Kal Penn Was Up Against a "White Dude in Brownface" for Van Wilder Role

And Other Items of Note From Angry Asian America.

Kal Penn Reveals He Won 'Van Wilder' Role of Taj Mahal Over a White Actor in Brownface

One of Kal Penn's breakout roles was playing the character Taj Mahal Badalandabad in the 2002 comedy hit National Lampoon’s Van Wilder. On a recent episode of the podcast Hasan Minhaj Doesn't Know, the actor revealed that at the end of the audition process, he was up against a "white dude in brownface." And it motivated him to work harder.

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She restored a 112-year-old Asian American film. Now it's in the National Film Registry

Among the Library of Congress' recent additions to the National Film Registry, the library's collection of films deemed worth preserving, are the likes of Inception, The Karate Kid and The Incredibles. But tucked away in that list is a little-known silent film that carries with it a major legacy. Produced in 1914, The Oath of the Sword is the oldest Asian American film on record. Its mere existence reveals a significant gap in cinematic history: The films made by Asian Americans in the silent film era are largely lost to time. And it would have remained hidden if not for Asian American film scholar Denise Khor.

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The Internet Is Embracing Chinese Traditions, and Influencers Welcome Them All

If you drink hot water, wear slippers indoors or shop at Asian supermarkets, you may be Chinese, according to the internet. On TikTok and Instagram, there's a growing trend of people claiming to be in a "very Chinese time" in their lives because they're adopting mundane East Asian lifestyle habits. Anyone can apparently be Chinese if they wish. What in the hell is all this?

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Michelle Yeoh Will Be Honored with Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

Internationally acclaimed actress Michelle Yeoh will be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I mean, what took them so long? The Oscar-winning star of Everything Everywhere All at Once will be honored with the legendary boulevard's 2,836th star at a ceremony on February 18. Joining emcees Ang Lee and Jon M. Chu will be entertainment journalist Jenelle Riley. The event will be streamed live at walkofffame.com.

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Seong Gi-hun Sixth Scale Figure

Squid Game fans! How about a Player 456 action figure? This highly detailed Seong Gi-hun Sixth Scale Figure from Sideshow and Hot Toys bears an incredible resemblance to actor Lee Jung-jae and comes complete with a faithfully tailored Squid Game tracksuit and a series of accessories, including a USB-powered voting machine, a Piggybank, a mask accessory with square symbol, a six-legged pentathlon game set consisting of a pair of ankle cuffs, a pair of Ddakji, a pair of Biseokchigi, a set of Gonggi stones, a shuttlecock, a spinning top, and a special figure base designed to replicate the staircase setting. Awesome. But not cheap -- it'll cost you $280.

How Alysa Liu Broke Her Olympic Gold Medal

And Other Items of Note From Angry Asian America.

Why Figure Skater Alysa Liu Wasn't Allowed to Keep Her Olympic Gold Medal

They've apparently been handing out busted medals at the Olympics! Milano Cortina officials launched an investigation into reports of defective Olympic medals thanks in part to figure skater Alysa Liu. The Olympian posted a video on TikTok which shows off her medal, earned as part of Team USA's mixed-team short program, snapped off from its ribbon. "I just got this olympic gold medal, already broke it," Liu's caption reads. Several other athletes have reported similar medal snapping. All it apparently takes is some celebratory jumping while wearing the medal.

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Coming Soon: Sandiwara

Consider me intrigued. Michelle Yeoh stars in a new short film, Sandiwara, described as an exploration of Malaysian culture through the lens of food, music and womanhood. Directed by Sean Baker and made in collaboration with London-based fashion brand Self-Portrait, the film's title comes from the Malay word sandiwara, which means drama or theatrical performance. In the 11-minute short, Yeoh plays five different roles, each representing a different side of life in Malaysia. The film premieres this week at the Berlin International Film Festival and will be available everywhere on February 20.

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Girls Like Girls Trailer

Check out the trailer for Girls Like Girls. Based on writer/director Hayley Kiyoko's hit single and best-selling novel of the same name and featuring all-new music from Kiyoko, the film is described as a heartfelt coming-of-age story set over the course of one sun-drenched summer, where new-girl-in-town Coley falls in love for the first time while learning to accept herself along the way. Girls Like Girls hits theaters on June 19.

