3 in 10 Americans Have Witnessed COVID-19 Bias Against Asians

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America



More than 30 Percent of Americans Have Witnessed COVID-19 Bias Against Asians
More than 30 percent of Americans have witnessed someone blaming Asian people for the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new survey conducted for the Center for Public Integrity. Sixty percent of Asian Americans, who made up about 6 percent of the survey's respondents, said they’ve seen the same behavior.

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U.S. Senator Wants to Restrict Chinese Students From Studying Science
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) suggested that Chinese students should not be allowed to live in the U.S. for the purpose of obtaining science-related degrees from American universities. In an interview with Fox News, Cotton said that Chinese students seeking to study at U.S. schools should be limited to studying courses in the Humanities. "If Chinese students want to come here and study Shakespeare and the Federalist Papers, that's what they need to learn from America," Cotton said. "They don't need to learn quantum computing."

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Nurse Who Fought for More PPE Dies of Coronavirus Days Before Retirement
A nurse who fought for more personal protective equipment (amid the coronavirus epidemic allegedly died of COVID-19 last week, days before her union says she was scheduled to retire. Celia Yap Banago contracted the disease while caring for an infected patient at Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri, where she worked for 40 years.

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The Goonies Reunited!
This week, the cast of the beloved 1985 movie The Goonies held an epic online reunion -- including Ke Huy Quan, who played the intrepid, inventive Data. He was 14 when The Goonies was released, but has been fairly inactive as an actor in his adult years. However, he shares that thanks to movies like Crazy Rich Asians, there's been recent surge of interest in roles for Asian American actors. Now at age 50, he's gotten back into acting and has roles in the upcoming films Everything Everywhere All at Once and Finding Ohana.

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Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Virtual Showcase
As we head into May, we should have been gearing up for this year's edition of the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, presented by Visual Communications. It was slated to kick off this week. But given the state of the world, that's obviously not happening. But festival's organizers, undeterred by this set back, have announced the LAAPFF Virtual Showcase, a free digital showcase of films and panels to unite with audiences during this unprecedented time. The online showcase will highlight artists whose stories are critical at this moment in dealing with the COVID-19 Pandemic. This first time event begins May 1st and will run through May 28 as part of the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. For further information, and to see the full lineup, go here.

There's a New Bruce Lee Documentary Premiering at Sundance

Things to Know From Angry Asian America



Be Water
I can't make it to the Sundance Film Festival this year, but one of the films I'm dying to see is the premiere of the Bruce Lee documentary Be Water, directed Bao Nguyen. The film focuses on the legendary martial artist's rise to superstardom in the years before his death. Rejected by Hollywood, Lee returned to Hong Kong to complete four films. Charting his struggles in two worlds, Be Water explores questions of identity and representation through rare archive, intimate interviews, and his writings.

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Over 140 Prominent AAPIs Endorse Elizabeth Warren
More than 140 prominent Asian American and Pacific Islanders -- creatives, activists and academics -- announced their support Thursday for Democratic presidential candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. The collective, which includes the likes of Constance Wu, Celeste Ng, Rabia Chaudry and Ellen Pao -- cites Warren's stance on a number of issues important to the Asian American community, including immigration, education and investment in entrepreneurship among the reasons for its support.

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To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You Trailer
Netflix has dropped a new trailer for the hit romantic comedy sequel To All The Boys P.S. I Still Love You, which premieres next month. Starring Lana Condor and based on the bestselling young adult novel by Jenny Han, the new movie follows the next phase for Lara Jean and Peter, who have just taken their relationship from pretend to officially official when another recipient of one of her old love letters enters the picture.

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A24 re-teams with "Daniels" for Everything Everywhere All At Once
I'm pretty excited about this. A24 is re-teaming with filmmaker duo Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert ("Daniels") for the sci-fi adventure comedy Everything Everywhere All At Once, which begins production in Los Angeles this week. It stars Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, James Hong, Jonathan Ke Quan(!) and Jamie Lee Curtis. There's no word on the plot, but this is the team behind the farting corpse movie Swiss Army Man, and the masterpiece of a music video for "Turn Down For What." So yeah, I'm in.

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Parasite Live to Picture, January 26
This is just cool as hell. On Sunday, January 26, the Academy Award nominated film Parasite will have its score performed live to picture at The Theatre at Ace Hotel in Los Angeles. Featuring 37 musicians, the Hollywood Chamber Orchestra will be conducted by Parasite composer, Jung Jaeil. Featuring an introduction by Oscar-nominated director Bong Joon Ho.

1983 Ad Seeks "Oriental Boy" for "Raiders of the Lost Ark II"

'Short Round Up' documentary seeks Asian guys who auditioned for 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.'



This is an actual ad that ran in the Toronto Star and other cities back in 1983, putting the call out for an "Oriental Boy" to play Indiana Jones' sidekick in the movie that would be released as Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Open auditions were held Toronto this week, thirty-three years ago.

Nobu Adilman was among the hundreds (thousands?) of Asian boys across North American who showed up to audition for the role of Short Round. He didn't get the part, which would ultimately go to Jonathan Ke Quan.

Now all grown up, and now a filmmaker, Nobu is putting the call out for his documentary Short Round Up, a quest to find all the fellow men who, as boys, auditioned for the role of Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Do you know one of those boys? Do you know anyone else who worked on the movie?

Did you audition for the Asian kid in 'Temple of Doom'?

'Short Round Up' is an epic search to find all the Asian guys who auditioned Short Round in 'Indiana Jones.'



Back in 1983, dozens (hundreds?) of young Asian boys from around North America lined up to audition for the role "Short Round" in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The part of Indy's scrappy sidekick eventually went to Jonathan Ke Quan, squashing dreams of stardom and Spielberg for a lot of hopeful kids.

One of those boys was filmmaker Nobu Adilman, who auditioned for the role of Short Round when he was 11 years old. Long story short: he didn't get the part. "I tanked.. hard," he says.

Fast-forward three decades. Now all grown up, Nobu recently launched Short Round Up, an epic search to find all the Asian guys who also auditioned to play Short Round in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Spielberg and Co. held open auditions in major cities across the U.S. and Canada. Nobu auditioned in Toronto, which had a huge turnout. Did you audition for Short Round back in 1983? Nobu wants to hear from you:

Goonies Data Retro Action Figure

Just like the classic Kenner action figures of yesteryear



Nice. Here's another one for your action figure collection. I'm really digging this super cool "ReAction figure" of Data from The Goonies by Funko and Super7. Data, of course, is the loveably brave, haphazardly tech-savvy treasure-hunting hero played Jonathan Ke Quan in the 1985 adventure movie classic.

The 3 3/4-inch figure features five points of articulation and includes a "Pinchers of Peril" chattering teeth accessory. It's not the most detailed Data figure out there -- that would probably be the 7-inch figure from Mezco -- but I love the retro modeling and packaging, like the classic Kenner figures of yesteryear.

Angry Gift Guide: Short Round Mini Bust

A tribute to Indiana Jones' greatest sidekick.



Know anyone who really really likes Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom?

Came across this super-weird Indiana Jones Short Round Mini Bust for sale, and thought it would make an excellent gift for the Jonathan Ke Quan fan in your life. I mean, come on, who wouldn't want one of these sitting on their mantel? Call it a tribute to one of the bravest little Asian sidekicks ever.

This exclusive Short Round collectible stands 6-inches tall and is a limited edition of only 350 pieces. You can order it for a whoppin' $54.99 from Entertainment Earth. Now if someone would make a cool statue of favorite Jonathan Ke Quan role -- Data from The Goonies.

Goonies Never Say Die

Oh my goodness. My collection will soon be complete. These are toys I have been waiting for all my life, and I didn't even know it. Yes, my friends. The Goonies action figures.

Mezco Toyz and Warner Brothers Consumer Products present action figures from the classic 1985 adventure movie. The set includes Mikey, Chunk, Mouth, Sloth, and of course, our man Data. I've got to have one. But does it come with retractable Pinchers of Peril?