They Call Us Bruce - Episode 17: They Call Us Brian Yang and Evan Jackson Leong

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. 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.

This week, we welcome actor/producer Brian Yang and director Evan Jackson Leong, who talk about the hustle of independent filmmaking, that time they found themselves in the smack in the middle of "Linsanity" and making their latest project, the human smuggling crime drama Snakehead.

Help director Evan Jackson Leong finish his passion project

'Snakehead' tells the story of Sister Tse, one of the notorious human smugglers in FBI history.



Here's a feature film project that could use your help.... Our friend, writer/director Evan Jackson Leong has been hard at work on his passion project Snakehead, an indie crime drama exploring the underworld of international human smuggling, starring Shuya Chang, Sung Kang and Jade Wu. Inspired by true events and based in New York City's Chinatown, Snakehead follows Sister Tse, a Chinese immigrant who rises to become one of the most sought after human smugglers in FBI history.

Here's a very cool-looking teaser trailer:

Be a background extra in the movie 'Snakehead'

Indie crime thriller needs extras for January 4 shoot in Southern California.



The indie crime thriller Snakehead, currently in production, explores the underworld of international human smuggling. And they are in need of some Asian folks this Wednesday to be background extras!

Written and directed by Evan Jackson Leong (Linsanity), and inspired by true events, the film follows "Sister Tse" (Shuya Chang) as she rises to become one the most notorious human smugglers in FBI history.

On Wednesday, January 4, they'll be shooting a scene in Southern California and will need a lot of folks to serve as background extras. If you're free all day, fit the description, and are interested in helping them out, refer to the instructions below and drop them a line:

'Snakehead': Filmmaker Finally Takes on His Passion Project

Guest Post by Evan Jackson Leong



Hello Asian America! I'm finally here. Where is here? Well, its Day 1 of the Snakehead movie website and Day 3285 since the inception of ​this idea. I'm finally realizing the dream of a film project that I've carried in my Asian American conscience for over nine years!

When I started this project, I was young, single, and a hungry struggling artist living in LA. I also had corn rows.

Linsanity on DVD

Feature documentary tells the amazing underdog story of Jeremy Lin



The feature documentary Linsanity, directed by Evan Jackson Leong, is now available on DVD. To celebrate, I'm giving some free copies. To find out how to enter for your chance to win, scroll down to the bottom... [UPDATE: The giveaway is now closed. Thank you to all who entered.]

The inspirational film, which premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, chronicles the unlikely underdog rise of basketball star Jeremy Lin, who seemingly came out of nowhere, off the New York Knicks bench in February 2012 and proceeded to electrify the world of professional sports and beyond.

Fortunately, Evan and his team had the cameras rolling long before anyone got an inkling of the phenomenon we now affectionately call "Linsanity." Behind Jeremy's incredible rise is a simple story of family, faith and finding identity. You don't have to care a lick about sports to find inspiration in Jeremy's amazing journey.

Here's the theatrical trailer:

One-on-One with Linsanity director Evan Jackson Leong

Behind-the-scenes documentary tells the amazing underdog story of Jeremy Lin



The weekend box office was good to the Linsanity team. The indie documentary feature scored big, earning $103,000 on just nine screens, with a per-screen average of $11,444 -- second only to overall box office winner Gravity, which averaged $15,538 on 3,575 screens. I'd say that's a big win: Specialty Box Office: 'A Touch Of Sin' Capitalizes On New York Film Festival Buzz, 'Linsanity' Docu Solid.

I thought this might be a good opportunity to repost my Sound and Fury podcast conversation with Evan Jackson Leong, director of Linsanity. He drops some interesting details on forging a relationship with Jeremy Lin, getting the inside track on "Linsanity" and the long, patient road to making the documentary. Here are some cuts from our conversation...

LINSANITY documentary opens in theaters this Friday

Have you made your plans yet? Tickets are available now.



Sports fans! Movie lovers! Jeremy Lin devotees! The feature documentary Linsanity, directed by Evan Jackson Leong, hits select theaters nationwide this Friday, October 4. The film is an in-depth look at the unlikely underdog story of Jeremy Lin, from one kid's humble hoop dreams to his meteoric rise to global NBA stardom. But this is not an overnight success story. This is a story about family, faith and perseverance.

