This is going to be good.

If you recall director Ron Fricke’s fantastic movie, Baraka, you’ll almost certainly want to see this, his new “guided meditation on the cycle of birth death and rebirth.” (Or, if you’ve seen Koyaanisqatsi, etc.) And if you don’t recall Baraka, you’ll want to see this AND Baraka. Here’s the story from the film’s website:

Samsara is a word that describes the ever turning wheel of life. It is a concept both intimate and vast – the perfect subject for filmmakers Ron Fricke and Mark Magidson, whose previous collaborations include Chronos and Baraka, and who, in the last 20 years, have travelled to over 58 countries together in the pursuit of unique imagery.

Samsara takes the form of a nonverbal, guided meditation that will transform viewers in countries around the world as they are swept along a journey of the soul. Through powerful images pristinely photographed in 70mm and a dynamic music score, the film illuminates the links between humanity and the rest of the nature, showing how our life cycle mirrors the rhythm of the planet.

Coming soon. In the meantime, visit the website for details.

(Thanks, as always, to Sam DeWitt for the heads-up.)

Sleeping Beauty actress Emily Browning has told CBS News Entertainment that she dealt with possible discomfort while filming nude scenes for that film via the practice of meditation. Her words:

“I taught myself to meditate in those scenes. I wasn’t present in those scenes at all, so they didn’t really have as much effect on me.”

Here’s that story.

That’s cool that she found a way to deal, but does that sound like meditation to you? She may not have been sleeping, but she doesn’t seem to have really been awake, either.

So I live in Halifax, Nova Scotia now. There are many things to love about the place, but I think I really understood I could love it here when I visited in September and got to see the legendary drummer Jerry Granelli play a solo show. It rocked my world, and I knew that any place that could sustain someone like him would surely have plenty to offer little old me.

Happily, there’s a great documentary film that does a much better job of showing who Granelli is — and what his contributions to both dharma and music are — than I ever could. I found it online and hope you’ll watch it. Here it is, in six installments. Enjoy.

Jerry Granelli: In the Moment, Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Part 5:

Part 6:

Following up on the story of “Sex and Zen” — a 3D porn film the Horse first told you about way back in January of ’09: that film has now, according to AFP, “broken [Hong Kong's] first-day box office record previously set by Hollywood blockbuster Avatar.” Not sure how I feel about this Dharma-Burger’s massive success. But then, I like sex, I like Zen, and I hated Avatar. So hey.

Here‘s the story. Thanks to dharma-bruddha Josh Bartok for the tip. Josh is a respected teacher and a maker of Buddhist books (as an editor at Wisdom Publications). Check out his Boston-based sangha here.

The Horse told you about this at the beginning of last month, but now here’s the trailer for the film, which takes place in Thailand. Thanks to the mighty Danny Fisher for sending on a heads-up with his somewhat sarcastic note, “Look! Tasteful Buddhist imagery!” See what you think.

No kidding. Well, kind of — it’s Funny or Die after all:

Here‘s the back story, via MovieFone.

Just a random little Hollywood thing: apparently this still from “The Hangover 2″ (forthcoming followup to the biggest comedy film of all time) has been released or leaked or whatever one does with a still to make it seem like it’s news.

Teaser-Trailer.com captions it, “Alan Garner (Zach Galifianakis) seems lost in meditation, but the two other dudes (Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms) aren’t convinced.” Okay, not much meat there, but still, it might be interesting to see where this scene goes. Galifianakis can be hilarious. Yep, slow news day.

The Hollywood Reporter reviews the new film Abraxas — which just played the Sundance festival. Here’s the opening paragraph:

The idea of a Buddhist monk who is a punk rocker seems impossibly incongruous, and that’s how his parishioners in a small Japanese town feel about it. But Jonen is no ordinary monk. He is a sensitive and troubled soul trying to silence the noise within. Abraxas, Naoki Kato’s exquisitely crafted debut feature, is that rare spiritual film that is funny and moving without being stuffy. Years ago, it would have been the kind of film that played well in art houses, but today, like Jonen, it will have to search to find its place.

Despite the Reporter‘s “Punk Rock Meets Buddhism” headline, punk and Buddhism are actually pretty well acquainted. But that’s cool. Anyway, read the whole review here. And check out the trailer at Sweeping Zen.

[Updates: Here's a new National Post piece about Jeff Bridges, Zen, and Tron: Legacy. And on December 14, I added a video of Jeff Bridges talking about Buddhism and Tron to my blog on Shambhala SunSpace.]

Tron: Legacy star Olivia Wilde talks in a new interview about how her character, Quorra, is inspired in part by Buddhism, and “coolest Zen Buddhist alive,” co-star Jeff Bridges.

Check that out here.

And for more from the Horse on the Tron/Jeff Bridges/Dharma connection, click here.

The mighty Sam DeWitt writes to send this one on:

I saw a link for Daft Punk’s music video “Derezzed“, which comes from the new version of Tron (“Tron Legacy”), and also looked at one of the new trailers and saw a few overtly Buddhist references.

Interesting (well, maybe…), in that Jeff Bridges maintains a practice and in a recent interview said that he talked with the producers about perhaps bringing some Buddhist ideas to the project. So here is a frame from the music video with someone in full lotus, then 2 frames of Jeff Bridges’ character, one in a kneeling meditation pose, then a close-up of him rising where they seem to have made certain that you can catch his mala beads.

You have the true Dharma/Eagle Eye, Sam. Thanks for sending!