THE EMPEROR OF MALIBU TO STAR KEN JEONG AND DEBORAH S. CRAIG

Ken Jeong and Deborah S. Craig will star in the CBS comedy pilot, The Emperor of Malibu. Jeong will play Gerry, a Chinese billionaire who is shocked to find out that his son, Auggie, has been secretly dating an American (Kate), for two years and is now engaged. Gerry decides to move his whole family to Los Angeles in hopes of persuading his son to re-think his engagement.

Deborah S. Craig, who is known for her work in NBC’s The Blacklist, will also join the cast playing the role of Shiatzy, Jeong’s wife. She is described as “a terrifying force of nature…sophisticated, a little eccentric and strong-willed.” Shiatzy is upset that Auggie has chosen his wife without her help and tries her best to keep Kate away from Auggie.

The Emperor of Malibu is written by Kevin Kwan (author of Crazy Rich Asians trilogy) and David Sangalli.

Asian Representation - 2019 Golden Globe Nominations

The 2019 Golden Globe nominations were announced live this morning from the Beverly Hilton Hotel. As expected, Sandra Oh received a Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama nomination for her role in Killing Eve.  It’s been a wonderful 2018 for the actress who made history this year as the “first woman of Asian descent to be nominated for best lead actress in a drama series” for her work on the BBC America show Killing Eve. Previously, Oh received 5 Emmy nominations for best supporting actress in a drama series while playing Dr. Cristina Yang on ABC’s hit drama Grey’s Anatomy. She will also co-host the 2019 Golden Globes with comedian and Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Andy Samberg.

Filipino American Singer and Emmy winning actor Darren Criss also received a (Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television) nomination for his role as Andrew Cunanan in The Assasination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. The FX Show also received a nomination for Best Television Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television and will be going up against TNT’s The Alienist, Showtime’s Escape at Dannemora, HBO’s Sharp Objects and Amazon’s A Very English Scandal. Criss’ costars Penelope Cruz and Edgar Ramirez were also recognized for their work.

NBC’s The Good Place which stars Kristin Bell, Ted Danson, Jameela Jamil and Filipino born Canadian actor Manny Jacinto also received a nomination for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.

On the big screen, the blockbuster hit Crazy Rich Asians received a Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy nod with Constance Wu also being recognized with a Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy nomination for her lead role in the film.

The animated movie Mirai was honored with a Best Motion Picture - Animated nomination. Mirai tells the story of a boy who runs away from home because he feels forgotten when his little sister Mirai joins his family. He encounters an enchanted garden where he meets a teenage Mirai and they enter a world of wonder, meeting characters from their past and future as they uncover their beautiful family’s story. Featuring the voices of John Cho and Daniel Dae Kim, Mirai is the 10th highest grossing Japanese film in 2018 (according to Wikipedia).

Another Japanese film, Shoplifters also received a nomination for Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language. According to Wikipedia, Shoplifters is the 4th highest grossing Japanese film of 2018. Upon receiving the Golden Globe nomination, Director Hirokazu Kore-eda said, “Thanks to many people’s help, Shoplifters has spread its wings farther and farther since the Cannes Film Festival in May. As it is my first nomination for Golden Globe Awards, I am looking forward to being a part of this new experience. My thanks to the Hollywood Foreign Press.”

Shoplifters won the Palm d’Or at the 2018 Cannes International Film Festival.

Filipino American Cinematographer and Academy Award nominee Matthew Libatique was the man behind the camera lens for A Star Is Born which received a nomination for Best Motion Picture – Drama. Libatique also made a couple of cameos in the film. In addition, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper received nominations for Best Actress and Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama. Cooper also received a Best Director – Motion Picture for the project.  

The 2019 Golden Globes will air live on NBC Sunday, January 6th.

For a complete list of the nominees, you can click here

Awkwafina to star in her own series for Comedy Central

Awkwafina is having a stellar year which includes a standout role in Crazy Rich Asians and costarring in Oceans 8 and hosting SNL. Now, Comedy Central has ordered 10 episodes of a half hour series by the star, fittingly titled, “Awkwafina”.  

The comedy will follow her character, “a twenty-something living in Queens, striving for a larger than life existence while living with her father and grandmother.” BD Wong will play her father, and Lori Tan Chinn will play her grandmother. In a statement, Awkwafina said, “I’ve been watching Comedy Central since I was old enough to hold a remote, and so many of their shows have defined who I am today…I am so honored to be given their platform to tell the story of an Asian-American girl against the backdrop of the city [in which] I was raised.”

Awkwafina wrote the pilot along with Kary Dornetto (Portlandia, SMILF) and Teresa Hsiao (Family Guy).

Awkwafina currently graces the cover of Entertainment Weekly alongside her Crazy Rich Asians costars, Michelle Yeoh, Gemma Chan and Constance Wu. She will also be seen on the big screen in two films at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.

AWKAFINA TO HOST SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

Rapper and Actress Awkwafina is scheduled to host Saturday Night Live on October 6. The Crazy Rich Asian’s star will be joined by rapper Travis Scott. The last time an Asian American woman hosted SNL was Lucy Liu back in 2000.

The official announcement was made on Saturday Night Live’s twitter account yesterday with a photo of a cork board with the first three hosts and musical guests kicking off the show’s upcoming season.

Past Asian SNL hosts include Jackie Can, Kumail Nanjiani and Aziz Ansari.

HOLLYWOOD REPORTER'S MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE IN ENTERTAINMENT

The Hollywood Reporter’s Most Powerful People in Entertainment Top 100 list has been released and Director/Producer Jon M. Chu made the list at #97. Although Chu has been a filmmaker for years - producing and directing films including “G.I. Joe: Retaliation”, “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never”, “Now You See Me 2”, “Step Up 2: The Streets”, it is his work in the hugely successful “Crazy Rich Asians” that has put him in the Hollywood limelight. According to CBS News, “Crazy Rich Asians” has become the most successful studio romantic comedy at the box office in 9 years.  

Lisa Nishimura - By Photo by Stephanie Moreno/Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications for Peabody Awards/University of Georgia [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Other Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who made the list include Netflix’s Lisa Nishimura (along with Cindy Holland, Scott Stuber) who took the #9 spot. Nishimura was responsible for bringing “Wild Wild Country” and the Emmy winning shows, “The Crown” and “Seven Seconds.”

Coming in at #16 was Warner Bros.’ Kevin Tsujihara (and Toby Emmerich) who can credit the success of “Crazy Rich Asians”, “The Meg”, and “The Nun” for helping them make the list.

Dwayne johnson = Eva Rinaldi [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

And finally, Dwayne Johnson claimed the 38th spot. Johnson earned a reported $124 million in 2018. This year, in addition to his HBO series “Ballers”, he was also in the films “Rampage” and “Skyscraper”. Late last month, it was announced that Johnson will play King Kamehameha in Robert Zemeckis’ upcoming film “The King.”

Methodology: During a months-long process, editors compiled the THR 100 based on the size and reach of a person's purview, the success of his or her projects since 2017's list, the power to get a project made (company ownership helps) and the ineffables: heat, clout and intangible indicators of influence gleaned from conversations with top insiders (not to mention THR’s daily reporting).

HENRY GOLDING IN "LAST CHRISTMAS" WITH EMILIA CLARKE

There is just no stopping Henry Golding. Golding has just coveted another role as leading man. This time for the romantic film “Last Christmas” which he will co-star alongside Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clark. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Golding will reunite with director Paul Feig for the upcoming holiday movie, “Last Christmas.”  Feig and Golding just recently worked together in the film, “A Simple Favor” costarring Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick which is out in theaters now.

Although very few details have been released on “Last Christmas.” There are rumors that the film will be set in London. “Last Christmas” was written by Emma Thompson and Bryony Kimmings and the movie is said to be inspired by George Michael’s hit single of the same name. George Michael collaborated on the movie’s concept up until his death.

