Kollaboration Star 2012 - The Finale

20th Anniversary Gala: The Coalition Of Asian Pacifics In Entertainment

You know this is going to be a great event - so there's not really much more to say except get your tickets and check out all the action at capeusa.org.

THE COALITION OF ASIAN PACIFICS IN ENTERTAINMENT (CAPE) Hosts Their 20th Anniversary Gala Honoring the Cast of CBS’ Hawaii Five-0, Maggie Q, The Creators of Nickelodeon’s Supah Ninjas and Youtube’s Ryan Higa

Hosted by Jamie Chung (SUCKER PUNCH) & Alec Mapa (“Ugly Betty”)

WHAT:

CAPE (The Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment) will be hosting their 20th Anniversary Gala held at Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles. A full course seated dinner will be catered by Beverly Hill’s Crustacean restaurant. LXD (The League of Extraordinary Dancers) including Harry Shum Jr (“Glee”), and YTF Global (the most popular celebrity entertainers from YouTube) are confirmed to perform.

WHEN:

Saturday, November 12th
5:00 p.m. Media check-in
6:00-7:00 p.m. Red Carpet and VIP Reception
7:30 p.m. Dinner Begins
7:45 p.m. Awards Show Begins
9:00 p.m. Show Ends
11:00p.m. After Party at J-Lounge

WHERE:

Union Station
800 N. Alameda St
Los Angeles, CA 90012

WHO:

Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE or CAPEUSA.org) advances diversity and cross-cultural awareness by educating and promoting Asian Pacific Islanders for key artistic and leadership roles in entertainment and media. CAPE is one of the largest Asian-American professional entertainment industry organizations in Hollywood. Its members include studio and network executives, agents and managers, production executives, actors, writers, producers and directors.
For additional details on The Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE USA) please visit, http://capeusa.org/

CELEBS EXPECTED:

Maggie Q (“Nikita,” LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD), Daniel Dae Kim (“Hawaii 5-0,” “Lost”), Brian Yang (“Hawaii 5-0”), Jamie Chung (THE HANGOVER PART II, SUCKER PUNCH), George Takei (“Star Trek,” “Supah Ninjas”), Alec Mapa (“Ugly Betty”), Harry Shum Jr. (“Glee,” “The LXD: League of Extraordinary Dancers”), Leonardo Nam (HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU, THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT), C.S. Lee (“Dexter”), Masi Oka (“Hawaii 5-0,” “Heroes”), Kenneth Choi (CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER, “Sons of Anarchy”), Randall Park (“Supah Ninjas”),Tamlyn Tomita (“Glee,” “Law & Order: LA), Archie Kao (“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”), Kelly Hu (“The Vampire Diaries,” “Hawaii 5-0”),Leo Chu (Creator of Nickelodeon’s “Supah Ninjas”), Kelsey Chow (“Pair of Kings”), Carlos Knight (“Supah Ninjas”), Gracie Dzienny (“Supah Ninjas”), James Kyson Lee (“Heroes”), Eric Garcia (Creator of Nickelodeon’s “Supah Ninjas”), Ryan Higa (YouTube Sensation), Jusak Yang Bernhard (“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”), Nina Tassler (CBS President), Keiko Agena (“Gilmore Girls”), Peter Lenkov (Executive Producer of “Hawaii 5-0”), Bob Orci (Executive Producer of “Hawaii 5-0”)

You can also follow on Twitter @CAPEusa or fb.com/CAPEusa.

Virginia's Umbrella And A Few Quick Drinks

Kollaboration 9: February 21, 2009

Like they say in the video below - make sure to save the date - and get ready for an all star year down at Kollaboration 9 which is going to have the following competitors/lineup: Jane Liu, Paul Dateh, David Choi, Kenichi Ebina, Jazmin, Kina Grannis and Lilybeth Evardome. They'll also have special performances by Kaba Modern, Fanny Pak, Norman Ng and Jo Koy. Celebrity Judges include Moon Bloodgood, James Kyson Lee and Teddy Zee.

Jay Chou, Charlene Choi, and Kung Fu Dunk

There's really not much else to say except that the waiting has begun for the release of the next Jay Chou and Charlene Choi flick Kung Fu Dunk (2008) about a young orphan who grows up learning martial arts and then becomes basketball wunderkind. Rumors have it that Yao Ming was supposed to have a cameo in the movie as well (but it never materialized).

