Avatar Roku is back in The Awakening of Roku. It is the latter half of his respective duology, as part of the Chronicles of the Avatar series — the young adult fiction series set within the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Continue reading “Randy Ribay on Returning to Write the Last of the ‘Roku’ Duology”
On November 3, actor Elaine Miles was waiting at a bus stop in Redmond, Washington, when four U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers approached her, demanding to see her ID. Miles, a registered member of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, stood her ground and in what – as she described – “felt like a lifetime, but it was only maybe 30 minutes, 45 minutes long,” they were arguing.
Continue reading “Elaine Miles Speaks Out and Copes with Humor Following Encounter with ICE”
The nominations for the 2026 Grammy Awards were announced last Friday, and the hottest animated film of the year, KPop Demon Hunters, is a five-time contender. Netflix’s most-watched original animated film of all time is in the running for Song of the Year, Best Song Written for Visual Media, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, Best Remixed Recording, and Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media. With the exception of the last category, all the others are in recognition for only one particular song from the film: “Golden.”
Continue reading ““What It Sounds Like” is the Underrated, True Heart of ‘KPop Demon Hunters’”
I’ve been covering the Hawai’i International Film Festival (HIFF) for several years for The Nerds of Color, yet haven’t attended its festival in-person since 2019. When I obtained many ticket vouchers from serving on the screening committee for its 45th iteration, I realized before me I had a really good excuse to actually travel back to Honolulu this year to attend it. Little did I expect at the time of starting in the committee back in March that by the time I flew out to O’ahu, I would also be attending this year’s festival as a new filmmaker.
Continue reading “Reflections on Watching Shorts at the Hawai’i International Film Festival as a New Filmmaker”
It’s been 25 years since Wong Kar-wai’s pièce de résistance, In the Mood For Love, premiered in Hong Kong. Set in the early 1960s, it follows two neighbors (Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung) who find out their spouses are having an affair with each other.
Continue reading “Celebrating 25 Years of the Stunning Yet Oddly Paced Romance, ‘In the Mood For Love’”
In the Apple TV+ historical drama, Chief of War, the cast is made up of many Polynesian actors; ranging from the hot shot that is Jason Momoa, to industry mainstays like Temuera Morrison and Cliff Curtis, and newcomers like Kaina Makua.
Continue reading “Siua Ikale’o on Bringing Life to His Breakout Role in ‘Chief of War’”
It’s the 20th anniversary year for Avatar: The Last Airbender, and both fans as well as the cast and creators of the show came together to celebrate at the most recent San Diego Comic-Con. From an anniversary panel to announcements about what’s to come in the future for the franchise, there was a lot to go around.
Continue reading “Recasting Zuko for ‘The Legend of Aang’ is Unnecessary at Best, Tasteless at Worst”
Chief of War is a historical drama series co-created by Thomas Pa’a Sibbett and Jason Momoa. Set at the turn of the 19th century, it tells the story of how the warring Hawaiian Islands were unified, in the midst of the threat of colonization.
Continue reading “Temuera Morrison on Portraying Ruthless Chief Kahekili in ‘Chief of War’”
There are several series in the world of books that continue exploring the universe and characters of the beloved Nickelodeon series, Avatar: The Last Airbender. From the graphic novels that continue where the original series and its followup, The Legend of Korra, left off, to the Chronicles of the Avatar young adult series, there’s been plenty more for fans of the franchise to explore.
Continue reading “Author Judy I. Lin on Writing the Minor ‘Avatar’ Characters in ‘City of Echoes’”
Star Wars: Rebels is the first production of the Star Wars franchise to come out of Lucasfilm, following its acquisition by Disney. Set five years before the events of the original trilogy, it follows a small team of rebels in their fight against the Galactic Empire. It ran for four seasons from 2014-2018.
Continue reading “The Hosts of ‘Pod of Rebellion’ Reminisce Over Rewatching ‘Star Wars: Rebels’”
Star Wars Day (a.k.a. May the Fourth) is upon us, and once more, the release of another Tales of… anthology series is coinciding its release on that day. While the first two series focused on the Jedi and the Empire, this one goes off the grid with Tales of the Underworld.
Continue reading “Nika Futterman on Bringing Layers to Asajj Ventress in ‘Tales of the Underworld’”
Although it’s been just under two months since Cobra Kai came to an end, the Karate Kid universe is soon to welcome a new entry in the form of Karate Kid: Legends. Starring Jackie Chan, Ralph Macchio, and Ben Wang, the seemingly separate worlds of the original Karate Kid and the 2010 remake congregate, merging the teachings of both kung fu and karate together.
