sofia Coppola got Best Original Screenplay; Bill Murray losing to Sean Penn (Mystic River) is a 'level two Oscar travesty'.
- What did Bill Murray whisper to Scarlett in the final scene?
- Did Charlotte stay married? Amanda: 'No fucking way'.
- In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-Wai) – cited by Coppola in her Oscar speech.
- 'Before Sunrise' – similar passing-through quality.
- A week-long stay at the Park Hyatt Tokyo.
- The actual bottle used in the Suntory whiskey scene.
The more you know who you are and what you want, the less you let things upset you.
Bill Murray – both agree. 'He needs it for his whole package... for the 30 years that led up to this'.
Craig Horlbeck – hadn't seen it before; identified with Scarlett's aimless early-20s feeling; thought the final kiss was slightly unnecessary.