Walt Disney, China, and the NBA

It's become official: Welcome NBA China.

With investors like Walt Disney and the Bank of China Group who put in a total of 253 million dollars in the new subsidiary (valued at 2.3 billion), NBA China is now set to broadcast more games as well as create league teams for a whole new set of Asian superstars on the hardwood which can only help broaden the perception of how people sometimes view Asian Americans on the blacktop - and that's definitely cool.

I just wonder if I'll be able to see a finals between the two best teams from each country sometime in the near future and if the top selling jersey won't be Kevin Garnett's but rather some baller's from Shanghai.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968

Korean business owners targets of crime

A clip from the Dallas Business Journal on a recent string of crimes targeting the Korean American business sector in that area:

A rash of robberies and burglaries targeting owners of Korean businesses are causing concern in the Korean community. Victims were robbed in their homes or their homes were burglarized. In some cases, the victims and their family members were bound and threatened with a knife or gun. Dallas police are investigating.

Let's hope they catch these perps soon.

Best Asian American Short Film Indie DVD Release

Fast Money



Going back as far as 2005, when this 14 minute film featuring Archie Kao from CSI first got it's start with a grant to get it up and running, all the way through 2006 where FM and Snacky Chan got into its soundtrack, and through 2007 where it got some more recognition - there's been a lot of work put into this project - and it's great to see that it finally was able to get out to an even wider audience via its indie DVD release which you can pick up at the Fast Money film site.

15 year-old phenom Charice Pempengco

Check out some clips by Charice Pempengco - a 15 year old singer from the Philippines who you'll be completely blown away by and who also made her U.S. debut here last month on the Ellen show.

From Star King singing I Will Survive



From Star King singing And I Am Telling You



For more on Charice check out her MySpace page, videos from YouTube, or the Wikipedia listing.

Bytes From Blogosphere

Some happenings from around the way:

• Blogger Angry Asian Man is a judge in the SFIAAFF/Southwest Airlines "I Luv Film" contest where participants who send in a short clip can win round trip tickets for two on Southwest Airlines to San Francisco, a hotel stay, and a bunch of other goodies including an all-access pass for two to the 26th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. Go here to the official entry site to learn more.
  
• Check out 8Asians.com for some interesting posts on Astronaut Leroy Chiao and the Chinese blogger beaten to death for taking some pics from his phone.
  
• If you think TV newscasters have it tough here, go to Asian Pop with YeinJee to read about the MBC anchor who got fired for laughing.
  
• AsianWeek has a new op-ed piece about Obama and the 80/20 political group which blogger reappropriate also has some thoughts on as well.
  
• If you need more politics in your life check out the Disgrasian Party Nominasian With a Side of Ketchup? via 23/6.
  
• And yet if you still wanted more politics check out Black Republican down at Blogger for his post on Hillary's Racism Rears Its Ugly Head - Again, as well as The American Scene for Hillary being more statist than racist.

Amazing Race Update: Ron and Christina race for 1 million

The race is on - and if you're a betting person - the odds on favorite has to be for the father and daughter team of Ron and Christina (who you know I'm rooting for) because they've pulled into first the last two legs of the race gaining momentum - including this last leg which secured their place in the top three earning them the right to race for the ultimate prize - 1 million dollars.

And while I'm still hoping for another Asian American reality winner - I do have a big soft spot for TK and Rachel who just seem like such a nice couple, and who I was rooting for to make up their time and get into the top 3 - which they did - and if they do happen to win the Amazing Race instead over Ron and Christina, that won't be such a bad thing either.

Quick News: Wonder Girls, Theater Mu and Cindy Ryu

Just a few links to some stories from across the way:

Wonder Girls sing Korean army theme song

The Korean Army has released a theme song performed by popular girl band the Wonder Girls. Army official said on Thursday (Jan 10) that the Army Song is part of their efforts to promote a young and friendly image to the public.

OnStage: Theater Mu fishes for bigger things

"The Walleye Kid" represents a watershed moment for an Asian-American troupe that is growing in size and influence. This week Theater Mu will produce its original musical, "The Walleye Kid," at the Ordway Center's McKnight Theatre. A blend of Minnesota experience, Korean folk tales, music and magic, the piece is an apt metaphor of Mu's rise to become the fourth largest Asian-American theater company in the United States, with an annual budget of more than $500,000.

Cindy Ryu elected as mayor of Shoreline

Ryu is the first person of color to be the mayor of Shoreline, and to the best of her knowledge, the first Asian American female to be mayor of any city in Washington state. She owns an Allstate insurance agency with her husband, Cody. Ryu and her husband are both emigrants from Korea and longtime residents of Shoreline.

Best (Or At Least Decent Movies) Of 2007 Asian Or Otherwise

The List

In no particular order here are some of my favorite picks for films that I happened to see or stumble across (some of which I've posted on before) that seemed to stick out in my mind for this post, and while all aren't Oscar award winners - who said they had to be?

As a quick note too, some of these might have been released in late '06, but then made their release here in the U.S. in '07 on the big screen or on DVD (or if U.S. didn't get a wide release until '07) - and if you find yourself going "What about..." - just know that I wanted to see them all but couldn't, and even more so wanted to like them all, but didn't.

I also provided a list at the bottom of some films I haven't seen but I heard were good (or were of interest to me).

Shanghai Kiss

Written and co-directed by David Ren (along with Kern Konwiser) this was definitely one of the surprise films of the year for me because I just wasn't expecting it to be as fun and quirky as it ended up being - and there were some great performances by Ken Leung and Hayden Panettiere who really made the movie work (and it was nice to see Kelly Hu as well).

At the same time, I thought the film was bold in a romantic comedy kind of way because of the storyline and the age choices, which in the hands of other filmmakers and actors might not have worked, and in fact could have gone horribly wrong - but they managed to pull it off and still did it while being fun, and remaining at its core a romantic comedy/drama.

Finishing The Game

Chalk this one up to the movie that made the most noise on the Asian American scene for a variety of reasons including the all star cast, its independent vibe, and being helmed by Justin Lin - and no matter what you thought of it - I think you have to respect what it was trying to do and the statement that it was making.

For my own tastes - I really liked the film. I thought it had some laugh out loud moments, a cool retro feel, great cameos and storylines, a diverse cast - and on top of it all delivered an important message to the screen that often gets overlooked or misunderstood.

Lust, Caution

There were some incredible performances in the movie from Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Tang Wei, and Joan Chen under the careful direction of Ang Lee in this epic drama, and I recommend seeing it, in part if only to see some of the scenes people are talking about.

But even without them, the movie would still work - which is a credit to everyone involved - and while I'm partial to Ang Lee's early movies like Eat Drink Man Woman or The Wedding Banquet - this is still a great addition to his collection.

The Detective

If you're a fan of anything Pang related and you haven't seen this yet - get out and pick it up because you'll be pleasantly surprised.

In this crime/thriller/detective movie styled by Oxide Pang and featuring Aaron Kwok - Oxide gets back to some of what he does best - great editing and direction along with a pumping soundtrack to underscore a pretty well written movie where you'll also see some cameos by Elle Choi and Kiki Sheung (to name a few) as lowbrow Detective Tam and his friend Policeman Chak work through a series of murders and events that just don't add up.

Election 2

The bottom line is that this is a must see for anyone into the Triad/Gangster/Mafia genre, because you'll love every moment of the movie.

If you haven't seen the first (or even if you have), watching them back to back is a great ride too, because it really pulls everything together from the first movie, and you also get to witness the great direction of Johnny To and how he keeps the same mood and feel throughout the second film which isn't easy to do (at least from a viewer's perspective).

I'm a Cyborg But That's Ok

Some of the most unique characters and stories/subplots from this year that I can think of, and the film definitely cements Park Chan-wook as one of the most innovative filmmakers alive today.

From the visuals to the amount of detail put into each of the characters' personalities and the fantasies they have, there's just not anything out there like it - and while there have been some great movies featuring patients in mental institutions - I think this probably tops most of them.

As an added bonus you also get to see Rain make his big screen debut (which also earned him a Best New Actor award at the 43rd Baeksang Arts Awards).

Forest Of Death

Like I said at the beginning - these aren't all award winners - and one of the reasons this movie is on this list is because it didn't suck.

When you have a story that involves a haunted forest that makes people commit suicide, paired with a botanist that finds out he can communicate with plants, and throw in a love triangle - the fact that it doesn't suck deserves a mention.

And really - I don't know how they did it - but with Shu Qi, Rain Li, Eken Cheng, and directed by Danny Pang from the Pang Brothers - the movie is actually pretty fun for a thriller/crime/horror.

Sure it's not that scary, and the characters aren't that deep, but if you have some time to kill at least you can say you watched a film where a hard nosed detective and a botanist team up to solve murders in a haunted forest.

Operation Makeover

I'm a sucker for these types of flicks - I'll admit it. I just can't help myself from wanting to see a movie about a flawed main character (Ko So-young) who goes back in time to right the wrongs from her past love-life and meets up with her younger self (An Jo) where hi-jinx ensue but everyone still learns a lesson and there's even a little bit of a tear jerker thrown in for good measure - all of which I knew going into the movie.

But as light and often candy-coated as the movie was it did fare much better than the '07 release The Worst Guy Ever, where by the end I just couldn't take the main characters, and was better filmed and thought through than The Perfect Couple (but that did have some good laughs).

The Host

Absolutely a movie that just gets better each time you view it because you realize how good it truly is and how it takes the typical monster movie and pushes it up to a whole new level that outside of Peter Jackson's King Kong just can't be compared too.

One of the best things I love about this movie is how Bong Joon-ho ads so much detail to each character, even making his Han River monster have a sense of vanity.

It's because of that attention to every aspect of the movie which makes it so good to watch.

My wife is a Gangster 3

Just a note that this is from a previous post on the movie.

You kind of have to understand the series as a whole to understand this romantic comedy where the love and romance is there - but at arms length (which some see as questionable chemistry but in essence is really on par with the rest of the series in many ways, even though this is a totally new story in the series).

With Shu Qi playing the daughter of a Hong Kong crime boss exiled to Korea where Lee Bum-soo and his pack of Korean bumbling gangsters are forced to keep an eye on her - this is a cute and funny action romance movie where Yeong Hyeon as the interpreter translating between Shu Qi and Lee Bum-soo provides some of the best laughs in the film - which interestingly enough is also probably one of the better movies that Shu Qi has been in as of late.

Bloody Reunion

A revenge slasher movie done right where there's really not much, if anything, to complain about. You get a great story, suspense, blood, gore, revenge - and you get characters who usually don't have as much depth in a typical slasher/horror flick.

If you liked the Saw movies you'll definitely like Bloody Reunion.

Paris, Je T'aime

I really can't say enough about how much I enjoyed this movie because it really did give me more than I expected (and the expectations were high) - and I also think it's a great "starter film" for anyone wanting to get someone else (or themselves) more into foreign film because of the bite sized 5 minute vignettes and some of the U.S. actors and directors attached to it as well.

With direction by the Cohen Brothers, Gurinder Chadha, Isabel Coixet, Alfonso Cuarón, Gérard Depardieu, Gus Van Sant, and Christopher Doyle (to name a few), along with some great performances by Gena Rowlands, Natalie Portman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Steve Buscemi, Catalina Sandino Moreno and a slew of others - it's definitely a must see.

Eastern Promises

This David Cronenberg movie with Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts completely snuck up on me as I didn't really know much about it before I saw it - and while that may have been part of its appeal because I didn't really know what to expect - it became one of my top picks as it has everything you could want in a mafia/suspense/thriller movie.

Great filmmaking and performances, especially by Viggo Mortensen who wasn't afraid to take some chances where other actors wouldn't have dared.

Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix

This was the only Harry Potter movie I didn't fall asleep through the first time watching it.

I don't really know what makes me fall asleep through the HP movies the first time - in the theater no less - but I'm out like a light a quarter of the way into them and then wake up sometime near the end with 20 minutes left.

