Newsbits: Olbermann, Nguyen, Asian Health

Some links and stories from around the web and blogosphere:

Olbermann Slams Malkin for Daring to Question Clinton Straw Donors

MSNBC’s Keith “Chicken & Waffles” Olbermann attacked conservative blogger Michelle Malkin for “ethnic profiling” of Chinese restaurant dishwashers in New York City who donated to the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign. Of course, running off of the liberal Media Matters script, Olbermann failed to note that Malkin’s problem is not with the donors’ ethnicity per se, but that it’s highly suspicious when low-wage earners pony up a few thousand to give a political candidate.

‘21 Jump Street’ star Dustin Nguyen is back in action

Flash back to 1987. “21 Jump Street” was one of the hottest new shows on television, showcasing the talents of young heartthrobs Johnny Depp and Dustin Nguyen. For Depp, already a rising star, it would be a launching pad for enormous big-screen success. For Nguyen, who played Officer Harry Truman Ioki, it was a rare opportunity in the national spotlight during a time when there were hardly any Asian Americans on television or in the movies.

Coverage, Access and Quality Asian-Americans Express Concern About SCHIP Veto, Program’s Future

According to recent U.S. Census Bureau data, 15.5% of Asian-Americans and about 21.7% of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are uninsured. Other Asian-American subgroups such as Korean-Americans and Vietnamese-Americans also have a large percentage of uninsured. However, because some subgroups have relatively higher incomes and education levels and are labeled as the “Model Minority,” the groups’ need for access to health care often is overlooked, the Pacific Citizen/New America Media reports.

B.D Wong B-Day

Just a quick shout out to actor B.D. Wong who had a birthday a couple days ago, and who’s been doing it for years now making it look easy and putting another cool Asian face on the screen for everyone to see.

Daniel Dae Kim DUI video footage

By now you’ve heard of Lost’s Daniel Dae Kim and his arrest for a DUI in Hawaii yesterday - apparently there was a camera outside which caught DDK coming out of the Big House so we can see him in action as he tries to cover his head so the camera can’t get a shot of his “I was just busted for a DUI” mug.

Next time take a taxi DDK.

Star Rising: Telly Leung and Rent

It seems that not only are Asian-American males getting more play in television and movies these days, but also on Broadway too. Case in point is Telly Leung, a 27 year old actor who is playing the role of Angel in the hit musical Rent.

Some of the national shows that Telly has played in (including Rent):

RENT (Angel / Steve and Others)
WICKED - Chicago Shiz Co. (Boq)
PACIFIC OVERTURES (Boy, Oberserver, Sailor)
FLOWER DRUM SONG (Ensemble, Ta u/s

At the same time Telly is also working on a full length feature album for release on MoppTopp records. To learn more about Telly Leung visit his site.

A letter to Chi McBride

Dear Chi,

An apology must be handed your way for not giving your new show Pushing Daisies the due that it deserved when it first came out, and for thinking that you may have taken a bit part in a badly written Desperate Housewives meets Six Feet Under meets Beetle Juice meets Mary Poppins.

You’re definitely an integral part of the story, and as good as Pushing Daisies is of and by itself - without you it would just be another show with a lot of white people running around trying to find their place in the world - which is 4.5 billion, 965 million, 450 thousand, 2 hundred, and 3 minutes old…

John Cho Talks About Asian-American Actors in the US

Good article and interview with John Cho down at AsianPopcorn:

Korean-American actor John Cho, 35, has become a household name in the United States, especially for playing parts that don’t have to be played by an Asian. Yet, there remains a challenging upward climb for Asian Americans in Hollywood, according to the star.

“First it’s difficult being an artist, and it’s difficult being an actor, period, and it’s difficult being an Asian American actor. When I started acting… the community was largely Chinese American or Japanese American, so even then I felt like a minority in the minority,” he told reporters during a private interview at a Busan hotel, Tuesday.

Big Bad TV List #1: New network fall shows with cast diversity

The Lists

Below is a list of the new network fall shows which have at least some diversity in their lineups. The list does not include reality television, and was compiled from the new shows listed from the MSNBC Fall 2007 TV Preview. Unless where noted, cast members are listed in the show's main cast/bio credits - however this may not always indicate a prominent role.

Shows which are bold in all navy/blue are ones where the main stars (or faces which seem to be promoted according to the network, or other marketing materials) are persons of color. Note that in many ways while this is based on what is being put out by the networks and other media, this can be more subjective in regard to an ensemble cast.

For instance Women's Murder Club and Private Practice are bold in navy/blue, while shows like Carpoolers and Pushing Daisies are not because there is still a question mark in regard to prominence and screen time (however in the end the star power of someone like Chi McBride may push that show over the line no matter what).

• Aliens in America - CW, Mondays, 8:30 p.m. ET, comedy - Premiere Oct 1.
  
  

  • ADHIR KALYAN

• Big Bang Theory - CBS, Mondays, 8:30 p.m. ET, comedy - Premiere Sept. 24

  • Kunal Nayyar

• Big Shots - ABC, Thursdays, 10 p.m. ET, Drama - Premiere Sept. 27

  • Nia Long (Role: Could be more secondary cast)

• Bionic Woman - NBC, Wednesdays, 9 p.m. ET, Drama - Premiere Sept. 26

  • Will Yun Lee (No direct link to cast page - view main flash site, Wikipedia profile)

• Cane - CBS, Tuesdays, 10 p.m. ET, Drama - Premiere Sept. 25

  • The whole cast is diverse including (among others) Jimmy Smits, Hector Elizondo, Nester Carbonell, and Rita Moreno

• Canterbury's Law- Fox, midseason time TBD, Drama

  • Julianna Margulies (Wikipedia profile)

  • Keith Robinson (IMDB profile)

• Carpoolers - ABC Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. ET, comedy - Premiere Oct. 2

  • Jerry Minor

• Cashmere Mafia - ABC, Tuesdays, 9 p.m. ET, Drama - Premiere Dec. 4

  • Lucy Liu (Wikipedia profile)

• Chuck - NBC, Mondays, 8 p.m. ET, Drama- Premiere Sept. 24

  • Joshua Gomez

• Gossip Girl - CW, Wednesdays, 9 p.m. ET, Drama - Premiere Sept. 24

  • NICOLE FISCELLA

  • Nan Zhang

• Journeyman - NBC, Mondays, 10 p.m. ET, Drama - Premiere Sept. 24

  • Moon Bloodgood (No direct link to cast page - view main flash site)

• K-Ville - Fox, Mondays, 9 p.m. ET, Drama - Premiere Sept. 24

  • Anthony Anderson

  • Tawny Cypress

• Life is Wild - CW, Sundays, 8 p.m. ET, Drama - Premiere Oct 7

  • ATANDWA KANI (No direct link to cast page - view main flash site)

• Life - NBC, Wednesdays, 10 p.m. ET, Drama - Premiere Sept. 26

  • Sarah Shahi (No direct link to cast page - view main flash site, Wikipedia profile)

• Moonlight - CBS, Fridays, 9 p.m. ET, Drama - Premiere Sept. 28

  • Shannyn Sossamon

• New Amsterdam - Fox, midseason TBD, Drama

  • Zuleikha Robinson

• Private Practice - ABC, Wednesdays, 9 p.m. ET, Drama - Premiere Sept. 26

  • Taye Diggs

  • Audra McDonald

• Pushing Daisies - ABC, Wednesdays, 8 p.m. ET, Drama - Premiere Oct. 3

  • Chi McBride

• Reaper - CW, Tuesdays, 9 p.m. ET, Drama - Premiere Sept. 25

  • RICK GONZALEZ

  • VALARIE RAE MILLER

• Samantha Who? - ABC, Mondays, 9:30 p.m. ET, comedy - Premiere (NA)

  • Tim Russ (Wikipedia profile)

• The Sarah Connor Chronicles - Fox, Sundays, midseason TBD, Drama

  • Richard T. Jones

• Viva Laughlin - CBS, Sundays, 8 p.m. ET, Drama - Premieres Oct. 21

  • DB Woodside

• Women's Murder Club - ABC, Fridays, 9 p.m. ET, Drama - Premieres Oct. 12

  • Linda Park (Wikipedia profile)

  • Paula Newsome (Tv.com profile)

  • Tyrees Allen (Tv.com profile)

Early Analysis

While some things could change in this list (additions or subtractions of cast, more prominence etc.) here are some early numbers (and remember that this does not include new reality television shows like Kid Nation which is very diverse):

1. Out of the 27 new shows listed from the Fall 2007 preview, 23 contained at least one cast member of color.

2. Out of those 23, 7 of the shows are ones where the main stars (or faces which seem to be promoted according to the network, or other marketing materials) are persons of color.

3. CW has 4 shows out of the 23
   CBS has 4 shows out of the 23
   ABC has 7 shows out of the 23
   NBC has 4 shows out of the 23
   FOX has 4 shows out of the 23

4. Out of the 7 shows where the main stars (or faces which seem to be promoted according to the network, or other marketing materials) are persons of color, ABC was the leader with 3, and then came Fox with 2, and then CBS and the CW each had 1 as well. NBC did not have a new show with that designation.

Emmy Roundup: Oh, Masi, America, 30, Wounded Knee, Roots, and Sanjaya makes a comeback?

So the Emmys have come and gone and here’s what’s left on the Slanted front:

Sandra Oh didn’t win but I guess the black dress went over way better than last year according to the many various online polls - and wouldn’t she rather have online fashion love instead of an Emmy?

Masi didn’t win either, but he did get to spend some time in the spotlight with Ryan Seacrest while he “hooked up” MySpace founder, friend #1 Tom, with buddy Al Gore….does it get any sweeter in defeat?

America Fererra - she did win - Best Actress For A Comedy Series for Ugly Betty - and seriously - how could she not have won? Since she lept on the screen in HBO’s Real Women Have Curves - she’s kept on impressing.

Tracy Morgan didn’t get the individual nod - but his show 30 Rock! did win for Best Comedy - beating out other comedies like The Office.

Adam Beach didn’t get a nod either - but his HBO Film Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee won six awards including Best TV movie.

The epic movie Roots received a standing ovation for its 30 year anniversary tribute - and if you can’t stand for Roots I’m not sure what gets you out of your seat…

And no - Sanjaya didn’t win anything - or make a comeback - but he was referred to as that “little boy from India” - how nice huh?

Food TV Network: All white and pasty with no color?

Now don’t get me wrong - I LOVE a lot of the chefs down at the Food TV Network. A lot have worked hard, toiled at their craft and deserve to be where they are - this isn’t about them, but about who they work for - which is the Food TV Network.

The above snapshot is about 1/2 of the hosts and celebrity chefs listed from the Food TV Network’s Web site here. Notice anything? I know the pictures are small, but I’ll break it down for you:

Out of 50 celebrity chefs and hosts they have listed, the following are people of color - all together 11:

• Al Roker
• Bobby Rivers
• Iron Chef Chinese: Chen Kenichi
• Iron Chef Italian: Masahiko Kobe
• Iron Chef Japanese: Masaharu Morimoto
• Iron Chef French: Hiroyuki Sakai
• Iron Chef Japanese: Rokusaburo Michiba
• Ingrid Hoffmann
• Mark Dacascos
• Takeshi Kaga
• Warren Brown

If you take away the crew from Iron Chef except Morimoto - because it’s been relegated to 4:00 AM status for the most part now, and they’ve never really pushed those chefs as personalities - this takes you from a modest 20% of people of color from their listings to a measly 10%.

From there you then have to ask yourself how many are regulars, who has bit parts, and who is really getting promoted as well - and that 10% number even seems to shrink more when compared to how white the network seems as a whole.

Survey Says

We know that Food TV isn’t really that diverse, but we also know there are chefs, cooks, and hosts of color out there that would fit the bill for a personality or a show - so really then - the only question remains is when and IF Food TV Network will start diversifying their lineup - just like their food.

Lust, Caution wins Best Picture, Real Sex Scenes, Lee booed, and Asian Dominance?

The Ang Lee film Lust, Caution came away with the Golden Lion award for Best Picture from the Venice film festival. Here’s a snippet from the NY Daily News write-up:

Ang Lee’s sexually explicit spy thriller Lust, Caution won the Venice Film Festival’s top award yesterday, two years after he captured the same prize here with Brokeback Mountain.

Lust, Caution has been given an NC-17 rating in the United States, banning viewers under 17. The explicit, sometimes violent sex scenes between stars Tang Wei and Tony Leung were a major talking point in Venice.

Accepting the prize yesterday, Taiwan-born Lee said he was dedicating his prize to Ingmar Bergman, the Swedish director who died in July at age 89.

Real Sex?

According to different reports in Reuters and Rednet Lee intimated that some of the sex scenes were in fact real between Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Tang Wei - but what does that mean and to what extent? News clips from people there only go so far as to say he intimated the reality of the scenes - but never quote his actual words.

Lee Booed and a surprise winner?

While many are reporting on Lee’s win, there are also reports that he was either booed by reporters when accepting the award and that it was a shock as well.

From the Washington Post:

Venice ends on sour note with shock film choices

VENICE (Reuters) - Ang Lee has walked off with another top award at the Venice film festival, and surprised critics are wondering how he did it. “Lust, Caution” (”Se, Jie”) won the Golden Lion late on Saturday, two years after the Taiwanese director scooped the big prize for gay cowboy drama “Brokeback Mountain.”

From Reuters:

In 2005 he was a popular winner. In 2007 he was not.

