Los Angeles
October 30, 2022
By Taylor Yukiko Sato and Suzanne Joe Kai
The 2022 U.S.-Asia Entertainment Summit was a historic event that brought leaders from Hollywood and the Asian entertainment industry to Los Angeles.
Janet Yang, Chair of U.S.-Asia Entertainment Summit, was honored with the 2022 Career Achievement Award.
Janet made history as the first Asian American, and fourth woman to become the President of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Actress and emcee of the evening’s gala, Kara Wang said “I am particularly honored to be here as we honor Janet with the Career Achievement Award."
"We call her the Asian godmother of the industry because she has had a hand in so many of our careers. And I am just very very happy that I get to be here with this moment as we shower her with love… She has done so much for us.”
CEO and Co-Founder of Gold House and AU Holdings, Bing Chen led a Fireside Chat with Janet Yang as she reflected on her career.
This was the 13th U.S.-Asia Entertainent Summit with panels spotlighting top talent in the Asian and Asian American entertainment industry.
Philip Kan Gotanda journeys to the late 60s for The Wind Cries Mary
Engaging audiences for more than two decades, Philip Kan Gotanda has created an impressive body of work as a playwright and filmmaker with his distinctively Asian American vision and voice.
Gotandas latest, is The Wind Cries Mary , a play he has loosely based on Ibsens Hedda Gabler. In November 2002, the cast set the San Jose Repertorys stage ablaze with fireworks. The action in Gotandas provocative drama takes place in San Francisco, circa 1968.
While the 60s was an era of rock n roll, Vietnam and the Civil Rights movement it was also a defining era when Japanese, Chinese, Filipino and Korean American students on campuses throughout California were finding their political voice.
Asian American students were seeking equal entitlement and representation alongside the protests against American involvement in Vietnam. They discovered themselves amidst Americas changing consciousness of identity and were grappling with the notion of being Oriental vs Asian American.
Tackling
Ibsens
timeless
themes
of
power,
racial
identity
and
gender
politics
in
The
Wind
Cries
Mary
,
Hedda
Gabler
becomes
Gotandas
Eiko
Hanabi,
a
Japanese
American
woman
of
volatile
proportions.
Searching
for
her
Asian
American
identity,
Eiko
is
a
person
out
of
time
trapped
between
a
world
of
tradition
and
a
new
state
of
being,
desperately
struggling
to
break
free.
Philip
Kan
Gotanda
talks
about
his
feature
film
Mike Kai chats with the star of Cradle to the Grave, Jet Li.
AsianConnections' Mike Kai chatted with Jet Li at a press roundtable the day before the world premiere of his latest movie Cradle 2 the Grave produced by Joel Silver (Lethal Weapon 4, Romeo Must Die).
Cradle 2 the Grave features a blend of East meets West where kung fu meets street fighting, choreographed by legendary martial arts director Corey Yuen (Lethal Weapon 4, Romeo Must Die). Jet talks about how Buddhism and his fans at his website JetLi.com are influencing his work, and his next film as a break away from action.
Check
out
the
official
site
at
Cradle2theGrave.com.
Also,
the
Cradle
2
the
Grave
contest
has
been
extended
with
new
prizes.
Enter
to
win
at
RottenTomatoes.com!
Better Luck Tomorrow set records at Paramount Classics for the highest gross per theater on its opening weekend. People are already comparing the genre-busting film to Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, and Arts & Entertainment Edtior Lia Chang brings you an in-depth interview with director Justin Lin.
AsianConnections
Arts
and
Entertainment
editor
Lia
Chang
caught
up
with
Justin
Lin
right
after
the
critical
make
or
break
opening
weekend
of
his
movie
Better
Luck
Tomorrow,
the
first
Asian
American
independent
film
to
be
acquired
and
distributed
by
a
studio,
with
the
potential
for
a
shot
at
true
box
office
success.
The
movie,
distributed
by
MTV
Films
in
conjunction
with
Paramount
Classics
opened
last
weekend
in
a
limited
theatrical
release
in
Los
Angeles,
New
York,
Chicago
and
San
Francisco
to
enthusiastic
audiences.
This
Friday,
the
film
opens
in
10
more
cities
including
Seattle,
Houston,
Washington
D.C.,
Boston,
and
Florida.
Further
screening
locations
of
this
film
will
depend
on
this
weekends
box
office
receipts.