The Middle Geeks review the concluding film Wicked: For Good and what it has to say about fighting for your cause.
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 75: ‘Wicked: For Good’ and Fighting for a Cause”
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”
Wicked director Jon M. Chu has long been fascinated with the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Growing up in San Francisco as a child of immigrants, Chu saw the Yellow Brick Road as the path toward the dream, leading to the Wizard, who could fulfill these wishes.
Continue reading “‘Wicked’ Director Jon M. Chu Compares the Wizard’s Popularity to Clickbait”
I don’t care if this statement isn’t going to be… popular. Since we’re living in a time where more than half the country voted for an elected official/convicted felon trying to use people of color as a scapegoat to elevate his platform and retain the pitiful amount of “power” he has, I’d say a movie like Wicked could not come out at a better moment.
Continue reading “NOC Review: ‘Wicked’ is the Movie We Need In These Wicked Times”
There are many superlatives that best describe Michelle Yeoh: Legendary. Iconic. Stunning. Talented. Brilliant. And, now… Triple Threat.
Continue reading “‘Wicked’ Star Michelle Yeoh is Ready to Have Her Voice Heard”
Wicked: Part One is almost here! As one of the year’s most anticipated films, Universal released a new trailer, giving audiences a glimpse into the lives of Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande) and their magical friendship, which eventually turned into what we know from L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz.
Continue reading “New ‘Wicked’ Trailer Captures More of Elphaba and Glinda’s Magical Friendship”
Director Jon M. Chu has always been amazing at bringing musicals to life on the big screen. With the release of the new Wicked trailer, it seems he may have done it again!
Continue reading “‘Wicked’ Official Trailer Asks the Question: Are People Born Wicked?”
Something has changed within him. Something is not the same. It’s because Crazy Rich Asians director, Jon M. Chu has now officially fulfilled his dream of bringing his passion project to life — Wicked!
Continue reading “New ‘Wicked’ Featurette Spotlights Jon M. Chu’s Passion Project”
I’ve heard it said that trailers come into our lives for a reason. And during the first half of Super Bowl LVIII, one of the most anticipated films of the year was teased when Universal Pictures gave a first look at Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of the Broadway classic, Wicked. And we couldn’t be happier!
Continue reading “Cynthia Erivo Defies Gravity in ‘Wicked’ Super Bowl Teaser”
When Netflix’s Thai Cave Rescue was first announced, executive producer Jon M. Chu immediately tweeted that this project belonged to the people who lived it — the Thai people. He was determined to not let the series be whitewashed or center on white saviors.
Continue reading “‘Thai Cave Rescue’ Producers Wanted the Diaspora to Feel Connected”
There are so many stories and reiterations of the Tham Luang cave rescue of the 12 boys and their football coach being released. From documentaries to dramatic films, the story of the heroic rescue has yet to be told through the eyes of the Thai people. In Netflix’s Thai Cave Rescue, the limited series will touch on the untold perspectives of the boys at the center of the rescue.
Continue reading “Netflix’s ‘Thai Cave Rescue’ Focuses on the Perspectives of the Boys and Coach”
Netflix’s Fund for Creative Equity Initiative have announced their inaugural cohort of the Future Gold Film Fellowship. Netflix Golden, the company’s newest social media channel for the pan-Asian diaspora, shared the news earlier today.
Working with Gold House and Tribeca, Netflix created a program designed to elevate three Asian and Pacific Islander directors. This year, Lloyd Lee Choi, Erin Lau, and Derek Nguyen were selected for the fellowship.
Continue reading “Netflix Announces Inaugural Cohort of the Future Gold Film Fellowship”
Wicked, Universal Pictures’ film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical, has found Elphaba and Glinda in Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, respectively. The film adaptation is being helmed by In the Heights director Jon M. Chu.
Continue reading “Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande to Star in Movie Adaptation of Broadway’s ‘Wicked’”
Last month, the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore hosted our own Keith Chow in conversation with New York Times bestselling author Kevin Kwan as part of their “Writer’s Live” series. Because they spent a portion of their talk discussing Kevin’s childhood in Texas, we are presenting that conversation in its entirety for Southern Fried Asian!
I once heard the great political philosopher and activist Angela Davis argue that Americans are so obsessed with race as an identifying feature that when we meet racially ambiguous people, we are anxious until we know on which side of the color line they fall. Upon hearing this, I was relieved by the articulation of something I had suspected was at the heart of my experience. It was like experiencing great art, that rush of adrenaline that comes with recognizing what we’ve known all along presented as fantastically new.
Continue reading “The ‘Heights’ of Anxiety and the Color Line: Racial Ambiguity in a Culture of Absolutes”
Now that In the Heights is officially in theaters and streaming on HBO Max, what better time than now to re-up my convo with Lin-Manuel Miranda, originally recorded for the Hard NOC Life podcast.
Continue reading “NOC Interview: Lin-Manuel Miranda on the Making of ‘In The Heights’”
For our review of the film, click here.
The anticipated release of WB’s In the Heights is set to release this week, but the long-lasting impact of the film will affect many BIPOC, especially those from the Latinx community, for a lifetime.
Continue reading “NOC Exclusive Interviews with ‘In The Heights’ Director Jon M. Chu and the Cast”
Warner Bros. has moved up the opening of Jon M. Chu’s big screen adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes’s Tony Award-winning musical, In the Heights, a day early. So it won’t be long now!
To hold you over until Thursday night, Chu and Miranda went to social media to announce they’re releasing the first eight minutes of the movie — essentially, the entire opening number — even earlier.
Continue reading “Light’s Up on the Opening Number from ‘In the Heights’”
On a new Hard NOC Life, Keith finally talks to Lin-Manuel Miranda about adapting his first musical, In the Heights, for the big screen. But before that, he is joined by Dominic, Britney, and Shawn to break down the Eternals trailer.
Continue reading “Hard NOC Life 219: Lin-Manuel Miranda! + The ‘Eternals’ Trailer Reaction”
It seems like only yesterday when national treasure and lyricist genius Lin-Manuel Miranda graced the Richard Rodgers Theatre as Usnavi in the Broadway production of In the Heights. Now, 13 years later, the Tony Award-winning musical is finally premiering on the big screen next month.
Continue reading “‘In the Heights’ Captures the Beauty of Washington Heights and the Community Behind It”
Few comic book characters mean more to me than G.I. Joe’s resident Ninja Commando. Created by Larry Hama and based on the Hasbro action figure designs, Snake Eyes wasn’t just my favorite action figure, he unlocked my imagination as a child. A silent warrior with a classified name and background meant that anyone could be beneath that iconic all-black mask. So for years, Snake Eyes looked like me until the comics eventually revealed the man underneath was yet another white-guy-who-happens-to-be-best-Asian.
Continue reading “Actions Speak Louder than Words: Henry Golding on Being ‘Snake Eyes’”
Warner Bros. has released the trailer for the anticipated musical film In the Heights, and it does not disappoint. Directed by Jon M. Chu, In the Heights brings back Lin-Manuel Miranda’s score and a screenplay by Quiara Alegría Hudes, the … Continue reading ‘In the Heights’ Trailer Celebrates Life in Washington Heights
In the Heights has played a huge role in the lives of the actors who created and originated in the original Broadway musical. Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda became an overnight superstar on Broadway. After the success of In the Heights and another Award-winning musical Hamilton, Miranda became a National Treasure. He was also credited for discovering the actors who performed in his musicals, including Anthony Ramos, who is now starring as Usnavi, a role that Miranda originated on Broadway.
Continue reading “Anthony Ramos Credits the ‘In the Heights’ Musical for His Career”