#adventures in nutopia

[thewalrusespublicist]

Mike Tree's Adventures in Nutopia #2 : A HR Car-Crash in Slow Motion, aka Dealings with Yoko

This is the second of a three part series of a write up of the Mike Tree SATB interview. Part one is linked here. This second one is about Mike and Yoko's relationship and his observations of Yoko during his employment. I was going to do John next but getting the quotes have been more fiddly and honestly that dynamic is way less bizarre than what was going on here:

This is hands down the weirdest relationship discussed in the interview. It's pretty clear that Mike neither liked nor trusted Yoko. He considers her a 'chess master':

Yoko kind of treated people and treated life like a grand master chess player. She didn't play chess, but she was always plotting, if I do this, maybe I lose a pawn or a piece here, and then I can gain something elsewhere or trap someone else elsewhere. I wasn't really aware of this when I was working there.

SATB: 277: "Mike Tree" in Nutopia with Michael Meideros, 2024

He believes things like her relationship with Sam Green as part of a psychological game she was playing. The caveat to all this is that he somehow figured this out later, meaning he could very well be projecting what other people have told him onto his own memories and thereby rightly or wrongly colouring them in a different light.

Part of the reason for his mistrust is that he fully believes Yoko was coming on to him and trying to turn him into her version of May Pang:

Mike Tree: When in the mornings when I would meet Yoko, she was clearly used a vernacular hitting on me. I thought there was some sort of teasing going on, sexual teasing, which made me very uncomfortable. Rodriguez: Mm-hmm, like a flirtation? Yes, a flirtation. In the mornings at seven a.m. she would usually be wearing a very thin white gown, nightgown, hair loose about her shoulders and barefoot. Uh-huh. And this was very seductive. Yeah. I couldn't quite compute what was going on because I was just the tree man, as John called me.

Mike Tree: “In fact, one time I was in the bedroom looking after her Ming tree, or the Ming tree, and she came sweeping into the bedroom and bounced onto the bed with a giggle. Which made me very uncomfortable. I said nothing and left the room, just very shy.

SATB: 277: "Mike Tree" in Nutopia with Michael Meideros, 2024

It's really hard to tell what the hell is going on. Is it poor boundaries, is she just having a slight tease or is she actually hitting on him? Is it potentially also Mike being attracted her and projecting it back on to Yoko?

None of this is helped by John telling Mike that Yoko was in love with him and that he should talk to her more.

Mike Tree: Anyway, after she left the room, he says to me, you know, Yoko is in love with you. I was dumbfounded. Yoko is in love with you. He said, yeah, she always talks about you, Michael this, Michael that. Why don't you talk with her more? And I told him, John, I talked to her, but she always says, you know, I can't be on all the time. I'm busy or something like that.

SATB: 277: "Mike Tree" in Nutopia with Michael Meideros, 2024

Honestly I don't know why John is so chill about it considering his past paranoia. Thinking about how he is talking with May again, have they both agreed to have people on the side? Or maybe he's just joking and more means that Yoko likes him and that they should talk more (I lean the latter from his POV).

TBF mike is not the most loyal employee with the May Pang situation and Yoko seems to distance herself when he turns down the assistant role so it seems the situation was a bit more complex than the calculating seductress and the hapless tree man.

Outside of their weird little thing, there are more details about Yoko in the 70s that back up other reports. Yoko is back on heroin in the late 70s

“I'm not sure what exactly. But around that period, she started using heroin, snorting it. I can't say I saw her do it, but I certainly saw the effects. Her interior decorator, Sam Green, his assistant would bring Yoko in the mornings heroin, which she would then snort. I saw her in the apartment where she was very talkative and very friendly and smiling and it's like how unusual and realized that she was high. Occasionally, she would bump into the kitchen table or she would chain smoke cigarettes, but she would drop one cigarette on the floor and then start smoking another.

SATB: 277: "Mike Tree" in Nutopia with Michael Meideros, 2024

Bizarrely it's Sam Green who also brings someone to help get her off heroin when he realises shes addicted. What a thoughtful guy.

It's not a insider story of the Dakota era if we don't have another incident of Paul getting blocked from the place:

Mike Tree: It was maybe like five o'clock in the evening and I was going to go home, but I was finding every excuse to stay there. The concierge called up. Again, I don't know the exact conversation because I didn't hear it. I just heard Yoko saying, no, he can't come up now. I thought that was pretty cold. Rodriguez: This was Paul waiting to be admitted up to the Lennon apartment and Yoko shutting him down? Mike Tree: Correct.

SATB: 277: "Mike Tree" in Nutopia with Michael Meideros, 2024

The more you read the more it becomes clear that the frequency in which Paul saw John was not at all Paul's choice and that makes me incredibly sad.

