Blue Scholars
Geologic of Blue Scholars
Background information
Origin	Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Genres	Alternative hip hop
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Mass Line Media, Duck Down
Associated acts	Common Market
Website	Official Site
Members
Geologic (George Quibuyen) Sabzi (Saba Mohajerjasbi)

Blue Scholars is a hip hop duo based in Seattle, Washington, created in 2002 while the members, DJ Sabzi and MC Geologic, were students at the University of Washington.

The name "Blue Scholars" is a play on the term "blue collar," which is an idiom for workers who often earn hourly wages for manual labor. Their music and lyrics frequently focus on struggles between socioeconomic classes, challenging authority and youth empowerment. These themes are often specifically addressed in relation to the Seattle region ("Southside Revival", "North by Northwest", "50 Thousand Deep", "Joe Metro", "Slick Watts" and "The Ave"), and heavily draw upon Geologic's history as an activist within the Filipino community dealing with issues of immigration, racism, and US neo-imperialism in the Philippine Islands. Recent music has begun to extend even further outward, reflecting the group's greater West Coast and Pacific roots including an album devoted to exploring Geo's Hawaiian heritage on the OOF! EP.^[1][2]

History[link]

Since 2002, Blue Scholars have been based in the 98118, decreed the most ethnically diverse zip code in America by the 2010 Census. The Hip Hop group first came to be in 2002 as a result of, "two students skipped a class, went and crafted an album" as it says in the track Bayani (album). These two students were George Quibuyen and Alexei Saba Mohajerjasbi who were attending the University of Washington at the time. The two met at a meeting for S.H.O.W. (the Student HipHop Organization of Washington) which was organized by classmate and future manager Marc Matsui. ^[3] The organization had set out to revive an authentic interest in Hip Hop within Seattle which, at the time, had become a solely rock town. This was a result of a series of incidents including a shooting at an Ice Cube concert in the early 90s as well as the Teen Dance Ordinance. George and Alexei soon joined forces and formed their own duo that utilized Geo's raps and Sabzi's beats and became known as the Blue Scholars.

Since then the duo has performed in over 400 shows together across the United States including the Sasquatch! Music Festival in 2005, 2006, and 2008, and Bumbershoot opening for Kanye West in 2006. They have opened for and shared stages with such artists as De La Soul, Slick Rick, Wordsworth, Kanye West, Hieroglyphics, Immortal Technique, The Coup and Masta Ace.^[4][5] In 2006, the Blue Scholars received top honors in the hip hop category of the Seattle Weekly's Music Awards Poll, and were also the top vote-getters overall; in earlier years, they had been recognized in the categories of Best Hip-hop Artist, Best Local Single, and Best Album.^[6][7][8][9]

Over the years the duo has continued to use their music as a tool for social change and DIY activism. Since those formative years in S.H.O.W. at the University of Washington, Geo has continued to promote youth empowerment and support for political groups that include, but are not limited to, BAYAN-USA, isangmahal arts kollective, and Youth Speaks Hawaii^[10]. In 2007, Geologic, representing Blue Scholars, went on tour with Hip Hop artist, Kiwi, to promote the Stop the Killings Tour to bring awareness to the deaths of regular people in the Philippines.^[11]

Members[link]

Sabzi of Blue Scholars.

Geologic (born George Quibuyen; also known as Prometheus Brown, Geo) is the vocalist for the Blue Scholars and has also performed as a spoken word poet. In the 2007-2008 city-wide election for Seattle's Poet Populist Quibuyen placed sixth with ninety-six write-in votes, the highest total for a write-in candidate in the nine year history of the competition;^[12] although, the record was subsequently broken by Seattle poet Ananda Osel in the 2008-2009 election.^[13]

The son of Filipino immigrants, Quibuyen lived in various locations along the west coast and Hawaii as a child until his family settled in Bremerton, Washington. Geo feels rooted in his Filipino heritage and that there is an unfinished revolution among his people.^[14] His lyrics are drawn from experience, crafted for a connection to community, and working to uplift communities in general. ^[15] He remains a strong advocate for the Filipino community all over the world, as an outspoken critic of US foreign policy, including its tough immigration laws and unfair corporate practices by Western business.

Sabzi (born Alexei Saba Mohajerjasbi; also known as Saba) is of Iranian American heritage and is a jazz-trained pianist. He holds a background in punk and ska before he turned to beats and turntables with the Blue Scholars.^[4] A Seattle area native himself, Sabzi is rooted in his own Iranian culture and practices Bahá'í Faith which is grounded in diversity, economic conservation, and other social justice practices. ^[16] Their album Bayani contains a Bahá'í prayer chanted by Behnam Khoshkhoo as the first track. Similar to Geo, Sabzi believes in organizing communities together in order to create change. He is inspired by the youth that he works with in high school and college workshops as well as the community and finds their thoughts and opinions on music and society today to be one of the most influential factors his music.