JUST RELEASED - NEW POSTER & MOVIE CLIP FEATURING HENRY GOLDING IN "A SIMPLE FAVOR"

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Lionsgate flew Golding from Singapore to Los Angeles on August 31st for a last-minute promotionl shoot at the Hancock Park home of Lionsgate chief brand officer Tim Palen. “Golding has been upgraded to first-name-only basis alongside Anna (Kendrick) and Blake (Lively) in a retro-cool poster that simultaneously evokes Hitchock and Bond.”

Fresh off his starring role in the hugely successful film, “Crazy Rich Asians,” Henry Golding will once again play the leading man in the thriller “A Simple Favor” alongside Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick. The Paul Feig directed film based on the Darcey Bell novel of the same name, centers on mommy blogger Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) who befriends a mysteriously rich mother Emily Nelson (Blake Lively).

After quickly becoming best friends, Emily asks Stephanie for a simple favor, to pick her son up from school. However, Emily disappears and leaves Stephanie on a mission to find her best friend. Golding plays Emily’s husband, Sean Townsend, a struggling author who joins Stephanie in the quest to find the truth about his missing wife.

It was actually Paul Feig’s wife, Laura, a huge fan of the Kevin Kwan “Crazy Rich…” franchise who turned the director on to Golding. After watching Golding’s travel videos, he knew that Henry was the “perfect guy” to play Sean Townsend. “Henry is handsome, he has a beautiful voice and he has that ineffable sense of cool—but most importantly, Henry is also a really talented and dedicated actor,” says Feig. “He was ready to explore the minutia of Sean’s every word and I thought from day one, this guy is going to be a big star.”

“A Simple Favor” hits theaters September 14th.

Up next for Henry Golding? He will star in the independent film Monsoon where he plays a British Vietnamese man who left Saigon as a young refugee and must fly back to Saigon to scatter his parents’ ashes.

From Crazy Rich Asians to Lazy Rich Asians

Emmy winning writer Jessica Gao is developing a single camera comedy for ABC, which she titled “Lazy Rich Asians” after being inspired by the blockbuster film, “Crazy Rich Asians”.

The currently untitled sitcom will tell the story of Janet Zhao, a first-generation Chinese American woman who becomes the sole inheritor of her grandmother’s fortunes and according to the Hollywood Reporter, “finds herself the unwilling new matriarch of the family she’s spent her life trying to keep at arm’s length.”

Jessica Gao will not only pen the sitcom, but will also executive produce the new comedy. Gao has written for Silicon Valley, Take My Wife and Rick and Morty. This past weekend, Gao received an Emmy for the Rick and Morty episode, “Pickle Rick.”

JOY LUCK CLUB SEQUEL - 25 YEARS LATER

During the 25th Anniversary screening of “The Joy Luck Club” at the AMPAS (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) last week, it was announced that a sequel may be in the future for the successful Amy Tan penned novel turned film.

Producer Ronald Bass told Entertainment Tonight that there is a script for both a TV series and a film sequel being circulated around Hollywood right now. Bass states, “both the series or sequel, if they happen, will be the same cast 25 years later…in other words, the mothers are now grandmothers. The daughters are no mothers and they each have a millennial daughter of their own. So, now it would be a three generation…what’s that like in mother-daughter relations? Today’s world versus first, second generations and immigrants.”

After the recent successes of "Crazy Rich Asians" and "To All the Boys I've Loved Before", Hollywood has increased their interested in producing more projects starring APAs or telling the Asian and APA story; including ABC developing a new drama titled, "Ohana" which follows the lives of 4 hapa women, and Netflix's productions of "Wu Assasins," which will star Byron Mann, Mark Dacoscos and JuJu Chan, "Tigertail" - an upcoming drama directed and written by Alan Yang and starring John Cho, Christine Ko, Hayden Szeto and Tzi Ma, as well as "Always Be My Maybe" starring Ally Wong, Randall Park, Daniel Day Kim, and Keanu Reeves. 

