Posts
oh my...it's been so long since i've written here! but i was VERY excited to learn that this month, they
are featuring ASIAN IMAGES IN FILM! for anyone who might get the channel TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES,
it features a few of the movies or actors that i had begun to explore in my blog. anna may wong, charlie chan in yellow face, mr. moto....it's SO COOL! (i've never seen these before)
MOST NOTABLY, i got to watch sessue hayakawa in THE DRAGON PAINTER, an early silent film.
how AMAZING to see some japanese actors (and i believe one of the 'yellow face' actors?)
(thanks, lili san!)
here is the link to that movie.
http://www.milestonefilms.com/movie.php/dragon/
sadly, last night also featured slanted screen and that film and the dragon painter are not scheduled to repeat.
JUNE 19 is james shigeta in BRIDGE TO THE SUN! omg. total tearjerker. highly recommend.
it also features that evening, SAYONARA. also THE WORLD OF SUSIE WONG.
here is the link to TCM:
http://www.tcm.com/2008/aif/index.jsp
June 3rd Program
The Slanted Screen
The Cheat
Broken Blossoms
The Dragon Painter
Mr. Wu
The Bitter Tea of General Yen
June 5th Program
Anna May Wong - Frosted Yellow Willows: Her Life, Times & Legend
The Toll of the Sea
Old San Franciso
Piccadilly
Daughter of the Dragon
Shanghai Express
June 10th Program
Charlie Chan at the Circus
Charlie Chan in Honolulu
The Scarlet Clue
Thank You, Mr. Moto
Daughter of Shanghai
June 12th Program
The Good Earth
Dragon Seed
China Sky
First Yank into Tokyo
June 17th Program
Go For Broke!
The Teahouse of the August Moon
Walk Like a Dragon
Bad Day at Black Rock
June 19th Program
Bridge to the Sun
China Doll
Sayonara
The World of Suzie Wong
June 24th Program
The Crimson Kimono
The Mountain Road
Flower Drum Song
Enter the Dragon
June 26th Program
Rush Hour 2
The Killing Fields
The Joy Luck Club
Mr. Baseball
Quiero amor
que me hables
y me digas del silencio
de tus manos.
Quiero amor
que escuches mis verdades
y me des tu corazón.
Quiero amor
suavizar tus sufrimientos
y que los minutos sean horas,
tus besos aquí
son como los del cielo
que me hacen revivir.
Quiero amor
no haber dormido
en este momento inolvidable
y pensar que todo lo hago por ti
que tu lo hiciste por mí
y hoy así lo escribo
lleno de amor.
Copyright 2008 Mechehed. 
RinRin just posted that the release date of "City of Your Final Destination" is April 23, 2008, according to IMDb.
I posted it on HSE news blog.
I could not find any other info related to this... If you find anything, let me know!!
I just want to share my review of Royal Warriors when Hiroyuki Sanada was called Henry Sanada back then. It is an old old 1986 Hong Kong movie and though I didn't watch every second of it, I watched all of Michelle Yeoh's and Hiro's fight scenes, and Hiro's rapport with his "wife". My review is here with lots of screencaps.
It's coming on Friday, August 10th!! Hiro looks simply amazing in this film. Not only does he make a white suit look good, but he shows off his sword skills against Jackie Chan. I don't know about you guys, but this time I'm rooting for the bad guy. ;)
The official site also has a section for cellphones where you can purchase a game, wallpapers, and ringtones. Two of the wallpapers feature yours truly! MovieFone has two clips online. Clip No. 2 has a few snippets of Hiro battling Jackie on the Eiffel Tower. It's a thrill to see!
