My Brother Made the NY Times

As you may or may not know, my brother is an engineer who longs to be in the movie business, writing, directing, producing, and editing...However, up until now he has basically been editing anime music videos, that is, choosing songs and using anime footage to make music videos. For example, this is a video I asked him to do, because I said he had to do a Bjork song...(For those of you who actually watch it, look past the anime characteristics, and look to the way the clips are meticulously chosen and executed from a random anime series...the first minute should be sufficient to get a flavor for his eye...)



Anyway, as he's been continuing to do anime, he's also begun branching out into doing live-action videos to music. Amidst the ongoing "controversy" about YouTube and intellectual property rights, today's NY times article specifically discusses one of his live action videos:

One video posted last March, credited to Kusoyaro Productions, includes clips from the 20th Century Fox film "Napoleon Dynamite" that have been cleverly edited to create a new music video for Eminem’s song “Lose Yourself" from "8 Mile."

The two movies’ heroes couldn’t be more different: Napoleon Dynamite is an awkward teenager in rural Idaho who stuffs his pockets with tater tots, while Eminem’s character in "8 Mile" finds refuge from his trailer-park life by rapping in clubs. The video has been watched more than 60,000 times.

Ron Wheeler, a senior vice president of content protection at Fox Entertainment Group, said that even though Fox was not being paid for the right to use the "Napoleon Dynamite" clips, the company had not asked that the video be taken down.

"We are not in the business of just saying no, but we do consider it unauthorized use," Mr. Wheeler said.

He predicted, though, that the studio would be saying "no" more often in the future. Fox is working on a policy that will address the issue of mashups in a way that those creating them can understand.

"We will offer as much freedom as legally able, but at the same time it will be less than some people are doing now," Mr. Wheeler added. "It won’t be ‘anything goes.’ "

Brian Grazer, a producer of "8 Mile," said some of the mashups he had seen were "pretty hip." But he said he, too, viewed them as a form of piracy: "It bothers me artistically. Here’s this thing where you have no control; they are chopping it up and putting your memories in a blender."

Directors may have a tough time accepting the wild world of mashups, particularly those who have been given control over the final cut of their movies. Mr. Grazer said he believed that Curtis Hanson, who directed "8 Mile," would not be pleased. "Something like this drives an auteur nuts," he said. Mr. Hanson did not return calls seeking comment. Eminem, through a spokesman, declined to comment.

Anyhow, I just thought I'd post about it. I'm actually quite excited that he's received some sort of attention about it...and I expect that this article will actually boost the number of people who will see his video. I myself saw the video for the first time today...and I actually thought it was hilarious...like a lot funnier and a LOT more skillful than I remember. I encourage you to take a look. It's less than two minutes.