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Former Survivor Bruce Kanegai. Photo courtesy of jam.canoe.ca.
April 27, 2006: News Bites
Will Lady Vengeance enrage or enrich (or both?) stateside audiences?, survival of the unfittest in Panama, the VC FilmFest returns to Los Angeles in 2006. All this and more in the latest edition of News Bites.
Get a Clu
Korea natives Seung Lee and Jin Lee are People Magazine’s featured Style Watch designers for the April 24th issue. The Korean natives moved to L.A. with the aim to spice up the basic tee, ultimately creating the clothing label Clu in 2004. Already known by Hollywood shoppers for their comfy yet stylish threats, Clu is accumulating a celebrity fan club as well with Mandy Moore, Jessica Simpson and Natalie Portman sporting these "sophisticated and feminine" tops. Although their showroom is based in Los Angeles, Clu clothing is being sold at high-end boutiques and stores, such as Fred Segal and Barneys New York, across the nation.
Adam Corolla and Guy Aoki spar on-air
In an attempt to prove that he is, indeed, only a perennial meathead, Adam Corolla invited Guy Aoki, head of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans onair, to talk about why he, Adam Corolla, is no racist. Aoki, along with producer Teddy Zee, confronted Corolla about his derisive comments in response to the Asian Excellence Awards in January. Corolla, however, seemed on the defensive, continually brushing off accusations, and at one point telling Aoki to "lighten up." Corolla was also quick to defer blame for the incident, suggesting that the "ching chong" routine was actually trademarked by the show's own sports correspondent, Dave Dameshek. Here's what Aoki himself had to say following the telecast: "He wanted to get across the fact that he is not a racist, which wasn't the point at all. There are certain limits where you can't go. He's insensitive at the least. We've sent more letters of complaint to him than anyone else in our 14-year history."
Kwan Steps It Up In the (Rink) Ring
Olympic medalist Michelle Kwan may have to watch out for upper cuts and jabs, but this time not due to rival figure skaters out to get her shins. Michelle Kwan’s cousin Christina was just announced to fight in the Showtime Championship Boxing Corrales vs. Castillo III in June. The championship, which is held in Mack Center in Las Vegas, will be Christina’s first professional match, although she has built up quite a resume as an amateur boxer, winning the 2004 U.S. National and World Champion at 95 pounds. Picking up boxing while in college at UNLV, Christina now works with trainer Vinny Perozzi, preparing for the four rounds she will have to box as her pro debut.
V for Vengeance, Lady Vengeance
Korean director Park Chan-wook latest film, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, is set to grace U.S. screens, premiering on April 28th in New York. The film, which has already gained much acclaim, winning the Venice Film Festival Award, is being compared to the works of Tarantino, even being called "a thinking man’s Kill Bill." The film follows the story of 19-year-old Lee Geum-Ja who is sent to prison for the murder and abduction of a child, covering up for her accomplice who has in returned betrayed her. Lee Geum-Ja spends the rest of her time in prison plotting retaliation on her back-stabbing accomplice and winning over a posse of inmates to aid her in vengeance. Park Chan-wook is best known for directing 2003’s Oldboy, which was praised with many accolades including 2004 Cannes Film Festival Grand Prize of the Jury Award and the 2004 Asia Pacific Film Festival awards for Best Actor and Best Director.
http://www.ladyvengeancemovie.com/
Down in the Dumps: Bruce Kanegai’s departure from Survivor
The tribe didn’t have to speak to make Bruce Kanegai leave Panama, the location for the 12th season of reality show Survivor. Kanegai was forced out of the game when the 58-year-old came down with a case of severe constipation, not being able to go to the bathroom for over a week. The 3rd generation Japanese-American, who is also a karate instructor and high school art teacher in Simi Valley, was recently interviewed on The Early Show where he described his health ailment on par with that of a rattlesnake bite. Thankfully completely healthy now, Kanegai expressed much disappointment to being the second person on the history of the show to be disqualified due to a health emergency. A Kanegai-less Survivor airs Thursday nights on CBS.
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor12/
VC FilmFest 2006
The week-long Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (presented by Honda) kicks off this year on May 4. The festival, which was established in 1983 "as a vehicle to promote Asian Pacific American and Asian international cinema," provides an exciting line up, opening with Ham Tran’s Journey From the Fall and wrapping up on May 11th with AMERICANese. The event is spread across four venues in Los Angeles, the Directors Guild of America, Laemmle’s Sunset 5 Theatre, National Center for the Preservation of Democracy, and Aratani/Japan America Theatre. Look for APA's extensive coverage throughout.
http://www.vconline.org/ff06/index.html
Date Posted: 4/27/2006