Record label[link]

Opting to create their own record label rather than sign with an existing company, Blue Scholars members Geologic and Sabzi, along with MCs RA Scion of Common Market and Gabriel Teodros, launched MassLine Media in 2006.^[17] The label's mission statement includes the goal of using hip hop as a means of grassroots community organizing and youth outreach. MassLine entered a joint venture with legendary hip hop label Rawkus Records in 2007 for the release of the June 12, 2007 release of their new album Bayani; the name derives its meaning from two different languages. In Tagalog it literally means "heroes of the people" and in Persian "Bayan" means "the Word." The June 12 release also commemorated the anniversary of the Philippine Declaration of Independence from Spain in 1898. In July, 2009, Blue Scholars worked out a distribution relationship with Seattle coffee chain Cafe Vita and a record deal with Duck Down Records in which the label signed to the band.^[18] On March 6, 2011, the Blue Scholars made a further move away from the traditional music label structure, beginning a campaign of "signing to the people" where fans, supporters, and listeners will be the primary financial capital for their new record, Cinemetropolis. The project had already been more than 150% funded by over 1400 backers via Kickstarter just ten days after beginning. On April 22, the Kickstarter campaign ended making the Blue Scholars the first hip-hop artists to "Sign to the People." In total, the campaign raised $62,391 with the help of 2243 backers each pitching in an average of roughly $28.^[19]

Future[link]

The Blue Scholars plan on continuing to make music that empowers the youth and communities of Seattle, the West Coast, the United States, and eventually the world. They continue to experiment with different multi-media elements in their music and transcend what is considered "traditional" in the hip hop world. ^[20]

Front man Geo hopes to appeal to a culturally diverse audience. As the son of Filipino immigrants, he hopes to see more Filipino and Asian fans as well as more people of color in general at their shows. ^[21]

Popular Culture[link]

In Valve Software's game Half Life 2: Episode 2 the Blue Scholars' name can be seen on the front of several radio boxes throughout the game along with the radio station "FM 89.50". It is also on an audio receiver in Kleiner's lab, above the camera screens. This is because Sabzi is the cousin of Dhabih Eng, an artist for Valve. 89.5 FM is a reference to the frequency of Seattle, WA radio station KNHC-FM. It is one of the few radio stations in the country that is run entirely by high school students, in this case the students of Nathan Hale High School.

The song "Sagaba Remix" is featured in the Xbox 360 video game, Project Gotham Racing 4.

The song "No Rest For The Weary" has been featured in the anime series Samurai Champloo, and can be found on the soundtrack for the series.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• 2004: Blue Scholars (Pacific Northwest release)
• 2005: Blue Scholars (International release)
• 2007: Bayani
• 2009: Bayani Redux
• 2011: Cinemetropolis

EP's[link]

• 2005: The Long March EP
• 2007: Joe Metro EP
• 2008: Butter & Gun$ EP
• 2009: OOF! EP

Non album songs[link]

• Invocation
• Morning Tea
• Inkwell {Crashed-Cop-Car Remix}
• Coffee & Snow
• Paul Valery
• Summertime In The SEA
• Lumiere
• Michelle Malkin
• New People {Empire Remix}
• Big Bank Hank
• Coffee & Snow 2
• John DeLorean

Videography[link]

• 2004: "Freewheelin"
• 2007: "Back Home"
• 2007: "Joe Metro"
• 2008: "Loyalty"
• 2009: "Coffee and Snow"
• 2009: "HI-808"
• 2010: "Coffee and Snow 2"
• 2011: "Slick Watts (Sonicsgate short film)"

See also[link]

• Filipino hip hop
• "Hip-Hop and Critical Revolutionary Pedagogy: Blue Scholarship to Challenge 'The Miseducation of the Filipino'" by Michael Viola
• The Ave

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Blue Scholars

• Official Website
• Myspace Profile

Press[link]

• Luke Burbank. TBTL MyNorthwest.com [Video performance] (March 23, 2010)

Tommy Chong
Tommy Chong in San Diego, 2006
Born	Thomas B. Kin Chong (1938-05-24) May 24, 1938 (age 74) Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Occupation	Actor, comedian, musician
Years active	early 1960s–present

Thomas B. Kin "Tommy" Chong^[1] (born May 24, 1938) is a Canadian-American comedian, actor, writer, director, activist, and musician who is well known for his stereotypical portrayals of hippie-era stoners. He is most widely known for his involvement in the marijuana-themed Cheech & Chong comedy movies with Cheech Marin, as well as playing the character Leo on Fox's That '70s Show.

Early life[link]

Chong was born as Thomas B. Kin Chong at University Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.^[2][3] His mother was Lorna Jean (née Gilchrist), a waitress of Scots-Irish and French ancestry,^[4] and his father was Stanley Chong, a Chinese truck driver who emigrated to Canada from Guangdong province, China in the 1920s, where he first lived with his aunt in Vancouver.^[5][6][7] While he was still young, Chong's family moved to Calgary, Alberta to a conservative neighbourhood Chong refers to as the Dog Patch. He says that his father had "been wounded in World War II, and there was a veterans' hospital in Calgary. He bought a five-hundred dollar house in Dog Patch, and raised his family on fifty dollars a week." He later dropped out of Crescent Heights High School in Calgary, Alberta. “I dropped out of Crescent Heights High School when I was 16 but probably just before they were going to throw me out anyway,” Chong laughs as he reminisces about his early years. “I played guitar to make money. I was about 16 when I discovered that music could get you laid, even if you were a scrawny, long-haired, geeky-looking guy like me.”^[3]

Early career[link]

Entertainment[link]

By the early 1960s, Chong was playing guitar for a Calgary soul group called The Shades. The Shades moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, where the band's name changed to "Little Daddy & The Bachelors". They recorded a single, "Too Much Monkey Business" / "Junior's Jerk". Together with bandmember Bobby Taylor, Chong opened a Vancouver nightclub in 1963 called the Blue Balls, formerly the Alma Theatre. They brought in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, which had never been to Vancouver before. Although Little Daddy & The Bachelors built up a small following, things soured when they went with Chong's suggestion and had themselves billed as "Four Niggers and a Chink".^[8] (or, bowing to pressure, "Four N's and a C") before taking on the moniker Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers.^[8]

In 1965, the Vancouvers signed with Gordy Records (a subsidiary of Detroit, Michigan's Motown Records) and recorded its debut album, an eponymous release, and their debut single, the Tommy Chong co-composition "Does Your Mama Know About Me," peaked at number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[8] While on tour in Chicago for a short time, the band followed opening act The Jackson 5. Chong later referred to the young Michael Jackson as a "cute little guy".^[9] After the band released two further singles, Tommy Chong and Wes Henderson were fired by Clark and Motown producer Johnny Bristol for missing a gig to apply for Green cards.^[10] The group broke up shortly afterwards, when Chong attempted to have the Vancouvers' contract halved, so that he, Taylor, and Henderson would constitute the group, while other members would simply be regarded as sidemen and session artists.