Since even before its world premiere earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival, I've talked a lot about this movie. This is your chance to relive the Linsanity. Have you made your plans yet? Tickets are available now. The important thing to remember is that first weekend ticket sales are really important to ensure that the film's theatrical run has a better chance in the weeks to come.

First, here's the theatrical trailer again to get you psyched:

Sound and Fury Podcast Episode 12: Evan Jackson Leong

Hey there, podcast listeners! The Sound and Fury podcast is back with something new for your ears. Episode 12 features a cool conversation with filmmaker Evan Jackson Leong, whose latest feature film Linsanity, about inspirational basketball star Jeremy Lin, hits theaters on October 4.

As always, thank you to everyone for listening, and helping us get to a dozen episodes. Your feedback and encouraging words are greatly appreciated. To catch up on previous episodes, get the rundown here. To get new episodes delivered to your device as soon as they're released, be sure to subscribe.

But check it, here's my conversation with Evan Jackson Leong:

Watch the new Linsanity theatrical trailer

The feature documentary hits theaters on October 4.



All right, Jeremy Lin fans. After premiering at the Sundance Film Festival and making its way through the film festival circuit, the feature documentary Linsanity gets its theatrical release this October. Directed by Evan Leong, with exclusive access -- Evan and his team were following Jeremy long before he was a household name -- the film follows his unlikely, underdog rise to NBA stardom.

And now, here's the newly released theatrical trailer:

Fortissimo Films picks up international distribution rights to Linsanity

Fortissimo Films has acquired all rights outside of North American and China to the Evan Jackson Leong's feature documentary Linsanity, fresh from its world premiere last month at the Sundance Film Festival: Fortissimo takes int'l on 'Linsanity.'

Hold up. First, watch this clip of Jeremy Lin's big dunk against the Sacramento Kings last night:

Jeremy Lin defeats snowstorm, makes it to Sundance screening

He made it. Jeremy Lin, the superstar subject of the feature documentary Linsanity, was scheduled to appear at the film's final screening last night at the Sundance Film Festival. But with a snowstorm coming down outside, grounding planes, it seemed like the weather might foil those plans.

But according to director Evan Jackson Leong, "If you've seen the film, you know nothing is going to stop Jeremy Lin - even a snowstorm": Snowstorm can't keep Jeremy Lin from Sundance screening.

Fund This: Linsanity The Movie

So maybe you've heard about the Jeremy Lin movie. The feature documentary Linsanity, directed by Evan Jackson Leong, will have its world premiere next week at the Sundance Film Festival. Pretty exciting. The film follows Jeremy's humble beginnings, from Harvard hoops prospect, to overlooked NBA walk-on, to unlikely and improbably amazing underdog pro basketball superstar.

But this is a completely independent production, made without the backing of any major studio. The filmmakers are actually still working on the film, and have launched a Kickstarter campaign to pay for the proper final touches, including sound editing, graphics, color-correction, and most likely the largest expense, licenses. Here's the pitch video, which includes a minute of footage from Linsanity:

linsanity: the movie website

The feature documentary Linsanity, an official selection of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, now has an official website: linsanitythemovie.com. Not much there right now, but you can submit your email to sign up for updates.

The film, directed by Evan Leong, tells the story of Jeremy Lin's unlikely rise to basketball stardom. It will have its world premiere next month in Park City, Utah. Here's the description from the Sundance program guide:

linsanity documentary makes 2013 sundance lineup

Holy smokes! The 2013 Sundance Film Festival just announced its latest selection of feature documentaries, and the lineup includes the world premiere of Linsanity, a film about -- you guessed it -- NBA star Jeremy Lin.

Directed by Evan Leong, Linsanity follows Jeremy's incredible story, from his humble Bay Area roots to his unlikely, meteoric rise to stardom. You remember last February -- but how did he get there? Here's the Sundance blurb:

jeremy lin documentary in the works

At the height of Linsanity, there was a lot of talk about how the Jeremy Lin story had the makings of a really great movie. Who would play him? What would it look like? I have no idea, but in the meantime, there is an actual Jeremy Lin documentary in the works -- and it's actually been in the works for a while: Linsanity The Movie? Jeremy Lin gets documentary treatment.

According to the Los Angeles Times, a Jeremy Lin documentary is currently being pitched to distributors in Hollywood by CAA. Details have been under wraps until things solidify, but the film will be about Jeremy's background, his burgeoning basketball career, and of course, that crazy unlikely run that we all excitedly experienced together -- Linsanity: