A Talk With Real Life Hero Nicole Maines, aka Dreamer on ‘Supergirl’

The strength of a hero is not just defined by their powers. Who they are, outside of those uncomfortable looking tights, is just as important. A hero with a strong sense of character has the ability to do what’s right, and turn their long and difficult journey into a message of hope for everyone who sees them. With that being the case, Nicole Maines is just as much a superhero offscreen as she is on.

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Chyler Leigh Owns Our Screens with ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Return and ‘Supergirl’ Season Premiere

The moment fans have been waiting for is finally here, Chyler Leigh is making her return to Grey’s Anatomy this Thursday in “Breathe.” Leigh left the show back at the end of season 8 after joining in season 3 as Lexie Grey. Her death devastated fans, her final scenes ensuring there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.

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‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Characters We Need to Return in Season 17

Grey’s Anatomy is thrilling fans with surprise appearances from all of our old favorites. Patrick Dempsey’s return as Derek for multiple episodes is definitely a storyline that will go down in Grey’s Anatomy history. T. R. Knight reprised his role as George on the beach and gave fans a rollercoaster of emotions in the best way. Chyler Leigh, who portrayed Lexie, and Sarah Drew, who portrayed April, are both set to return in future episodes as well, much to fans’ delight.

So who else do we want to see (dead or alive) have their big return moment? Let’s discuss.

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The Middle Geeks Episode 22: ‘Breaking Fast’ Review

We are joined by our friend Tariq Raouf to discuss the upcoming film Breaking Fast, which features a gay Arab-American Muslim as its protagonist! We discuss what we enjoyed about the film, what director and writer Mike Mosallam was trying to say with this delightful rom-com, how well it does with representation for Arabs, Muslims, and Ramadan, and where it could have been better. Before that, in our MENA news segment, we have some GREAT news to discuss with Ramy’s May Calamawy being base in Marvel’s Moon Knight! And another of our faves, Rami Malek, has been cast in a lead role in David O’Rusell’s upcoming film! Enjoy listening!

Spoilers for Breaking Fast begin around 26:06

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The Middle Geeks Episode 21: ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ and its MENA Issues

We are joined by the wonderful Hanna Flint to discuss Wonder Woman 1984 in this special bonus episode! We discuss the various ups and downs of the film, how well we thought the actors did with the script and story they had, and whether this movie did Diana Prince/Wonder Woman justice. We also discuss the many racist and Orientalist aspects of its depiction of Egypt and Egyptian people, and how detrimental it is for MENA representation. There’s a LOT to discuss, and we go through it all. Enjoy listening!

Spoilers for Wonder Woman 1984 begin around 11:26.

TW for discussion of rape and sexual assault 11:44 -12:57

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The Middle Geeks Episode 16: ‘A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night’ Review and DC FanDome

We’re starting spooky season a bit early this year with a review of Iranian-American film director Ana Lily Amirpour’s 2014 horror classic “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.” What makes this film so unique in its abstraction and commentary, and how effectively does it pull it off? But before that, we have a heavy news section discussing police violence and brutality in the US, the recent explosion in Lebanon that has exacerbated the country’s numerous problems, and, on a much lighter note, we discuss the plethora of entertainment news out of DC Comics’ online convention DC FanDome!

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From Wands to Bending

Anyone who knows me knows I love The Wizarding World. My entire family does. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was the first ‘big girl book’ my daughter read. Her first serious Halloween costume was that of a Hogwarts’s student — she is a true Gryffindor. My wife loves the films — they are our Christmas tradition. We’ve been to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter more than a few times. The books, the world, have been a part of my life since 1998. But like so many others, I am nursing a huge fan-wound because The Wizarding World’s creator, the TERF Who Must Not Be Named, showed their true colors. Those colors have betrayed the very values and ideals The Wizarding World extols. 

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The Middle Geeks Episode 15: ‘The Old Guard’ Review and Cancel Culture

We have a PACKED episode this month. After discussing some excellent and exciting MENA entertainment news, Mae and Swara review Netflix’s The Old Guard, which is directed by the incredible Gina Prince-Bythewood and stars one of our favorite MENA actors Marwan Kenzari! But before that, we have an open and frank discussion about “cancel culture,” why it scares powerful and privileged white people so much, and how if they just actually devoted themselves to be better people they wouldn’t have to worry about being “canceled.” Enjoy listening!

Spoilers for The Old Guard being around 1:12:00.

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FDI Cast 81: Pearl Jam “Black” Reaction Video

Big Boss Keith Chow joins us for an extra special 81st episode of the F’n Do It Cast!

We do not break our cold open time record.

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FDI Cast 80: I Wanna Be on the Pod Where it Happens

Olympus comes back with beta software that lets you use their micro four thirds systems as a webcam… with a catch.

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Hard NOC Life: Batman Pride Forever

On the last Hard NOC Life of Pride Month, Shawn, Dominic, and Keith re-contextualize Joel Schumacher’s contributions to the legacy of Batman.

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‘Council’ of J: An Interview with J. August Richards

Council of Dads on NBC is one of the most special shows on the air right now. The show, which premiered on March 24 and is now on its 9th episode tonight, is a bold look at grief and its impact on families of all shapes and sizes, tackling subjects like transgender identity, adoption, and unconditional friendship. It also features one of the most diverse casts on television. Out of its ensemble, three of its leads are Black, one is Asian, and one is Trans. And to have a mainstream television show on the air right now with a cast that integrated and inclusive is not only rare, but also quite important. And this past week, The Nerds of Color was able to sit down with one of the show’s leads, J. August Richards.

If you grew up watching Angel or Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D like I did, you’ll know the name J. August Richards is synonymous with “badass.” After all, playing badass vampire hunter, Charles Gunn, and cybernetically-enhanced superhero, Deathlok tends to give you one heck of a reputation. But what most folks don’t know, is the badass-ery extends well beyond what we’ve seen on the small screen. Richards is a true hero and badass in real life. And the Nerds of Color was able to speak with the Council of Dads star to discover that first hand.

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The Spectacular Susan Park on ‘Snowpiercer’

The Eternal Engine keeps on rolling! This past Sunday, TNT’s re-imagining of Snowpiercer made it’s hotly anticipated debut. And while on the show the passengers of the circumnavigating locomotive might seem to be constantly at war with one another, in reality, all the actors that contribute their talents to the series couldn’t be more humble and close to one another. In addition to being able to speak with Jaylin Fletcher early last week, The Nerds of Color was also fortunate enough to chat with Snowpiercer star, Susan Park, who plays the train’s chef, Jinju, to discuss her role, the show’s themes, and the magnificent chemistry with her co-stars.

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Alice Wu’s ‘The Half of It’ is More than Just a Queer Love Story

Director Alice Wu didn’t always think she’d become a filmmaker. 

Her first film back in 2005, Saving Face, a romantic comedy about queer Asian American woman, was written as a “love letter” to her mother about Wu’s own coming out to the Chinese American community.

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Southern Fried Asian: Dino-Ray Ramos

It’s Southern Fried Asian in the time of Corona as Keith welcomes entertainment reporter and Deadline.com editor Dino-Ray Ramos to the podcast.

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Disney’s ‘Mulan’ Will be Rooted in Realism

Over a year ago, in October 2018, I was fortunate the attend the set visit to the live-action version of Disney’s Mulan. Many fans, including myself, have waited over 22 years for the animated version to come to life. It was really surreal to see it play out in person on the set in New Zealand.

When plans of the live-action film were announced in 2015, fans immediately were excited with the idea of seeing their favorite characters come to life — from the Hua family guardian, Mushu, to Mulan’s good luck charm, Cri-Kee, and the bisexual icon, Li Shang.

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NOC Review: ‘Onward’ is Mid-Level Magic for Pixar

In the 25 years since Toy Story first hit theaters, the amount of unfavorable films to come out of Pixar versus the number of instant classics can probably be counted on a single hand. That is an insane and unprecedented track record for any studio, and frankly even their worst films are still infinitely better than the average piece of dreck to come out of, say, Illumination Entertainment. That being said, while Onward does not belong on the aforementioned single hand, it doesn’t quite hit the heights of Wall-E, Up, Inside Out, or Coco either. Don’t get me wrong, Onward is a perfectly fine movie — a good movie. It’s also just quite middle-of-the-road compared to Pixar’s usual quality for two-thirds of it. 

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The Missing Episodes of Disney’s ‘Andi Mack’

Okay, so… someone’s got to say something.

It’s been three months since the launch of the Disney+ streaming service. Since then, viewers have fallen in love with Baby Yoda on The Mandalorian, shed tears over the new shorts released from Pixar’s SparkShorts program, and of course, revisited and binge watched old favorites.

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New Podcast ‘Moonface’ Centers Korean American Queer Experience

James Kim, podcast producer of The Competition, releases his fictional narrative series Moonface on October 9 (tomorrow!). The independent production features Joel Kim Booster (of NBC’s Sunnyside) in the lead role:

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Rachel Maddow in ‘Batwoman’ Heralds Birth of DC/MSNBC Universe

Holy Fancasts, Batwoman! MSNBC news host Rachel Maddow confirmed on-air that she will voice Vesper Fairchild in CW’s Batwoman TV show!

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Southern Fried Asian: Soman Chainani

Southern Fried Asian returns with a brand new episode! Keith is joined by Soman Chainani, the New York Times-bestselling author of the hit children’s fantasy series, the School For Good and Evil. The fifth book in the series, A Crystal of Time, is available now wherever books are sold.

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#GoldOpen Teams Up with AMC Theatres to Promote New Majority

Back in October, when I interviewed Gold Open co-creator Bing Chen on the Southern Fried Asian podcast, he teased a new iteration of the movement established to promote groundbreaking Asian American films like GookCrazy Rich Asians, and Burning. This morning, they revealed what the next stage of Gold Open will look like. In addition to a partnership with AMC theaters to help “streamline group movie-going, theatre buyouts and bulk regular-price ticket purchasing through a ticket buying system,” the Gold Open system will expand and be applied to media from groups dubbed “the New Majority,” i.e., women, the African diaspora, Latinx communities, and LGBTQ+ artists.

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