movie

The most anticipated film of the summer had its big Hollywood premiere at Mann's Chinese Theatre on Tuesday, and fans carrying both English and Japanese-language signs stood patiently behind barricades, waiting (some since 6am) to catch a glimpse of their favorite actors. Photographers crowded each other for shots of Marion Cotillard and Ellen Page. Security guards positioned themselves on either side of Leonardo DiCaprio as he walked along the street to greet his fans and sign autographs. One of the earlier stars to arrive, Ken Watanabe gamely waved at the fans, inciting cheers as he walked down with his wife Kaho Minami. But the most diligent man on the black-and-red carpet was indeed Dileep Rao, who took his time getting to the entrance of the theater, graciously speaking to each and every member of the press that requested an interview.

Film Review by Gary Huang - On the surface, Lt. Watada, is a straightforward film about one man’s efforts in opposing deployment to Iraq on the grounds that the war is unconstitutional. The director, Freida Lee Mock, takes us on a journey from when Lt. Watada was told by his battalion commander to gain as much knowledge about the military as he can, and Watada’s subsequent discovery from endless reading that the Iraq war is “illegal” and “based on lies.” Through the documentary, we see the David vs. Goliath battle of Lt. Watada against the US military system, and the difficulties both he and his family endure. What’s remarkable about the documentary is the way Lee Mock shows us just how difficult Watada’s fight was by taking us behind the scenes to personal interviews of the Lt., his family, and his many supporters.

The Media Action Network for Asian Amerians (MANAA) will stage a protest of the new film "The Last Airbender" on Thursday July 1st at the Arclight Cinerama Dome on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood.
Guy Aoki, Founding President of MANAA, which is the only organization solely dedicated to monitoring the media and advocating balanced, sensitive, and positive portrayals and coverage of Asian Americans, has stated that "the film sends the message that Asians can’t be the heroes in their own story."

Bruce Beresford's Mao's Last Dancer to Screen
at 33rd Asian American International Film Festival

NEW YORK (June 28, 2010) -- Oscar-nominated Australian director Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy, 1989) will showcase his most recent feature Mao's Last Dancer at the 33rd Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF10) in New York City. The AAIFF10 is the longest running festival dedicated to showcasing the latest works created by filmmakers of Asian descent in addition to films that explore new constructs of Asian and Asian-American cinema.

Don’t jump to conclusions on Asian-perpetrated gun violence By: Amelio The · March 23, 2010 · Filed Under Criminal Law, Diversity in Law, International Law ·

Commenter Lynne rightly points out that even we perhaps jumped to conclusions in the case of Philadelphia law student, Gerald Ung.

In January, we linked to Above the Law coverage of Ung, who had been arrested after shooting a man six times in the wee hours of the night. The story had described the incident as “(If true), not the first time an Asian-American law student in Philadelphia has gone on a shooting spree.

Harvard University is known for its top notch academics, but not exactly as the hotbed of hoops excellence. It has been more than 60 years since the nation's top-ranked academic institution has been invited to compete in the NCAA March Madness tournament. But that could change this year, thanks, in part, to star basketball player Jeremy Lin, who some say has a shot to going to the NBA. Host Michel Martin talks with Lin about his skills on the court and some of the racism he's faced as an Asian-American player.

Vote for Jeremy Lin for the Bob Cousy Award by clicking here. 
Let's give him the recognition he deserves.

You can also catch the the Jeremy Lin interview NPR.org

Our summarized transcript:

The movie is based on the true story chronicled in the book The Cure: How a Father Raised $100 Million and Bucked the Medical Establishment in a Quest to Save His Children by Geeta Anands. There is a real John Crowley who really did start a biomedical company to develop a cure for Pompe disease.

But the real guy who developed the cure was not a Dr. Robert Stonehill, nor looks anything like Indiana Jones. The real guy is a fellow named Dr. Yuan-Tsong Chen, who developed the treatment with colleagues at the Duke University Medical Center.

I learned this from, of all places, Roger Ebert's movie review:

Korean actress Jun Ji-hyun is set to appear alongside Chinese movie star Zhang Ziyi in a new film by Wayne Wang, according to her agency Sidus HQ on Wednesday.

The film, titled "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan", will be based on the 2005 novel of the same title by Chinese-American writer Lisa See.

Set in 19th century China, the film chronicles the lives of two women -- Lily and Snow Flower -- and their intimate lifelong friendship. Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi is set to play the main character Snow Flower while Jun's role in the film has not been decided as of yet.

Wanye Wang, a Chinese-American filmmaker, has directed several notable movies such as "The Joy Luck Club" (1993), "Maid in Manhattan" (2002) and "Smoke (1995)", for which he won the Silver Bear award at Berlin International Film Festival.

 Dec. 31 (by James S. Russell) -- I didn’t want to let the year close without reflecting on the new Museum of Chinese in America designed by Maya Lin.

The location, on Manhattan’s lively Centre Street, poignantly underlines the mutability of ethnic identity. It is steps from the bargain-hunting throngs on Canal Street, around the corner from what’s left of Little Italy, and smack in the path of SoHo’s encroaching slickness. It’s the perfect spot to consider what it is to be a hyphenated American.

The museum’s tinted-glass storefront, half-framed by a long horizontal L of wood, is a rather tentative invitation to a building with richly entwined stories to tell and tough questions to ask.

It’s too bad that Lin, famous for the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C., avoided the tough task of making a specific statement rather than a generalized one.