From the Outside Looking In: On Navigating Hollywood’s Double Strikes

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract. While it now needs to go to a ratification vote, the 148-day long WGA strike — the second longest in the union’s history — has come to an end.

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Visual Communications Celebrates 39th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival

The 39th year of the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival is upon us! The annual showcase for Asian diaspora, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and international Asians in cinema returns just in time for Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May.

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Hunter Gorinson Named President and Publisher of Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group

Earlier this week we had a chance to talk to some of our friends at Lion Forge about their highly anticipated animated series adaptation of Iyanu: Child of Wonder. And today the company has made a whopper of an announcement as former Boom Studios-exec Hunter Gorinson has joined the team as President and Publisher of the Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group.

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James Gunn and Peter Safran to Lead Newly Formed DC Studios

Well, that settles it. Warner Bros. Discovery has found their own K.E.V.I.N robot to lead the DC Universe in film, television, and animation. Actually, make that robots, plural, as Hollywood Reporter has broken the news that James Gunn and producer Peter Safran will be co-CEOs of the newly created DC Studios.

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New Poster and Trailer for Jo Koy’s ‘Easter Sunday’

Easter is coming this August, folks! And by that I mean, Easter Sunday! For someone like me, who is Filipino American, this is a really, incredibly special moment. We now actually have a major studio financed and distributed wide release centering on a Filipino family.

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Gold House Has Shared the 2022 A100 List and will Launch the First-Ever Gold Gala

Gold House — the leading Asian and Pacific Islander changemaker community that unites, invests in, and promotes API creative and companies — has announced its annual A100 List. The list recognizes the 100 APIs that have impacted American culture and society during the last year. Gold House has also revealed that for the first time ever, these honorees will be honored and celebrated in person!

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The Middle Geeks Episode 31: ‘Dune’ Review

Denis Villeneuve’s Dune adaptation, based on a book that was explicitly and heavily influenced by Middle East and North African (MENA) and Islamic cultures, is out, and we are joined by our friends and fellow MENA critics Hanna Flint and Roxana Hadadi to review it.

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Stand Up to Cancer to Honor Chadwick Boseman With a Special Tribute

When Chadwick Boseman passed away last year at the age of 43 after a private battle with colon cancer, communities across the globe were stunned. His ability to battle the debilitating disease all while filming physically demanding roles spoke to his drive and commitment as a creator. Because of this, and his tireless efforts off screen, Stand Up To Cancer® (SU2C) will honor the beloved activist and creator with a special tribute by his wife Simone and host Anthony Anderson at this year’s fundraising special.

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Ava DuVernay Brings Masterful Touch to New Unscripted Series ‘Home Sweet Home’

Ava DuVernay’s work continues to put forward necessary conversations about identity, community, and society, and her newest unscripted series, coming to NBC in October, will again show off her creative genius. Home Sweet Home is equal parts social experiment and cultural exploration, as 18 different families from various backgrounds accept the challenge of exploring a world unlike their own. The series from the Emmy winning and Academy Award-nominated creator will follow two families in each episode who trade spaces to experience life outside their own home.

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McDonald’s Collaborates with Saweetie to Create ‘The Saweetie Meal’

With the success of McDonald’s collaboration with Travis Scott and BTS, Saweetie is joining in on the fun with her own McDonald’s meal.

Starting August 9, everyone can order The Saweetie Meal, which features a Big Mac, 4-piece Chicken McNuggets, medium World Famous Fries, a medium Sprite, Tangy BBQ Sauce and “Saweetie ‘N Sour” sauce — the same Sweet ‘N Sour sauce you know and love, re-named in honor of the new meal.

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Activision Blizzard’s Toxic Culture is Part of a Larger, Ongoing Conversation about Video Games

This week, employees at Activision Blizzard plan to walkout in protest over work conditions and leadership’s poor response to workplace treatment of women — particularly women of color, transgender women, nonbinary people, and other marginalized groups, according to a Kotaku report. On July 20, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a lawsuit alleging that the company cultivated a toxic and sexist, “frat boy” workplace environment, and since the bombshell news dropped, scores of former and current employees, reporters, and gaming leaders have voiced their concerns over the lack of accountability on the part of Activision Blizzard.