If any of this has already been posted, I sincerely apologize! I'm just all hyped for this film and I can't wait to see it on Saturday.
okay, i finally decided which post i needed to do next, as i weave my way thru this labyrinth i've managed to enter.
altho it might not seem like it, my FOCUS (and there is one, believe it or not) is STILL on HIRO IN HOLLYWOOD, but i am really realizing the TREMENDOUS CHALLENGE that our hiro sama has taken on, and what a VERY UNIQUE road he is carving our for himself. for any of you still willing to JOURNEY this with me, i so hope it will EVENTUALLY be worth the wait. :)
but i don't think we can appreciate it fully, unless we understand the complexity of ASIANS in HOLLYWOOD. and THIS is really the fundamental issue, for our guy. THIS is THE hurdle.
there are also parallel issues. CHINA/JAPAN. LANGUAGE. STEREOTYPES. and finally ASIA/HOLLYWOOD.
so THIS post, sort of covers ALL of those above issues. and since my last post was about one of the first ASIAN STARS in HOLLYWOOD, being a CHINESE AMERICAN WOMAN....and CHOP SUEY is a distinctively CHINESE AMERICAN dish (meaning MIXED PIECES)...i figured this post was timely.
in 1961, FLOWER DRUM SONG was the FIRST (and i believe for a long time, the ONLY) ALL ASIAN cast assembled for a HOLLYWOOD movie. it was a HUGE 'breakthrough' and opportunity, and the actors involved all felt VERY HAPPY and FORTUNATE for this HIGH PROFILE vehicle.
the HALLMARK of this film was that the storyline featured a 'regular' FAMILY, dealing with 'regular' MULTI challenges.
OLD country ways/values vs. NEW countrys ways/values. GENERATIONAL issues. ("the OTHER generation")
they just HAPPENED to be ASIAN. (chinese). you could take this storyline and TWEAK it, to apply it to any ethnicity!
there is ANOTHER sort of REMARKABLE study in CONTRASTS from a CASTING point of view...which i will discuss later. but for now....enjoy this fun dance clip from the movie. (small trivia points: first guy dancing is jack soo, with juanita hall, the next 'featured' solo guy dancing is patrick adiarte, who also played the eldest son in KING AND I)
but the MOST REMARKABLE sort of irony, is that THIS movie...about a CHINESE family...had the distinction of
having 3 of the 4 lead roles...being played by JAPANESE actors! interestingly, ONLY ONE of the major/minor actors
would be 100% ethnic chinese (american born benson fong).
JAMES SHIGETA (japanese american actor/singer) played wang ta, eldest son, (chinese american) and star of the film, covered in an earlier post.
the other central character, was MIYOSHI UMEKI (born in japan, singer/actress) who played mei li, a chinese immigrant. a singer in her native japan, she was the FIRST asian actor to win an oscar, for her supporting role in SAYONARA, yet she is best known for her t.v. role as mrs. livingston in the COURTSHIP OF EDDIES FATHER. below is miyoshi singing a hundred million miracles. (father is played by kam tong, american born chinese actor)
the two other leads were JACK SOO (born GORO SUZUKI, japanese american actor/comedian) who played sammie fong, a chinese american nightclub owner. in REAL life, jack WAS a nightclub entertainer, DISCOVERED while performing at the FORBIDDEN CITY nightclub in s.f. chinatown, by one of the producers, who hired him for the BROADWAY production of flower drum song! (he played the 'nightclub emcee on broadway). gene kelly directed the broadway production in 1958. jack would later become best known and loved for his t.v. role in BARNEY MILLER, as detective nick yemana.
and finally, NANCY KWAN (born in hong kong to a chinese father and scottish mother) played the chinese american "hottie" linda low. trained as, and aspired to be a dancer, but 'discovered' by famed producer, RAY STARK. she shot to fame when she made her film debut opposite william holden in THE WORLD OF SUSIE WONG. a great bio chock full of pics can be found here: http://www.nancy-kwan.com/biography.html
rounding out the cast:
Benson Fong - Wang Chi-Yang (chinese american born actor, who later played in kung fu t.v series)
Juanita Hall - Madame "Auntie" Liang (role that was to go to anna may wong, and after her untimely death, went to juanita, african american light skinned actress)
Reiko Sato - Helen Chao (japanese american born actress/dancer)
Patrick Adiarte - wang san (filipino ? american born dancer/actor)
AT THE TIME, (i am no film historian, so i could be wrong on this point...) i don't think the casting was controversial at all! remember, at this stage of hollywood, 'YELLOWFACE' and 'STEROTYPES' had long been the 'norm'....so for "authentic" ASIAN ACTORS to be given this chance to star together in a HOLLYWOOD MAJOR MOTION PICTURE,
was TRULY EXCITING! (for the cast, especially).
