Money, Money, Money

So here's a idea for increasing your financial prosperity. In Vietnam, we're shooting b-roll of the Hanoi streets. Which basically means wandering around the crowded blocks in the oldest neighborhoods and shooting the atmosphere, me walking among it...and on this day we come upon a gate of the original city walls. Gorgeous artifact of the antique municipality (which, in general, is a cool mix of Vietnamese and French Colonial architectural styles). Vietnam is a place with a still-developing tourism industry that allows one to get away with a lot more than you would in, say, Hollywood, where I'm writing at this moment. So you can pretty much do what you want--or at least we did that day. Given the opportunity for a great shot, our determined producer and crew would always just go and get it. In this case, they found a ladder and hauled cameras and themselves on top of the gate, sending me down the road to wander photogenically through the market crowds.

As we all mounted the sacred thing, we found a shrine. And on this shrine, money, being prayed for. I just loved the transparency of it all--you need money, just ask for it, just stick it right up in there for the Gods to see. Or was it simply an offering? Either way, these days, dong or dollars. Bring'm on.

Where's Waldo? See the camera crew?