Mike's reporting of Yoko's treatment of Julian post John's death attempts to be empathetic but is nevertheless critical. Yoko sends him away for the memorial and only meets with him in the presence of an attorney. In Mikes words 'not very nice, but Yoko was grieving as well.' In all honesty I am less sympathetic than Mike if this indeed did happen but Julian and Cynthia never discussed this so I'm not 1000 percent as to whether this is accurate.

Mike confirms Sam Havadtoy rapid move into the Dakota and Yoko going to eat at a restaurant close to the night John died. Both of these however are told far more sympathetically than in Seaman's account as the restaurant thing seems like a distraction from the horror of everything and Havadtoy seemed to be there as a crutch to help Yoko cope by taking charge of things. Far from the unfeeling ice queen from Seaman, everyone in Mike's account are taking it in turns to monitor Yoko on suicide watch.

The big incident at the end with Yoko asking for a lighter and making Mike chase around the room before directing him to a drawer with a gun in it I'll post on it's own as it's ... jesus. You can kind of see both Yoko being in a terrible, paranoid, grieving space when she does it but also why a grieving Mike would be so angry and never trust her again

So overall some confirmations of past stories, some different perspectives on known events and some batshit psychosexual drama! That's the Ballad of Mike and Yoko, next I'll move on to the less interesting albeit still revealing dynamic of Mike and John!

[wildlife-film]

Nutopia's Welcome To Earth - A Televisual Factual Film from Televisual Media on Vimeo.

The 'Welcome To Earth' six-part series with Will Smith was released in December last year on the Nat Geo tile within Disney+. Supported by lots of beautiful and stunning clips from the series, this behind-the-scenes film with an industry audience in mind leads with an interview with Showrunner, Graham Booth who provides a detailed anatomy of the creative thinking behind the show. As Graham says, “There is no doubt that 'Welcome To Earth' is just one of the biggest documentaries ever made in terms of scope and scale and ambition” including 92 shoots in 34 countries and never before captured images from the natural world. As Graham also says, “it’s an incredible hybrid of things. It’s an adventure show. It’s a natural history show. It’s a science show. It’s a buddy movie.” It is definitely a contemporary show and takes the viewer on an authentic journey of discovery with Hollywood A Lister Will Smith.

The film additionally goes behind the scenes to look at how the series was shot and includes an interview with Specialist DoP, Robert Hollingworth on the unique macro cinematography sequences and Halo Post’s Head of Production, Louisa Sutherland-Smith who describes a complex post workflow with rushes coming from a broad assortment of cameras for HDR and Atmos HE masters.

The series was produced by Darren Aronofsky (Protozoa Pictures) Westbrook Studios and Jane Root’s Nutopia. It is available to watch on Disney+

[marvel-daily-mantra]

WELCOME TO EARTH

It might seem humans have mapped every inch of our planet’s surface, but look closer and you’ll discover that there is still so much more to uncover — the age of exploration is far from over! WELCOME TO EARTH, a Disney+ original series from National Geographic, follows two-time Academy Award® nominee Will Smith on an extraordinary, once-in-a-lifetime adventure around the world to explore Earth’s greatest wonders and reveal its most hidden secrets. Throughout the six-part limited series produced by visionary Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, Protozoa Pictures, Jane Root’s Nutopia and Westbrook Studios, Will is guided by elite explorers on an awe-inspiring journey, getting up close and personal with some of the most thrilling spectacles on the planet — from volcanoes that roar in silence to deserts that move beyond our perception to animal swarms with minds of their own. Combining breathtaking cinematography with Will's boundless curiosity and enthusiasm, the blockbuster series is an exciting, multisensory ride through Earth’s most mind-bending portals.

[thewalrusespublicist]

Mike Tree's Adventures in Nutopia #1 : Astrological Employment Opportunities and (debatable) Job Satisfaction

This is part of a write-up of Mike Tree's SATB podcast episode. I highly recommend listening to it but I'm posting a collection of highlights here if you don't have the time. For those that don't know, Mike was an employee of the Lennon-Onos from late 70s--early 80s. This section is about his uhm, eventful employment in the service of John and Yoko and it's inevitable challenges:

Mike got the job on John Green's recommendation after meeting him at a party and based on his supposed astrological appropriateness. You really feel John Green's overwhelming influence here, it's essentially his call who gets a job and who gets access to the Lennon-Onos (though there was also apparently a japanese directioner who also read the cards)

Mike wasn't just a gardener, he got the job with the eventual idea to moving up to being John's assistant. Mike turned down the assistant role when offered it by Yoko as he wanted to keep his plant business going and didn't want to be 'sucked into their orbit'. He also fundamentally didn't trust Yoko for reasons that will be discussed in another post. He would later go on to become their archivist.