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Hayley Law and Keith Powers Star in Avan Jogia’s Feature Debut ‘Door Mouse’

Highland Film Group are handling the worldwide rights for Avan Jogia’s feature writing and directing debut, Door Mouse. Hayley Law, Keith Powers, Famke Janssen, and Donal Logue star in the new film, which has just wrapped production in Canada.

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The Sweeping, Epic Teaser Trailer for ‘Eternals’ Appears

For anyone who needs further reason of why Chloe Zhao made history as the first POC woman to win an Oscar for Best Director–behold!

The first trailer for Marvel Studios’ Eternals has FINALLY hit the internet! And as we anticipated, this looks like no Marvel Studios film we’ve ever seen up to now! But before I go into how special this is, take a look for yourselves now!

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Santa Monica to Celebrate Cultural Diversity, Explore Identity During AAPI Heritage Month

The City of Santa Monica will celebrate Asian American Pacific  Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month with two virtual community events on May 19 and 20 celebrating the diverse cultures within the AAPI community, highlighting AAPI contributions, and exploring the challenges faced by the community during the pandemic.

You don’t need to be in sunny California to enjoy these events planned by Santa Monica. There are some interesting panels and performances being presented at the two-day event.

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Race Through 20 Years of ‘Fast and Furious’ in New Featurette

NOC Readers! Our friends over at Tremendous Communications, shared this brand new featurette from Universal Pictures’ Fast and Furious 9, entitled, “The Originals“, which celebrates 20 years of the the blockbuster franchise!

F9 sees the return of Justin Lin as director, who helmed the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth chapters of the series when it transformed into a global blockbuster!

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The Middle Geeks Episode 26: ‘The Present’ in Palestine

We discuss the most recent IDF and Israeli government brutalization and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza and East Jerusalem and discuss what the world and the US need to do to help those affected and end the occupation. We discuss what the daily reality is like for Palestinians in the West Bank through Farah Nabulsi’s brilliant short film, The Present, which you can watch on Netflix. Please do what you can to help Palestinians in need.

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ABC Has Renewed ‘The Goldbergs’ for a Season 9

The beloved comedy, which is set in the ‘80s, stars Wendi McLendon-Covey, Sean Giambrone, Troy Gentile, Hayley Orrantia, Jeff Garlin, and Sam Lerner. The season 8 finale is set to air on Wednesday, May 19, and is titled, “The Proposal.” If you’re looking for a new favorite comfort show, The Goldbergs has you covered.

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Check Out the New Trailer and Poster for ‘The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard’

Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Salma Hayek, Antonio Banderas, and Morgan Freeman star in The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, which hits theaters on June 16. As we get closer to the film’s premiere, the cast shared an all new trailer and poster with fans on social media!

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Michael Keaton, Maggie Q, and Samuel L. Jackson Star in ‘The Protégé’

Do you see that line up? Whom do I give my money to?! I need this now. Yes, NOC readers! Some of our faves are coming together for a brand new project and my friends over at Lionsgate came thru with the 411 to get us hype and ready! Check out the new trailer and official teaser poster for the film!

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Hulu’s Teen Sex Comedy ‘Plan B’ Trailer Has Women of Color Leading the Charge

It’s about time we have a sex-fueled teen adventure comedy starring an Asian woman, particularly a South Asian woman. Most of the tween/teen shows have been surrounded by East or Southeast Asian leads and South Asians teens not getting their chance to be horny. Sure, we have Netflix’s Never Have I Ever, which is excellent, but that seems to be it. Also, depictions of South Asian teens have been stuck in a bubble where they are always the straight-laced high school girl who does want to get in trouble, but in the end, decides not to act on it.

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