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Between Social Realism and Kawaii Virtuality
When it comes to contemporary independent Chinese cinema, the International Film Festival Rotterdam provides a slice of the real, the surreal, and the virtual.
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Lee Byung Hun and Sienna Miller in G.I. Joe
February 6, 2009: News Bites
Lee Byung Hun helps raise the cobra, Dev Patel joins M. Night's cast, and Charlyne Yi has a great script about love. All this and more in the latest edition of News Bites.
Lee Byung Hun's Hollywood debut
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, the movie adaptation based on the action figures produced by Hasbro, features big names such as Dennis Quaid, Channing Tatum, Sienna Miller and Marlon Wayans. It will also star South Korean actor Lee Byung Hun, who was recently nominated for the Asian Film Awards best supporting actor award for his performance in The Good, the Bad, the Weird. G.I. Joe will mark his American film debut, as he plays the part of Storm Shadow, an ex-G.I. Joe Team member turned Cobra. Fans will be able to see him swinging plenty of swords and practicing martial arts on August 7th, 2009 in the U.S. --Megan Chun
Dev Patel Takes Over
After rising to stardom with his movie Slumdog Millionaire, the British actor has signed onto M. Night Shyamalan's next project, Avatar: The Last Airbender, based on a Nickelodeon television seires. The adventure grows as the four nations (fire, water, earth, and air) battle for control, and the camera zooms in on the journey of Avatar's successor who eventually realizes the importance of his identity. Patel's casting announcement is hot off the tail of recent criticism that Shyamalan has neglected to include any Asian leads in his film. Dev Patel will be replacing Jesse McCartney, who was original the choice for Zuko, a member of the Fire Nation. The film will begin shooting in March, and the cast will begin boot camp for martial arts training. Good thing Dev Patel is already has a black belt in tae kwondo. --Joyce Huang
Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Hollywood debut will star Mickey Rouke
Director Vidhu Vinod Chopra's recent films include 2006's Lage Raho Mannabhai, about an underworld don who sees the spirit of Gandhi, and 2007's Eklavya: The Royal Guard, a period film starring Amitabh Bachchan as the king's loyal protector. His latest project Broken Horses recently made international headlines when it was announced that Mickey Rourke was attached to star. Hollywood's latest comeback kid (or Hollywood's comeback middle-aged greasy-haired ex-boxer) has generated much critical acclaim (2009's Golden Globe Award winner, Academy Award nominee) for his performance Darron Aronovsky's The Wrestler. Broken Horses is reported to be a gangster film co-written by Chopra, Chopra's frequent collaborator Abhijat Joshi, and Hollywood screenwriter Jason Richman. Although Chopra has been working in Bollywood for decades, this is his first film in Hollywood. However, like Rourke, Chopra has some experience with the Academy awards himself. His film "An Encounter With Faces" was nominated for an Oscar in the documentary short category in 1978, and Eklavya was chosen as India's offical entry to the Oscars in the Best Foreign languge film category. --Ada Tseng
Sundance win for Charlyne Yi
Paper Heart, the film written by Nicholas Jasenovec and comedian Charlyne Yi, has won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the recent Sundance Film Festival. The mockumentary, starring Michael Cera, Charlyne Yi and Jake Johnson, features the adventure of Charlyne and friends searching to figure out whether love really exists. Full of candid moments and Charlyne's trademark wide-eyed look, the film received much praise for the young cast. Although there has been no news of the film's release to the public, those in the Los Angeles area can catch Charlyne performing at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre on February 13. --Megan Chun
Children of Invention
Children of Invention recently had its world premiere at Sundance, but this is just beginning of a busy festival run for the much-anticipated film. In the next month, it will be playing at the San Francisco International Asian Film Festival, the Cleveland International Film Festival, and the AFI Dallas International Film Festival. A story about an immigrant single mother and her two young children who are left to fend for themselves, Children of Invention is an extension of director Tze Chun's short "Windowbreaker," which gained accolades during its film festival run in 2007. Children of Invention stars Michael Chen, Crystal Chiu, and Cindy Cheung (Lady in the Water) as the family struggling to survive in the face of tempting pyramid schemes and the false hope of quickie cash. For more information, check out the official website. --Ada Tseng
Chocolate is kung-fu-licious