As eventually happened, these extra duties meant a hell of overtime but considering Mike in one anecdote was looking for a reason to stay rather than go home he seemed to like being there at least to hang with John.

The Lennon-Onos were as mentioned elsewhere annoying bosses who would call Mike at odd hours to make him do stuff like get up at 3am or 4am to turn on lights that were actually on timers. Why Yoko was calling him to turn on timed lights is unknown but as we'll go into in a separate post, Mike views it as part of a wider 'power play'.

From Mike's POV he saw the Lennons as leading separate lives to each other. Mike states though he did avoid their private areas and wasn't there all the time in the evenings so maybe he missed their quality time.

Mike does some weird things in the wake of John's death when it comes to May Pang. He puts May through to Sean and Helen and gives May a remembrance tape of John from that then leaks all over the internet. I have no idea why he would put May through to them, maybe to spite Yoko?

The Fight for Employee of the Month

Mike confirms a couple of Fred Seaman's stories! He confirms the John writing 'Helter Skelter' in the stairwell and the Cardenas/funeral story but says that they happened to him instead of Fred which makes a lot more sense. It was also him that met the killer and not Fred. This is intriguing as it suggests that Fred's stories were not outright fabrications but that many could be more second-hand then presented.

According to Mike, Fred and Mike couldn't get on as they were both vying for John's approval so saw each other in competition with each other (what???) and Fred wasn't a team player. He also apparently tried to gatekeep John, potentially on Yoko's behest?

There's a weird moment where Fred searches Mike's bags in Bermuda but it's unclear why.

Mike seemed to have a nice friendly relationship with Miyoko and some of the Japanese staff and often mentions chatting to them. This to me throws up an interesting point, if the japanese staff can speak good English why is Yoko reportedly talking in japanese to them in front of John and thereby cutting him out of conversation? Is it because it's easier for them albeit a little insensitive or is it because she's saying things that she doesen't want John to hear? Likely the former but not good for John's paranoia.

Stay tuned for more, this interviews a goldmine and there's a lot to unpack. Let's just say that Mike is definitely in the disgruntled employee camp.

[thewalrusespublicist]

Mike Tree: “So we had dinner and John, we had a little wine and John attacked me, verbally attacked me about, you're all blocked, you're like me. And said, you should go to primal therapy. When I went there, that's how I felt. I felt he was using things I had told him about my own childhood, how my father, we didn't get along very well. He thought I was, my father thought I was a coward because I didn't want to become a soldier. I didn't want to be enlisted in the Vietnam War. So John brought all this stuff out of me and now he was pushing all my buttons. He was very angry. Rodriguez: This was him under the influence of alcohol, doing something he hadn't done to that point? Yeah, I believe so. I had heard him attack others, attack Yoko, even without alcohol. He could be very forthright. In all fairness, I think he was accurate. It just didn't need to be expressed in that way or at that time, but he was correct. Anyway, we went back to the house in an area of Bermuda called Fairylands. When we got out, he could see I was crying And put his arm around me and he said, it's all right, it's all right, I'm your friend. And again, I felt like I had failed a test of friendship because I didn't trust. He trusted me, but I wasn't trusting at that moment.”

Mike Tree in an interview with Robert Rodriguez discussing an incident in Bermuda in 1980, SATB podcast: 277

[thewalrusespublicist]

