This weekend marks the beginning of the Year of the Ox! To celebrate, Tom and Jerry star and friend of the NOC, Chef Jackie/Señor Chang/Leslie Chow, himself — that’s right, Ken Jeong — has recorded a special Lunar New greeting exclusively for The Nerds of Color!
Continue reading “Happy Lunar New Year from ‘Tom and Jerry’ and Ken Jeong!”
If it wasn’t clear by the additions of The Blue Falcon, Dynomutt, Dick Dastardly, and Captain Caveman to the mix, Scoob is not just a tribute to the cowardly canine and the Mystery Inc. gang, but an actual celebration of the fun-tastic world of Hanna-Barbera! If you were a child who grew up watching, not only Scooby Doo, Where Are You?, but also Wacky Races or even any Hanna-Barbera cartoon, you’ll definitely appreciate the movie. Cute, funny, and heartfelt, Scoob will make you yearn for the days where you could plop yourself in front of the TV on a Saturday morning with a sugary bowl of cereal, and sing along to the theme songs from your favorite toons. Because at it’s core, that’s what this movie is — a delightful, colorful, clever bowl of sugary goodness.
Continue reading “NOC Review: ‘Scoob,’ This is How You ‘Doo’ It!”
Don’t tell Awkwafina that it’s her moment or that it’s her year.
Sure, the actress/rapper starred in this summer’s Ocean’s 8 and is starring in next week’s much-anticipated romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians, but the idea of it being just a moment stresses her out.
“I get stressed out when people tell me, ‘this is my best year’ or ‘this is my best summer ever’ or I’m having a ‘moment,’ because all of those things imply a fleeting sensibility,” said Awkwafina. “I want to continue doing this but at the same time, how? How do you do that? There are a lot of questions for me still. I do have that Asian grandma mentality — that kind of doomed mentality — and I think that’s why I have a hard time taking it in. I’m enjoying myself and I feel truly blessed. I feel very lucky.”
Continue reading “Awkwafina Accepts Repping Asian Americans”
Leaving the theater for Crazy Rich Asians, I couldn’t help but feel like all the articles and podcasts and panel discussions had somehow culminated in this one movie. I feel like I’ve been screaming from the rooftops for something just like this. Why did it have to take 25 years for this kind of major studio-backed all-Asian movie? In absolute truth, it’s not just good for an “Asian” film. It’s just plain good. And it is exactly what we needed.
Continue reading “‘Crazy Rich Asians’ is Exactly the Movie We Needed”
Crazy Rich Asians continued their press tour with a visit to the Upright Citizens Brigade Sunset in Los Angeles tonight. Four members of the Crazy Rich Asians cast — comedians Nico Santos, Jimmy O. Yang, Ronny Chieng, and Ken Jeong … Continue reading ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Celebrate a Night of Comedy with Asian AF
Last week, one of the most-lauded science fiction films of the year was released digitally, on demand, and in cinemas in New York and the Bay Area. The film, Advantageous, a special jury award-winner at Sundance, tells the story of a single mother and the sacrifices she makes for her daughter in a pre-dystopian, near-future not unlike our own time.
Starring Jacqueline Kim (Star Trek Generations), Jennifer Ehle (Zero Dark Thirty), and Ken Jeong (The Hangover), the film’s writer/director Jennifer Phang recently joined Keith for a special one-on-one edition of Hard NOC Life.
So a few days ago, I wrote a thing. Maybe you’ve seen it. Ever since that post has been passed around, I’ve been taken to task about the stars I included (or didn’t include) on the list and whether or not I was basically proving Sorkin’s point by coming up with only three names.
On the first point, the names I included were not meant to be my casting suggestions for the role of Brad Katsuyama in a hypothetical Flash Boys movie. Instead, I was more concerned with Sorkin’s assertion that Asian movie stars didn’t exist. So I went to Box Office Mojo, and scanned their list of actors’ all-time domestic grosses and looked for the ones who were (North) American of Asian descent — whether or not you think hapas or Pacific Islanders should’ve been appropriately considered criteria is another matter1.
Continue reading “Asian Americans Should be Movie Stars: an Update”