Cheech & Chong[link]

This section requires expansion.

Tommy Chong directed four of their films, while co-writing and starring in all seven with Cheech Marin.

Later career[link]

Chong speaking in San Francisco in 2008.

Cheech & Chong, while a very successful comedy act, experienced creative differences and split in 1985. This was devastating to Chong. To him, Cheech Marin was "closer than a wife. The only thing we didn't do was have sex." Of their split, he says, "It was like a death in the family. I don't know if I'll ever get over it".^{[citation needed]} Chong was a recurring character and later a regular character as the hippie "Leo" during the second, third, fourth, seventh, and eighth seasons of That '70s Show. He also played a role as a hippie in Dharma and Greg.

In a 2001 episode of That '70s Show, "Canadian Road Trip", Chong gave tribute to his home country by joining in a spirited rendition of O Canada along with the teenage cast and two Canadian border patrol guards (Joe Flaherty and Dave Thomas).

Chong was originally going to voice the character of Shenzi the hyena in the Disney film The Lion King, which would have had him performing once more with Cheech Marin, who voiced Banzai. (The Shenzi character was later changed to be female, and voiced instead by Whoopi Goldberg.)

In September 2005 a/k/a Tommy Chong premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. The documentary, produced, written and directed by Josh Gilbert, chronicles Chong's comedic and personal history, and his prosecution by the Justice Department. The project features interviews with Cheech Marin, Bill Maher, George Thorogood, Peter Coyote, Lou Adler, Eric Schlosser and Jay Leno.

In 2011 he appeared in an ironic role as a Judge in an episode of Franklin & Bash, who took an extremely strict position on a marijuana holder.

Personal life[link]

Chong was married to his first wife, Maxine Sneed, from 1960 until their divorce in 1970, with whom he had two daughters, Robbi and Rae Dawn. He married his second wife Shelby Fiddis in 1975. He has three children with her, sons Paris and Gilbran, and a daughter, Precious Chong. He is also the adoptive father of actor Marcus Chong.

Robbi, Rae Dawn, Marcus and Precious have pursued careers in acting. In the late 1980s, Chong became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

Chong is a marijuana activist and is a supporter of marijuana legalization and medical use of marijuana.^[5] He is a regular contributor to Cannabis Culture Magazine and sits on the NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) advisory board. Politically, Chong even belonged to the Libertarian Party for a time.

Legal troubles[link]

[edit] US vs. Chong

In 2003, Chong was targeted by two American investigations code-named Operation Pipe Dreams and Operation Headhunter, which sought out businesses selling drug paraphernalia, mostly bongs. Operation Pipe Dream was run from Pittsburgh. US Attorney for Western Pennsylvania, Mary Beth Buchanan oversaw the case. The estimated cost of Operation Pipe Dream was over $12 million and included the resources of 2,000 law enforcement officers.^[11]

Chong was charged for his part in financing and promoting Chong Glass/Nice Dreams, a company started by his son Paris. Chong’s case never went to trial; instead Chong accepted a plea agreement with the United States Attorney for Western Pennsylvania's Office in which he admitted to distributing 7,500 bongs and water pipes on the Internet through Nice Dreams, a family company that was named for one of his movies. Chong agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute drug paraphernalia in exchange for non-prosecution of his wife, Shelby, and his son, Paris. Chong fully cooperated with the government and was the first of the Operation Pipe Dreams defendants to plead guilty.^[11]

At Chong’s sentencing, Assistant U.S. Attorney for Western Pennsylvania, Mary McKeen Houghton stated in her sentencing arguments that Tommy Chong "used his public image to promote this crime" and marketed his products to children.^[12] U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan also was present at the sentencing in Pittsburgh and released a statement to the press stating, "there are consequences for violating the law, even if the violator is a well-known entertainer like Thomas Chong."^[11]

While Chong argued for community service and home detention at his sentencing, the district judge, Arthur J. Schwab, denied his requests and sentenced him to 9 months in federal prison, a fine of $20,000, forfeiture of $103,514, and the loss of all merchandise seized during the raid of his business.^[12] Chong served his sentence at the Taft Correctional Institution from October 8, 2003 to July 7, 2004.

The entire episode was chronicled in a/k/a Tommy Chong, the 2006, award-winning documentary by Josh Gilbert. The documentary premiered theatrically at the New York Film Forum in New York City, in 2006.

