My Pseudo Vacation

Well, the EW offices are semi-closed for a pseudo summer vacation. We never really have a real vacation around here, so we take what we can get.

I am in L.A. this week, enjoying the cool ocean breeze, and as always, scoping out stories. Got any tips? Send them my way. And be sure to catch my story on Eastern head/scalp massage in the next issue...an L.A. inspiration.

Other than that, enjoy the summer, stay out of the heat and wear your sunscreen. Oh, and pick up the June/July issue for some glorious beach reading. :-)
We'll get back to work soon, I promise.

To tide you over for the rest of the week, here's a blog I highly recommend:
http://asianbuzz.blogspot.com/

A Movie's Message

The question: how do you depict horrific acts and a gut-wrenching story that occur in a far-away country without tarnishing the image of the people and the country as a whole in the eyes of unknowing Westerners?

There is no clear answer.

A Mighty Heart starring Angelina Jolie and the wonderfully talented Irfan Khan (The Namesake) and adapted from the book by Mariane Pearl about the her husband Daniel Pearl's abduction and death in South Asia hits theaters next Friday, June 22nd.

I had a chance to see a sneak peak of the film yesterday, and I highly recommend it for several reasons. For its raw human story and its almost documentary-style production, which brings to life the chaos of the events that surrounded Pearl's kidnapping.

But I wonder about my earlier question too. I feel the film does a very fair job at portraying Pakistan. But just by simply existing, will the film spark tensions? I sense that there are people that will disagree with my positive assessment of the film and that there are ignorant people that will relate some scenes to all South Asians. How can this be avoided? Or is it not possible, is it just a risk of telling the story?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts once you've had a chance to see the film. Please do. I think it is important. And, come back next week for our full review (not by me!) of the film.