Continue reading “New ‘Karate Kid: Legends’ Trailer Teases Potential for Post-‘Cobra Kai’ Canon”
When you grow up not seeing much in the way of representation of yourself onscreen, you grasp onto the instances where the bits and pieces do seep through. To be both Filipino and mixed race was a tall order of an expectation to see in mainstream media, and so I gravitated towards any representation that was close enough, even if it meant finding it in the just-as-hard-to-find character qualities.
Continue reading “Finding Representation Through Michelle Trachtenberg as ‘Harriet the Spy’”
The 97th Academy Awards are just around the corner, and the film adaptation of Wicked is in the running with 10 nominations; including Best Actress for Cynthia Erivo, Best Supporting Actress for Ariana Grande, and Best Picture.
Continue reading “Jon M. Chu Knows How to Direct Scenes About Being Seen”
In the 20 years since Avatar: The Last Airbender debuted on Nickelodeon, a common question that’s shared among the fan base is which of the four elements — water, earth, fire, air — would one want to bend. Whether it be based on the element of one’s astrological sign or the connection they feel for a character who bends said element, it makes for a fun conversation topic.
Continue reading “How the United States is This World’s Fire Nation”
Nearly seven years after its debut, Cobra Kai has come to an end. The third and final batch of episodes from its sixth and final season dropped on Netflix last Thursday, bringing with it some of the best writing and acting to come out of the entire series, all the while wrapping up loose ends. Did any of it have to do with the show’s dodgy efforts at Asian and Asian American representation? Not at all!
Continue reading “The Final Verdict on Asian Representation in ‘Cobra Kai’”
Breath of the Dragon is a new young adult fantasy novel and the first of a duology penned by Fonda Lee and Shannon Lee, inspired by characters and concepts of the latter’s father, Bruce Lee.
Continue reading “Fonda Lee and Shannon Lee Talk Collaborating on YA Fantasy Novel, ‘Breath of the Dragon’”
Actor Gerald Ramsey has had quite a year of milestones. After nearly a decade of playing Mufasa in the North American touring production of The Lion King, he bowed out of the Pride Lands back in September. In November, he made his voice acting debut in Moana 2 as Tautai Vasa; the ancestor of Moana who summons her on her new mission to reunite the people of other islands.
Continue reading “Gerald Faitala Ramsey on Voyaging from ‘The Lion King’ to ‘Moana 2’ and Beyond”
There’s something splendidly meta about seeing kids pretend to have a lightsaber battle, in a galaxy where there actually are Jedi and lightsabers. That’s what came to mind while watching the premiere of the newest Star Wars live-action series, Skeleton Crew, where a group of kids come across an abandoned starship and accidentally launch themselves into space.
Continue reading “‘Skeleton Crew’ Soldifies a Wizard Time of Adventure and Mystery”
Voltron: Legendary Defender is departing Netflix. That’s right. The DreamWorks 2016 reboot of the 1984 series that straight up opens each episode with the reveal that it’s “A Netflix Original Series” is being removed from the platform, six years following its series finale.
Continue reading “Reasons Why ‘Voltron: Legendary Defender’ Will Remain Memorable”
WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Cobra Kai Season 6, Part 2.
Cobra Kai is a Netflix title I’ve had a love-hate relationship with since its debut in 2018, initially on YouTube Red.
Continue reading “The Outrageous Plot Choices and Treatment of Asian Characters in ‘Cobra Kai’”
George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, has said that when he made the original trilogy of films, the initial target audience were kids. And yet, in the time since then, not only has that detail seemed to have been lost in the ongoing discourse on the franchise, but rarely has there been Star Wars productions with said demographic as the central characters.
Continue reading “‘Skeleton Crew’ Star Ravi Cabot-Conyers on Being a Kid in a ‘Star Wars’ Production”
The official trailer for Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is out, and… wait, is that Peter Schilling’s “Major Tom (Coming Home),” I hear? Already it was something to behold to have an artist create a song for the previous live-action series, The Acolyte, with Victoria Monét’s “Power of Two,” but to actually license a song for a trailer for a Star Wars series is very unusual.
Continue reading “‘Skeleton Crew’ Trailer Brings the ‘80s Vibes in Story and Sound”