Controversy[link]

While government officials denied that Chong was treated any differently from the other defendants, many felt that he was made an example of by the government. The San Francisco Chronicle reported Chong's publicist Brandie Knight as saying the Chong family was shocked by the raid. "We've done everything the right way, and the government is saying there is no right way," Knight said. Soon afterwards, civil rights advocates started the Free Tommy Chong! movement that called for his release. The controversy over Chong’s prosecution centered on the rationale behind focusing on Tommy as opposed to his son, Paris, the disparity in sentences that Tommy Chong received compared to other defendants, and the tactics that the DEA used in carrying out the investigation.^[11]

Paris, Tommy’s son, had started Nice Dreams in 1999. At the time of the allegations in the indictment, Paris was the CEO of the company that was the center of the investigation. Paris was never charged with a crime in relation to the investigation. When asked why the government had focused on Tommy as opposed to the company’s CEO, Paris, US Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan responded that “Tommy Chong was the more responsible corporate officer because he financed and marketed the product.”^[11]

Of the 55 people targeted in the investigation, Chong was the only one without previous convictions who received jail time.^[11] When questioned on the disparity between sentences/fines that the other 54 individuals received compared to Chong, US Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan stated, "He (Tommy Chong) wasn't the biggest supplier. He was a relatively new player, but he had the ability to market products like no other."^[13]

In investigating the operations of Nice Dreams, federal agents posed as head-shop owners from Pittsburgh’s suburban Beaver County and pled with Paris to sell them his pipes through the mail to a fictitious shop in suburban Beaver Falls. Paris had set in place a company prohibition against selling to Pittsburgh or anywhere in Western Pennsylvania.^[11] The prohibition was put in place in response to the successful federal prosecution of Akhil Kumar Mishra and his wife, Rajeshwari, whose two head shops sold drug paraphernalia in the city’s downtown.^[11] To date, it is unclear how the prohibition was broken and there exist differing accounts as to who broke the company policy which resulted in the action that brought about the ability of the US Attorney to argue that jurisdiction for the crime rests in Pittsburgh opposed to California, the base of operations for Nice Dreams.^[11] Tommy Chong has stated publicly that it was a Federal Agent posing as an employee of his son's company who accepted and processed the order that resulted in the prosecution.

Aftermath[link]

Since his release, Chong has been an avid critic of the case that has been brought against him. In December 2004, Chong was to appear in an off-Broadway show entitled The Marijuana-Logues, a parody of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues. His legal concerns, including members of the audiences smoking marijuana, ultimately caused him to cancel the show.^[14] In 2006, Chong wrote a book about his experiences in jail and his interest in meditation, called The I Chong: Meditations from the Joint (ISBN 1-4169-1554-0).

In 2010, Chong appeared at a Democratic Party fundraiser in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where the United States Attorney who prosecuted him, Mary Beth Buchanan, was running for the United States House of Representatives as a Republican.^[15]

Seizure of a/k/a Tommy Chong DVDs[link]

On May 7, 2008, federal agents raided Spectrum Labs in an investigation related to Spectrum Labs’ "detoxification" products. The raid, one of nine during the day, was part of Operation True Test, an investigation being led by the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Mary Beth Buchanan. The investigation targeted companies that sell so-called "masking products" that are supposed to help drug-users pass employer drug tests. There is, however, no federal law barring such products; they are regulated on a state-by-state basis. Of the nine search warrants issued, none were for businesses within Buchanan's district.^[16]

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, in executing their search warrant, the federal agents seized 8,000-10,000 copies of the yet-to-be released documentary, a/k/a Tommy Chong.^[17] It has yet to be determined why the DVDs were seized during the raid. Furthermore, Chong has stated he has not been charged with any crime. In a statement released to the press, Chong stated "[The seizure of the DVDs is] a way to punish the distributor financially. There's no way to get the DVDs back until the investigation is over." Chong also stated that he has no ownership of the film, a/k/a Tommy Chong.

In retraction of its original story, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette stated, "8,000 to 10,000 copies of a Tommy Chong documentary were not seized in the raid. Instead, an "undisclosed number of DVD was taken". The government is not required to disclose why the DVDs were taken as the raid was part of "an ongoing investigation". This story as originally published May 11, 2008 was amended."^[16]

Reuniting with Cheech[link]

Tommy Chong in Toronto, 2008

Chong has appeared with his long-time comedy partner, Cheech Marin, in a South Park episode called Cherokee Hair Tampons, where they played fictional versions of themselves pretending to be Cherokee herbalists. In mid-2008, Cheech & Chong reunited and started touring. The tour is called "Light Up America and Canada" and "The Felimony Tour," which references the expenses both have recently incurred – Chong's losses related to his conviction for his involvement in his son's water pipe business, and Cheech's recent divorce and subsequent alimony payments. In October 2008, they appeared on The Opie and Anthony Show, The Howard Stern Show and The Ron and Fez Show on SIRIUS/XM Satellite Radio. On March 1, 2010, they hosted WWE Raw in Oklahoma City.

Filmography[link]

TV Series[link]

• PLAYBOY Comedy Roast for Tommy Chong (1986)
• Miami Vice (1986) - T.R. 'Jumbo' Collins
• The George Carlin Show (1994) - Unknown
• Nash Bridges (1997) - Barry Chen
• Sliders (1997) - Van Elsinger
• That 70s Show (1999–2002), (2005–2006) - Leo
• Dharma & Greg (1999) - Carl
• South Park (2000) - Chief Running Pinto
• George Lopez (2007) - Mr. Gutierez
• Code Monkeys (2008) - Laird Boone
• Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld (Fox News Channel) - Himself
• MADtv (2009) - Himself
• Tosh.0 (2009) - Himself
• WWE Raw (2010) - Himself (Guest Host)
• The Simpsons (2011) - Himself
• Franklin and Bash (2011) - Judge Tommy Harper

Voices[link]

• FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992) - Root
• Scarface: The World Is Yours (2006) - pedestrian
• Code Monkeys (2008) - Laird Boony
• Hoodwinked 2: Hood vs. Evil (2011) - Stone
• Cheech & Chong's Animated Movie (2012)

Movies[link]

