$700 a Month for a Bed-Sized “Pod” in Downtown SF? Techies Are Renting Them

Re:$700 a Month for a Bed-Sized “Pod” in Downtown SF? Techie... by programmarchy on Sunday September 24, 2023 @09:39PM (#37638799)

This reminds me of the “Architect from Pluto” scene in Jodorowsky’s Holy Mountain. The architect reveals his new efficient apartment design: a matrix of coffins. He received a thunderous applause from his investors. [1]

“A man doesn’t need a home. All he needs is a shelter. If we can sell him on the idea of a shelter, we’ll make millions.”

[1] https://youtu.be/FASvJF21yXU?feature=shared&t=70 (contains nudity)

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Re:$700 a Month for a Bed-Sized “Pod” in Downtown SF? Techie... by defrost on Sunday September 24, 2023 @09:47PM (#37638858)

Or more closely the sleeping pod scenes in Tokyo in Wim Wenders Until the End of the World (1991)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfFWBWKwQT8

Just the trailer - it's a 5 hour film and hard to find the specific scene on youtube

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Re:$700 a Month for a Bed-Sized “Pod” in Downtown SF? Techie... by tivert on Monday September 25, 2023 @12:57AM (#37639798)

> Or more closely the sleeping pod scenes in Tokyo in Wim Wenders Until the End of the World (1991)

Can you give a more detailed description? Was just a run-of-the-mill Japanese capsule hotel (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsule_hotel)? Those were already common in 1991 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/glenhsparky/4820691940), and would have been certainly exotically sci-fi to an early-90s American audience.

> Just the trailer - it's a 5 hour film and hard to find the specific scene on youtube

Wow. some time ago that film connected with me for some reason (why, I have no recollection), so I have a VHS copy (because it was unavailable in any other format). That cut is much shorter.

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Re:$700 a Month for a Bed-Sized “Pod” in Downtown SF? Techie... by defrost on Monday September 25, 2023 @01:11AM (#37639859)

Wenders filmed scenes in Japanese capsule pod hotels of the time ... it's relative to be sure but IMHO these are closer to the rentable pods depicted in the article than the scenes from the Jodorowsky movie.

The motivation here was admittedly to respond to one arthouse film drop with another.

I'm kind of old and while not in the film and TV business I've been tangential enough to work as an extra, tech runner, location support etc for various productions - notably in Berlin for Wings of Desire and in Australia (where I live) for some of the central Australian location work for Until the End of the World.

( Australian band in Wings of Desire:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPf6SWcENWo

)

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Re:$700 a Month for a Bed-Sized “Pod” in Downtown SF? Techie... by kilolima on Monday September 25, 2023 @02:11AM (#37640163)

Wow! Two of my favorite films. Thanks for your work on them!

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Re:$700 a Month for a Bed-Sized “Pod” in Downtown SF? Techie... by defrost on Monday September 25, 2023 @02:40AM (#37640318)

Bit player in a cast of thousands .. but of course I'll take all the credit! (Not! :-) ).

Aussies get about, a classmate of mine from the time had a bit part in a Nicole Kidman film and ended up giving black hole lectures at the Royal Institution of Great Britain along with being twice in the running for the Lucasian Chair.

That sort of things does wonders for your Erdős-Bacon number!

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/j.gauntlett

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