Check out the teaser from the movie

"Yellow Fellas" and you angry asian men

Nice. Check out the article at the CBC Arts Media on the movie Yellow Fellas and its look at the angry asian man. Included in the article are also some interesting thoughts on how Asian men are looked at and portrayed in the media, and whether or not being too angry can be counter-productive. There's some good quotes and insight by Eric Nakumura from Giant Robot, as well as Tak Toyoshima of Secret Asian Man.

Check out the trailer for Tetsuro Shigematsu's film Yellow Fellas:

People magazine's Sexiest Asian Men: 7 out of 137?

While you can lament that out of 137 men featured in People magazine's Sexiest Man/Men issue there are only 7 of them that are Asian - at least there's some representation - so it's a start - and before going into who they didn't pick up on, here's a breakdown of the Asian men that are in the issue - congratulations you sexy Asian men:

From the Sexy at any age section

Ken Watanabe 40's




Sendhil Ramamurthy 30's




M. Night Shyamalan 30's




Jackie Chan 50's




From the Simply Sexy section

Will Yun Lee - Sexiest Fighter




From the Year of the nerd section

Masi Oka

From the Movie Characters section

Keanu Reeves

Left off and wondering

Other than Keanu (whose father is of Chinese and Hawaiian decent) there were no other Asian men in the Movie Characters section, which begs the question of how you can have Dennis Quaid and Colin Firth, but dare to leave off someone like Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Andy Lau, Jet Li, or Bruce or Brandon Lee? People magazine picked up on international actors like Gael Garcia Bernal, and Hugh Grant, but neglected to pick up on any of the above actors.

Tony Leung Chiu Wai

And since there was a dearth of Asian men in the Movie Characters section, it should come as no surprise to anyone that there wasn't a single Asian man in the Sexy Songs section - nada, zilch, zip - and again here, they also choose to look at international singers and bands.

Rain

So how can anyone leave off one of the most influential Asian male entertainers, Rain, from that list? And if they thought Rain was too Asian - what about Doug Robb from Hoobastank - if UB40 can be put into that section, Hoobastank's "The Reason" should be able to get picked up there as well.

Yeah: Get ready for your Asian Idol

It appears that Indonesia will be the host to the very first ever Asian Idol where singers from Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam will vie for the title of "Asian Idol".

Sounds almost too cool to be true.

WGA strike and Asian-American writers

There's a good article down at AsianWeek, which gives some interesting statistics about Asian-American writers in Hollywood - among them:

Between 2000-2005, the biggest increase in WGA membership has been with Asian Americans (81.7 percent).From 1999 to 2005, there was a 158.3 percent increase for Asian American TV writers; film writers increased 91.7 percent.

But it's not all it's cracked up to be - read it in full here and why they say the writers strike matters to the Asian American community.

"Falling For Grace" has its Canadian Premiere

The film Falling For Grace - written, starring, and directed by Fay Ann Lee, which started making its rounds here in 06/07 (making a limited release this summer) is making its Canadian debut tomorrow.

If you happened to miss it, check out the trailer below (the movie also has Margaret Cho and Ken Leung in it):



Still no word yet on a DVD release.

Because Xmas comes early

If you couldn't get enough of your Xmas holiday before even the Thanksgiving holiday has arrived (thanks Walmart), here's a groove from L'arc En Ciel called Hurry Xmas:

Parry Shen '07

It seems like Parry Shen has been everywhere in 2007 hasn't it?

He's been in television episodes of Criminal Minds and Brothers and Sisters, rocking out with his graphic novel collaboration Secret Identities, and also has been in four movies including Justin Lin's Finishing the Game, Hatchet, The Gene Generation, and Rule of Three.

Hopefully 2008 can prove to be just as good - or better - for him.

Below are some trailers to a couple of his movies Hatchet and The Gene Generation (also starring Bai Ling).

Hatchet



The Gene Generation

For more information on Parry and what he's been up too check out his Xanga site.

15 Asian American Theater Companies, Touring Troupes, and Ensembles

If you're looking for some stage theater action to get into - full scale productions, intimate settings, productions backed by Nobel Laureates, even improv or sketch comedy - look no further. Below is a list from around the country of active groups and organizations looking to promote Asian Americans and their voices (a couple of which you may recognize from previous posts).

Note: Descriptions for each of the listings in the Mission/About section were compiled from their websites.