Reporters and critics in the press room, watching the closing ceremony beamed live on a big screen, booed when Lee’s Golden Lion was announced, and again, more loudly, when Hollywood star Brad Pitt was named best actor.

“In all of the pre-award speculation, nobody had thought about Ang Lee’s film, not even for one of the lesser awards,” Natalia Aspesi wrote in La Repubblica newspaper on Sunday.

At a post-verdict news conference, jury president Zhang Yimou offered no explanation of the panel’s decision to give the Golden Lion to Lee’s film.

Reviews of “Lust, Caution” were generally negative, arguing that at 156 minutes it was much too long. The slow narrative, set in World War Two Shanghai, is punctuated by explicit and sometimes violent sex which Lee hinted was real.

Asians win past 6 of 10 Best Picture awards at Venice

Along with all of the other news surrounding the Venice film festival, it was noted that with Lee winning Best Picture this year, six out of the past ten recipients of the award have been Asian.

From Wikipedia:

• 1998
  Così ridevano (The Way We Laughed)
  Gianni Amelio
• 1999
  Yi ge dou bu neng shao (Not One Less)
  Zhang Yimou
• 2000
  Dayereh (The Circle)
  Jafar Panahi
• 2001
  Monsoon Wedding
  Mira Nair
• 2002
  The Magdalene Sisters
  Peter Mullan
• 2003
  Vozvrashcheniye (The Return)
  Andrey Zvyagintsev
• 2004
  Vera Drake
  Mike Leigh
• 2005
  Brokeback Mountain
  Ang Lee
• 2006
  Sanxia haoren (Still Life)
  Jia Zhangke
• 2007
  Se, jie (Lust, Caution)
  Ang Lee

APA | FIVE Videos: "I Love the Asians!"

Check out the videos promoting the APA FIVE Conference Inspire 07 Friday Aug. 31 - Monday Sep. 3 @ Westin St. Francis in Union Square, San Francisco.

The videos have James Kyson Lee, Michelle Krusiec, Dat Phan, Far East Movement, Phil Yu, Justin Lin, Roger Fan, Ali Wong, Yul Kwon, Michael Kang, Apl.de.ap…

“I Love the Asians!” *BEST YEAR EVER*

“I Love the Asians!” *SEX SYMBOLS*

“I Love the Asians!” *HEROES*

“I Love the Asians!” *TRAGEDY & HOPE*

Actress Profile: Constance Hsu

Most Recent Role:
Julie, Jade’s mom in Bratz: The movie

What’s Next:
The Kevin Costner film Swing Vote with Dennis Hopper, Kelsey Grammar, Nathan Lane and George Lopez.

According to her site:
She is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and can dance the “Robot”.

Where it started:
NYU at the Tisch School of the Arts

Takashi Miike: Sci-fi romantic comedy?

This sounds pretty cool, and a departure from Miike’s more classical films he is known for, but he’ll be re-doing a movie called Kamisama no Puzzle (God’s Puzzle) - which is based on a book (of the same name) by Japanese author Shinji Kimoto (which also won the 2002 Sakyo Komatsu Awards). Apparently the book is a sci-fi comedy romance about two twins and a girl who work together to try and figure out the secrets of the universe and create their own.

Slated for a 2008 summer release.

Read more at tokyograph and firstshowing.net.

Movie Watch: Harold And Kumar 2

Great clip from TrailerManiaBBQ’s YouTube page.

“Follows the cross-country adventures of the pot-smoking duo as they try to outrun authorities who suspect them of being terrorists when they try to sneak a bong on board their flight to Amsterdam.”

Michael Paul Chan - Cool leading man

Michael Paul Chan - kicking it for a second season down on THE CLOSER on TNT. Stats from his bio from TV.com:

Most Recent Role: Detective Lt. Michael Tao on The Closer

Alias Name(s): Michael Chan, Mike Chan, Michael Paul Chen

Birthplace: San Francisco, California USA

Chan, a third-generation Chinese-American born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area, spent several years as a keyboard player for bands in Northern California. He became a founding member of the Asian-American Theatre Company and trained at the American Conservatory Theater. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife and son….

Read his full bio here.

More Kimora Lee Simmons and her Fab Life...

Whether you’re watching to see if she’s really a demon dressed up as — well a demon really — or if there is a heart of something that could resemble a gold-like metallic type of substance underneath the snarls — or maybe just to see how long it will be before she breaks every tooth in her new assistant’s mouth — maybe this show does have a hook that will pull in viewers after all….it’s kind of like watching The Apprentice really….except you get to see gold plated toilets….