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Sony Scraps Thai-Inspired Animated Movie After Two Years of Development

Animator Matt Braly says that Sony Pictures Animation scrapped his Thai-inspired animated movie after two years of development because the studio deemed it "not commercial enough to produce." It had been previously announced that Braly, a writer on Cartoon Network's Steven Universe and storyboard artist on The Mitchells vs the Machines was working on a feature with writer Rebecca Sugar.

Braly described the film as an adventure about a "a teen boy traveling to the world of Thai spirits in order to cure himself just before undergoing a very scary & life altering operation necessary to live." He added that this was "not a story about finding a cure so much as it was about learning to accept one’s unchangeable circumstances with grace, and realizing that a different life than expected can still be a wonderful one."

This is a bummer, not least because this project looked cool as hell, but also because it feels like this is a opportune moment for Sony Animation to take some narrative risks on new voices for a big payoff.

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Rosemead Now Available on Digital

The critically acclaimed indie drama Rosemead, starring Lucy Liu, is now available to watch on digital. Inspired by a harrowing true story, Liu transforms in a riveting, career-redefining performance as an ailing woman who takes drastic measures to protect her troubled teenage son (Lawrence Shou). As his dark obsessions grow and time runs out, she is forced to make impossible choices: how far will she go and what is she willing to sacrifice? Set against the simmering tensions of a Chinese American community, Rosemead is a gripping portrait of a family pushed to the edge. Rent or buy Rosemead on Apple TV, Fandango at Home, and Prime Video.

They Call Us Bruce 189: They Call Us Everything Everywhere All at Once Again

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 revisit the film Everything Everywhere All at Once, now in the thick of awards season and on the cusp of Oscars glory, with an epic super-sized compilation of our previous conversations with Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu, Daniel Kwan, and of course, Michelle Yeoh -- who now all happen to be Academy Award nominees.

First Look Photos of Disney's 'American Born Chinese'

Adaptation of Gene Luen Yang's graphic novel stars Michelle Yeoh, Daniel Wu, Ke Huy Quan and more.



Disney+ has unveiled some new first look photos of its upcoming adaptation of American Born Chinese, based on the beloved graphic novel of the same name by Gene Luen Yang. The series has shaped up to be something of a reunion for actors Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Stephanie Hsu, who also star in Everything Everywhere All at Once, which is currently cleaning up in its awards season run.

Adapted by Kelvin Yu, the "genre-hopping action comedy" series follows Jin Wang (Ben Wang), the son of Chinese immigrants who struggles with assimilating in the United States. Jin escapes into fantasy realms to grapple with his emotions and encounters spiritual creatures from Chinese mythology like Sun Wukong the Monkey King, played by Daniel Wu, and Guanyin, the goddess of mercy, played by Yeoh.

Check out the photos:

They Call Us Bruce 157: They Call Us Michelle Yeoh

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 the legendary, incomparable Michelle Yeoh, star of Everything Everywhere All at Once. She talks about being the center of the multiverse, embracing absurdity, and playing a role unlike anything she's done before: the fantastically mediocre Evelyn Wang.

Naomi Osaka Won in Two Amazing Ways

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.

Naomi Osaka Won in Two Amazing Ways: Athleticism and Activism
As you've likely seen by now, Osaka packed seven masks for the US Open fortnight, one for each match she’d play if she made it to the final. She made the final. She won her second Open in three years. Because of that, viewers were reminded anew of the seven Black Americans she remembered, five killed police and the sixth and seventh, Trayvon Martin and Ahmaud Arbery, killed allegedly by civilians for being Black in neighborhoods where vigilantes thought they didn't belong.... As Osaka did the customary post-match interview with ESPN, she was asked what message she was trying to send with the masks. "What's the message you got, was more the question," she said. "I feel like the point is to make people start talking."

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Reporter Josie Huang Arrested While Covering Protest
Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies arrested KPCC/LAist Correspondent Josie Huang late Saturday while she was covering the ambush shooting of two deputies in Compton. Even as she was being thrown to the ground, Huang -- who was wearing a lanyard with her press credential hanging from her neck -- was recording the encounter. In video that continued to film after her phone was knocked from her hand, Huang can be heard repeatedly identifying herself as a reporter and shouting "KPCC" several times. You also can hear Huang yelling "you're hurting me" and crying out in pain.

