NOC Exclusive: Trailer & Key Art for ARRAY’S ‘WHO WE BECOME’

The past three years have been a troubling time for people. With the pandemic and the murder and hate crimes against Black and Asian Americans, it can make or break you as a human being. In PJ Raval’s documentary WHO WE BECOME, three young Filipino women grapple with the global pandemic while forging unexpected connections with their families as they deal with the unknown of the coronavirus, the Black Lives Matter peaceful protests, and the circumstances surrounding Stop Asian Hate.

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The Persian Version

The Middle Geeks Episode 57: Maryam Keshavarz on Telling ‘The Persian Version’

Before anything else, we would like listeners to know we have an episode on Palestine coming soon. In the meantime we’re sharing donation links as we have done before.

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Preston Choi’s ‘This is Not a True Story’ Examines the Dark History of Asian Heroines

“Why do I have to die so you can learn your lesson?” says Kim (Chacha Tahng), the ill-fated character from the Tony Award-winning musical Miss Saigon, in Preston Choi’s This is Not a True Story. She continues on her tirade with her fellow doomed counterparts, CioCio (Julia Cho) from the tragic Madame Butterfly, and Kumiko (Jo Yuan) from the 2014 film, Kumiko: The Treasure Hunter. 

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A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘Hungry Ghost’

Written by Lisa Sanaye Dring and directed by Jessica Hanna, the world premiere of Hungry Ghost at the Skylight Theatre Company is easily one of the best Los Angeles plays of 2023 with some of the most innovative acting, stage, and lighting design I’ve seen this year.

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F.C. Yee Talks Exploring a Deliberate Contrast in ‘The Legacy of Yangchen’

The Legacy of Yangchen is the latest book in the Chronicles of the Avatar series, and the last of the Yangchen duology. In the aftermath of the events of The Dawn of Yangchen, the airbending Avatar finds herself in the difficult position of having to de-escalate conflicts between heads of states of the Four Nations, in the midst of the threat of a powerful new weapon. To makes things even more difficult for her, she must turn to assistance from Kavik, whom she’s not on good terms, following an act of betrayal by the latter from their previous adventure together.

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NOC Review: Strap in for a Smart, Sweet, and Hilarious ‘Joy Ride’

Name me a single raunchy R-rated comedy prior to 2022, starring Asian leads. Okay, you probably said the Harold and Kumar trilogy. But what about Asian women? That becomes a bit more challenging. It’s hard to find many Apatow-level comedies outside of Bridesmaids and Girls Trip even led by female ensembles or directed by female filmmakers, let alone a predominantly Asian one. But we now finally have one in Joy Ride.

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‘Joy Ride’ Cast and Crew on Being Unapologetically Funny and Changing the Narrative

Joy Ride is just as much a celebration of friendship as it is of finding your identity and family. And all of that is seen through the Asian lens. So while there may be cultural specificities, there’s a universal story that should resonate with audiences abroad.

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Adrian Tomine’s Classic Graphic Novel is Brought to Life in ‘Shortcomings’ Trailer

During the early aughts, indie comics were the only place to find Asian American stories by Asian American cartoonists. One of the biggest books to come out in that period was Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine. Now, a decade and a half later, that indie comic has been turned into an indie movie at Sony Pictures Classics in Randall Park’s directorial debut.

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Chloe Bennet Talks the Importance of ‘Rally Road Racers’ and Working on ‘Dave’

Chloe Bennet can be heard lending her voice in Rally Road Racers as well as be seen portraying Robyn in FX’s Dave, which you can stream on Hulu. I spoke with the actress about why she enjoys voice acting, the importance of choosing projects that promote diversity, what she hopes her character in Dave represents for women, and more.

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‘Joy Ride’ Celebrates Individuality with Character Posters

It’s the last day of AAPI Heritage month, Lionsgate gifted audiences with special character posters from their new comedy, Joy Ride. The posters speak for themselves on each of their unique personalities. The four main characters consists of Audrey (Ashley Park), the responsible one; Lolo (Sherry Cola), the mouthy fun one; Kat (Stephanie Hsu), the almost-famous one; and, Deadeye (Sabrina Wu), the chaotic — and unexpected — one.

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Southern Fried Asian: Nat Myers

Southern Fried Asian returns for a special AAPI Heritage Month episode featuring Kentucky-based blues musician, Nat Myers! He and Keith discuss the events that inspired his forthcoming album, Yellow Peril and his connection to Aquaman himself, Jason Momoa.

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For AANHPI Heritage Month, Here are 50 West Asians in Pop Culture You Should Know

May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month, a cause for celebration of these many diverse communities. But far too often, many who champion this month have belied and ignored specific groups within this collective, often presenting a limited scope of who counts as “Asian” or “Asian American” in this collective consciousness.

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Anna Cathcart is Ready for the Spotlight in ‘X.O. Kitty’

Anna Cathcart didn’t expect her character Kitty in Netflix’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before to explode the way it did. She had played the charismatic matchmaker for three films and it looks like Netflix couldn’t get enough of Kitty. Now Cathcart returns as the title character on her own series, X.O. Kitty. 

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‘The Ghost and Molly McGee’ Exclusive Clip: “Molly Culture Cram”

There is a lot to be said about a show that is entertaining but also packs a punch when it comes to relatability. Disney Channel’s The Ghost and Molly McGee (and Disney’s Amphibia) has always been the show for me, growing up in a Thai American household.

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Gateway Horror Gets Animated in ‘Gremlins: Secret of the Mogwai’

The original Gremlins films are one of the best gateways to horror. While the titular creatures are terrifying to watch as they terrorize the screen, it’s all balanced out by its cute, cuddly, and courageous hero Gizmo. And it was that mix of adorable kid-friendly humor with the gruesome murders that reminded us of what made it such a cult classic.

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Super Smack is Shamelessly Asian American in “Orange Chicken!”

It was a pleasant surprise to see an email invite from Super Smack inviting me to the listening party for his next single. It had been a few weeks since I had last seen him but I heard his voice everywhere. “Cute!” and “Grind!” started to show up in rotation through my TikTok For You Page and several of my personal friends would remark hearing the songs in their feeds as well. It was no denying his songs were picking up traction, but what exactly was resonating with the listeners? I finally had the perfect opportunity to find out. 

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‘Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai’ Cast and Creator Talk Representation

Max’s Gremlins: Secret of the Mogwai invites audiences old and new to discover the origins of Gizmo and the rules to take care of them properly. While the original film took place during Christmastime in the ’80s, showrunner Tze Chun’s animated period piece serves as a prequel to the family-friendly cult classic that brought us plenty of laughs and frights.

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Priya Kansara and Ritu Arya on Leading Nida Manzoor’s ‘Polite Society’

In anticipation of Nida Manzoor’s thrilling masterpiece Polite Society premiering in theaters, we spoke with stars of the film Priya Kansara and Ritu Arya on taking the lead roles of the Khan sisters.

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