#jasongodfrey

Reading is Sexy: Jason Godfrey’s Big Smile, Perfect Teeth, Plenty of Books

Jason’s perfect smile has been gracing fashion and lifestyle magazines like Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Maxim, and Men’s Health for years, but it’s probably his playful TVC in a series of promo for America’s Next Top Model on StarWorld that really stole our attention, and our heart.  This Hong Kong based model-turned-TV personality has since then suited up to host live pre-Academy Awards show on Fox International Channel, hosted for Li, joined Star VIP Access, and got involved in Escapades for AXN.  But we’re here to dig other passion that Jason has: reading and writing.  He is an avid blogger (bigsmilenoteeth.tumblr.com), has a written a memoir, and is a columnist on The Star Online, sharing his smart and witty opinions on everyday life.

Would you say you're a fiction or non-fiction person when it comes to reading? When and where do you like to read?

I read mostly fiction. I think I prefer to be transported into a narrative no matter how fantastical. Mostly I read when I'm traveling. So in airports, planes, long rides. Good thing about books is they don't get shut down during take off and landing.

What book had the greatest impact on you?

Hard to say, I've liked so many books. The first book I read and couldn't get out of my head was F.N.G. by Donald Bodey. It's about grunts in the Vietnam War and was such a gritty, unpolished, retelling of war from a man's point of view, that it just resonated. I eventually bought it used off the internet 15 years later and read it again. 

I love your column on The Star Online. Are you considering about writing a book someday? 'Big Smile No Teeth' would be a catchy title 

Big Smile No Teeth is the name of my memoir, that I wrote a few years back. It's my retelling of what life is like as a far less than super model. I found a literary agent in New York and we shopped to publishers, and though they said it was funny, well written and a much needed alternate take on fashion, they told me I'd have to be famous to sell enough copies to make it worth their while. And yes, I am trying hard now that I have some sort of platform through TV presenting to sell my books and get them published.

Got any favorite quote from a book you've read?

Anything from Chuck Palahniuk is instantly quotable. I read a lot of comics and what sticks with me are a lot of the morals written by Mark Evainer from Sergio Aragone's Groo the Wanderer. "A friend is a friend until the end and sometimes even after that." Yeah, it's corny but the cheesy morals from that comic are always with me somehow, and I guess that's the power of writing; that something you scrawl onto paper will be read by a child and that child will remember it through out their entire life. Powerful stuff.

living in Indonesia means you have to deal with the bizarre & ridiculous policies from the government, and i will tell you one of them.

so, once upon a time there's this one company who hold the only license to distribute movies all over Indonesia. in 2011, it turns out that this company hasn't paid their taxes for like, the past 30 years..so the current government tries to collect the taxes from them, otherwise the can not distribute/play the movies in their theatres. along with it, came this 1 policy which forcing the studios or film companies to pay higher import tax for every movie they brought to Indonesia. cut the story short, the situation resulted in..there's no Hollywood box office movies coming to Indonesia..and this happened for months!..sweet!

so, whenever we saw a movie trailer in cable tv, there's no longer 'Indonesia' in the release date. but hey, we Indonesians never runs out ideas! so we can't watch the movies here..then why not go to Singapore to watch it?! it's only 1.5 hour flight..and that was exactly what my friend and i did..hahaha..

when the situation happened, Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows (part 2) is on the way, and still no good news. we were so determined that we can not not watch this last piece of Harry Potter in a surround sound's theatre. because waiting the original (pirated one) DVD release will be like waiting for months. so, we decided to watch it in Singapore. we book a flight, book a hostel & and contacted one of our friend there and asked him to be our guide & helped us to buy the tickets for the movies (we also bought tickets for Transformer 3).

and guess what?! on the 'D' day (July 15, 2011), there's this news confirming that this new company (which owned by the son of the most powerful man in Indonesia) will bring Harry Potter to the country..dangg!! but show must go on, so we flew to Singapore.

by the time we checked in to the airport, i found out that we will be on the same plane with one of the boss in our company (he based in Singapore office)..i mean he's not just regular boss, but the Asia Pacific's boss. imagine, the BIG boss flying on a low budget airlines same like us..salute him (or..poor him :p).

so, we arrived in Singapore at 11:30 PM and reached the hostel at 12 AM. the hostel (Drop Inn hostel) was a very nice & clean place. we got the bunked bed, in a dorm room with 4 other girls.

the next day, we go round city tour using MRT, bus & on foot (mostly on foot :p). and then we go watch the 1st movie (Transformer 3) at Vivo City. thank God it was a 3D movie & there's Shia Le Beouf doing the action, otherwise i would've fallen to sleep while watching the movie. and guess what again?!..the BIG boss was also watching the movie in the same studio as we are..dangg!