Ma-Yi Theater Company



Mission/About: Founded in 1989, Ma-Yi Theater Company is an Obie Award-winning, not-or-profit 501(3)(c) organization whose primary mission is to develop new plays and performance works that essay Asian American experiences. We provide a home where artists can take big creative risks and investigate new avenues of collaboration as they hone individual and collective skills. We encourage our artists to engage their communities in vigorous dialogues that push Asian American aesthetics beyond easily identifiable Orientalist markers. We challenge popular prescriptions of what culturally specific theater should be by producing challenging, forward-thinking plays written by today's emerging crop of new playwrights.


The National Asian-American Theatre Company

Mission/About: The National Asian American Theatre Company (NAATCO) was founded in 1989 by Richard Eng and Mia Katigbak to: Promote and support Asian American actors, directors, designers, and technicians through the performance of European and American classical and contemporary works - Actively develop an Asian American audience and encourage Asian Americans to become a significant part of a more diverse audience in American theatre - Cultivate in non-Asian Americans an appreciation of Asian American contributions to the development of theatre arts in America today.


Asian American Theater Company



Right now they are going through a period of restructuring - and putting out a call to help save the AATC, and with the help of patrons and a strong community behind them, they can hopefully continue in their service for giving a place for Asian-American artists to have a voice on the stage.

Mission/About: The Asian American Theater Company (AATC) was established in 1973 to develop and present original works of theater about Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander descent. Three decades later, we are still committed to producing groundbreaking, entertaining and innovative art. We are not only a production company, but also a workshop where Asian Pacific Islander writers, actors and directors can explore ideas, understanding that we won't always know where those ideas will lead. Whether these works end up in video, on film or on stage, they carry with them the Asian American Theater's purpose: to explore who we are as a people and a community, and in so doing, to bring us closer together.


San Diego Asian American Repertory Theatre



Mission/About: Our mission is to create theatrical productions that celebrate the Asian American experience, and present fresh perspectives on traditional works. AART is dedicated to the production of plays by Asian American dramatists, and the development and support of Asian American theatre artists. These plays generally, but not exclusively, feature the voices of the Asian American community. Such plays give actors opportunities to perform in roles they would otherwise have little chance to do in "mainstream" theatres. Similarly, the production of non-Asian plays has always been a vital part of our work, giving audiences a chance to see Asian Americans as simply, Americans -- beyond race, beyond preconceptions, beyond boundaries.


Pork Filled Players



About: The Pork Filed Players is Seattle second oldest sketch comedy group. Since 1997, PFP has been the Northwest's premiere Asian American sketch comedy group, touring from Eugene, Oregon to Vancouver, BC, racking up appearances at the very first two Seattle Sketchfests, Bumbershoot 2004 and SketchOff@%#?!, the first international Asian sketch comedy competition. Over the years, the Players have employed an ever changing cast of characters in their never-ending battle for truth, pursuit of justice and finding out whatever the hell they mean by the American way of life in the 21st Century.


SIS Productions



About: SIS Productions was created because of the lack of representation of Asian Americans on television and in film, and something was needed to help fill that void locally. SIS Productions strives to provide more opportunities for local Asian American artists to work, and more importantly to provide the chance for those who were interested in taking on positions of leadership by giving them a chance to produce. By giving Asian Americans the opportunity to produce, to write, to direct, to design, and to act, SIS hopes to help develop more APA's with viable skills in this field, and therefore create greater visibility for them.


Mu Performing Arts



Mission/About: To be a premiere artistic company that creates theater and taiko from the heart of the Asian American experience. We give theatrical voice and vision to the stories of our Asian American community and culture. We create and interpret works born of the union of Asian and American cultures. We envision theater as a total sensory experience, merging ancient forms, traditions and stories with contemporary ones. We are committed to the development of new artists. We create works that move, provoke and challenge our audiences to understand, embrace and celebrate cultural diversity.


Yangtze Repertory Theatre of America



Mission/About: Yangtze Repertory Theatre of America was founded in 1992 to produce works for and by Asian artists. Since then, it has presented 76 events, and has become New York’s most significant entry point for dramatic works from Chinese-speaking countries and a place of collaboration for artists from various parts of Asia. Yangtze and its artistic director have been responsible for the New York debuts of many notable artists, including Dr. Wang XiaoYing, Deputy Director of China's National Theater in Beijing, and Gao Xingjian, the 2000 Nobel Laureate in Literature, who was brought to NY by Yangtze to direct his own play, "Between Life and Death," and to present a showing of his ink paintings.


Pan Asian Repertory Theater



Mission/About: To celebrate the artistic expressiveness of Asian and American theatre artists under the highest standards of professional theatre; and professional productions; To encourage the production of new plays, especially those with contemporary Asian American themes; To draw upon the unique heritage of Asian Americans by utilizing the style, music and movement of Asian performing arts traditions in order to explore new theatrical forms; To nurture emerging Asian American talent through professionally led workshops and on-the-job training; To introduce Asian American Theatre to the general theatre-going public as well as the differently-abled; to deepen the appreciation and understanding of the Asian American cultural heritage.


Asian Arts Initiative



Mission/About: Created in response to community concerns about racial tension, the Asian Arts Initiative began programming in May 1993 with Philadelphia’s first- ever Asian American Arts Festival: “Live Traditions/Contemporary Issues” at the Painted Bride Art Center. The Asian Arts Initiative has since expanded to become a community arts center that offers performances, exhibitions, workshops, and training for artists and everyday people who share our mission of community-based arts. We are grounded in the belief that all people have the right to creative expression, and that the arts can provide an important voice for Asian Americans and other groups whose lives and stories are marginalized in our society.


Room To Improv



About: Since 2002, Room To Improv has been entertaining audiences with its brand of improvisation. Founded by Elvin Lubrin, RTI seeks to create a space for Asian Americans to tell stories and to examine issues that are humorous to a diverse audience.


East West Players



Mission/About: Established in 1965, East West Players has been called “the nation’s pre-eminent Asian American theater troupe” (New York Times 12/16/01) for our award-winning productions blending Eastern and Western movement, costumes, language, and music. EWP has premiered over 100 plays and musicals about the Asian Pacific American experience and has held over 1,000 readings and workshops. Our emphasis is on building bridges between East and West, and one measure of our success is an audience of 56% Asians and a remarkable 44% non-Asian attendance.


hereandnow theatre company



About: hereandnow is a compelling Asian American theatre company that has performed across the nation for the past 17 years. hereandnow uses the collective voices of its diverse cast to reach out to the audience through universal themes of the show: that everyone comes from a unique experience, and that all people have stories to share.The hereandnow theatre company was founded in 1989 by John Miyasaki, with a group of young Asian Americans frustrated by the lack of non-stereotypical roles in plays, musicals, television and film. From its humble beginnings at East Los Angeles College hereandnow has grown and toured to over 200 different colleges, theatres and festivals.


18 Might Mountain Warriors



About: THE 18 MIGHTY MOUNTAIN WARRIORS grew out of a comedy ensemble called the New Godzilla Theater in residence at Asian American Theater Company in San Francisco from 1993-1994. Since its premiere production, In Deep Shabu Shabu, in September 1994, the group has written and produced a dozen feature shows, performed numerous workshop productions and benefit one-night stands around the greater Bay Area, and toured nationally and internationally at colleges, universities, arts festivals and theatrical venues. The group is also known for its various “performances” at bars and clubs in San Francisco’s Japantown and Tenderloin districts.


Cold Tofu



About: COLD TOFU’s goals are to present Asian American life from a new perspective and bridge the gap between performer and audience through pure entertainment and comedy. Asked what COLD TOFU is interested in portraying, Tokuda replies: “Human beings. That Asians growing up in America are like anyone else. Hopefully, the audience will come away a little less judgmental and more political aware, and be entertained and have a good time, too.”Over the years many have joined the ranks of COLD TOFU, including Amy Hill, Sab Shimono, Michael Paul Chan, and Dom Magwili. Though the cast has changed over the years, the mission of COLD TOFU has persevered: to promote diverse images of Asian Pacific Americans through comedy and to develop multiethnic talent through education and performance.

"M", BoA, "The Detective", and The Pang Brothers

Check out some of the trailers and information on some new movies that have come out recently that people have been talking about:

"M"



This new movie by Lee Myung-Se has stirred up a lot of talk lately and just got its official theatrical release a couple of weeks ago. Here's some info on the movie from the TIFF site:

The mysterious letter M, title of Lee Myungse’s mesmerizing new film, resonates with meanings and allusions. “M” stands for memories; it evokes “Miriam: A Classic Story of Loneliness,” the acclaimed short story by Truman Capote; it is the first letter of meng, Mandarin for “dream”; and it also recalls “Mist” by Chung Hong-hee, a very popular song in Korea at the end of the sixties.

Another blaze of glory in Lee’s cinematic firmament, this moody and melancholic supernatural love story is brought to life onscreen by the director’s unique, sophisticated style.

Here's another snippet from The Korea Times:

"M" is novel in its attempt to deconstruct the inner workings of Min-wu's mind. It depicts his spiraling mentality from both an observer's point of view and through direct enactment's of his delusions. He is literally chasing after mementos of his past in obscure alleyways, and his fiancee, like the viewer, finds his strange demeanor rather creepy, and you see recurring daydreams involving his obese publicist and obnoxious future father-in-law.

Check out the trailer for the film



Also check out the music video for the movie which is sung by Korean star BoA

"The Detective"

It seems like the Pang Brothers are either some of the greatest semi-underground filmmakers, or they get panned repeatedly by critics. Here's a quick snippet from a review down at LoveHKFilm.com on their latest movie:

The Pang Brothers return to form. Or at least they deliver a movie that doesn't squander its potential. The once-acclaimed wunderkind filmmakers have seen their stock steadily decline since 2002's The Eye, what with that film's uninspiring sequels, plus the Pangs' solo projects which alternately intrigue and infuriate. Directed by Oxide Pang, The Detective manages to intrigue but not infuriate, and uses the tried-and-true Pang style for a mostly refreshing genre experience unlike what one usually sees from the Pang Brothers.

Check out the trailer for the movie

The San Francisco Asian & Korean American Film Festival: November 8- 18

You really can't beat this - two film festivals collaborating together to bring you a ton of Asian cinema. With the theme of the film festival being "Extraordinary Cinema from Asia: Classic to Contemporary" the festival will be screening a total of forty movies:

As this year's theme states "Extraordinary Cinema from Asia: Classic to Contemporary", SFKAFF and SFAFF are screening 7 older films from the 50's to 80's with 33 recent films, shorts and documentaries. Five countries – South Korea, China, Japan, Hong Kong, and Thailand are represented. The older films from these countries have unique stories which are still by today's standards considered cherished works. This year holds a great line up of modern contemporary films focusing on various subjects from plastic surgery to sex, and genres from thriller to musical, truly something for every one.

Frank Lee – programmer for the SFAFF says "A wide variety of films are ready for your favor and mood. Just name it; we have it." Adam Hartzell – programmer for SFKAFF states, "What audiences have seen from South Korean movies is just a starting point to what this festival has to offer".

Visit the website for the film festival to get more information on the films and purchasing tickets. You can also read more here at indybay.

Dog The Racist Bounty Hunter: Production suspended

Pending the conclusion of an investigation by A&E about Dog The Bounty Hunter's use of the N-word in relation to his son's girlfriend who is black (which was taped and sold by his son), his reality series could very well be ending, but for now the reality series has suspended production - indefinitely - and Dog (aka Duane Chapman) is currently licking his wounds and meeting with Rev. Al Sharpton.

Check out the racist rant from Chapman:

"I'm not taking a chance...not because she's black but because we use the word n---er sometimes here," Chapman is heard telling his son. "I'm not going to take any chance ever in life of losing everything I've worked for 30 years because some drunken n---er heard us say n---er and turned us into the Enquirer magazine."

Hear the racist rant from Chapman himself down at the National Enquirer.

Let's hope A&E doesn't just suspend him indefinitely, but in addition to canceling his show, also makes a statement about how vile Chapman's words really are not just because of how racist they are (which alone is enough) - but because they also come from a person who has power - a form of law enforcement power - which doubles the effect of the hatred and prejudice (and which A and E has been bankrolling for sometime now).

Contact A&E directly to make sure they pull the show and Chapman off the air.

TV diversity - more work to do

So according to this news report from Reuters, ABC has won a top grade of an A for television diversity, while NBC and CBS received grades of B and B-.

But eveything isn't as it looks either:

"The number of American Latinos both in front and back of camera has increased, but they are incremental numbers in proportion to the (Latino) population," said National Latino Media Council chair Esteban Torres.

Things look dimmer for American Indians and Asians. "Behind the camera, American Indians remain invisible," said Mark Reed, spokesman for American Indians in Film and Television.

Added Karen K. Narasaki, chair of the Asian Pacific American Media Coalition, "We are deeply concerned about the lack of commitment to development deals with APA (Asian Pacific American) writers and talent."

If you're looking for another take on the report card, you'll also want to check out the post, Grading the Graders: Network TV Diversity Report Cards Get a Failing Grade From Me from The Feed.

