‘Interior Chinatown’ vs the Asian American Canon, Part I

November 22, 2024January 7, 2025 Dominic Mah

An Epigraph, Which May Be Innocently Mistaken For Deep Eastern Wisdom:

A “trope” isn’t a bad thing. If we (fashionably) describe a show as “trope-y” we might mean stereotype-ish. Stereotypes usually come from archetypes, and stereotypes aren’t inherently a bad thing, but they often end up being tropey… in the undesirable way. Then there’s typecasting, which on-screen Asians contend with often, and we’ll get into that, below. Fade up to:

Marvel, Streaming

Marvel Studios Unveils 2025 Disney+ Slate

October 30, 2024October 30, 2024 Mike Manalo

If you went on Disney+ last night and played the first episode of Agatha All Along from the very beginning, you were treated to a nice surprise. That surprise has since gone public as Marvel Studios has officially unveiled its slate of upcoming Disney+ releases, including new looks at Daredevil: Born Again, Ironheart, and Wonder Man!

Marvel, Music1 Comment

Win Tickets to the Marvel Studios ‘Infinity Saga’ Concert Experience

August 7, 2024August 7, 2024 Mike Manalo

Marvel Studios’ Infinity Saga will go down in history as the single most ambitious and successful comic book movie run in history. This may sound like hyperbole, but I dare anyone to challenge that with an alternate 10-year string of critical and financial successes within the genre. Now for folks in L.A., you get to celebrate this triumph in concert live at the Hollywood Bowl, and we have a couple of tickets to share with you!

Hard N.O.C. Life, Marvel

Hard NOC Life 340: Oh, The MCU’s Still Alive

May 13, 2024May 13, 2024 Hard NOC Media

Before Dominic heads out to a Pearl Jam concert, he and Keith speculate about the latest casting news surrounding The Fantastic Four. They also wonder about the future of Shang-Chi and are psyched for an Asian American Harley Quinn in Amazon’s Batman: Caped Crusader.

Animation, Interview2 Comments

NOC Interview: Awkwafina on Lunar New Year and ‘Kung Fu Panda 4’

February 26, 2024February 26, 2024 Dominic Mah

I got to talk with Awkwafina about her role as Zhen in Kung Fu Panda 4 from Dreamworks Animation, and her role as Grand Marshall of the San Francisco Lunar New Year Parade, which took place last Saturday to close out the Lunar New Year 2024 observance and celebration.

Marvel, Movies

The MCU Makes More Major Movie Moves

November 10, 2023November 10, 2023 Mike Manalo

It’s no surprise that the strikes have more or less caused major motion picture studios to re-strategize and re-asses their release schedules for the coming year. And naturally, with a franchise as interwoven and high profile as the MCU, Marvel Studios is being forced to do the same. This week, news was officially announced that four huge films, Deadpool 3, Captain America: Brave New World, Blade, and Phase 5 capper Thunderbolts would all be affected by the strikes.

Marvel, Movies, Video Games

How ‘The Marvels’ and Spider-Man Held Me Together: A Quantum-Entangled Timeline

October 16, 2023January 25, 2024 Dominic Mah

Don’t! You tell me to smile!
You stick around I’ll make it worth your while!
The Beastie Boys, “Intergalactic”

The last five years have not even been fooling around.

Marvel, Movies

‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’ Has a Writer

September 14, 2022September 15, 2022 Mike Manalo

Hot off the heels of their announcements at D23, the Marvel Studios news train keeps on chugging, as a new writer has been announced for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty!

Marvel, Movies

‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’ Gets a ‘Ten Rings’ Director

July 26, 2022July 26, 2022 Mike Manalo

Hot off the heels of winning San Diego Comic Con, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty has found its director! Who is it? Keep reading to find out.

Interview, Marvel

Meng’er Zhang on Working with Tony Leung and Their Relationship in ‘Shang-Chi’

November 30, 2021December 14, 2021 Laura Sirikul

To celebrate the release of Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings on Blu-ray and DVD, actress Meng’er Zhang sat down with The Nerds of Color to talk about all the good spoilers she couldn’t talk about before — Xialing’s relationship with her father (Tony Leung), her brother (Simu Liu), and the organization she has now inherited, The Ten Rings.

Marvel, Streaming, Television1 Comment

Disney+ Day: All-New Marvel Studios Projects Announced

November 12, 2021November 12, 2021 Mike Manalo

Happy Disney+ Day everyone! Now I know there’s been a TON of fun news dropped today (I mean who else is excited for Sneakerella, amiright? Anyone? Okay.) But amid all the dozens of announcements the streaming platform has made today, I think it’s safe to say the ones that were the most anticipated were the Marvel Studios announcements that were made.

Hard N.O.C. Life, Marvel, Star Wars

Hard NOC Life 236: Designing the Action of ‘Shang-Chi’ (with Chris Cowan and Yung Lee)

September 27, 2021September 28, 2021 Hard NOC Media

On a new episode of Hard NOC Life, Keith, Britney, and Dominic welcome action designers Chris Cowan and Yung Lee to talk about their work on Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings! The crew also break down the latest What If and the anime-inspired Star Wars: Visions!

Hard N.O.C. Life, Marvel

Hard NOC Life 234: Falling Down the Rabbit Hole

September 13, 2021September 13, 2021 Hard NOC Media

Keith, Britney, and Dominic are back on Hard NOC Life to break down the new trailer for The Matrix Resurrections and tumble down the rabbit hole of Marvel movie speculation. They also give their thoughts on the latest episode of What If and the merits of Marvel Zombies.

Movies, Podcasts

FDI Cast 119: Justice for Suki

September 12, 2021 Jamie

This has nothing to do with what we’re talking about, but seriously, Suki needs to return to the Fast franchise in these last two movies!

Marvel, Movies2 Comments

Why Asian Americans Feel Compelled to Defend ‘Shang-Chi’

September 9, 2021September 9, 2021 Bao Phi

Recently and on their own initiative, my 11-year old child became interested in Greek mythology. As a single co-parent father continually desperate for reasons to relate to and bond with my child, this delighted me, because by coincidence I became infatuated with Greek myths when I was young. As a broke Vietnamese refugee nerd kid, I’d go to the Franklin library and read up about the messed up Gods, the flawed heroes, the fantastic creatures.

Hard N.O.C. Life, Marvel

Hard NOC Life 233: Did ‘Shang-Chi’ Live Up to the Hype?

September 6, 2021 Hard NOC Media

Now that it’s breaking box office records, Keith, Britney, and Dominic are joined by HK cinema and martial arts movie expert Raymond Chow to break down Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on a new episode of Hard NOC Life.

Marvel, Movies

‘Shang-Chi’ Is Not NOT Like ‘Black Panther’

September 6, 2021November 12, 2021 Dominic Mah

As Bruce Lee might say, we must start with dispelling what is not useful and replace it with what is useful. I won’t rehash any arguments comparing Shang-Chi to Black Panther which are based in speculation, impulse-tweeted, or otherwise made in bad faith. The phrase “Asian American Black Panther” has been tossed around (including by me), in various contexts, since Black Panther came out in 2018.

Marvel, Movies

Two Chinese Americans Explain How to Pronounce ‘Shang-Chi’

September 3, 2021September 4, 2021 The Nerds of Color

Keith and Dominic tap into their Chinese American backgrounds to provide YouTube’s definitive explainer on how to pronounce “Shang-Chi,” a name that the entire world will want to know now that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is the biggest movie in the world!

Marvel, Movies1 Comment

‘Shang-Chi’ and the Ten Asian American Things (To Be Aware Of)

September 2, 2021November 12, 2021 Dominic Mah

Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings opens in theaters tonight! Be safe, be curious!

Interview, Marvel, Movies2 Comments

‘Shang-Chi’ Screenwriter Dave Callaham on Keeping it Authentically Asian American

September 2, 2021September 2, 2021 Laura Sirikul

Marvel’s Shang-Chi premieres this week. As the first Asian-led Marvel film, there’s a lot of pressure to get this character and story right, given the comic book’s problematic history being rooted in stereotypical Asian tropes. Director Destin Daniel Cretton and screenwriter Dave Callaham did a lot of research on Shang-Chi’s comic book origins and knew what they wanted to do with him.

Hard N.O.C. Life, Marvel

Hard NOC Life 232: ‘Shang-Chi’ and the Legend of the Rep Sweats

August 30, 2021 Hard NOC Media

On a new episode of Hard NOC Life, Keith, Britney, and Dominic revisit the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer, worry about the discourse surrounding Shang-Chi, how the Free Guy creative team should bring Deadpool to the MCU, and recap the latest episode of Disney+’s What If. They also look back at the one-year anniversary of Chadwick Boseman’s passing.

Marvel, Movies2 Comments

‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ is Getting a #GoldOpen

August 27, 2021August 27, 2021 Laura Sirikul

In just one week, Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings is set to premiere in theaters everywhere. As the first Asian-led Marvel film, with a predominantly Asian cast, Shang-Chi is about to get its very own #GoldOpen.

Hard N.O.C. Life, Movies, Streaming

Hard NOC Life 231: ‘What If’ T’Challa was the Superior Star-Lord?

August 23, 2021 Hard NOC Media

While Britney and Dominic await the long-rumored Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer, they share some quick thoughts on the Eternals trailer, Jurnee Smollet’s return as Black Canary, how to pronounce “Shang-Chi,” and why Chadwick Boseman’s appearance on Disney+’s What If was so emotional.