Valentine or hate mail to Tokyo? -- Sofia Coppola's "Lost in Translation" opened to some serious cultural grumbling in Japan, what with its "kooky" portrayals of Tokyo nightlife and business customs. It's an interesting premise: can an outsider set a comedy in another culture, even if the portrayals are not too far off the mark? Or, more pointedly, how upset can the Japanese be when they do in fact enjoy TV shows much like "The Matthew Show" in the film?

On a semi-related note, last night Nat and I watched "Kill Bill Vol. 1" on DVD and noticed that the scenes of O-Ren Ishii and Sophie Fatale driving through the neon Tokyo cityscape bore a strong resemblance to "Lost in Translation" -- "Look, there's Bill Murray in a cab, driving in the other direction!" :P

And speaking of all things Quentin, how about bumping into him at a mall? It happened to this actress, and it involved a purse, a Pottery Barn, and a headlock, among other things. Oh, celebrity...