Jeff Yang and Phil Yu present an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America.
What's up, podcast listeners? We've got another episode of our podcast They Call Us Bruce. (Almost) each week, my good friend, writer/columnist Jeff Yang and I host an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America, with a strong focus on media, entertainment and popular culture.
In this episode, we welcome back friend and filmmaker Bao Nguyen, director of the Netflix documentary BTS: The Return, which follows global pop supergroup BTS -- Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook -- as they reunite and record their highly anticipated comeback album Arirang. Bao talks about riding shotgun and spending the summer with the biggest band in the world; getting an intimate glimpse into the group's camaraderie, artistry, and unique dedication to their massive fanbase; and what it means for BTS to represent their nation and culture at this pivotal moment in their career. Also: The Good, The Bad, and The WTF of making BTS: The Return.
Over the weekend, a full version of the highly anticipated animated feature Avatar: Aang, The Last Airbender leaked online -- about six months before the film was scheduled to officially premiere on Paramount+.
Acclaimed filmmaker Bao Nguyen sits down with Ronny Chieng on The Daily Show to discuss his latest documentary, BTS: The Return. They talk about following BTS' creative process as a fly on the wall, the big reunion after the band completed their national military service, the documentary narrative around honesty rather than facts, and the band's vulnerable moments when living out their normal lives.
"Revolutionary Love is not passive. It is disciplined and asks us to see no stranger, be brave with grief, harness rage as information and not as destruction, listen across difference, and reimagine institutions that were never designed to hold all of us. Through tools designed for classrooms, homes, and communities, the movement translates these ideas into practice and invites individuals not just to believe in love, but to operationalize it."
As executive chef at Perry's, an award-winning Japanese fusion restaurant in Washington, DC, Masako Morishita has made it her mission to introduce diners to a broader range of Japanese cuisine. But her path into the culinary world was far from traditional -- including corporate jobs and a five-year stint as a cheerleader for the Washington Commanders.
In this video essay, Taylor Ramos and Tony Zhou, the filmmakers behind Every Frame a Painting, reveal how Tsui Hark radically reimagines the wuxia genre in the 1995 tour-de-force martial arts movie The Blade.
Min Jin Lee's 2017 novel Pachinko was an international smash hit. But it wasn't an overnight success. Like much of her writing life, Pachinko took the slow and steady path, reaching bestseller status about a year after publication. Ahead of the highly anticipated release of her third novel, American Hagwon, this fall, she talks about why being a "slow processor" is the best way forward in these unprecedented times.
A new program dubbed "the largest book club on the West Coast" is uniting libraries to explore an often erased chapter of the region. For the first time ever, patrons of over 140 different library systems across Washington, Oregon, and California are joining in for the "One Book, One Coast" program. The club's first pick, George Takei's graphic memoir They Called Us Enemy, follows Takei's childhood years imprisoned in incarceration camps in Arkansas and California during World War II.
After a nearly four-year hiatus, BTS has surged back into the spotlight. But the group's return to the pinnacle of pop wasn’t easy, as revealed in the new documentary BTS: The Return, which follows the group's seven members as they gather in a Los Angeles studio to work on their comeback album, Arirang. Director Bao Nguyen and producer Jane Cha Cutler talk about the making of the movie and the close collaboration with BTS and Hybe, the group’s parent company, that brought it to life.
Watch Isa Briones singing her ass off in this rendition of "Who's Sorry Now" from Just in Time. The jukebox musical tells the story of legendary singer Bobby Darin. Briones, who also stars as Dr. Santos on the medical drama The Pitt, recently joined the cast on Broaday as Connie Francis. Anything to avoid doing her charts.
"What makes an all-timer action star? Some stand out with their dexterous, daredevil stunts – think Tom Cruise in the Mission Impossible franchise. Others' chief selling point is their Herculean physique, as exemplified by the 1980s Hollywood trio of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Jean-Claude Van Damme. But set against these invulnerable, seemingly immortal beings, there's one truly remarkable action performer who has been happy to show that he is all too human -- Chow Yun-Fat, the star of some of Hong Kong's most pivotal, internationally influential action films."
Jeff Yang and Phil Yu present an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America.
What's up, podcast listeners? We've got another episode of our podcast They Call Us Bruce. (Almost) each week, my good friend, writer/columnist Jeff Yang and I host an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America, with a strong focus on media, entertainment and popular culture.
In this episode, we welcome back filmmaker Bao Nguyen, director of the documentary The Greatest Night in Pop, which goes behind the scenes of the fateful, once-in-a-lifetime night in 1985 when music's biggest stars gathered to record "We Are the World." He talks about the unique way this iconic pop song transcended cultures and generations, why he told this story like a heist movie, and getting to film at Bruce Springsteen's house. He also may or may not explain Dan Aykroyd's participation in "We Are the World."
Jeff Yang and Phil Yu present an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America.
What's up, podcast listeners? We've got another episode of our podcast They Call Us Bruce. (Almost) each week, my good friend, writer/columnist Jeff Yang and I host an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America, with a strong focus on media, entertainment and popular culture.
100! On this episode, the first half of our two-part "cent-episode," we welcome filmmaker Bao Nguyen, director of the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary Be Water, which explores -- from a decidedly Asian American perspective -- the groundbreaking journey of martial arts icon (and this podcast's namesake) Bruce Lee.
35-year-old underdog candidate officially announces bid for California 46th District.
Bao Nguyen, the underdog activist and organizer who surprised pretty much everybody when he was elected mayor of Garden Grove, California last year, has announced that he is running for U.S. Congress.
On Tuesday afternoon, Nguyen officially announced his candidacy to represent California's 46th district, which includes Santa Ana, Anaheim, and parts of Garden Grove and Orange.
He joins a crowded race to replace Rep. Loretta Sanchez, who is stepping down to run for U.S. Senate. The field already includes former state Senators Lou Correa and Joe Dunn and Anaheim Councilman Jordan Brandman, all vying for the top two spots in next June's primary election.
Nguyen, 35, made the announcement amongst a small gathering of supporters in Santa Ana:
Bao Nguyen defeated incumbent Bruce Broadwater by just 15 votes.
The results are in! This week, the Orange County Registrar of Voters certified its vote counting from the November 4 election and made it official: Bao Nguyen is the new mayor of Garden Grove, California.
Nguyen's historic victory makes him Garden Grove's first Vietnamese American mayor, the first Vietnamese American elected mayor of a U.S. city with a popular larger than 100,000.
The 34-year-old organizer, activist and school board trustee defeated incumbent Bruce Broadwater by a more fifteen votes in a highly contested race. So it's no surprise that Broadwater is demanding a recount.
"If I were in his shoes, I'd ask for a recount, too," said Nguyen.