Except for this one.

So judging from my narcoleptic responses from the first four I guess that's quite an accomplishment, and as such, gets a place on my list.

Black Snake Moan

Watching Samuel L. Jackson try and tame the nympho out of Christini Ricci by chaining her to a radiator as they both worked through their own relationship and life issues - how could I not like this?

And as much as I thought Justin Timberlake would ruin this movie - he was a nice surprise who didn't kill it after all.

Pulp Fiction, meet Black Snake Moan.

Zodiac

While some people thought this David Fincher movie was too long, or to slow, it makes wonder if they either couldn't sit through anything longer than 90 minutes, or they just needed more non-psychological action and suspense (see car chases) to keep them interested - because I don't think this could have been made any better than it was.

With stellar camera work, a tight script, and great performances by Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., and Chloë Sevigny - I thought this was a great lesson in how to craft an intricate and smart suspense thriller.

Ratatouille

Who doesn't love a rat that cooks?

Easily one of the warmest feel good movies from 2007 where it made me hungry and smile all at the same time - and even though animated, I also thought it was a great addition to the "foodie" genre of films.

Hats off to Pixar and Disney for making a fun movie everyone can enjoy.

The Bourne Ultimatum

With a blockbuster first weekend and Matt Damon continuing to play Jason Bourne to perfection, this was the way you should end a series of films - and while the first will always be my favorite, I'd have to say that Ultimatum comes in a very close second.

I do have to admit though that while I'd like to think of the Bourne films as a trilogy, there's a part of me that hopes they decide to continue on with the storyline/characters, except with different actors in the future, 007 style.

American Gangster

Denzel Washington just has an intensity that he brings to the screen and the characters that he plays, even in non-action roles - and his handling of Frank Lucas taking over the Harlem heroin trade was no different.

Pair that with a great script and Russel Crowe - who I've grown to respect more as an actor - like everyone else, American Gangster had to make its way on my list because it was just too good to pass up.

Unstoppable Marriage

While the opposites attract theme has been done before - like I said - I'm kind of a sucker for these.

But really - seriously you can trust me - this was a cute and original movie where it had the perfect blend of romance, comedy, and drama, setting it apart from a lot of the other K movies in the same category.

At the same time it was also popstar Yoo Jin's big screen debut where she played a traditional country girl opposite Ha Suk Jin's city rich kid character - which ultimately helped its numbers at the box office where it was one of the top grossing movies of the year, even getting some comparisons to My Sassy Girl.

Secret Sunshine

If you're looking for a feel good movie, this really isn't it.

If you're looking for something to be tied in a nice neat bow, you won't get that either.

But if you want a heart wrenching drama filled with themes of love, loss, and faith - as well as see the film where Jeon Do-yeon has won seven awards for her role in it, including Best Actress at the 6th Annual Korea Film Festival, and Best Actress at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival (not including wins for Lee Chang-dong for Best Director and co-star Song Kang-ho for Best Actor) - this is the film for you.

Just remember - you were warned.

Alone

The second outing by the same team that made Shutter - while I didn't think was as good (because Shutter just gave me the chills) - Alone still didn't leave me disappointed.

Others agreed too as the movie about conjoined twins swept across the horror film festivals knocking down awards for Best Director, Best Actress and Best Picture.

If there's one thing I can say about the team of Parkpoom Wongpoom and Banjong Pisanthanakun from the two movies they've put out so far, it's that they know how to make you jump even if you know what's coming.

Dasepo Naughty Girls

I just got a chance to see this film so I had to update my list because it's one of the coolest flicks that I've seen this year and turns the coming of age story completely inside out and then does another 360 turn.

Starting out with a great music number the film's base follows a group of Korean high school kids getting ready to graduate from "Useless High" - and from there it becomes a little harder to describe.

From cross dressing "Big Sis" who befriends "Poverty Girl" (with poverty literally strapped to her back), to rich Anthony from Switzerland who's in love with Double Eyes who happens to be Cyclops's sister, to teachers who take it upon themselves to punish themselves for their students' ineptitude - Dasepo Naughty Girls is nothing at all like you'd expect - and I loved every minute of it.

Other films of 2007 worth mentioning which I haven't had a chance to see yet but I heard were worth the watch (some which are burning their way in the mail):

The Orphanage, Muoi: Legend of a Portrait, I am Legend, Juno, Femme Fatal, M, West 32nd, May 18, Sakuran, Triangle, The Machine Girl, Protege, Bolinao 52, I Just Didn't Do It, Owl and the Sparrow, Undoing, 300, Sukiyaki Western Django, Once, I'm Not There, I Don't Want to Sleep Alone, No Country for Old Men.

Bad Bad Vietnamese Landlords

As Asian Americans we know firsthand how bias, prejudice, and racism can affect our rights as individuals, so one of the things that I have no tolerance for is when people from the Asian American community turn around and deny other minority races and ethnicities the same rights because of their own prejudice like these Vietnamese American landlords who evicted their Hispanic tenants in favor of Vietnamese tenants:

Owners of a Garden Grove apartment complex agreed Friday to pay $270,844 to settle housing discrimination lawsuits accusing them of evicting Hispanic families in favor of Vietnamese tenants, officials said. The Department of Justice filed complaints against Gary Luke, Mary Ngo and Hoa Ngo regarding an apartment complex on Adland Street, said Connie Der Torossian of the Fair Housing Council of Orange County.

The complaint accused the owners of terminating leases of Hispanic tenants to replace them with Vietnamese tenants, misrepresenting the availability of units to non-Vietnamese prospective tenants, and making statements in connection with the rental of apartment units that expressed a preference, limitation or discrimination based on national origin.

I'm all up for helping your own and working together - but doing so at the expense of other minority communities isn't the way to do it - and what type of person throws children out on the street because their Hispanic versus Asian?

I just wish that on top of the money, the settlement would have also included 300 hours of volunteer time at a homeless shelter so maybe the landlords could remember how much of a basic need housing is, and that no one should ever be discriminated against for simply wanting a roof over their head.

Best Picture Of An Almost Naked Asian American Star Surrounded By Red Vegetables For A Cause

Maggie Q For PETA



While I question some of her role choices, couldn't go vegetarian if my life depended on it, and hope that she stops doing Jackie Chan impressions on late night TV - I am glad that Maggie Q used her stardom in 2007 to try and get more recognition for a cause she believes in.

Working with PETA Asia-Pacific to promote going veggie, Maggie Q turned out this cool photo ad where she's surrounded by red peppers as well as another ad where she's wearing a bikini made almost entirely of lettuce with the tagline "Turn over a new Leaf".

AllyWork

Check out the blog down at AllyWork - Helping White people fight White Supremacy - where they have their list looking back at 2007's Most Fashionable Racist Trends including nooses, black bloggers, college racism, and more.

Pham Duc Nghiem, Monk on Fire, Asians in Hollywood

Stumbled across this great article from about a week ago down at VietNamNet on producer Pham Duc Nghiem (The Rebel) and his thoughts on the Vietnamese movie industry, Dustin Nguyen's new project Monk on Fire, as well as being Asian in Hollywood:

Twenty years ago, Jackie Chan produced many films in Hong Kong and brought them to the US, but failed. He had to return to Hong Kong and only after again becoming famous at home did he return to the US. I want to do the same. Here in Vietnam there is more opportunity for me than in the US.

Read the full article here.

Music and Film: SLANT-U-MENTARY

Cool news from the band The Slants on an upcoming documentary film about them from their e-newsletter:

Film director Geoffery Gagner is going to be making a documentary about The Slants' incredible start, highlighting our performance at Sakuracon 2008. Pre-sales will be available in March...and if you drop by our shows, you might be able to make the final cut and be a part of the DVD! Gagner is also directing the "Kokoro (I Fall to Pieces)" music video, which will also be included on the DVD. Not only will there be the video, but interviews, live performances, a band history, and candid footage will be on it too - talk about some face-melting goodness!