it would take 32 years, with the JOY LUCK CLUB (1993), for HOLLYWOOD to again show another example of the CHINESE AMERICAN experience. (altho in 1987, THE LAST EMPEROR -<26 years after FDS>-would again assemble an all asian cast.) (more on those later)
now, we might all "look alike" to many westerners....but there is NO DOUBT that the EXPERIENCES, PORTRAYALS and STORIES/MOVIES are quite DIFFERENT when it comes to CHINESE and JAPANESE....even in...maybe ESPECIALLY in...HOLLYWOOD.
so, i leave you for a moment, looking back to 1961 and FDS...JAPANESE actors, playing CHINESE americans....
an ironic "twist" would take place, 40+ years later...
i'm sure you can guess what ASIAN FLAVOR part 2 is going to be about..... :)
....but i'll end this post on this LIGHT note, with some of the lyrics from one of the signature songs from FDS: CHOP SUEY:
Chop suey, chop suey!
Living here is very much like chop suey.
Hula hoops and nuclear war,
Doctor Salk and Zsa Zsa Gabor,
Bobby Darin, Sandra Dee, and Dewey,
Chop suey, --Chop suey!-
born in los angeles on jan 3, 1905...anna was born in the year of the dragon. (altho 1905 is a snake year, it did not change until feb 4, 1905....so it was still the year of the dragon at her birth). her parents were in the laundry business in china town. i had always heard the name, but never had ANY idea that she was the FIRST ASIAN AMERICAN actor in HOLLYWOOD! (gonna be searching netflix for her films!)
while sessue hayakawa was born in japan and struggled with the language issue, once the silent film era ended, anna may wong did not have THAT barrier to impede her career. she DID however, have to deal with anti miscegenation
laws that existed in california (until 1948!) which forbade mixed racial/ethnic relations! (altho i don't understand why sessue hayakawa WAS able to 'seduce' white women in his films....hmmmm...seems a wee bit sexist, eh?)
anyway, i am concurrently working on about 5 different new posts (which has been QUITE a feat for my rather scattered mind...) but i found this awesome clip about the infamous anna may wong, that i thought you might enjoy
until i am ready with the other ones.
besides, it's about time, for me to shine the light on a few WOMEN, ne?
the clip is from a t.v. show in china, (with a VERY clever 'sex in the city' "spin". )...about 35 seconds into the clip, a really wonderful mini bio on this truly fascinating woman begins. it's also quite timely, as my current discussions with sandra have been focused on china/hong kong and american/hollywood issues...and this clip talks about how anna was received WITHIN china.
filming. she was replaced by juaninta hall....a light skinned african american actress, who would oddly be best known in hollywood for 2 asian roles. (bloody mary in south pacific and auntie liang in FDS.)
okay, my computer is going to blow up from all the youtube clips, and i DO need to try and bring this post towards a resolution to get to part 3 of HIRO IN HOLLYWOOD.
still, i'm about to take yet another 'fork' in the road! but before i do, i wanted to gather my thoughts on what i've learned since writing about this subject matter.
my blog on this issue, has been influenced by, and FILTERED on 3 key levels.
1. my own personal film/tv memories, being born and raised in america...(no...not silent film era) heh heh. but FLOWER DRUM SONG, KING AND I, KUNG FU, etc.
2. my own awareness about "HOLLYWOOD", living in l.a. PLUS, having friends and family WITHIN the industry.
(sort of funny, since the word/IMAGE of 'HOLLYWOOD' is so iconic...but actually hollywood is an essentially irrelevant CITY within the film business).
3. the realization that i TRULY was somewhat unaware of "BEING JAPANESE" for most of my life! :)
so what began almost as a 'lark'....(hiro in hollywood), actually has become an AMAZING JOURNEY on a personal level, as ALL journeys that come from my interest in sanada san tend to be. :)
GROWING UP with almost NO SENSE of my asian identity, (which i intend to blog about AFTER if finish the hiro in hollywood subject matter) MOVIES, were simply, for me, ENTERTAINMENT. i grew up in the time of movie musicals, so THAT gives you an idea of the 'fantasy factor'. :)
now, that said, i want to mention a few other things.
1. i rented from NETFLIX the movie SLANTED SCREEN and received it last week. i watched it last friday. WOW!!! i had NO IDEA how similar what i have been exploring was, to jeff adachi's documentary!
(i started this blog with my own early memories, knowing about james shigeta, pat morita, etc, aided by google and further aided by youtube!) one door led to another, etc.
i had previously only seen the CLIP of jeff's documentary (that i had posted)...plus read some reviews. but when i saw the ENTIRE DOCUMENTARY....it was SO fascinating to hear from some of these asian american actors discussing THEIR OWN experiences!
anyway, i HIGHLY recommend renting that movie, for a MUCH more thorough and knowledgeable presentation than anything i could ever illustrate. just FANTASTIC and opens the eyes! (slanted or not). :)
2. i'm going to attempt to get in touch with arthur dong, who recently finished HOLLYWOOD CHINESE, because i REALLY want to watch that one too. (and i'll share info if i find out anything). but i found it ironic that adachi and dong were BOTH working on this subject likely around the same time.
* just got an email back...they expect it to go on sale 'sometime' next year, and i'm on the mailing list for it. www.deepfocusproductions.com if interested.
3. i am realizing more and more how very different the subject of ASIAN movies might be, from a NATIVE of the country (be it hong kong, japan, or others) than the ASIAN AMERICAN point of view. sandra's viewpoint about hong kong films, and adachi's documentary about THE SLANTED SCREEN offer such interesting insights into this very complex issue.
as life continues to amaze me, with it's synchronism, last night, i turned on the t.v. and MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA was on. i THOUGHT i'd seen it....but realized i must not have paid much attention, so for ME, watching it was sort of a NEW experience, and also, it was 'colored' by the current research i'm doing on the subject. it TRULY gave me a 'new perspective', in the viewing of it.
many other 'coincidences' followed, and pulled me towards this new direction, so i'm just going to follow it....and see what unfolds. i had a very remarkable discovery the last couple of days, which may or may not have relevance but i'm excited to share it. it WILL all lead to my PART 3 of HIRO IN HOLLYWOOD...PROMISE. :)
ah well....
i put together a montage of clips illustrating the EVOLUTION of 'kung fu'/martial arts films in HOLLYWOOD over the last 30 years. like YELLOW FACE, you will see the transitions.
it isn't necessary to watch the entire clip of each of these....as my intent is only to give a 'taste' of what was happening. this small sampling includes some of the key 'MARKERS' for this genre...from the movies themselves, to the actors, as well as the directors.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
when the television series called KUNG FU came to the attention of u.s. audiences, the FACE would NOT be bruce lee, but instead, an actor doing 'yellow face'....DAVID CARRADINE. the popular series ran from 1972-1975 and featured the prolific chinese american actor, KEYE LUKE (best known for "no. 1 son" of charlie chan with warner oland, and in later years, as master po, in kung fu) seen in this clip as the blind master. PHILLIP AHN (korean american) is master kan, who is shown speaking.
in 1995 the movie MORTAL KOMBAT, (greatly influenced by "enter the dragon" storyline with a supernatural flavor),
hit the theatres, starring mostly 'B' actors, with the 'other' hiroyuki, CARY HIROYUKI TAGAWA as the villain. (shown fighting at about the 2min. mark) this was already a hugely popular VIDEO game (controversial for it's graphic violence) and had a cult following. trivia: BRANDON LEE (bruce's son) was set to play the lead character but died prior to the filming.
in 1998, a new 'face' was introduced to hollywood. it is rumored that jackie chan was offered the role, but jackie did not wish to take on villain parts, and turned it down. this was JET LI'S breakout hollywood debut. (both jackie and jet li were already huge action stars in hong kong). i DISTINCTLY recall seeing this film, and watching this AWESOME jump off the stairs....and thinking 'who the "H" is THAT dude!' not like the hiro 'swoon' but transfixed by his moves.
this would once again change the landscape of chinese/martial arts movies, and the changing face NOW included WOMEN who were essentially 'dancers', learning the choreographed martial arts moves.
HOLLYWOOD'S TRACKING OF THE FINANCIALS, AND THE CRITICAL RATINGS SYSTEMS became more and more VISIBLE within the industry, via IMDB, starmeters (for individual actors as well as movies)
the ROTTEN TOMATOES site, where critics reviews of the movies were compiled and then calculated, based their findings on a scoring system known as the TOMATOMETER. (60 and above, FRESH. below 60: ROTTEN)
listed are the domestic and international grosses:
crouching tiger; $128,067,808 us $209,000,000 worldwide TOMATOMETER: 97.
long a fan of asian martial arts films, the quirky cult director, QUENTIN TARANTINO put his unique spin on the genre ...with his KILL BILL movies in 2003. (WARNING...CLIP IS GRAPHICALLY VIOLENT, if you didn't see the film). i can't imagine there is anyone who doesn't know this, but the fun trivia is that DAVID CARRADINE would play the title role of BILL, and SONNY CHIBA, (sanada's mentor in early years) would have a great cameo as hattori hanzo, a great sword master.
a TRULY remarkable piece of trivia is that sonny chiba was set to CO STAR with BRUCE LEE in a new production, but when his plane landed in HONG KONG, he was met with the news of bruce's untimely death.
kill bill : $70,098,138 u.s. $178,398,138 worldwide TOMATOMETER 85
ZHANG YIMOU, (initially a cinematographer for CHEN KAIGE, in chen's first film - YELLOW EARTH) completely turned the action film into visual eye candy with his breathtaking use of color, style, costume, and choreography, with his back to back films, HERO, and THE HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS.
(again, trivia people probably already know... but it is because of quentin tarantino that HERO found release in the U.S. in 2004, 2 years after it had been completed, and premiered in CHINA.)
this clip features two of hong kongs greatest actors, TONY LEUNG CHIU WAI and MAGGIE CHEUNG, who elevated the film through their amazing acting skills, with the achingly beautiful portrayals of the doomed lovers, BROKEN SWORD and FLYING SNOW.
hero: $53,583,486 : $169,583,486 worldwide TOMATOMETER: 95
HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS, introduced 2 more faces to hollywood, ANDY LAU, one of the most respected and popular actors in CHINA, and heartthrob, TAKESHI KANESHIRO, (who had already developed a bit of a cult following in the west, with the WONG KAR WAI movies, CHUNKING EXPRESS, AND FALLEN ANGELS)
the film also starred ZHANG ZIYI, who had now become the 'NEW FACE OF ASIA', it was once again, a visual feast, altho without JET LI, the movie fell short in box office results.
these 2 films (shot a few years apart, but released back to back) brought the 'creme de la creme' of HONG KONG/CHINESE actors to the attention of movie goers in the U.S. and romanticized the genre. unlike the rapid fire punches shown in earlier martial arts movies, these films had the quality of watching ballet....beauty, grace, and strength.
hofd: Latest gross: $11,041,228 u.s. 27,000,000 aprox. worldwide. TOMATOMETER 88
so i began THIS post, and will end with KUNG FU.
in 2004....we saw a truly UNIQUE AND ORIGINAL presentation (for hollywood) when STEPHEN CHOW gave us the classic, KUNG FU HUSTLE in 2004.
kung fu hustle: $17,104,669 u.s. $94,700,000 worldwide TOMATOMETER: 90
the first time i ever saw or heard of STEPHEN CHOW was in 2001 with SHAOLIN SOCCER!
sandra (gakinme) has graciously been sharing her knowledge about hong kong cinema on this blog, and sent me the most INTERESTING info last night.
i was floored, because i ALSO happened to be compiling the NUMBERS on these movies last night, along with the tomatometers! (talk about synchronicity!)
she had sent me a link to HER blog page and she POSTED THE FINANCIALS for hong kong films....AND THIS IS WHEN I SEE THAT STEPHEN CHOW IS HUGE IN HONG KONG!!! (right up there with jackie chan!)
AMAZING!
(sandra, will you post the link to your article and chart in this post, so i can have the hong kong and u.s. figures/info linked?) thx!