ANOTHER CRAZY RICH WEEKEND FOR "CRAZY RICH ASIANS"

"Crazy Rich Asians" had another crazy rich weekend and is showing no signs of slowing down in theaters. The film topped the box office in the second week of release, and brought in an estimated $25 million dollars, just 6% shy from it’s opening week totals. The film has already generated over $75 million in North America and $85 million worldwide.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, "Crazy Rich Asians" “has opened better than any other comedy this year and any rom-com since 2015’s Trainwreck.” The film is also the first Hollywood movie in 25 years that includes an all Asian cast (since 1993’s “The Joy Luck Club” based on Amy Tan’s novel of the same name). With all the success, it’s no surprise that a sequel based on Kevin Kwan’s second book, “China Rich Girlfriend” is already in the works.

"Crazy Rich Asians" is based on the Kevin Kwan novel by the same name, the romantic comedy follows Asian American professor Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) and her boyfriend Nick Young (Henry Golding) who travel to Singapore for Nick’s best friend’s wedding. Unbeknownst to Rachel, Nick comes from an extremely wealthy family and is also considered one of the country’s most eligible bachelors. Rachel is thrust into their crazy rich world complete with lies, jealousy and deceit all while trying to navigate her own life, finding her true self and where she fits in.

With very few eye-popping and buzzworthy films slated to be released this Labor Day weekend (Operation Finale, Kin), film critics are predicting that "Crazy Rich Asians" will most likely top the box office for a third weekend in a row.

Identity LA 2018 - ISA, Mike Shinoda, Jay Park, Cassey Ho, Jon M. Chu

For the past 3 years ISA (International Secret Agents) has hosted Identity LA to celebrate and commemorate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month (formerly known as Asian Pacific American Heritage Month) and this year was another success for the team.

Presented by Los Angeles Councilmember David Ryu, the city of Los Angeles, Pacific Bridge Arts Foundation and ISA (founded by Wong Fu Productions and Far East Movement), the event showcased vendors from the AAPI community showcasing their unique products, a vast array of food trucks curated by Roy Choi which included The Boba Truck, BB Kyu, Belly Bombz, Chinese Laundry, Pho King Awesome, and Seoul Sausage as well as serving a platform for local artists to showcase their work.

The performances at Identity LA 2018 was definitely the high point of the festival which featured Asian and Asian American Pacific Islander artists. Filipina rapper Ruby Ibarra shined with her expressive and sharp-witted lyrics that touched upon her ethnicity and female empowerment. She wowed the crowd with her high energy performance and her effortless skills in rapping seamlessly from English to Filipino dialects. Ibarra also took the time to stress the significance of the festival stating, “I think it’s definitely important for us to have spaces like this, that allow a platform for artists such as myself to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.” 

Other notable performances included Hotel Garuda, North Carolina rapper G Yamazawa, The Kinjaz, DJ Zo, and The Flavr Blue. Multi-platinum Korean American rapper, singer, and dancer Jay Park got the crowd dancing and singing along to his hits, and also invited Korean singer-songwriter Hoody to share the stage with him.  Hoody, who is signed under Park’s record label, AOMG showed off her sexy and sultry vocal skills during her own solo set right before Jay Park hit the stage.

One of the highlights of Identity LA was headliner Mike Shinoda’s performance. Shinoda, who performed earlier in the day at KROQ’s Weenie Roast, sang familiar Linkin Park tunes and took a moment to give a touching tribute to his former band mate and close friend Chester Bennington. Shinoda also surprised the crowd by bringing along a couple of guests to share the stage with him, including fellow band member Joe Hahn for their song “Castle Rock” and Japanese singer Taka of ONE OK ROCK to sing Shinoda’s Fort Minor hit single, “Where’d You Go”.

Identity LA 2018 also took the time to recognize AAPIs who have made huge contributions in the community. This year’s honorees were the Asian Pacific Islander Forward Movement ,a non-profit organization whose mission is to “cultivate healthy, long-lasting and vibrant Asian and Pacific Islander communities through grassroots organizing.” Activist, artist and the creator of “The Pussyhat Project” Kristah Suh received the Activism award. The Digital Pioneer award was presented to fitness entrepreneur Cassey Ho, founder and creator of oGorgeous and Blogilates. Grammy winner and member of "The Stereotypes" Jonathan Yip was honored with the Musical Pioneer award and Director Jon M. Chu was presented with the Arts & