Within
our monthly "FILM POLL" (see below)
- it is our hope to locate visionary films from creative directors with
great scripts from the Asian/Asian Pacific American communities. Every
month, fifteen (15) films will be listed for your consideration and support.
One
of our other goals is to help build a fast-growing legion of informed
artists and media advocates that will carry the appropriate weight to
create effective changes. Without knowledge of our own historic past,
our trail-blazing entertainment pioneers from the early 20th century,
working knowledge of how the entertainment industry functions, etc. -
the words written in the media and words spoken
with various Asian Pacific American advocates will not carry the appropriate
weight or response.
DISCOVER
OUR INDEPENDENT FILMS & DIRECTORS
FILM POLL
Our monthly polls' purpose is to
communicate and reflect the most popular and visionary film within
the APA communities. If you feel that your film should be included,
contact us at jql@earthlink.net
and we will consider your project for an upcoming poll.
Listed on the right are some successful
films from the fast-emerging Asian American Cinema.
Tai
Seng Entertainment, the largest home video distributor of Hong Kong
Films in the US, has released Robin Shou’s Red Trousers: The
Life of the Hong Kong Stuntmen. The film pays homage and documents
the amazing stunts and preparations that are required. Presently
it is playing in West Los Angeles, Irvine, San Francisco, Berkeley
and Seattle. Win a free trip to Hong Kong by visiting www.redtrousers.com
HAROLD AND KUMAR
In the great cinematic tradition of Road Trip and Dude, Where's My Car? comes Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, which follows two likeable underdogs who set out on a Friday night quest to satisfy their craving for White Castle hamburgers and end up on an epic journey of deep thoughts, deeper inhaling and a wild road trip as un-PC as it gets. John Cho (American Pie 1 & 2) and Kal Penn (Malibu's Most Wanted) take on the title roles in the film directed by Danny Leiner (Dude, Where's My Car?) written by Hayden Schlossberg & Jonathan Hurwitz.
For more info, click HERE.
INDIAN COWBOY
Indian Cowboy is a mélange of romance, comedy and fantasy that takes its audience on a rollercoaster ride through relationships, some oddly familiar, and some just plain odd. Marked by its ensemble performances, Indian Cowboy will leave you wondering which is truer: love in the real world or love in a fantasy.
For more info, click HERE.
UPCOMING DIRECTORS
The
23 years old recent graduate of USC's film school, Jon
Chu, is slated to direct Columbia's first musical in thirty
years - "Bye Bye Birdie." Columbia producer Lucy
Fisher stated that "Jon got the old-fashion way - pure
talent."
Alex
Tse is working as a scriptwriter with Spike Lee on the upcoming
Showtime Production of "Sucker Free City."
Three
Asian Americans (Steve Tsuchida, Adam Bhala Lough, and Greg
Pak) make Filmmaker Magazine's 25 New Faces of Indie Film
list in 2003.
German-trained
Director Li Yang’s “Blind Shaft” (adopted
from Liu Qingbang’s novel, it is a story on how Chinese
workers get the shaft in a new “dog-eat-dog” capitalist
economy. How peculiar that authoritarian regimes like Iran and
China would inspire gutsier crime stories than our own democracy
(even as the movies themselves are banned). Please check your
listings.
Hou
Hsiao-hsien’s Millennium Mambo (the story of Vicky, a
hostess at a trendy bar who is torn romantically between two
men: Hao-hao, her neurotic and jealous live-in boyfriend and
Jack, an enterprising gangster) can be seen in Cambridge, Los
Angeles, Denver Chicago, Columbus OH, San Francisco and San
Diego.
TIRED OF WAITING
FOR MONEY?
Are
you looking for the ability to not depend on others to finance your
own project?
If interested,
the information for those who are seeking the means to self-financed
their own project are listed on the RIGHT.
If you are interested
in receiving more information, please feel free to contact us by
clicking HERE.
TO START NOW,
please feel free to click HERE.
(Note: Upon entering the website, submit "3651535" in
the "IBO" box and "LEE" in the other box.
Make your
own decision on how much time one want to spend and the amount
of monies
Earn money
by purchasing everyday products at competitive prices, in a similar
fashion as a member-based customer of a store like CostCo
Provide opportunities
for people that support your creative endeavors to purchase everyday
products while helping you finance your creativity
Upon your
participation, we will support your efforts by featuring your
efforts within this webpage
In addition,
we will support your efforts by periodically having contests where
your supporters can win prizes such as tickets to music showcases,
dvd's, c.d.'s, etc.
Mercury
News' Marian Liu reports that "For Asian-Americans,
the move toward entertainment careers has been a recent one, stretching
the past 40 years, starting with such stereotypical films as the Rodgers
and Hammerstein musical "Flower
Drum Song."
