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| Mayor Gierlach, Mayuko Kawakita, and Tetsurō Degawa |
Nippon Television (NTV) is the second largest television network in Japan. They broadcast a popular series about world-wide events called The Quest, or in Japanese, "Sekai No Hah Teh Mah Deh Itte Q," which translates to "Quest to the End of the Earth." Tomoko Ishibashi from Far Eastern Entertainment America (FEEA) coordinates the logistics for the show in the U.S..
Last year, from her office in Los Angeles, Tomoko emailed me saying that they wanted to bring a five-person television crew, a director, and a couple of actors to Nederland, for Frozen Dead Guy Days (FDGD). She asked if I would be willing to show them around town and explain how the FDGD events worked. I agreed, and met them at Town Hall one day before the big event. It wasn't the most unusual request, because in 2013, a film crew from Russia came to participate in the Frozen Dead Guy Days events.
So here is a two minute film clip from the half hour show:
[Excerpts from Japanese TV at Frozen Dead Guy Days in Nederland.]
That week was a bit hectic though. I had arranged to be interviewed by a newspaper reporter from Grandpa Bredo's hometown in Norway that same afternoon. On the following day, I was scheduled to emcee the Opening Ceremonies for FDGD, and be a judge for the Ice Queen Contest in the evening. On Saturday, I agreed to discuss the event on National Public Radio which was broadcast live from The Very Nice Brewing Company.
On the morning when I met with them, a decent one foot dump of spring snow fell, and I assisted the driver with getting chains for their cast and crew vehicles. They flew the actors in from Tokyo, along with their celebrity personal assistants, who held umbrellas over their heads before the shoot. It was quite an organized production.
The first actor was Tetsurō Degawa, and he has been a famous television comedian for quite sometime. His favorite phrase is "Yabaiyo, yabaiyo!" It's dangerous, dangerous! He even has his own merchandising and action figure. He wrote a blog post about his visit to Ned here. The second actress was Mayuko Kawakita, and she's a fashion model, who has recently come into her acting career. She was featured near the end of this popular SoulJa Hip-Hop Video, and starred in a motion picture called, Fashion Story - Model. So, it's sort of like a Japanese version of Chevy Chase and Christie Brinkley in National Lampoon's Vacation.
Between takes, I had lunch at the PI with Tomoko and the crew. She was taking calls and lining-up the next project. She mentioned that she's on the road three weeks out of the month. The crew must have been jet-lagged having flown-in from Tokyo just the day before. They were off to another location on Monday.
I found it interesting that each media outlet has a different angle on the story. For example, this Japanese show had no interest in Grandpa Bredo at all. Whereas the Travel Chanel's Monumental Mysteries focused on grandpa. You can see it in this article:
Related Story: [Thinking Outside the Frozen Box]
[Here is a Video Valediction] Here is a clip of event owner, Amanda MacDonald speaking about the 2013 Frozen Dead Guy Days with Boulder Life TV. [What is a Video Valediction?]