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Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland Takes Top Prize at 2020 Venice Film Festival
Director Chloé Zhao's feature film Nomadland has won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, becoming the first woman to earn the top prize in a decade. Starring Frances McDormand, Nomadland follows a widow in a Nevada mining town decimated after the Great Recession who chooses to embark on a life on the open road.

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Sandra Oh, Michelle Yeoh Join Henry Golding in 'Tiger's Apprentice'
Sandra Oh and Michelle Yeoh have joined Henry Golding in the voice cast of The Tiger's Apprentice, the adaptation of the best-selling children's book by Lawrence Yep. The cast also includes Brandon Soo Hoo, Bowen Yang, Sherry Cola, and Kheng Hua Tan. The book tells the story of a boy in San Francisco who meets a shape-shifting talking tiger named Mr. Hu and under his tutelage and protection is introduced into a magical world that includes an ancient phoenix, a dragon and a clan of evil-doers. Oh will play Mistral, a friend of the tiger, who is an exiled dragon now living in San Francisco. Yeoh's character is unclear.

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Lifetime Sets Cast For Holiday Movie 'Sugar & Spice Holiday'
Jacky Lai and Tony Giroux will star alongside Tzi Ma in A Sugar & Spice Holiday, Lifetime's first holiday movie centered on an Asian American family. "Written by Eirene Donohue and directed by Jennifer Liao, A Sugar & Spice Holiday is centered on the story of a Chinese-American woman who draws on her family’s cultural traditions to spice up an old-fashioned Christmas baking competition. It follows Suzie (Lai), a rising young architect, who returns to her small hometown in Maine for Christmas where her Chinese American family runs the local Lobster Bar. Following the loss of her beloved grandmother who was a legendary baker in their community, Suzie is guilted into following in her grandmother’s footsteps by entering the local gingerbread house competition. Teaming up with an old high school friend Billy (Giroux), who grew up to be a catch, Suzie must find the right recipes and mix of sugar and spice to win the competition and perhaps find some love in the process."

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.

Michelle Yeoh is getting her own 'Star Trek' series. Hell yes.

CBS All Access is officially developing a standalone series starring Yeoh's Philippa Georgiou.



It's official! CBS All Access is moving forward with a new standalone Star Trek spinoff starring Michelle Yeoh.

Michelle Yeoh Standalone 'Star Trek' Series in Development at CBS All Access

The new series, from Star Trek: Discovery co-executive producers Bo Yeon Kim and Erika Lippoldt, would see Yeoh reprise the role of Philippa Georgiou, expanding on the character's current position as a member of Section 31, a shadowy intelligence agency operating within the Federation.

There have been serious rumors about a Yeoh-led spinoff since the end of Star Trek: Discovery's first season, when a deleted scene revealed the Mirror Universe version of Georgiou -- it's kind of complicated -- being approached and recruited by Section 31.

'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 2 promises more Michelle Yeoh

Leather-clad Philippa Georgiou is Section 31's newest recruit.



The second season of Star Trek: Discovery is upon us, and there's really only one thing I care about: Michelle Yeoh is back. Without giving too much away for those who haven't fully caught up with the show, she is not quite the Philippa Georgiou we met in the series premiere. But she is back. And badass.

In season two of the CBS All Access series, we find Georgiou as the newest recruit to Starfleet's shadowy Section 31. IGN recently unveiled some handsome new character posters, and a black-clad Michelle Yeoh is prominently featured alongside Anson Mount as Christopher Pike, the original captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise.

Check it out:

What was really happening in Crazy Rich Asians’ pivotal mahjong scene

Guest Post by Jeff Yang



One of the most beautiful things about Crazy Rich Asians is how it refuses to explain many of its most intrinsically Asian elements. That lack of training wheels is intentional: As director Jon M. Chu told me, "We didn't want to give people an excuse to think of this world as some kind of obscure, exotic fantasyland -- this is a real place, with real culture, history and tradition, and instead of just giving them answers to their questions, we want them to have conversations."