(Editor's
Note: This "stereotypical film" was based on the first
Chinese
American novel to be published by an established publishing house,
the first
Chinese American novel to be on the best-seller list, the first
Broadway/major movie studio production to feature, star and about
Asian Americans, the female stars of the Broadway show -- Pat Suzuki
and Miyoshi Umeki -- became the first Asian Americans to be on the cover
of Time and Newsweek and the film that launched the careers of Miyoshi
Umeki, Jack Soo, James Shigeta, and Nancy Kwan.)
EDITOR'S
NOTE: Sadly, it seems that the above-listed writer (along
with many within the Asian/Asian Pacific American communities)
have forgotten the achievements and victories of past entertainment
pioneers in the 1920's (some of the pioneers are listed on the
"left") and the various non-stereotypical milestones
seen in the movie "Flower Drum Song."
Plus,
no film (speaking
of "Better Luck Tomorrow") can change the industry by itself,
says Harry
Lin, a veteran of Bay Area broadcasting who now is executive vice
president of ABC's Web site, abc.com.
a
a
Harlemm
Lee
Jamisen
Tiangco
``The
movie industry is very conservative,'' Lin
says. ``It's not proactive to change or trying to make waves. That's
why independent film and cinema
is so important: It's where change and risk occurs.''
ANY PROGRESS FOR ASIAN AMERICAN FEMALES IN THE
MEDIA - Have Asian American women progressed in American consciousness
so much so that they erases the persisting negative stereotypes? Some
argue that the presence of Asian American women, such as Connie Chung
(television news anchor), Lucy Liu (television/movie star), and Tia
Carrere (movie star) in the media is indicative of mainstream America's
acceptance of Asian American women. Click here for more information>>>>>
DEFINITION OF A DRAGON LADY - Another
stereotype of Asian Women that is perpetuated through the media is that
of the Dragon Lady. A Dragon Lady is an evil, deceitful, and domineering
woman. This derogatory term was originally the name of a villainous
Asian women in Milton Caniff's popular cartoon strip Terry and the Pirates
(1934-1973), which ran in many newspapers. Click here for more information>>>>>
REDEFINING ASIAN AMERICAN MALE MASCULINITY
- American popular culture is notoriously male-centered. For Asian Americans,
however, the situation appears to be reversed, which may be yet another
reflection of the power of the dominant culture. Novelist Amy Tan is
more widely read than novelist Shawn Wong; comedian/actor Margaret Cho
got a shot at a network television series, while Russell Wong had to
settle for starring in the syndicated Vanishing Son; and Asian American
women anchor local news broadcasts across the country, while Asian American
men occupy less visible positions as field reporters. Click here for more information>>>>>
ASIAN AMERICAN MALE BASHING IN THE AMERICAN
MEDIA - I think the dating imbalance, i.e. more Caucasian males
with Asian Females versus Asian males with Caucasian females, is caused
by a racist media in America that portrays Asian male as undesirable,
asexual, nerdy, and so on, and Asian female as the ready toy for any
white guy, no matter how dorky, as Wayne's World or Star Trek amply
illustrate for us. For instance, there are eight hundred Asian female
anchors, one for each major metropolitan area in the United States.
But there is only one Asian male news anchor in the entire United states.
Click here for more information>>>>>
MINORITY DIRECTORS & DVD'S
Straight-to-video
has carried a stigma but minority filmmakers largely ignored by
Hollywood are carving out a profitable niche with it.
Most
moviemakers want to see their work on the big screen. But many black
independent filmmakers have found a profitable venue long considered
the kiss of death: straight-to-video.
Even
before the surging popularity of DVDs led major Hollywood studios
to focus on the home video market, black filmmakers saw the advantage
there. Not only could they target their films directly to an underserved
audience, but with lower budgets and overhead, they stood a better
chance of making money.
10. David Carradine in KUNG FU (1972-75)
- David Carradine's Amerasian Shaolin monk, Kwai-Chang Caine, roaming
the Wild West on the TV show Kung Fu survives as one of the least objectionable.
9. Larry Blyden in FLOWER DRUM SONG (1958)
- the pivotal role of nightclub owner Sammy Fong on Broadway went to
Larry Blyden, a Jewish actor from Texas.
8. Joel Gray in REMO WILLIAMS: THE ADVENTURE
BEGINS (1985) - Transforming the very Caucasoid thespian Joel
Gray into Chiun, the title character's (Fred Ward) Korean martial-arts
instructor was extremely realistic.
7. Warner Oland - The Swedish-born,
American-raised actor Warner Oland made virtually an entire career out
of playing Asian characters — from "Oriental" villains
in Pearl White serials to Fu Manchu to Charlie Chan. Oland's busy and
lucrative life- work stands as a disturbing reminder that a Caucasian
actor could make a career for himself in Hollywood by specializing in
Asian roles
6. Sean Connery in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1967)
- the secret agent emerges looked like a droopy-eyed hakujin who's had
too much to drink.
5. Alex Borstein as Ms. Swan on MAD TV (1997-2002)
- Mad TV must have known that they were treading on volatile ground
when they unveiled their slant-eyed, gibberish-speaking, bowl-haired
manicurist called Ms. Kwan, played by non-Asian actress Alex Borstein,
in 1997.
