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September 4, 2009: News Bites

By APA Staff

Hiroyuki Sanada joins Lost, Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda opens exhibit at JANM, and White on Rice hits theaters, All this and more in the latest edition of News Bites.

Hiroyuki Sanada joins Lost
 
One of Japan's most respected actors Hiroyuki Sanada (Hiroyuki Shimosawa) -- known internationally from films such as The Last Samurai, The Promise, The White Countess and Sunshine, and Rush Hour 3 --   will be joining the cast of ABC's Lost for its final season. What he will be playing is still unknown. The spokespeople of the notoriously secretive franchise will only confirm that he has a "significant recurring role." Season six of Lost is set to premiere next year. --Kristie Hang

White on Rice in theaters September 11th

David Boyle's comedy White on Rice has been making the rounds in the Asian American festival circuit, and now the comedy is coming to a theater near you -- starting September 11th in Los Angeles. The film stars the charming Hiroshi Watanabe (previous roles include Letters from Iwo Jima and Boyle's debut feature Big Dreams, Little Tokyo) as Jimmy, a Japanese man who moves to the US following a devastating divorce. He comes to live with his sister and his nephew (played by VC Film Festival awardee Justin Kwong) and ends up falling for Ramona (Saving Face's Lynn Chen), a new girl who might or might not be taken. (James Kyson Lee plays an old high school boyfriend who is also vying for her affections.) Alas, this doesn't stop Jimmy from trying to win her over. The cast and crew will be making a special appearance at a couple September 11th screenings at the Laemmle Sunset theatre. For more information, go to the film's official website here. --Ada Tseng

Hellen Jo nominated for Ignatz award

Jin & Jam creator Hellen Jo has been nominated for the 2009 Ignatz Award in the category of "Promising New Talent." The Small Press Expo, a festival for independent cartooning and comic arts, will host the thirteenth annual award ceremony of outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning. Jo's art of simple graphic images will be evaluated and voted on by the attendees of the expo. The Small Press Expo will take place in Maryland from September 26-27. --Megan Chun

Mike Shinoda's second JANM exhibition (Dies)

Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda had his first art exhibition, "Glorious Excess (Born)," last summer at the Japanese American National Museum. From August 30th to October 4th, fans can go to the Little Tokyo Museum to check out his latest paintings and digital works -- in his current exhibition "Glorious Excess (Dies)." Originally, the concept was to have three installments, the middle one called "Glorious Excess (Life)," but Life was shelved and the show went straight to Death. Shinoda's artwork has been characterized by his psychedelic and neo-pop images which he uses to critique consumer culture and fame's affect on sex, money, and deathly excesses. For more information, click on JANM's official website here.  --Ada Tseng

Apl.de.Ap debuts his song for Mama Philipina

Songs addressed to "mama" have a unique way of touching all our hearts (See Boys II Men's "A Song for Mama"). Apl.de.Ap, band member of the Black Eyed Peas, follows suit in his single, "Mama Filipina." Full of reminiscing about the Philippine Islands, Apl continuously repeats "Mama Filipina, I didn't mean to leave you, but I had to come to America." His upcoming solo album, U Can Dream, will feature "Mama Filipina" along with "Bebot," which can be viewed here and here. --Megan Chun

Yellow Face comes to San Jose

David Henry Hwang's latest play Yellow Face had successful runs in Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum and New York's Public Theater in 2007, and now San Jose's TheatreWorks is staging their own performance. Running from August 29th to September 20th, this production stars Pun Bandhu as DHH, the frutrated activist-playwright that writer David Henry Hwang modeled after himself, and Francis Jue, who is reprising his Obie-award-winning role as DHH's father. The show revolves around an Asian American playwright who considers himself an activist for his community, until his accidental decision to cast a white actor in an Asian role makes him a hypocrite to all that he's been fighting for. Comedy and racial politics ensue. While Hoon Lee from the original cast will be missed, Pun Bandhu, with his spiky hair and goatee, does look eerily similar to David Henry Hwang. Click here to read APA's interview with David Henry Hwang regarding the LA production of Yellow Face, and go to TheatreWorks official website here to find more information about the San Jose run. --Ada Tseng

Date Posted: 9/4/2009