The movie's Singapore-specific local color and broadly Asian cultural nuances are indeed fairly Google-able, and can readily be contextualized through polite discussions with actual Asian people. But there's one scene in particular that has been resiliently enigmatic to audiences of many backgrounds, both Asian and non-Asian... and it's a pivotal one: The mahjong scene.

That's especially true for fans of the book, who won't recognize it -- it's original to the movie. It was inserted in part because Michelle Yeoh, who delivers an amazing steel-and-silk performance as the movie's main antagonist, refused to play the stock, villainous tiger mom from the book. This scene provides her with critical impetus toward her eventual redemption.

But it's also true for people who don't understand the complex rules of the game, which aren't intuitive and are often different depending on region of the world. So here's a quick primer on the game of mahjong itself, as well as its significance to the film in that pivotal scene. Spoilers abound starting here, so if you haven't yet watched the deliriously warm and funny movie, crawl out from under that rock and see it before reading further.

The Crazy Rich Asians trailer is here. And you are not ready.

"The only thing crazier than love is family."



Here we go. Who said there are no Asian American movie stars? After teasing us with a juicy sliver of footage last week, the full official trailer for Crazy Rich Asians has finally dropped. And it is hot damn glorious.

If you haven't heard about this movie, you will. Based on the bestselling novel by Kevin Kwan, and directed by Jon M. Chu, the contemporary fish-out-of-water romantic comedy is the first major Hollywood studio movie featuring an all-Asian cast in over 25 years. And judging from the trailer, it's going to be a blast.

Fresh Off The Boat's Constance Wu stars as Rachel Chu, a Chinese American economics professor who accompanies her longtime boyfriend, Nick Young (newcomer Henry Golding), to his best friend's wedding in Singapore. But she soon learns that Nick has neglected to mention a few key details about his life. Not only is his family impossibly wealthy, he's perhaps the most eligible bachelor in Asia, and every single woman in his ultra-rarefied social class is incredibly jealous of Rachel and wants to bring her down.

Check it out:

First Look at the Crazy Rich Asians Movie

New footage teases the upcoming full trailer for hotly anticipated romantic comedy.



At long last, here it is! Your first glimpse at the Crazy Rich Asians movie. The official full trailer drops on Monday, but Warner Bros. is first giving us a little tease of the hotly anticipated summer romantic comedy.

Based on the bestselling novel by Kevin Kwan, Crazy Rich Asians follows Rachel Chu, an American-born Chinese economics professor, who travels to her boyfriend Nick's hometown of Singapore for his best friend's wedding. Before long, she learns his secret: Nick's family is rich. Crazy Rich. Not only is his family impossibly wealthy, he's perhaps the most eligible bachelor in Asia, and every single woman in his ultra-rarefied social class is incredibly jealous of Rachel and wants to bring her down.

Crazy Rich Asians is directed by Jon M. Chu, written by Adele Lim and Peter Chiarelli, and stars Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Gemma Chan, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong, Jimmy O. Yang, Chris Pang, Sonoya Mizuno and more.

Take a look:

'Crazy Rich Asians' sets a release date

See you at the movies next August.


kevinkwanbooks.com
Mark your calendars. Crazy Rich Asians has a release date. Warner Bros. has announced that the comedy, starring Constance Wu and Henry Golding, will be released on August 17, 2018.

'Crazy Rich Asians' Stakes Out Mid-August Date

Directed by Jon M. Chu and adapted from the hugely popular novel by Kevin Kwan, Crazy Rich Asians centers on three wealthy Chinese families as they prepare for Singapore's wedding of the year.

The story follows Rachel Chu, a Chinese American economics professor who accompanies her boyfriend Nick back to his hometown of Singapore for his best friend's wedding. That's when she realizes Nick's family is crazy rich, he is perhaps the most eligible bachelor in Asia, and every single woman in his ultra-rarefied social class is incredibly jealous of Rachel and wants to bring her down.

Michelle Yeoh looks damn good in the captain's chair

Watch the new trailer for 'Star Trek: Discovery.'



In case missed it, fellow Trekkies, here's the newest trailer for Star Trek: Discovery, straight outta San Diego Comic-Con. The latest foray into the final frontier takes place ten years before The Original Series, following the voyages of Starfleet on their missions to discover new worlds and new lifeforms. The new trailer includes several shots of Michelle Yeoh as Captain Philippa Georgiou looking badass, doing badass stuff.

