They Call Us Bruce - Episode 92: They Call Us Pandemic Parents

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.

Greetings from Quarantine, USA. On this episode, we welcome Stephen Dypiangco, co-founder of Dadventures, and Theresa Kim Yang, educator and literary coach (and wife of Gene Luen Yang). We discuss parenting through the COVID-19 pandemic and trying to find normalcy while everything is definitely not normal.

Angry Asian America on ISAtv: Do Asian Students Face Too much Academic Pressure?!

With co-host Jenny Yang and special guests Patrick Epino and Stephen Dypiangco



What's up, video viewers? We've got another edition of our web talk show Angry Asian America on ISAtv. In this episode, co-host Jenny Yang and I welcome guests Patrick Epino and Stephen Dypiangco of National Film Society. We discuss, among other things, the unhealthy academic pressure face by Asian American students, and Hollywood's annoying habit of casting white actors in just about everything. Also: Asian Magic Mike.

Check it out:

Sound and Fury Podcast Episode 19: National Film Society

What's up, podcast listeners! We are back with a brand new edition of the Sound and Fury podcast. Episode 19 features guests Patrick Epino and Stephen Dypiangco, the brainy, offbeat and ridiculously good-looking duo responsible for National Film Society. We talk about how they started working together, how they hooked up with PBS, and at long last, the release of our action/comedy Awesome Asian Bad Guys.

Thank you to all the regular listeners of Sound and Fury. To catch up on previous episodes, check out the archive. To stay up-to-date with future episodes as soon as they drop, be sure to subscribe. You can also find Sound and Fury on services like iTunes and Stitcher, where you can rate and review the show.

So... here's my conversation with National Film Society:

Bad Guys Are Awesome, Especially Asian Ones

Character poster gallery features the stars of 'Awesome Asian Bad Guys'



National Film Society's long-awaited action/comedy Awesome Asian Bad Guys finally gets its digital release tomorrow, June 23. The movie will be released by FilmBuff on all major video-on-demand platforms including the film's website, powered by VHX, Amazon Instant Video, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu and Xbox Video.

To get you sufficiently pumped for the release, here's a gallery of some dope character posters featuring the stars of Awesome Asian Bad Guys: Randall Park, Al Leong, Dante Basco, Tamlyn Tomita, Yuji Okumoto, George Cheung, Aaron Takahashi, Patrick Epino and Stephen Dypiangco.

Check it out:

How to Be Like Chozen from 'The Karate Kid Part II'

National Film Society gets a lesson in awesome from Yuji Okumoto.



Here's some required viewing for my fellow Karate Kid Part II fans... Just in time for the digital release of the action/comedy feature Awesome Asian Bad Guys, Stephen and Patrick of National Film Society recently invited actor Yuji Okumoto to instruct them with lessons on How To Be Like Chozen, the incredibly mean, pectorally-blessed villain from The Karate Kid Part II. (Specifically, that scene where he takes off his shirt.)

As you'll see, for Patrick and Stephen, it's easier said than done:

'Awesome Asian Bad Guys' to be Released on June 23

National Film Society's action/comedy webseries will be available on all major VOD platforms.



Mark your calendars, film fans. Awesome Asian Bad Guys are coming to get you! The webseries-turned-feature action/comedy Awesome Asian Bad Guys, from Stephen Dypiangco and Patrick Epino, aka National Film Society, will be released by FilmBuff on June 23 on all major video-on-demand platforms including the film's website, powered by VHX, Amazon Instant Video, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu and Xbox Video.

In Awesome Asian Bad Guys, a pair of down-on-their-luck filmmakers must assemble a ragtag group of Asian "bad guy" actors in a deadly mission to take down LA's most nefarious crime boss. The cast includes Randall Park (Fresh Off The Boat, The Interview), Al Leong (Die Hard, Lethal Weapon), Dante Basco (Hook), Tamlyn Tomita (The Karate Kid Part II, Joy Luck Club), George Cheung (Rambo: First Blood Part II) and Aaron Takahashi (The Wedding Ringer). Full disclosure: I served as executive producer on the project.

The film is an irreverent homage to the nameless, expendable Asian villains of '80s and '90s action flicks. "These legendary performers have spent their careers in the background, and this project finally gives them their due," says Patrick. "It places them front and center where they belong."

Here's Patrick and Stephen with the big announcement, explaining how they pulled it off:

Awesome Asian Bad Guys screening in Washington DC!

Saturday, September 27 at The Burke Theater at the U.S. Navy Memorial



Washington DC! It's your turn! Awesome Asian Bad Guys are coming to get you. National Film Society's action/comedy webseries comes to our nation's capital for a screening presented by DC APA Film. Fun and good times happening Saturday, September 27 at The Burke Theater at the U.S. Navy Memorial.

In Awesome Asian Bad Guys, Stephen Dypiangco and Patrick Epino direct and star as down-and-out filmmakers who must recruit an unlikely team of Asian American heroes -- a motley crew that includes Al Leong, Yuji Okumoto, Tamlyn Tomita, George Cheung and Randall Park -- to take down a ruthless crime lord. The series is an homage to your favorite nameless Asian movie character actors of the 1980s and 90s.

Here are some more details about the screening:

Awesome Asian Bad Guys in Seattle!

Two free screenings, August 23 and 24.



This is for all my people in Seattle... The Awesome Asian Bad Guys are coming to get you. National Film Society's action/comedy webseries Awesome Asian Bad Guys is hitting the road hard, and is making its next stop with two screenings as part of the Seattle Asian American Film Festival's Summer Series.

We're Screening Twice in Seattle!!

In Awesome Asian Bad Guys, Stephen Dypiangco and Patrick Epino direct and star as down-and-out filmmakers who must recruit an unlikely team of Asian American heroes -- a motley crew that includes Al Leong, Yuji Okumoto, Tamlyn Tomita, George Cheung and Randall Park -- to take down a ruthless crime lord. The series is an homage to your favorite nameless Asian movie character actors of the 1980s and 90s.

You can go to the outdoor screening on Saturday, August 23 at Chinatown's Hing Hay Park (bring your friends! bring a chair!) or Sunday, August 24 at The NVC Hall. Stars Yuji Okumoto and Stephen Dypiango will be in attendance. And best of all, both screenings are free! Here are some more details about the screenings:

National Film Society talks to Cookie Monster

Snacks on! Snacks off! Turns out, Cookie Monster is a big movie buff.



Our friends Patrick and Stephen of National Film Society recently got to sit down and talk movies with none other than Cookie Monster. Yes, the Big C himself. He talked about his love of the classics, as well as his own moviemaking endeavors with parodies of The Karate Kid and Pirates of Caribbean. Charming fellow. Take a look:

Asian Bad Guys from Die Hard, The Karate Kid Part II & Rambo II Still Kick Ass

Guest Post by Stephen Dypiangco



Hey, folks! I'm on vacation, taking a much-needed blog break. Some batteries need recharging. But don't worry -- I've enlisted the generous help of some great guest bloggers to keep things fresh around here while I'm gone. Here's Stephen Dypiangco of National Film Society on his love for Awesome Asian Bad Guys.

Dreams come true. Seriously. This past June, I had the unbelievable privilege of collaborating with several of my childhood heroes while co-directing and co-starring in the forthcoming action comedy web series Awesome Asian Bad Guys. How and why did this all magically happen? Well back in 2011, my National Film Society filmmaking partner Patrick and I made a video celebrating the kickass Asian actors who played bad guys in countless action movies we watched growing up in the 80s and 90s. These actors were cool as hell, but we had no idea who they were or what they were like. Their characters rarely had any dialogue, and they usually ended up maimed, beaten to a pulp or dead.

Patrick and I wanted to make an Expendables-like project that called these Asian badasses out of the shadows and placed them front and center. Thus was born Awesome Asian Bad Guys.

The Awesome Asian Cast of Awesome Asian Bad Guys

Behold, the awesome cast of National Film Society's upcoming webseries Awesome Asian Bad Guys. That's Yuji Okumoto, Patrick Epino, Stephen Dypiangco, Aaron Takahashi, Randall Park, Dante Basco, George Chung, Jasmin Currey, Tamlyn Tomita and the indestructible Al Leong.

Production on the action comedy webseries begins this week, and I just wanted to remind everybody that the team is putting the call out for extras. We need your help! If you're in Los Angeles, and free on Saturday, June 22 and Monday, June 24, you're invited to join in the fun as an extra in a big scene we're shooting downtown.

If you're interested in hanging out as an extra and watching the Awesome Asian Bad Guys in action, email awesomeasianbadguys@gmail.com. Hope you can join and be Awesome with us.

Guest Post by Stephen Dypiangco: Searching For Bolo

Our friend Stephen of National Film Society is on a quest to find a very special Awesome Asian Bad Guy.

Last year my National Film Society partner Patrick and I successfully raised funds on Kickstarter for our action comedy web series Awesome Asian Bad Guys. The story follows a pair of filmmakers, a volatile group of Asian bad guys and an impossible mission.

As we fine tune the script and look to get ready to go into production, we're super excited about the bad guys we already have in place, namely Al Leong (Die Hard, Big Trouble in Little China) and Yuji Okumoto (The Karate Kid Part II). We've also got Tamlyn Tomita, Randall Park, Aaron Takahashi and Dante Basco! But we really want to make this project as awesome as possible and see if we can get more cool bad guys involved. One person high on our wish list is the one and only Bolo Yeung.