So, I was wrong about Tokyo not being a cell phone society.  We learned firsthand that it is a cell phone society… just not during working hours.  Or at least not the working class.  After our meetings we took a subway out to Snoopy Town… and well, the entire train was filled with cell phones.  They were all out and they were all texting away.  Major difference between Japan and the US in terms of phone usage?  It’s either and iphone or a flip phone.  There are no variations.  Variations in color only.  So, I apologize, I misread that one our first few days here.  We just had to head underground to see what we didn’t see above ground.

So, let me back track a little and start our day off.  We woke up and our legs and muscles were completely sore.  I don’t think either one of us were accustomed to walking that much in any given day.  It is some adjustment.  That’s for sure.  So far jet lag hasn’t hit us too bad.  The overall adjustment is roughly 12 hours and I think the exhaustion from the flying kept us ok.

The morning, we did our usual routine and grabbed us some Tully’s Coffee and then began the preparation for our first meeting.  All the preparation in the world couldn’t prepare me for what was to happen during the first meeting.

We scouted the area and the layout of the venue.  It was stunning.  Parked atop the Mori Roppongi hills tower, it was amazing.  From the top of the tower, you could see the ENTIRE city and most anything else you could possibly imagine.  I’ve got some photos I hope to get up here soon.  We’ll see how the day goes.  We want to go back and take some photos at night.  It was stunning.

We arrived at the booth of our first meeting and there was already another meeting taking place.  We plopped our bottoms at a table nearby and waited forever.  I waited and got to the point where I was ready to go.  Connie forced me to stay, and I am glad she did.  Forgive me for being vague here, but I am doing so out of respect.

We sat down at the meeting and were shown the proper way for presenting business cars.  It is a very formal exchange and it is set up to make sure you keep your place with who’s who in the meeting.  Our hostess for the meeting, she laid out the company and her position in it, as well as the position of all the people around her and we began to talk movies briefly.  Including one I had recently seen.  They were stunned that I had seen the movie, since everyone at the table hadn’t even seen it yet.  That’s what I get for being a fan of foreign films!

Before we began to talk about the movie, Three of the company’s actors showed up!  These were up and coming young stars and they were amazing.  The meeting went fantastic.  I explained the movie and various roles that would be for up and coming young stars.  I stuttered and stumbled my way through the meeting because I was as in shock as they were to sit and be able to talk the movie with them.  I could not have been smiling more when we left.  IT was an unbelievable way to get the party started. 

I remain optimistic for what the meeting will mean for me.  It truly was an unbelievable experience, whether planned that way or not, it was great.  It was worth the trip here just to get to meet those young actors and put my script into the hands of an exec at a major producing firm.

I do regret not having the screenplay translated before I got here. But, we will do what we can.

After that, it was back to the hotel for a quick nap before braving the subway for the first time and heading off to Snoopy Town.  Kiddy Land is a giant toy store in a different part of the city, so we headed underground to make the trip instead of walking and wow.  it was cool.  It was basically like heading into Times Square.  Was very cool.  Connie spent about an hour looking at Snoopy stuff on the third floor of kiddy land.  I forced her to just buy what she wanted, since we were never going to see any of this stuff again.  She’s so stubborn and refuses to buy anything for herself.  I guess I am the same way.

More to come later.  running out of time.  Plenty to talk about!