Adrian Tomine's Graphic Novel "Shortcomings"

Released this month, the graphic novel Shortcomings is from Optic Nerve author Adrian Tomine and is his first foray into the long form graphic novel. Check out some articles on his new collection:

Adrian Tomine in Toronto

Tomine is the highly regarded author of the Optic Nerve series. His masterfully produced, ever-growing body of work is published by Montreal’s Drawn and Quarterly. His illustrations have also been featured in many mainstream magazines, as well as on the merchandise of rock band Weezer. A new novel, Shortcomings, is Tomine’s first attempt at a long-form graphic novel. Its content is collected from its originally serialized format in the Optic Nerve series.

Splitting Image

After finishing each issue of his self-published cartoon, Optic Nerve, a teenage Adrian Tomine would slip the comic into an envelope, slap on enough stamps to ensure it survived the cross-continent journey from the southern U.S. to Canada and drop it into a mailbox with a Montreal address scrawled on the front.

Identity Crisis: Adrian Tomine's Shortcomings

Uptight Asian nerds. Weird arty types. Horny lesbians.

Stereotypes, if you're looking for them, abound in Shortcomings, the new Drawn + Quarterly graphic novel by Optic Nerve series creator Adrian Tomine. And that's Tomine's point: Pigeonholing people by race, gender identity or level of nerdiness can cloud your ability to see anything else about a person, including things that could prove to be way more pertinent. Like, say, the fact that they're crazy!

Disoriental

If that picture doesn’t interest you in the sketch comedy group Disoriental - it begs the question of what will get you out to see them this October 26 & 27 along with the Pork Filled Players at the Theater Off Jackson in Seattle.

Here’s some more info on the trio and the show:

Since winning the People’s Choys Award at the Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre SKETCHOFF!#$%!! in May, Kristal Yee, Edwina Cheer & Brandon Barton (who all met while filming Off Centre Television) have been busy writing, rewriting, performing, and rewriting again […]

Presented by and performing with the Pork Filled Players, Disoriental is a trio of Canadians thrown into a car and told to drive to Seattle […]

Disoriental’s shows are at 10:30 pm, on a twin bill with the Pork Filled Players’ new show, Lard & Order: Pork Filled Intent. Tickets are $10 General/$8 Student or Senior and are available for purchase online at www.ticketwindowonline.com (206/325-6500). For more information on Disoriental’s US debut or about the Pork Filled Players, email oink@porkfilled.com or call 206/365-0282.

Check out their MySpace page here.

Kal Penn, Eric Wong, and Willa Kim to be honored by the Asian American Arts Alliance

From the AAAA Press Release:

Asian American Arts Alliance (Alliance), a non-profit organization based in New York City will celebrate its 25th Anniversary on Tuesday, October 16, 2007 with a gala entitled “GALAXXY” at the TriBeCa Rooftop. This silver anniversary marks a quarter century of commitment to helping hundreds of local Asian American artists and arts groups in the performing and visual arts to access more funding and visibility for their work. In commemorating this milestone year, the Alliance will honor three outstanding industry leaders who have made strides for Asian Americans in their respective fields. […] “I’m honored to be recognized by the Alliance at their 25th anniversary event,” says honoree Kal Penn. “Opportunities for artists are rare in any walk of life, so it’s particularly encouraging to see the growth of the organization over the years, and their service to the community. Thank you for all of the support and for creating even more opportunities in the arts.”

While you probably already know Kal Penn you may not be familiar with Eric Wong or Willa Kim:

Eric Wong

CMO, Bad Boy Entertainment / SVP, Marketing, Atlantic Records

Eric Wong creates and oversees the marketing strategy for Bad Boy artists, working closely with the Atlantic staff. Previously, he served as vp, marketing at the Island Records division of the Island Def Jam Music Group, where he developed marketing campaigns for such artists as Mariah Carey, Bon Jovi, Fall Out Boy and Hoobastank, among many others. He also worked with the Russell Simmons Music Group. Wong began his music career as a college representative for EMI Records and then spent three years as a product manager at V2 Records.

Willa Kim

World renowned costume designer

Recently inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame, making her one of only a handful of costume designers so honored, Kim won Tony Awards for Tommy Tune’s The Will Rogers Follies and Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies starring Judith Jamison and Gregory Hines and Tony nominations for Bob Fosse’s Dancin’, Peter Allen’s Legs Diamond, Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Song and Dance and Goodtime Charley starring Joel Grey.