Belated: Amazing Race Asians

Forgot to post about this earlier in the week - but a nod has has to go out to the father and daughter pair of Ron and Christina (pictured above trying to drive in Japan) from CBS's Amazing Race for winning first place in the most recent lag set down in Osaka (which also netted them two electric cars).

Here's hoping that they can survive another episode and get into the top three.

Most Racist Movie Of 2007

Live Free Or Die Hard



If you happened to be reading this blog when it was still down at Wordpress, this shouldn't be a surprise to you because you know how much I hated this movie - but in case you forgot here's a snippet from the previous post which you can read in full here:

Asian women? They are there to be f****d, raped, and killed - and don’t worry - there’s millions more where they came from.

And the audience - they didn’t laugh either - there were hushes and ohhs - and it makes me wonder if the studio executives - like Bert Livingston who called the character Bruce Willis plays an “everyman” - used a group of white racists for the focus group.

And while it made me see red to the point where I even went off on a couple of other AA bloggers (eventually deleting the post when the move was made to Google - because hey - we all have our likes and dislikes and I was a little harsh) - it still doesn't change the fact that it's my pick for the most racist movie of the year.

Miss Asian America Texas, Falun Gong, and Maps

I always wondered what pageant winners really do after they get their crown:

Miss Asian-American of Texas 2007-2008 Allyn Hoang and her mother Ann Hoang attended the Chinese New Year Spectacular by the Divine Performing Arts at Dallas on Monday evening. [...] Allyn was also particularly impressed by a dance in which three ladies were persecuted. It reminded her of a demonstration of the Falun Gong exercises held at an Asian Festival two years ago. She simply could not understand why the peaceful Falun Gong practitioners would be so brutally persecuted by the Chinese communist government. Now she wants to learn more about Falun Gong.

So in addition to checking out New Year Spectaculars, they also go political talking about the Chinese government and Falun Gong practitioners?

Cool.

That's a far cry from needing two chances to say why American kids can't find the U.S. on a map - which still leaves me laughing out loud every time I hear it (I think it's the part about "The Iraq" that always gets me).

18th Global Summit of Women

Vietnam will be hosting out the 18th Global Summit of Women in Hanoi for the first time June 5-7 (held in Germany last year):

The annual meeting, with the theme "Women and Asia Driving the Global Economy," will discuss various issues relating to business, environment, and life and work problems faced by women both domestically and globally during economic integration, including woman trafficking.

Crash The Superbowl: Nivla FT. P. Oberoi and Kina Grannis

So the finalists for the Crash The Superbowl contest - where the winner will snag a recording contract with Interscope Records as well as record a 60 second video to be aired during the Superbowl have been whittled down to three - and two of the finalists are Asian American acts.

Kina Grannis



Kina Grannis is a half Japanese singer songwriter who recently graduated from the University of Southern California and is now making her mark down in Austin with a melodic cool acoustic/indi/pop sound. Go visit her site for more on her music.

Nivla FT. P. Oberoi



Nivla and P. Oberoi hail from New York with a slick Hip Hop sound and said they wanted to start a South Asian movement and blend their Indian culture with their culture from growing up here in the United States (their whole Soul Tap Record crew is pictured above). Go here to learn more about Nivla and P. Oberoi.

My personal favorite is Nivla FT. P. Oberoi and their track Be Easy - and while yours may be Kina (or even the other finalist Landin Austin) - get out and vote and help make a superstar - and most likely - an Asian American superstar.

Voting ends 1/28/2008. Go to the Crash The Superbowl site to view the entries and vote for your favorite.

It's On: Hillary Takes New Hampshire

Reuters

While it's still early - maybe a part of my question after Iowa got answered - either way I'm glad to see that Clinton took New Hampshire because I'd rather see a good slug-fest between two candidates, versus a steamrolling by one.

If you're looking for a score card here's a quick recap from the AP story linked above:

In the overall race for the nomination, Clinton leads with 187 delegates, including separately chosen party and elected officials known as superdelegates. She is followed by Obama with 89 delegates and Edwards with 50 [...] In the overall race for the GOP nomination, Huckabee leads with 31 delegates, followed by Romney with 19 and McCain with seven.