They Call Us Bruce: They Call Us Jennifer Phang

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 filmmaker Jennifer Phang, director of Descendants: The Rise of Red, the latest installment of Disney's massively popular musical teen fantasy film series. They talk about her indie Asian American cinema roots with films like Half-Life and Advantageous, infusing some K-pop sensibility into a beloved and well-established franchise, and crafting the extreme meme-ability of "Jaladdin."

Angry Reader of the Week: Jennifer Phang

"I want a future where it's still okay to be a good person."


Photo credit: Chuin Phang

Hey, folks! It is my pleasure to introduce you to another Angry Reader of the Week, spotlighting you, the very special readers of this website. Over the years, I've been able to connect with a lot of cool folks, and this is a way of showing some appreciation and attention to the people who help make this blog what it is. This week's Angry Reader is Jennifer Phang.

'Advantageous' will be available on Netflix starting June 23

Watch the trailer for writer/director Jennifer Phang's indie sci-fi drama.



Mark your calendars. The excellent indie sci-fi drama feature Advantageous, from writer/director Jennifer Phang, will be available for streaming exclusively on Netflix starting on June 23.

Starring and co-written by Jacqueline Kim, and set in the near future, it's an intelligent, evocative dystopian tale about a mother who must make increasingly desperate sacrifices to ensure a future for her daughter. There are no alien invaders or exploding spaceships. Advantageous is an ambitious, feminist, thinking-person's science fiction story, teeming with challenging ideas and brought to life with a unique vision. I really liked it.

The film, which premiered at Sundance and won the festival's Special Jury Prize for Collaborative Vision, also stars James Urbaniak, Freya Adams, Ken Jeong, Jennifer Ehle and Samantha Kim.

Here's the trailer:

Fund This: Advantageous, a sci-fi feature by Jennifer Phang

Advantageous, directed by Jennifer Phang and co-written with actor Jacqueline Kim, is a new sci-fi feature about a mother and daughter struggling to survive together in 2041. Originally conceived as a short film for the ITVS mini-narrative series Futurestates, they're making it into a feature, and are currently in the home stretch of a Kickstarter campaign to make it happen. Can you help?

The story concerns Gwen, a spokeswoman for a cutting-edge biotech firm, who considers a dangerous, breakthrough technology that is the only hope for a better life for her daughter. The story takes place at a tipping point in artificial intelligence and neuroscience and speculates on the impact of a *singularity on the future of the lives of women and girls. Watch this video for more information on the project: