Chr​is A. Sew​ell​ 200​8

Michael Hui - Epique (photographer) Maylin Shiu (make up artist)

Phillip Gharabegian 2008

Anthony Mongiello 2008

Phillip Gharabegian 2008

Leizel

Hello darlings,

It’s that time for the LA Asian Pacific Film Festival !!!!
http://www. vconline. org/festival/

Please come out to support some of my friends…

Daedelus’ “Fair Weather Friends” directed by Jordan Kim
&
Mud “Should’ve Known” edited by AJ Calomay
in the Gift of Sound + Vision music video screening
When: Saturday, May 3rd @ 7:45pm.

Where: Directors Guild of America, 7920 Sunset Boulevard, LA 90046.

Tickets: http://festival.
vconline. org/program.
cfm?program_id=24

Music Video afterparty (Featuring performances by Scott Tang, Karin Anna Cheung, and Big Phony. With Kathy Uyen and Hans and Mike of Tatum Jones emceeing the night, and DJ Prem on the turntables.
)
When: Saturday, May 3- After the music video screening!!!
Where: Libertine, 8210 Sunset, LA 90046. Walking distance from the DGA.

Cover: $5 with music video screening ticket, $10 without. Free with festival badge.

“Eat,” a collection of film shorts produced by Danny Lee and Mitchel Dumlao, in the Shorts Program 10, “Food for Thought.
“
When: Saturday, May 3 @ 12pm.

Where:Laemmle Sunset 5 Theaters, 8000 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90046 (corner of Sunset and Crescent Heights)
More info: http://www. vconline. org/festival/program. cfm?program_id=9

kevin le

kevin le

kevin le

Alex likes her lips grilled not fried

Photo: Roy, MUA: Chriss Sapphire, Hair: Desiree

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=27744269

http://www.myspace.com/s_u_s_a_n_t_r_a_n

Someone please sign her to an agency already..

by Photographer - Steve D

http://www.myspace.com/stevedemmitt

and a taste of his work:

Recent Work - Grand Ave

S.W.A.T. *Updated

I should run for president now!!

http://www.myspace.com/jenniferktran

JENNY TRAN FINALIST FOR TECATE MISS GRAND PRIX!
copy and paste link: http://www.faceofchampcar.com/index.php?what=the-finalist&where=long-beach

http://www.myspace.com/jenniferktran

Photo by Doug Gifford

————————-

now w/ video!

watch jenny workin it at:

http://www.presstelegram.com/

how to put on glasses

1. touch collar bone

2. grab end of glasses without looking

3. makes sure it fits snug on nose. keep it low like bifocals

tip: being shirtless helps

And in this corner…….with the black belt, the undefeated Susan Tran..ding ding ding! FIGHT!

Photographer - Truong Thi / Jenny N. Collection

Photographer - Kazuya Kimura / MUA - Staci Nguyen

FWD FROM
Adrian Zaw
SAG Actor TV Host & Producer
www. AdrianZaw. com
www. YouTube. com/AdrianZaw
www. Xanga. com/Adrian_Zaw
www. MySpace. com/AdrianZaw

—————————————————————–

Here’s the breakdown:

FOCUS GROUP EVENT:
EVENT Date: 5/7 or 5/8
TIME: 6:30pm - 9:30pm
Compensation: $400
Age Range: 20s-40s (Male or Female)

*Requirements:
Must be fluent in Korean.

He/She will have to really friendly, outgoing and personable.

NOTES*
This is for a marketing focus group. The moderator will be asking questions interviewing our participants.

SUBMISSION: with the bottom portion answered, and I’ll have a representative contact you via e-mail.

FULL NAME:
PHONE:
E-MAIL:

America’s Next Top Model: Bay Area Search

WWW.TOPMODEL.CWBAYAREA.COM
WWW.TOPMODEL.CWBAYAREA.COM
WWW.TOPMODEL.CWBAYAREA.COM

Caroline!

I am ambitious, outgoing, and daring. I love to have fun, try new things, and travel. My best feature would have to be my smile. What makes me fierce is that I am a tomboy at heart but can pull off any look.
Maysa!

Silly, humble, “mysterious”…are what I have been told by many of my friends! Modeling has been a passion of mine since a young age. I love the art and challenge of creating different looks and styles while feeling beautiful and comfortable in your own skin. This is what makes me FIERCE!

WWW.TOPMODEL.CWBAYAREA.COM
WWW.TOPMODEL.CWBAYAREA.COM
WWW.TOPMODEL.CWBAYAREA.COM

http://www.myspace.com/elizabeththuytien

“MODEL, ACTRESS, SINGER, DANCER, YIKES”

magazine

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EDITORIAL

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http://www.myspace.com/annie_thu_nguyen

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Fashion Designer: Annie Thu Nguyen—-photographer: Alex Lim ——Model: - Tien, Hair/mu - Holly Ly,

neaato!

www.myspace.com/donnysillustrations

My man Tony Toka at VC Film Fest!
Check it out!!

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..tr valign=”top”>..table>
MEET FRIENDS, SWAP CHILDHOODS

(USA, 200 Dir./Wtr.: Tony Hoang

Video, 5 mins, Color, Documentary, English
http://www.vconline.org/festival/program.cfm?this_page=6

MEET FRIENDS, SWAP CHILDHOODS is a personal documentary that explores the demise of small business opportunities for Hispanic and Asian immigrant families at a Swapmeet in the San Fernando Valley. The director describes his own accounts of growing up as a Swapmeet kid for 14 years, making new friends and saying good-bye to life long friends at a moment’s notice, with the eventual downfall of his own family’s business. He revisits the swapmeet and encounters some familiar faces he has not seen for years.

SKATE FREE

(USA, 200 Dir./Scr.: Tony Toka

Video, 3 mins, Color, Experimental, English SKATE FREE is a spoken word poetry piece that explores the thin line between the idea of being successful, having a job, and the American Dream versus saying “fuck it,” getting high, tuning out, and being an artist
http://www.vconline.org/festival/program.cfm?program_id=68

New viet beauty pics.
Get your issue at your fav Vietnamese Nail Salon today!
You can go to Classy nail, or Beautiful nail, or Top nail, then theres Happy nail or NEAATO’s personal fav, Magic Nail: “Where the magic happens”.

Photographer - Truong Thi / MUA - Le Dat
http://www.myspace.com/s_u_s_a_n_t_r_a_n

Want to email somebody a link to this photo?

“No Lyndzi, your other left!”

Photographer - Truong Thi / MUA - Theresa
http://www.myspace.com/s_u_s_a_n_t_r_a_n
http://www.myspace.com/lyndziphan
http://www.myspace.com/tiffyballs

Want to email somebody a link to this photo?

When did Nail magazines become so fashionable?

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Seriously, whats going on on the right side?

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Want to email somebody a link to this photo?

The Viet Beauty All Star Series.

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You know what this Asian magazine was missing? Lots and lots of random useless ads.
Other than that, pretty nice surprise for a beauty/nail mag I must say.
Where you at weave magazine?

Indie Film Watch: Never Perfect By Regina Park

Monday, August 27, 2007

Whether or not you think plastic surgery is fine for anyone and everyone, or you think those who do so should realize their own unique and inner beauty - plastic surgery is here to stay and director Regina Park (a second-generation Korean-American) takes a further look at it through the life of a 27 year old Vietnamese-American woman who is looking to redefine her life.

[Crossed posted here.]

I’ve wanted to write this for a while now, so what better time than the opening day of the long awaited Jet Li vs. Jackie Chan duel, The Forbidden Kingdom? All opening within a month of one another, three movies (21, The Forbidden Kingdom, and Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay) have significant relevance to Hollywood’s current ideas about Asian American actors and audiences. One movie is a true story about Asian American MIT students. Another features two icons of Hong Kong cinema facing off for the first time. And the third is the big budget sequel to a cult hit about a couple Asian American stoners. The studios’ approaches to—and audiences’ expectations of—these films are quite telling about the current state of Asian Americans in mainstream Hollywood.

The impetus for writing this post was actually driven by seeing TV spots for the Chan/Li actioner. The film, which is a quasi-sequel/follow up to the classic Journey to the West, has been anticipated with bated breath by both of Jackie’s and Jet’s legions of fans. I had followed some of the news about the movie ever since it was announced last year and was disappointed to learn that a major plot point in the flick involves a white teenager (with a kung fu fetish, of course) being transported back to ancient China. On the one hand, I can understand the premise of the time travel conceit: modern audiences need a readily identifiable character to help navigate the “exotic” fantasyland of China (which is problematic in its own right, but that’s for another post). This is a typical storytelling technique that can be found in Alice in Wonderland, The Neverending Story, and The Matrix. My issue isn’t with the framing of the film in these terms. What I find troubling is the notion that said teenager had to be Caucasian. Here’s the plot synopsis according to IMDB:

In Forbidden Kingdom, American teenager Jason (Michael Angarano), who is obsessed with Hong Kong cinema and kungfu classics, finds an antique Chinese staff in a pawn shop: the legendary stick weapon of the Chinese sage and warrior, the Monkey King (Jet Li). With the lost relic in hand, Jason unexpectedly finds himself transported back to ancient China.

There, he meets the drunken kungfu master, Lu Yan (Jackie Chan); an enigmatic and skillful Silent Monk (Jet Li); and a vengeance-bent kungfu beauty, Golden Sparrow (Crystal Liu Yi Fei), who lead him on his quest to return the staff to its rightful owner, the Monkey King - imprisoned in stone by the evil Jade Warlord (Collin Chou) for five hundred years. Along the way, while attempting to outmaneuver scores of Jade Warriors, Cult Killers and the deadly White Hair Demoness, Ni Chang (Li Bing Bing), Jason learns about honor, loyalty and friendship, and the true meaning of kungfu, and thus frees himself.

The decision to cast a Michael Angarano as Jason is part of the Hollywood tradition to—as The Cinematical’s Peter Martin puts it, “experience an exotic locale peopled entirely by “others” through the eyes of a Caucasian character.” As I said earlier, I have no issue with the “fish out of water” premise. However, I think the producers of the film would have been smarter to make the role of Jason an Asian American character. Not only would that have given an opportunity to a young Asian American actor to star in a surefire hit, it might have given the movie a more nuanced message. Again, Martin:

If the producers had dared to cast an Asian, Asian-American, or African-American, that could have opened up all kinds of interesting twists: the young Asian not acquainted with his own cultural history, the Asian-American torn between two cultures, the African-American similarly — but differently — torn.

From a marketing standpoint, many execs still believe that audiences won’t flock to a movie unless the lead is white (more on that later). They’d argue that money, not political correctness, is the motivating factor when casting roles that could otherwise go to actors of color. After all, it’s said that the only color Hollywood sees is green. Therefore, making Jason a Caucasian is viewed solely as a financial decision. Even if that were true, which is debatable, it’s interesting to note that much of the marketing materials for Forbidden Kingdom make little or no mention of Angarano’s participation in the film. Instead, many of the TV spots I’ve seen, as well as the film’s one-sheet, play up the martial arts aspect and focus on the iconography of Jackie Chan and Jet Li. So if shoehorning a Caucasian teenager into the plotline is necessary to attract that demographic to the theaters, why leave him out of the marketing? Well, probably because “Jackie Chan Fights Jet Li—For the First Time!” kinda sells itself. Which brings me back to my original point: how unnecessary it is to make Jason’s character Caucasian, and thus, denying an Asian American actor a plum part in a big film.

Alas, at least Jason is a fictional character; which can’t be said for 21, another movie with ramifications in the Asian American community. Based on Ben Mezrich’s 2003 book Bringing Down the House, the movie follows a group of MIT students as they use their indomitable math skills to take Vegas casinos for millions. In Mezrich’s book, the students were a multicultural bunch whose leader was revealed to be an Asian American named Jeff Ma. In fact, one of the plot points in the book dealt with how the group used ethnic stereotypes as part of their cover when suckering dealers at the blackjack tables. Apparently, the studio thought a true story about Asian American MIT students would not appeal to mainstream (read: Caucasian) audiences unless the leads were white. Therefore, rather than find a hot, young Asian American actor to portray Jeff’s character, Columbia Pictures cast British Across the Universe star Jim Sturgess. In an article published in 2005, Mezrich discussed the studio’s thought process when casting the movie:

During the talk, Mezrich mentioned the stereotypical Hollywood casting process–though most of the actual blackjack team was composed of Asian males, a studio executive involved in the casting process said that most of the film’s actors would be white, with perhaps an Asian female. Even as Asian actors are entering more mainstream films, such as “Better Luck Tomorrow” and the upcoming “Memoirs of a Geisha,” these stereotypes still exist, Mezrich said.

Like the casting of Forbidden Kingdom, Hollywood’s conventional wisdom is that Asians—and more specifically Asian Americans—cannot open big at the box office. This self-fulfilling prophecy, in a strange way, is reinforced by 21’s actual success at the box office (opening at #1 and so far earning over $70 million). Due to the movie’s success, star Jim Sturgess is Hollywood’s latest it-boy and is seeing his star on the rise. Even Jeff Ma, the basis for Sturgess’ character, sees nothing inherently wrong with his story being trans-racialized for the movies. In an interview with AICN, Ma revealed:

For me it wasn’t a big deal, because for about three years people had been asking me who I wanted to play me in a movie and I never was saying like “John Cho” or “Chow Yun-Fat” or “Jackie Chan…” I really wasn’t and I mean if I asked you who you would want to play you in a movie, you wouldn’t be thinking “I want the most similar person,” but you would be thinking ”Who’s cool?” or who do you think would personify your personality or who is a good actor or who is talented, so as much as I think people like to look at it at face value like that, the reality is if you ask anyone who they wanted to play you, it wouldn’t necessarily be “Who’s the most ethnically tied to me?”

It’s telling that Ma, as many Hollywood execs are wont to do, conflates Asian actors (Chow and Chan) with an Asian American actor (Cho). Since 21 is designed to be a star-making vehicle for its leads, it makes sense that Columbia would want a “cool” actor for the role. The assumption, though, is that there isn’t any “cool” Asian American actor (other than John Cho, of course) capable of playing Jeff on screen. Never mind actors such as Masi Oka, Parry Shen, Dante Basco, Roger Fan, Sung Kang, Ken Leung, or James Kyson Lee, just to name a few. Not to mention the thousands of up and coming actors of Asian descent who are still waiting for that big break. (It must be said, though, that 21 features two Asian Americans—Aaron Yoo and Lisa Lapira—in the cast. However, their parts are minor at best, and according to EW.com’s Youyoung Lee, “buffoonish” at worst.) If any of the above mentioned actors had been cast as the lead in 21, it’d be safe to say that the myth of Asian Americans being unable to open a movie would be officially rendered moot; which brings me to Harold & Kumar.

The 2004 stoner flick, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, was a modest success in theaters. Grossing over $23 million worldwide, more than doubling its production budget, White Castle went on to make millions more on DVD, in the process, becoming an instant cult hit and ultimately leading to the buzzed-about sequel that’s set to open on April 25. The revolutionary thing about Harold & Kumar was its ability to portray its Asian American leads as real, complex individuals—who happen to really love pot. John Cho, in an interview with Angry Asian Man, summed it up thusly:

I think there’s something, from a racial standpoint, an attitude that feels accurate… And I think it might be the fact that it addresses race as we do–as people of color do–that we’re aware of it, that we live with it, but it doesn’t consume us. And sometimes, white media thinks that we’re obsessed with it, and then Asian American films… we make films that obsess over her our race. It’s an hour and a half of people talking about what it means to be Asian.

But Harold and Kumar addresses it, then doesn’t, then addresses it, then kind of addresses it, then laughs at it… and then somebody smokes pot.

To New Line Cinema’s credit, the studio bet against Hollywood conventional wisdom and backed the movie with a significant marketing push and theater saturation. And while the stoner comedy as a genre is known for featuring people of color (see “Up in Smoke” and “Friday”), Harold & Kumar proved a major motion picture starring charismatic Asian American leads could be successful. Thanks in large part to the film’s success, which by all accounts entered the pop cultural zeitgeist on a speeding cheetah, Cho and co-star Kal Penn became household names able to translate their popularity into mainstream success. Since White Castle, Penn has starred on the TV hit House M.D. and Cho recently landed the coveted role of Sulu in JJ Abrams’ Star Trek reboot.

All three of these films demonstrate in different ways where mainstream Hollywood is in regards to Asian Americans, and where it still needs to go. With Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay poised to out-gross (in more ways than one, natch) its predecessor, the hope remains that Hollywood’s ill-conceived perception about Asian Americans will change. Though I’m not holding my breath.

Vietnamese Language and Culture (VNLC) in collaboration with

Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association (VAALA)

proudly presents

Cinema Symposium 4

“Filmmaking: the good, the bad, the ugly”

Sunday April 13, 2008 at 2:30p.m.

Northwest Auditorium, UCLA

370 De Neve Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90095

www.vaala.org www.vnlc.org www.VietFilmFest.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 21, 2008

Contact:          Mai Le Hong (40 705-7485

Helena Hue Tran (714) 260-2308

FOURTH BIENNIEL CINEMA SYMPOSIUM CELEBRATES VIETNAMESE AMERICAN FILMMAKING on UCLA CAMPUS

Los Angeles, Calif. – UCLA’s Vietnamese Language and Culture (VNLC) and the Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association (VAALA) partner up to present the fourth biennial Cinema Symposium titled “Filmmaking: the Good, the Bad, the Ugly,” featuring nine distinguished guest panelists who have contributed in raising the recent Viet Film Wave.  Cinema Symposium 4 will be held on Sunday, April 13, 2008 at Northwest Auditorium on the UCLA campus.  Admission is free and open to the public.

The distinguished guest panelists include: Timothy Linh Bui (Writer/Director/Producer, “Powder Blue”, “Green Dragon”), Elyse Dinh (Actress, “Green Dragon”, “Running in Tall Grasses”), Abraham Ferrer (Exhibitions Director, Visual Communications), Stephane Gauger (Writer/Director/Producer, “Owl and the Sparrow”), Elisabeth Huynh (Fox Film Acquisitions), David Ngo (Director, “The Queen from Virginia: The Jackie Bong Wright Story”), Ham Tran (Writer/Director/Producer, “Journey from the Fall”), Bao Tranchi (Costume Designer, “Journey from the Fall”, “America’s Next Top Model” Cycle 7, “Charlie’s Angels”), and Christopher Wong (Composer, “Journey from the Fall”, “The Rebel”).

This multi-dimensional panel will offer different angles on both artistic as well as business aspects of filmmaking.  Cinema Symposium 4 sets on the theme “Filmmaking: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” to focus on the conflicts that artists encounter and eventually resolve them creating valuable contents for the cinema industry and Vietnamese American community. Each panelist will share with the audience his/her own challenges as well as achievements through his/her career pathway.  The panel discussion will open up for audience members to dialogue with the panelists.  Clips from some of the newest works will be shown at the event.

Cinema Symposium was created in 2002 by VAALA and VNLC and held every other year at UCLA to create a network between Vietnamese American professionals working in the film industry and students with an interest in film and the Vietnamese culture. The Cinema Symposium is held alternating between the bi-annual Vietnamese International Film Festival (ViFF).  It seeks to promote works that are by or about Vietnamese Americans.  The event also highlights the achievements of professionals in front of and behind the camera. Their accomplishments in this highly competitive industry help pave the way for other Vietnamese Americans and are an inspiration to many in the community at large.

The program of the event is as the following:

2:30 – 3:00 p.m.

LIGHT REFRESHMENTS

INTRODUCTION - Ysa Le & Mai Le Hong

3:00 – 5:30 p.m.

PANEL DISCUSSION with showcase of film clips: 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.

The panel discussion is moderated by Helena Hue Tran and Hong Van Nguyen.

5:30 – 5:45 p.m. Break

5:45 – 6:15 p.m.

SPECIAL SCREENINGS of short films followed by Q&A

“Break-up Therapy” by David Ngo

A documentary that tells one amazing break-up story through the combination of several true stories from real-life people

“Oh, Mommy!” (“Mẹ Ơi!”) by Jenni Trang Le

This is a journey of a Baby Quail to find courage, warmth and… his mommy.

“Spray It, Don’t Say It” (“Nhu Cầu Vẽ Bậy”) by Tuan Andrew Nguyen in collaboration with Ha Thuc Phu Nam

A documentary that explores the underground graffiti scene and the main characters that make up this first generation of graffiti artists in Viet Nam .

For more information please contact

vnlc@uclacsc.org or events@vaala.org

CO-PRESENTERS:

Asia Pacific Arts at UCLA Asia Institute - http://www.asiaarts.ucla.edu/

UCLA Office of Residential Life - http://www.orl.ucla.edu/

UCLA Center for Southeast Asia Studies - http://www.international.ucla.edu/cseas/

Union of Vietnamese Student Associations of Southern California - http://www.thsv.org/home.aspx

UCLA Vietnamese Student Union - http://vsu.bol.ucla.edu/

UCLA Cultural Affairs Commission - http://www.studentgroups.ucla.edu/culturalaffairs/

FUNDED BY:

UCLA Office of Residential Life

UCLA Campus Programs Committee of the Program Activities Board

Union of Vietnamese Student Associations of Southern California