Kollaboration – a non-profit with annual showcases featuring performances from local Asian-American musicians, dancers, and other miscellaneous talent – is in the midst of preparing for their 15th year of shows. Though it originally began in Los Angeles, it has grown tremendously and now has shows in 14 different cities. Keep up to date with audition information here.
Month: March 2014
Wong Fu Productions Crowdfunds Their First Movie
Fans of Wong Fu Productions will soon see Phil, Wes, and Chris with blue, yellow, purple or red hair.
The new ‘dos are just one of many promised perks from their indiegogo.com crowdfunding campaign for their first movie. The perk was partially to support Ted, who’s had to answer questions on why his hair is white (it’s genetic, he’s had that hair since he was 14) but mostly to add another fun perk in the last few days of their highly successful online campaign.
It began on Feb. 6, setting the goal at $200,000, and ended on March 19 with $358,278. They offered 26 different donation perks ranging from a $1 High-Five of Awesome all the way up to a $10,000 Executive Producer credit and VIP treatment. Several of their perks sold out quite fast, so as the limited perks began to sell out and donations kept coming in, Wong Fu added more along the way. In the end, Wong Fu raised nearly double their intended goal in only 40 days.
Continue reading “Wong Fu Productions Crowdfunds Their First Movie”
Hana Kim Releases “Caravan” LIVE Music Video
Hana Kim, singer-songwriter and Kollaboration L.A. 2013 alumna, released an enchanting live performance music video of her song “Caravan.” The video was shot by KCM Media and is set in a whimsical clearing in the woods with sunlight glimmering through the treetops. Hana’s soulful voice echoes as she sings the haunting melody while playing on her keyboard, accompanied by her guitarist Eugene Choi.
Continue reading “Hana Kim Releases “Caravan” LIVE Music Video”
AJ Rafael Plays ‘Matchmaker’ in New Music Video
AJ Rafael makes his debut as cupid in his latest music video “Matchmaker,” which recently premiered on ISAtv’s YouTube Channel.
Continue reading “AJ Rafael Plays ‘Matchmaker’ in New Music Video”
Check Out Ki Hong Lee in Maze Runner trailer
The official movie trailer to the latest book-to-film adaptation has been released! Written by James Dashner and directed by Wes Ball, the Maze Runner trailer was recently shown on MTV during an episode of Teen Wolf.
The two-minute clip shows the main character Thomas, portrayed by Dylan O’Brien (who’s also in Teen Wolf), first appearing in what seems to be a caged elevator. He is lifted to “the maze,” where he meets dozens of other boys, including Minho, played by a familiar face – Ki Hong Lee! Their mission, it would seem, is to get out of the maze… before time runs out.
Continue reading “Check Out Ki Hong Lee in Maze Runner trailer”
Check Out CAAMFest Before It Ends This Sunday
All week long, the San Francisco Bay Area has been playing host to the 2014 Center for Asian American Media Film Festival (CAAMFest). From the City by the Bay itself, Berkeley, and for the first time- Oakland, attendees have been able to discover a wide selection of Asian American and Asian diaspora films.
This year’s festival started off with the US premiere of the Ham Tran’s “How to Fight in Six Inch Heels” at the Castro Theatre which was followed by Opening Night Gala at the Asian Art Museum. For the festival’s closing feature, the honor will go to the New Parkway screening in Oakland of Marissa Aroy’s documentary, “Delano Manongs.”
Continue reading “Check Out CAAMFest Before It Ends This Sunday”
Jamie Chung in New NBC Series “Believe”
Our favorite Korean-American hottie and actress, Jamie Chung, is doing big things! Jamie plays Channing on NBC’s newest sci-fi series, “Believe”–the love child of an incredible group of directors and producers that includes J.J. Abrams (“Star Trek” and “Lost”), Bryan Burk (“Lost” and “Fringe”) and Academy Award winner Alfonso Cuarón (“Gravity.”) “Believe” is about a young girl, Bo (Johnny Sequoyah), who is equipped with special powers like telekinesis and predicting the future, as well as a small group named the True Believers who must shield her from those who try to exploit her powers.
The Ongoing Portrayal of Asian-American Characters on “Glee”
Today, March 18th, marks the air date for the 100th episode of the award-winning musical dramedy Glee. Since its 2009 debut, the show has not only been praised and noted for its popular covers and ability to tackle controversial topics, but also for its diverse casting.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Glee, there are two Asian-American characters on the show: Tina Cohen-Chang and Mike Chang. Tina (played by Jenna Ushkowitz) is introduced as a shy Goth girl with a fake stutter who has a beautiful singing voice, whereas Mike (played by Harry Shum Jr.) appears as a football player who dances like a boss.
Not your stereotypical geisha or model minority student, right?
Continue reading “The Ongoing Portrayal of Asian-American Characters on “Glee””
The Problem With Racial Humor and Representation
When it comes to the portrayal of Asian-Americans in the media, visibility is not always positive or enriching to our community. At the risk of sounding like a broken record: I, being a male of Asian descent, am tired of being portrayed as the forever social outsider who will never be part of the crowd. Society tells me that what I lack in testosterone, I supposedly make up in intelligence. Or something.
Whatever.
Continue reading “The Problem With Racial Humor and Representation”
John Cho cast as lead for ABC comedy series “Selfie”
Known as Harold from “Harold and Kumar” and the newest Hikaru Sulu in the “Star Trek” reboots by J.J. Abrams, Korean-American John Cho was recently cast as the second-lead in a new ABC comedy.
“Selfie,” will loosely follow the musical My Fair Lady as the show’s story centers around social-media addict Eliza Dooley (“Doctor Who’s” Karen Gillian) and her downfall after her split with her boyfriend goes viral. Now she gets “likes” and followers for all the wrong reasons and needs help rebranding her image.
Continue reading “John Cho cast as lead for ABC comedy series “Selfie””