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What was I thinking (Tommy Lee Jones update)

02 Dec 2007 04:59 am

It must have been the travel blear of the Beijing-Tokyo flight, but I missed the obvious point about the Tommy Lee Jones "Boss" advertising campaign mentioned earlier. Here we truly have a case of life imitating art. Jones is living out the fictional role portrayed by Bill Murray in every gaijin's favorite movie about Japan, Lost in Translation:

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r96/jfallows/Murray.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r96/jfallows/IMG_4324.jpg

I realize that Murray's role was itself art imitating life, based on countless Japanese ad campaigns by foreign celebrities. But Jones's "Boss" presentation does seem to owe something to Murray's "Bob Harris" in the movie. Thanks to Eric Redman for pointing out the connection. I'm sure that he, like me, remembers that Lost had another main character "Charlotte." Of course the homage to a great movie could not have gone that far, but it's interesting to think about.

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