Memo to Non-Asians: Jeannie Mai is Not Brenda Song, and Riz Ahmed is Not Dev Patel

February 13, 2017February 13, 2017 Jenn

Originally posted at Reappropriate

It’s only been a month since racist Trump trolls misidentified a woman at Rex Tillerson’s confirmation hearing as Washington Post editor Doris Truong, Inside Climate News’ Lisa Song, travel and parenting writer Leslie Hsu Oh, or basically any East Asian woman journalist of any prominence — and already people who think all Asians are the same person are at it again.

Over the weekend, the Twitter account for Burberry tweeted excitedly about actor Dev Patel at the British Academy for Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) ceremony, who wore a custom Burberry tuxedo to accept his Best Actor in a Supporting Role award for his part in Lion. The picture that accompanied the tweet? That’s actor and Swet Shop Boys member Riz Ahmed… who is also not Dev Patel.

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Art, Marvel7 Comments

#AAIronFist Fan Art by Alison Roberts

March 16, 2016March 16, 2016 The Nerds of Color

We all know Marvel and Netflix passed on the opportunity to cast an Asian American actor in the role of Danny Rand on their upcoming Iron Fist series. Still, that didn’t prevent artist Alison Roberts from illustrating what Danny might have looked like as an Asian American.

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Marvel, Movies15 Comments

Hollywood’s Strange Erasure of Asian Characters

June 1, 2015April 13, 2016 Jenn

Originally posted at Reappropriate

A mere week after I wrote a post swearing off of sharing fan news, the fandom insidiously pulled me back in.

This week, rumours began circulating that Tilda Swinton was in casting negotiations for Marvel’s upcoming Doctor Strange film starring Benedict Cumberbatch in the titular role. Swinton is being considered for the role of the Ancient One, a nearly-immortal Tibetan sorcerer who becomes the young Doctor Strange’s mystic tutor and personal mentor.

That’s right. Tilda Swinton — a British actor whose Wikipedia article notes that she can trace her Anglo-Scot heritage back to the Middle Ages and who is about as far from “Tibetan” as one might get — may be cast to play a racebent and genderbent version of one of the few Asian characters of prominence in the Mystic Marvel world.

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Animation, Comics1 Comment

Steven Yeun to Star in Animated Chew Feature

May 2, 2014May 2, 2014 Jenn

Originally posted at Reappropriate | (H/T Angry Asian Man)

After much effort to create a live-action version of Chew — understandably hampered by the story’s routine use of cannibalism as a central plot device — producers have decided to go in a different direction and create an animated feature instead (that is expected to go straight to home release). This, I think, is a good decision: the book has a very specific tone and atypical humour that I think would not translate very well through a live-action script.

And, in what is a near-perfect casting choice, producers have tapped Steven Yeun, best-known for his incredible portrayal of The Walking Dead‘s Glenn Rhee, to voice the main character of Tony Chu.

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Horror, Television4 Comments

#NOCemDead: We Live-Tweeted the Walking Dead Premiere

October 14, 2013August 12, 2022 The Nerds of Color

Last night, millions of viewers tuned in to AMC’s The Walking Dead for its fourth season premiere. And the Nerds were no exception. Throughout the broadcast, our very own Jenn Fang took to twitter to live-tweet the whole thing. Some choice tweets are below, but you can view the whole stream on Storify or follow @TheNerdsofColor on twitter. Use the hashtag #NOCemDead to join in on the fun as we attempt to live-tweet the whole season!