On June 19, 1992, Batman Returns premiered and was unlike any comic book superhero movie that came before — or after. Starring Michael Keaton as Batman, Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman, and Danny DeVito as Penguin, Batman Returns was a beautiful dark twisted fantasy that doubled down on Tim Burton’s gothic tendencies and created one of the most enduring female characters in superhero cinema.
Continue reading “Ira Madison III Talks Catwoman and the 25th Anniversary of Batman Returns“
After shattering box office glass ceilings with a $200 million global debut, Keith breaks down the latest, and most successful, entry in the DC Extended Universe with two Wonder Women in their own right: N’Jaila Rhee (@BlasianBytch) — who also wrote the official NOC review — and Britney Monae (@HiBritneyMonae). Together they rank Wonder Woman against other comic book superhero movies and why the “No Man’s Land” scene is the best, discuss the problems with the last act of the movie, break down the argument that Gal Gadot is a person of color and/or a Zionist, and determine which Chris is the Ultimate Champion White Actor Dude Named Chris.
Continue reading “Wonder Woman, Now the World is Ready For You”
The second season of AMC’s Into the Badlands concludes on Sunday, so our intrepid live tweeter Laura Sirikul joins Keith to look back on one of our favorite shows! Of course, they can’t help juxtaposing Ballands and Iron Fist, but they also explain Daniel Wu’s previous comments about whitewashing and why Oliver Stark needs to be a guest on a future episode. They also share their predictions about the finale and how Keith decided to mashup Badlands and Hamilton for #IntoTheHamLands.
Hard NOC Life is back with a special episode dedicated to the 40th anniversary of Star Wars! Keith is joined by the hosts of Desi Geek Girls, Swapna Krishna and Preeti Chhibber, to talk about their experience meeting Riz Ahmed and Mark Hamill at Star Wars Celebration, Rogue One and the increasingly diverse galaxy, the need for more women of color in Star Wars, and why Rebels is the best!
Continue reading “May the 40th Anniversary of Star Wars Be With You”
In the first part of a special podcast crossover with DC TV Classics, Keith chats with Into the Badlands co-creator Al Gough. They talk about Al’s start in Hollywood with his writing and producing partner Miles Millar; working with Hong Kong cinema legends like Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Donnie Yen, Michelle Yeoh, and Daniel Wu; how difficult it is to accurately portray kung fu on broadcast television; and the importance of representation and why the onus is on producers and directors to find and cast diverse talent.
Subscribe to DC TV Classics or download part two of this interview here.
Continue reading “Journey Into the Badlands with Co-Creator Al Gough”
Last week, we hosted a special live-streamed edition of Hard NOC Life with filmmaker John Brougher about his new short film Iron and Rage. John talks about his inspiration for creating his own #AAIronFist and why representation of Asian American humanity on screen is so important.
Doctor Strange. Iron Fist. Ghost in the Shell. It’s hard out there to be an Asian American actor. Or an Asian American consumer of media. Or someone who would prefer to see more Asian Americans on screen (and behind the scenes). That’s why guest host Valerie Complex (whose #IAmMajor clapback recently went viral) gathered an all-star panel to talk about being Asian in Hollywood: feminist pop culture writer Clara Mae, Geeks of Color Creative Director (and Finn Jones’ favorite person on Twitter) Asyiqin Haron, Man in the High Castle actor Lee Shorten, and (the man who should’ve been) Iron Fist’s Lewis Tan.
Continue reading “An All-Star Lineup Discusses Whitewashing and Asian Erasure”
It’s been nearly a year since we were hit with the double whammy of Tilda Swinton and Scarlett Johannson. Now with Iron Fist and Ghost in the Shell just around the corner, we’re joined by BuzzFeed News’ entertainment reporter Susan Cheng to let us know where Asian Americans currently stand in the greater pop cultural landscape.
Continue reading “BuzzFeed’s Susan Cheng on the State of AAPI Pop Culture”
In our final live edition of Hard NOC Life from the NOC Reading Lounge at CTRL+ALT — the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center’s pop-up culture lab in the former Pear River Mart location in SoHo, award-winning poet Bryan Thao Worra discusses the literature of the Laotian diaspora and explains why the Asian American literay canon needs more speculative fiction.
Continue reading “Bryan Thao Worra on Lao Science Fiction (From CTRL+ALT)”
Back in November, we recorded a live edition of Hard NOC Life from the NOC Reading Lounge at CTRL+ALT — the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center’s pop-up culture lab in the former Pear River Mart location in SoHo. Hamilton superfans Constance Gibbs, Kendra James, and Kevin T. Morales joined Keith to nerd out over the smash Broadway hit musical Hamilton.
Continue reading “History as Fan Fiction: A CTRL+ALT Panel on Hamilton“