Take a look:

Michelle Yeoh is the Starship Captain We've Been Waiting For

Watch the new trailer for 'Star Trek: Discovery.'



Hell yes. Fellow Trekkies, rejoice. The first-look trailer for the new CBS All Access series Star Trek: Discovery has dropped, and the latest foray into the final frontier looks pretty damn awesome, not least because of one badass looking starship captain in the form of one Michelle Yeoh. MICHELLE FRICKIN YEOH.

The newest entry in the long-running sci-fi franchise, set ten years before the original series, follows "the voyages of Starfleet on their missions to discover new worlds and new lifeforms, and one Starfleet officer who must learn that to truly understand all things alien, you must first understand yourself."

That one Starfleet officer is Sonequa Martin-Green as First Officer Michael Burnham, who we see with Yeoh as Philippa Georgiou, captain of the USS Zhenzhou, in the opening moments of the trailer:

Michelle Yeoh cast in captain role in 'Star Trek: Discovery'

She'll play a captain on CBS' 'Star Trek' series, but she won't be playing THE captain.



It has been officially confirmed that Michelle Yeoh has joined the cast as a recurring character in Star Trek: Discovery. She will be playing a captain on the new series, but she will not be playing the captain.

'Star Trek: Discovery' Casts Michelle Yeoh In Captain Role

Yeoh will play Captain Georgiou, the Starfleet captain commanding the U.S.S. Shenzhou -- not the captain of the eponymous starship Discovery, as many had speculated, and not the show's main character. According to Deadline, her ship "is set to play a big role in Discovery's first season."

Michelle Yeoh joins the cast of 'Star Trek: Discovery'?

'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon' actress rumored to star in CBS' new 'Star Trek' series.



Trekkies, rejoice. Rumor has it that Michelle Yeoh will star in the new Star Trek series. Whaaaaaat.

There's currently an unconfirmed rumor floating around that the veteran actress has joined the cast of Star Trek: Discovery, the new Star Trek series in the works for CBS' new All Access platform.

Exclusive: Michelle Yeoh Boards Star Trek: Discovery

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan director Nicholas Meyer, who is a consulting producer on the show, recently revealed that the Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon star has a role in Discovery -- potentially as the series' lead.

"I know Michelle Yeoh is in it," Meyer told Coming Soon, probably revealing something he shouldn't have.

Asians! Fighting! Sharp objects! It's 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny'

Watch the trailer for Netflix's martial arts sequel.



Check it, martial arts movie fans. Netflix has dropped the first trailer for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword Of Destiny, the upcoming sequel to Ang Lee's 2000 martial arts epic. Michelle Yeoh reprises her role as Yu Shu-Lien, now tasked with protecting the legendary Green Destiny sword against an evil warlord.

Directed by legendary martial arts choreographer Yuen Wo-Ping, and written by John Fusco, the film is based on the wuxia novel Iron Knight, Silver Vase (Book 5 in Wang Dulu's Crane-Iron Pentalogy). Sword of Destiny also stars Donnie Yen, Jason Scott Lee, Harry Shum Jr., Roger Yuan and Eugenia Yuan.

Take a look:

'Crouching Tiger' sequel to premiere exclusively on Netflix

Martial arts drama stars Michelle Yeoh and Donnie Yen



Between original content like House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, Netflix has been making some big moves, and its latest distribution deal could be a gamechanger. The pay service has struck a deal with The Weinstein Company to release its first major feature film: the sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Netflix Sets 'Crouching Tiger 2' As 1st Feature; Hollywood's Nightmare?

According to Deadline, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Destiny, described as "sort of a sequel" to Ang Lee's critically-acclaimed 2000 martial arts epic, will premiere exclusively on Netflix's subscriber-based video streaming service. The film will also simultaneously open IMAX theaters on August 28, 2015.

The Green Destiny, directed by Yuen Wo-Ping, stars Michelle Yeoh and Donnie, is based on the fifth book in the Crane-Iron Petalogy by Wang Du Lu. (Crouching Tiger was based on the four book in the series.) Yeoh is reprising her role as Yu Shu-Lien. Ang Lee has no involvement in the project.