• Up in Smoke (1978)... Anthony 'Man' Stoner
• Cheech & Chong's Next Movie (1980)... Chong
• Nice Dreams (1981)... Chong
• It Came from Hollywood (1982)... Himself
• Things Are Tough All Over (1982)... Chong/Prince Habib
• Still Smokin' (1983)... Chong
• Yellowbeard (1983)... El Nebuloso
• Cheech & Chong's The Corsican Brothers (1984)... Corsican Brother
• Get Out of My Room (1985)... The Man
• After Hours (1985)... Pepe (as Chong)
• Tripwire (1990)... Merle Shine
• Far Out Man (1990)... Far Out Man
• The Spirit of '76 (1990)... Stoner
• Life After Sex (1992)... awkward naked guy
• FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992)... Root
• National Lampoon's Senior Trip (1995)... Red
• McHale's Navy (1997)... Armando/Ernesto
• Half Baked (1998)... Squirrel Master
• The Wash (2001)... Dee's Connection
• Best Buds (2003)... Tommy Chong/Carlos
• Secret Agent 420 (2005)... QP
• Evil Bong (2006)... Jimbo Leary
• American Drug War: The Last White Hope (2007)... Himself
• The Union: The Business Behind Getting High (2007)... Himself
• Chinaman's Chance (2008)... Deputy Tom
• a/k/a Tommy Chong (2008 DVD Release)... Himself
• Cheech & Chong's Hey Watch This (Documentary film about their 2008–09 reunion tour) (2010)... Himself
• Up in Smoke 2 (TBA)... Anthony 'Man' Stoner

References[link]

External links[link]

• Tommy Chong at the Internet Movie Database
• Chong's Bongs Gone Wrong A Newsweek article by Brian Braiker about Tommy Chong's various legal problems
• HoboTrashcan's One on One with Tommy Chong An in-depth interview about politics, Cheech and Chong and Tommy's wife and kids
• An Interview With Tommy Chong A Stumped? magazine article by Zach Freeman
• Video interview with Tommy Chong on 'Connected Life'
• Donald E. Wilkes, Jr., "Pot Pope Imprisoned." Published in Flagpole Magazine, p. 31 (December 20, 2006).

Seijun Suzuki
Born	Seitaro Suzuki (1923-05-24) May 24, 1923 (age 89) Nihonbashi, Tokyo, Japan
Occupation	Film and television director, actor and writer
Years active	Since 1956

Seijun Suzuki (鈴木 清順, Suzuki Seijun^?), born Seitaro Suzuki (鈴木 清太郎 Suzuki Seitarō) on May 24, 1923, is a Japanese filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter. His films are renowned by film enthusiasts worldwide for their jarring visual style, irreverent humour, nihilistic cool and entertainment-over-logic sensibility. He made 40 predominately B-movies for the Nikkatsu Company between 1956 and 1967, working most prolifically in the yakuza genre. His increasingly surreal style began to draw the ire of the studio in 1963 and culminated in his ultimate dismissal for what is now regarded his magnum opus, Branded to Kill (1967), starring notable collaborator Joe Shishido. Suzuki successfully sued the studio for wrongful dismissal, but he was blacklisted for 10 years after that. As an independent filmmaker, he won critical acclaim and a Japanese Academy Award for his Taishō Trilogy, Zigeunerweisen (1980), Kagero-za (1981) and Yumeji (1991).

His films remained widely unknown outside of Japan until a series of theatrical retrospectives beginning in the mid 1980s, home video releases of key films such as Branded to Kill and Tokyo Drifter in the late 1990s and tributes by such acclaimed filmmakers as Jim Jarmusch, Takeshi Kitano, Wong Kar-wai and Quentin Tarantino signaled his international discovery. Suzuki has continued making films, albeit sporadically. In Japan, he is more commonly recognized as an actor for his numerous roles in Japanese films and television.

Early life and career[link]

Suzuki was born during the Taishō period, and three months before the Great Kantō Earthquake, in the Nihonbashi Ward (now the Chūō Special Ward) in Tokyo. His younger brother, Kenji Suzuki (now a retired NHK television announcer), was born six years his junior. His family was in the textile trade. After earning a degree at a Tokyo Trade School in 1941, Suzuki applied to the college of the Ministry of Agriculture, but failed the entrance exam due to poor marks in chemistry and physics. A year later he successfully enrolled in a Hirosaki college.^[1]

In 1943, he was recruited by the Imperial Japanese Army during the national student mobilization to serve in World War II. Sent to East Abiko, Chiba, he was assigned the rank of Private Second Class. He was shipwrecked twice throughout his military service; first the cargo ship that was to take him to the front was destroyed by an American submarine and he fled to the Philippines. Later, the freighter that took him to Taiwan sank after an attack by the American air force,^[2] he spent 7 or 8 hours in the ocean before being rescued. In 1946, having attained the rank of Second Lieutenant in the Meteorological Corps, he returned to Hiroshi and completed his studies.^[1] About his time in the military Suzuki wrote:

While I stayed in the army out of fear of being executed as a deserter as soon as I threw down my rifle and ran, it wasn't long before I was promoted to trainee officer with a salary of twelve-and-a-half yen, comparable at the time to that of a departmental manager in business life. I went to the Philippines, where the war took a wrong turn for us. Then I was transferred to Taiwan, where I was stationed at an isolated airport at the foot of a mountain, with twelve others. Our wages were divided into thirteen equal parts; as in a perfect communist system. To avoid the outbreak of a revolt because of sexual deprivation, we didn't just get food, clothing and shelter, but the army staff had also considered it strategically necessary to supply us with three army prostitutes. This isn't a very edifying story, but I can't help it: I spent most of my money on booze and women, and when I arrived at Tanabe harbor the year after liberation, I was completely destitute.^[3]

He has also said that he often found the horrors of war comical,^[4] such as men being hoisted on board his ship with ropes and being battered black and blue against the hull, or the bugler blasting his trumpet every time a coffin was thrown into the sea. Ian Buruma writes, "The humour of these situations might escape one who was not there. But Suzuki assures us that it was funny."^[5]