Mike Tree: Anyway, on, I guess it was Tuesday evening, December 9th, 1980, Yoko had me gather from the archive all the tapes, videotapes, recordings, whatever I had of the Beatles and John. And I was to spend the night with her. And I had a regular cart that they used for moving recordings around, recorders, televisions, whatever. I wheeled it into the bedroom, which reeked of cigarette smoke, which I can't stand. Cigarettes I can't stand. We started watching the movies. And next to her side of the bed was a wicker chair, wicker armchair. So I sat down in the wicker armchair, and Yoko is on the left side, as she would be facing towards the end of the bed. I'm sitting next to her, and she sort of moves over and pats the mattress with her left hand, as though asking me to sit beside her. I totally freaked out. Freaked out. And then we went back to watching the videos. And at one point she tries to light a cigarette, and her lighter wasn't working. And she points to a Chinese apothecary cabinet across the room. I think there's a lighter in there, she said. So I pull open the drawers, hundreds of them, and no, there's no lighter. And then finally she turns, pointing to the wicker desk next to where I was sitting, saying, oh, I think there's a lighter in there. And I pull open the only drawer, which is the center drawer, and this wicker vanity table, and in there is what would appear to be a Magnum 44 lying on its side. That kind of shocked me. I had my back to her at this point, so she couldn't see my expression, which I can't imagine, must have been crazy looking. And I gently close the drawer, and I said, no, no, there's no lighter in there. And as I turn around, I look up on the sort of the shelf above her head, and there is a lighter right there. I'm sure you see photographs of John with the shelf over his head. A Leibowitz photograph, he's sitting there with his guitar. Rodriguez: Yeah. Mike Tree: And then there's a wooden shelf above, I think with a mini hi-fi system or whatever. And this is where the lighter was. I think that's a very poignant story about Yoko. She knew where the lighter was, and she had me bounce around the room. Rodriguez: Yeah, she wanted you to see things. Mike Tree: She wanted me to see the gun. What did she think I would do? I have no idea. Did she think I would kill her? If she did, she had no idea who I was as a person. Right. I'm a peacenik. Rodriguez: Yeah, well, I mean, she's patting the mattress, so she goes from one extreme to another. Mike Tree: Right, right. Well, I didn't move. At that point, it became extremely irritated. Like, you know, my mind was, like, turning over like molasses in the winter when Mintz came into the room to take care of that. I said, Yoko, I'll stay here with Yoko now, Michael. You can go. So I went into the white room, which was a few doors away. The lights were out, but I could look out into the city and the glittering lights, and all I felt was rage towards her. How she kind of had used me or used John, really. There's a word that character in a Woody Allen film uses. Wasted. She seemed to have wasted John, was my feeling.

Mike Tree talking about the aftermath of John Lennon's murder and a strange encounter with Yoko, SATB: 277: "Mike Tree" in Nutopia with Michael Meideros, 2024

[thewalrusespublicist]

Mike Tree's Adventures in Nutopia #3: John Lennon Aspiring Boy Bestie Syndrome

The final part in the Mike Tree interview write-up! This final bit is about his relationship with the man, the myth, the face that launched a thousand one-sided best friendships: John Ono-Lennon. His relationship with John is very typical of John as in people adore/worship him but he can be an utter terror.

Mike doesen't try and pry John with questions, which makes John curious and so starts talking to Mike and developing a friendship. Yoko wants Mike to not talk to John as much as it's 'bothering' John but Mike scoffs at that as John was focused on him not vice-versa. I respect Mike as he doesen't pretend to have magic memory about those convos and freely admits he can't remember much of the discussion save a rare instance of John talking about Uncle George. Whether it was bothering John, with the later stuff in mind I don't think he was but I can understand why Yoko was concerned about that.

John has a little device thing to keep time that he called his Ringo robot <3

John gets so excited about the idea of his fig tree producing figs it's so cute.

John believes that Mike was destined to be a musical genius due to some astrological stuff and gives him his banjo. Years after his death Mike tries to sell it to Yoko who accuses him of stealing it in the first place. Classic.

A buddhist monk points out to him years later that John probably wanted him to play the Banjo with him :((( That's so sad if he's right.

Mike was tasked by Yoko with bringing drugs and money to John in Bermuda. He refused to do this. I wonder what drugs these were as Mike states he only smelled weed but this incident and the wasted recording suggests more than that. I've talked about the money thing elsewhere.

As with any friendship with John it wasn't smooth sailing. Whilst in Bermuda they really get into it once John has something to drink and John attacks him by bringing up his vulnerabilities and then recommends primal therapy?? W H A T.

Mike tries primal therapy but finds it too intense, ngl it sounds weird af so good on Mike. Apparently it does improve his posture though.

He was with John when John found the sign saying 'Double Fantasy'. Mike believes the name has a connotation for a sexual fantasy for John. Whether that's accurate or not it suggests that Mike did know or suspect things about John's sexual proclivities. What fantasy it would be referring to is anyone's guess.

John's really excited about the album in Bermuda and Mike talks about a moment where John is playing, Sean is dancing and his nanny Helen is beaming. It's a beautiful moment.

He had a strange feeling the day John died. John comes to him with a new haircut saying something along the lines of his new haircut being a throwback to his old one and how hes 'right back to where he started'. Mike thinks that this is John's awareness of his own upcoming death, it more reads to me of John's seeming 'embrace of the past and desire to reclaim it' thing going on in 80. It was a look to the future, not to the end :(.

When John dies Mike has to sort through John's bloodied clothes in a bag to get the glasses for the exhibition. Instead of horrifying he finds it cathartic. I'm pleased he found peace in that moment but god I think I would have been sick.

I think that pretty much covers everything? I will be posting additional quotes from the interview. I hope one day that Jawbone press will stop holding the book to ransom as the passage he read out was evocative and his perspective at least attempts to be measured and fair. You certainly have one willing customer Mike!