Chocolate is not only a candy for the eyes of the viewer, it is also kickin' booty-licious. Prachya Pinkaew, director of Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior, displays "Jeeja" Yanin Vismistananda as his kung-fu masterpiece. Jeejia, who trained five years for this role, plays Zen, an autistic girl who grows up watching kung-fu movies and the guys boxing outside her window. With her eagle eyes for martial arts, Zen learns the unique Muay Thai techniques. Using her newfound skills, she embarks on a formidable journey to wrench money off from the corrupt gangsters who owe cash to her mother. Fans eagerly await for the release of Pinkaew's Chocolate, following his box office hit, Ong Bak. --Joyce Huang
Kollaboration's Coming
February 21, 2009 marks the date for Kollaboration 9 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, CA. Competitors include David Choi, Jane Lui, Jazmin (MTV's Top Pop Group), Kina Grannis, Kenichi Ebina, Lilybeth Evardome, and Paul Dateh, a hip hop violinist whose new album just came out this week. Guest performers include: comedian Jo Koy, America's Best Dance Crew's Kaba Modern and Fanny Pak, and magician Norman Ng. Now in its ninth year, Kollaboration has been the ultimate place for young Asian Americans to showcase their talents onstage. Each year it gets bigger and bigger, and this year's audiences will get a special performance by none other than pop sensation BoA, who will sing her latest single "Eat You Up." For tickets and information to this year's show, go to their official website. --Ada Tseng
New EP for singer-writer Jennifer Chung
Jennifer Chung, a Korean American sophomore at University California, Irvine, has independently released her first E.P. Beginning her Youtube posting career back in June 2007 in her bedroom with her computer, Jennifer's strong voice and affable smile has earned her a spot on the official list of the most subscribed musicians on Youtube. Starting out doing covers of popular songs, Jennifer has written and completed twelve songs of her own, five of which can be found on her Common, Simple, Beautiful E.P. along with a cover of Rachael Yamagata's "Be Be Your Love." The E.P. consists of mellow, acoustic songs having to do with reminiscing, whether it be of home and family or a past relationship. Jennifer's familiar and comforting voice shines throughout just like the smile that built and continues to grow such a strong internet fan base. --Megan Chun
Latest film from director So Yong Kim
So Yong Kim, director of In Between Days, has created a new film, Treeless Mountain, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September. Now the film has received a deal with North American film distributor Oscilloscope. The film traces the lives of sisters Jin and Bin as they are dropped off at their alcoholic aunt's home while their mother seeks out her absent husband. Set and shot in Seoul with Korean actors and an American crew, the film represents a sort of transnationality between South Korea and the United States, reflected also in the fact that So Yong Kim stands as an American director, yet was born and grew up partially in Pusan. The film is scheduled to open in New York in April later in theatres before hitting DVD this summer. --Frederick Stiehl
Stephen Chow To Team Up With Jack Black
According to the Oriental Morning Post, Hong Kong superstar Stephen Chow is set to write and direct a Hollywood comedy starring himself and actor Jack Black. Chow's company says the actor-director is currently writing the screenplay for the new film stating: "It will be about a superhero, action-packed, special effects-rich, and of course funny." Anne Hathaway is rumored to co-star in the unnamed film. Chinese media cited sources close to Stephen Chow saying that this new film will be similar to Kung Fu Hustle, with lots of parodies and exaggerations. Kung Fu Hustle was the highest grossing foreign-language film in the U.S. in 2005. --Kristie Hang
Ixnay, Three Sisters, and Leah's Train
Written by Paul Kikuchi and directed by Jeff Liu, Ixnay is a comedy about a man named Raymond Kobayashi who dares to reject fate when the powers of reincarnation deal him a weak card in his next life. The play stars Gedde Watanabe, Dante Basco, Aaron Takahashi, and East West Players founder June Kyoko Lu. Shows will start at the David Henry Hwang Theater on February 18th and go until March 15, 2009. For more information, go to East West Player's official website.
Playing at the Masonic Lounge in the middle of the Hollywood Forever cemetary is the latest theater rendition of Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters, starring Desperate Housewives' Ricardo Antonio Chavira as Vershinin. Joy Osmanski, Jennifer Chang, Aileen Cho, and Feodor Chin play the Prozorov family. The show premiered on February 1st but will run through February 22nd, playing on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Directed by Larissa Kokernot, this is the first production from Chalk Repretory Theatre.
In another example of Asian Americans embodying Russian characters, February 6th was the World Premiere of Karen Hartman's Leah's Train, directed by Jean Randich. A family story that spans three generations, Leah's Train stars Jennifer Ikeda, Louis Ozawa Changchien, Kristine Haruna Lee, Raphael Aranas, and Mia Katigbak. The play is a production of The National Asian American Theatre Company (NAATCO), and it will be playinig at the TBG Theatre in New York until February 28th. For more information, go to NAATCO's official webite here. --Ada Tseng
Date Posted: 2/6/2009