But war is very funny, you know! When you're in the middle of it, you can't help laughing. Of course it's different when you're facing the enemy. I was thrown into the sea during a bombing raid. As I was drifting, I got the giggles. When we were bombed, there were some people on the deck of the ship. That was a funny sight.^[6]

Next he applied to the prestigious University of Tokyo, but again failed the entrance exam. At the invitation of a friend, who had also failed the exam, Suzuki enrolled into the film department of the Kamakura Academy. In October 1948, he passed the Shochiku Company's entrance exam and was hired as an assistant director in the company's Ōfuna Studio. There he worked under directors Minora Shibuya, Yasushi Sasaki, Noboru Nakamura and Oniwa Hideo before joining the regular crew of Tsuruo Iwama.^[1]

I was a melancholy drunk, and before long I became known as a relatively worthless assistant director. At a large company such as Mitsui or Mitsubishi, these things would have led to my dismissal, especially in the old days, but as the studio as well as the assistant directors themselves were laboring under the strange misconception that they were brilliant artists, almost anything was tolerated, except arson, theft and murder. So I picked flowers for my wife during working hours, and when we were on location I stayed in the bus.^[3]

Rise and fall at Nikkatsu[link]

In 1954, the Nikkatsu Company reopened its doors after having ceased all film production at the onset of the war. It lured many assistant directors from the other major film studios with the promise of circumventing the usual long queue for promotion. Among these wayfarers was Suzuki, who took an assistant directing position there at approximately 3 times his previous salary.^[7] He worked under directors Hidesuke Takizawa, Kiyoshi Saeki, So Yamamura and Hiroshi Noguchi. His first screenplay to be filmed was Duel at Sunset (落日の決闘 Rakujitsu no ketto, 1955), it was directed by Hiroshi Noguchi. In 1956, he became a full-fledged director.^[1]

His directorial debut, credited to his real name, Seitarō Suzuki, was Victory Is Mine, a kayo eiga , or pop song film, part of a subgenre that functioned as a vehicle for hit pop records and singers.^[8] Impressed by the film's quality Nikkatsu signed him to a longterm contract.^[9] Nearly all of the films that he made for Nikkatsu were program pictures, or B-movies, production-line genre films made on a tight schedule and shoestring budget that were meant to fill out the second half of a double feature. B-directors were expected to work fast, take any and every script that was assigned to them and they refused scripts only at the risk being dismissed. Suzuki maintained an impressive pace, averaging 3½ films per year, and claims to have turned down only 2 or 3 scripts during his years at the studio.^[10] He later said of his work schedule (and wrongful dismissal):

Actually making movies was painful work, as I often said to my wife. I had already wanted to quit four or five years before. I told her I hated this foolish, painful process. She told me I shouldn't say such a thing ... that if I talked that way, it would come true. And it eventually did. [This alludes to his unfair dismissal from Nikkatsu in 1968.] For me, it was a relief. I felt this way from the very start.^[11]

His third film and first yakuza action movie, Satan's Town, linked him inexorably to the genre. Underworld Beauty (1958) marked his first CinemaScope film and was also the first to be credited to his assumed name, Seijun Suzuki.^[12]

Having enjoyed moderate success, his work began to draw more attention, especially among student audiences,^[10] with 1963's Youth of the Beast which is considered his "breakthrough" by film scholars^[4] and Suzuki himself calls it his "first truly original film."^[12] His style increasingly shirked genre conventions, favouring visual excess and visceral excitement over a coherent plot and injecting madcap humour into a normally solemn genre, developing into a distinctive "voice". Tony Rayns explained, "In his own eyes, the visual and structural qualities of his '60s genre films sprang from a mixture of boredom ('All company scripts were so similar; if I found a single line that was original, I could see room to do something with it') and self-preservation ('Since all of us contract directors were working from identical scripts, it was important to find a way of standing out from the crowd')."^[10]

If you hear the word B-movie, you will probably laugh heartily, but a B-movie director has his own worries. In newspaper ads the main feature usually has the most prominent place, and I'm way down at the bottom. The B-movie director's biggest worry is the question 'What effect will the main feature have that is shown before your film?' Films from Nikkatsu usually have the same plot: the main character falls in love with a woman, he kills the bad guy and gets the woman. This pattern is repeated in every film, so you concentrate on finding out all you can about who the actors are, who the director is, and the approach this director has. This is what the B-movie director does. For instance, the main feature's director has a habit of filming a love scene a certain way; this means that I have to handle it in another way. The director of the main feature has it easy. He doesn't have to find out how I work at all. He can just do whatever he wants. So actually a B-movie director has a harder task than his colleague who does the main feature. Because of this the studio should give me more money than him, actually, but it's just the other way around.^[13]

This development was furthered with the assistance of like-minded collaborators. Suzuki considered the production designer to be among the most important:

The Bastard was the real turning-point in my career, more so than Youth of the Beast, which I made just before. It was my first time with [Takeo Kimura] as designer, and that collaboration was decisive for me. It was with Kimura that I began to work on ways of making the fundamental illusion of cinema more powerful.^[14]

His fan base grew rapidly, but did not extend to studio president Kyusaku Hori. Beginning with Tattooed Life, the studio issued Suzuki his first warning for "going too far".^[15] He responded with Carmen from Kawachi after which he was ordered to "play it straight"^[16] and had his budget slashed for his next film.^[12] The result was Tokyo Drifter, an "ostensibly routine potboiler" made into a "jaw-dropping, eye-popping fantasia".^[17] Further reduced to filming in black-and-white Suzuki made his 40th film in his 12 years with the company, Branded to Kill (1967), considered an avant-garde masterpiece by critics, for which Hori promptly fired him.^[1]

Suzuki v. Nikkatsu[link]

On April 25, 1968, Suzuki received a telephone call from a Nikkatsu secretary informing him that he would not be receiving his salary for that month.^[18] Two friends of Suzuki met with Hori the next day and were informed that "Suzuki's films were incomprehensible, that they did not make any money and that Suzuki might as well give up his career as a director as he would not be making films for any other companies."^[18] At that time the student-run film society Cine Club, headed by Kazuko Kawakita, was sponsoring a major retrospective of Suzuki's films; meant to be the first in Japan to honour a Japanese director.^[19] It was scheduled to begin on May 10, but Hori withdrew all of his films from distribution and refused to release them to the Cine Club. The students were told that "Nikkatsu could not afford to cultivate a reputation for making films understood only by an exclusive audience and that showing incomprehensible and thus bad films would disgrace the company," adding that, "Suzuki's films would not be shown for some time in theaters or by the Cine Club."^[18]

Suzuki reported the illegal termination of his contract and the removal of his films from distribution to the Japanese Film Directors Association. Association Chairman Heinosuke Gosho met with Hori on May 2, but was unable to resolve the matter. Gosho then issued a public declaration condemning Nikkatsu for breach of contract and violation of Suzuki's right to freedom of speech.^[18] On the day of the intended retrospective, the Cine Club met to discuss the situation. Two hundred people attended, much exceeding their expectations. A three-hour debate ensued as to whether they should negotiate the release of the films, or confront Nikkatsu directly. The former was agreed upon and it was decided that efforts had to be made to keep the public informed.^[18]

On June 7, after repeated attempts to reason with Nikkatsu, Suzuki took the studio to court, suing for breach of contract and personal damages amounting to ¥7 380 000. He also demanded that Hori send letters of apology to the three major newspapers on account that Hori's statements gave the impression that all of his films were bad. He then called a press conference with representatives of the Directors Guild of Japan, the Actors Guild, the Scriptwriters Guild, ATG and the Cine Club. Among the participates were directors Nagisa Oshima, Masahiro Shinoda and Kei Kumai. The only group not represented was the Nikkatsu Directors Association.^[18]

The Cine Club held a public demonstration on June 12, which resulted in the formation of a joint committee supporting Suzuki against Nikkatsu. The committee was composed mostly of directors, actors, large student film groups and independent filmmakers.^[18] This also marked the first time the public became involved in a type of dispute normally confined to the industry.^[18] The Cine Club, and other similar groups, mobilized the public, holding panel discussions and leading mass demonstrations against the studio. The public support, garnered at the height of student movement, was based on a wide appreciation of Suzuki's films and the idea that audiences should be able to see the types of films they wanted to see. This shook the film industry by the fact that the public was making demands rather than passively accepting their product.^[18]

Throughout the lawsuit, 19 witnesses were heard over a two and a half year process including directors, newspaper reporters, film critics and two members of the film-going public.^[18] Kohshi Ueno writes of Suzuki's own testimony on the making of Branded to Kill, "A film scheduled for production was suddenly deemed inappropriate and Suzuki was called in at very short notice to fill the gap. The release date had already been set when Suzuki was asked to write the script. He suggested dropping the script when the head of the studio told him he had to read it twice before he understood it, but the company directed him to make the film. According to Suzuki, Nikkatsu was in no position to criticize him for a film that he made to help them out in an emergency."^[18] Suzuki had never before disclosed this information or discussed any internal company affairs and his testimony exposed the fact that the major studios assigned films to directors at random, improperly publicized them and expected directors to carry any blame.^[18]

It also came to light that, with the industry in decline since the early 1960s, by 1968 Nikkatsu was in the midst of a financial crisis. The studio had accumulated a ¥1 845 000 000 debt due to irresponsible management and was to undergo a massive restructuring. Film crew sizes were to be reduced, time cards introduced and advanced approval was required for all overtime.^[18] Hori, known as a totalitarian figure, unaccustomed to retracting statements or granting requests, had made an example of Suzuki apparently on the basis of his dislike of the film. In a New Year's speech to the company he repeatedly emphasized that he wanted to make films that were "easily understandable".^[18]

On February 12, 1971 testimony was completed and a verdict expected. However, in March the court advised a settlement, explaining appeals were extremely time consuming. Negotiations began on March 22 and concluded on December 24, three and a half years after the case had begun. Nikkatsu paid Suzuki ¥1 000 000, a fraction of his original claim, and Hori was forced to apologize for comments he made while serving as president. In a separate agreement Nikkatsu donated Fighting Elegy and Branded to Kill to the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art's Film Centre. At the time of settlement Suzuki expressed fears that if he had continued to fight he might not even be able to get an apology from the failing company.^[18] During the course of the litigation Nikkatsu was being slowly dismantled. Hori's plans to restructure the company were unsuccessful and Nikkatsu was forced to liquidate studios and headquarter buildings. It released two final films in August 1971 and by November began producing roman porno, softcore romantic pornography.^[18] Despite Suzuki's victory with wide support from the public and film world he was blacklisted by all major production companies and unable to make another film for 10 years.^[1]

Late recognition[link]

To sustain himself during the trial and proceeding black list years Suzuki published books of essay and directed several television movies, series and commercials.^[1] The trial and protests had made him into a counterculture icon and his Nikkatsu films became quite popular at midnight screenings,^[11] playing to "packed audiences who wildly applauded."^[19] He also began acting for other directors in small parts and cameos. His first credited screen role was a special appearance in Kazuki Omori's Don't Wait Until Dark! (1975).^[20]

Shochiku, the company that started him as an assistant director, produced his return to film direction in 1977, A Tale of Sorrow and Sadness, a golf expose cum psychological thriller penned by sports-oriented manga illustrator Ikki Kajiwara. Joe Shishido appears in a brief cameo. The film was met poorly critically and popularly.^[9]

He collaborated with producer Genjiro Arato in 1980 and made the first part of what would become his Taishō trilogy, Zigeunerweisen, a psychological, period, ghost story, named after a gramophone record of gypsy violin music by Pablo de Sarasate featured prominently in the film. When exhibitors declined to show the film, Arato screened it himself in an inflatable mobile dome to great success.^[21] It won Honourable Mention at the 31st Berlin International Film Festival,^[22] was nominated for 9 Japanese Academy Awards and won four, including best director and best film,^[23] and was voted the no. 1 Japanese film of the 1980s by Japanese critics.^[21] He followed the film with Kagero-za, made the following year, and completed the trilogy ten years later with Yumeji. Suzuki commented on working outside of the studio system:

Speaking very practically, I don't change as a filmmaker. But the studio system offered a very convenient way of working, and independent filmmaking is different. At Nikkatsu, if I had an idea in the morning, it could be implemented by the afternoon in the studio. It's much more complicated now. I guess I'm still trying to use locations as I once used the studio, but the problem of lighting makes it hard. In the studio, you have lighting gantries to hang lights from. Setting up lights at a location takes so long.^[14]

Italy hosted the first partial retrospective of his films outside of Japan at the 1984 Pesaro International Film Festival.^[1] The 1994 touring retrospective Branded to Thrill: The Delirious Cinema of Suzuki Seijun showcased 14 of his films. In 2001 Nikkatsu hosted the Style to Kill retrospective featuring more than 20 of his films. In celebration of 50th anniversary of his directorial debut Nikkatsu again hosted the 2006 Suzuki Seijun 48 Film Challenge showcasing all of his films to date at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

He made a loose sequel to Branded to Kill with Pistol Opera (2001). Makiko Esumi replaced Joe Shishido as the number 3 killer. This was followed by Princess Raccoon (2005), starring Zhang Ziyi, a musical love story. In a 2006 interview, he said that he has no plans to direct any further films, citing health concerns.^[24] He had been diagnosed with pulmonary emphysema and is permanently hooked up to a portable respirator.^[25] However, he attended the 2008 Tokyo Project Gathering, a venue serving film financing and international co-productions, and pitched a film titled A Goldfish of the Flame.^[26]

In 2011, the Seattle based rap group Blue Scholars released a song directly named after the filmmaker.

Filmmaking technique[link]

As a contract B director at Nikkatsu, Suzuki's films were made following a rigid structure. He was assigned a film and script, and could only refuse it at the risk of losing his job. He claims to have turned down only 2 or 3 scripts in his time with Nikkatsu but always modified the scripts both in preproduction and during shooting.^[10] Nikkatsu also assigned an actor for the lead, or leads, either a (usually 2nd-tier) star or one being groomed for stardom. The rest of the cast was not assigned but typically drawn from the studio's pool of contract actors. Most studio A films had a set budget of ¥45 million where Suzuki's black-and-white Bs ran 20 million and his colour films were provided an additional 3 million. His films were scheduled 10 days for pre-production, such as location scouting, set design and costumes, 25 days for shooting and 3 days for post-production, such as editing and dubbing.^[27] Within this framework he had a greater degree of control than the A directors as the cheaper B productions drew a less watchful eye from the head office.^[13]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• D., Chris (2005). Outlaw Masters of Japanese Film. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 1-84511-086-2. http://www.ibtauris.com/ibtauris/display.asp?K=9781845110901. 
• Field, Simon; and Tony Rayns (1995). Branded to Thrill: The Delirious Cinema of Suzuki Seijun. British Film Institute. ISBN 0-905263-44-8. 
• Mes, Tom; and Jasper Sharp (2004). The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film. Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 1-880656-89-2. http://www.stonebridge.com/MIDNIGHTEYE/midnight_eye.html. 

External links[link]

• Midnight Eye interview: Seijun Suzuki
• Seijun Suzuki: Authority in Minority at Senses of Cinema
• Cinefiles - An archive containing essays, notes, reviews and book excerpts on Suzuki's films
• Seijun Suzuki at the Internet Movie Database
• Seijun Suzuki at AllRovi
• Seijun Suzuki at the Japanese Movie Database (Japanese)

Donald Earl "Slick" Watts (born July 22, 1951 in Rolling Fork, Missisippi) is an American former basketball player.^[1]

Watts was not selected by any team in the 1973 NBA Draft, but his coach at Xavier University of Louisiana was a cousin of Bill Russell, who was the coach and general manager for the Seattle SuperSonics. Russell gave Watts a tryout, and he signed with the SuperSonics as a free agent. After making the roster for the 1973–74 season as a reserve, he played more frequently the following season and became a starter for the 1975–76 season.^[2] That season, he led the NBA in total assists, assists per game, total steals, steals per game, and made NBA All-Defense First-Team.^[1]

In 1976, Watts also received the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for his outstanding service to the community.^[3]

Watts' career declined after 1976, however,^[3] and he retired from the league after six seasons. He played 4½ years with the Sonics, half a season with the New Orleans Jazz, and one season with the Houston Rockets.^[1]

He picked up the nickname "Slick" because he was one of the first players to shave his head, unusual at the time.

After his playing career, Watts became a basketball coach in Franklin High School in the Seattle area and took up tennis.^[4] In 2001, Watts spent 22 days in a hospital with sarcoidosis, which caused his weight to drop by almost 50 pounds before his condition improved.^[5]

See also[link]

• List of National Basketball Association players with most steals in a game

References[link]

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