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Here’s the fact:
It happened in New York
City, in May 2013,
right at the corner of
Broadway and Seventh
Avenue in Times Square.
I was walking and
thinking about where I
would dine, perhaps
having the Yellowtail
Sashimi with Jalape帽o
created by Chef Nobu
Matsuhisa at Nobu Next
Door in Tribeca, or
enjoying a grilled
salmon while listening
to a good jam session
at the Blue Note Jazz
Club in the Village. Or
maybe I would go to a
food truck, pick rice
over chicken, and head
to the Pennsylvania
Hotel, where I could
eat while watching an
episode of Law &
Order: SVU on NBC. And
if I couldn’t
sleep, I might stay up
and watch David
Letterman hosting the
Late Show on CBS. Well,
while my mind was
immersed in thoughts of
dining and TV shows, I
kept walking.
Suddenly, I saw a bunch
of people watching
another bunch of
people: while some
watched, others worked.
And who was working?
A film crew was
shooting scenes for the
movie Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles (2014),
produced by Michael
Bay, directed by
Jonathan Liebesman, and
written by Josh
Appelbaum, Andr茅
Nemec, and Evan
Daugherty, based on
characters created by
Kevin Eastman and Peter
Laird. The film starred
Megan Fox who, after a
tumultuous relationship
with Michael Bay
following Transformers
(2007), which he
directed, had left that
franchise. But once
they made peace, Bay
and Fox agreed to work
together again on this
production.
That’s showbiz: a
breakup makes headlines
and profits, just as a
reconciliation can make
even
more.
Here's an addendum:
TRANSFORMERS (2007) kicked off the live-action film
franchise. Its worldwide gross revenue was 709.7 million dollars.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA
TURTLES (2014) is a
film in an ongoing
franchise. Its
worldwide gross revenue
was 485.0 million
dollars.
Here’s a Hollywood Math Equation:
Michael Bay + Megan Fox + Transformers =
709.7m
Bay + Fox + Breakup + Peace + Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles =
485m
(*)
The Hollywood Stage of Mind (not State) = 709.7m + 485m =
1,194.7b
Here’s back to the fact:
Meanwhile, in Times
Square, the movie crew
kept moving and filming
scenes in one of the
busiest intersections
in the city, with New
Yorkers famously
walking past
motion-capture actors
in full gear. Of
course, everyone there
was looking at Megan
Fox, who played April
O'Neil, in her
yellow jacket, running
or speaking on her
phone.
Here’s the punchline:
A bystander walked up to the crew and asked, “Is Al Pacino
here?” One
member of the film crew
stepped forward and
replied
“Nope.” The
bystander looked at all
the commotion and
declared, “This
flick sucks!” The
crew burst out
laughing, while Megan
Fox kept talking on her
phone.
END
NOTES:
(*) The Hollywood Stage of Mind -
Term meaning:
Hollywood creates a
fantasy to mislead
reality, but reality
always ends up eating
the fantasy.
The photos below are
low-res but visible.
Taken by myself. (The
making of the movie
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
(2013, New York City).
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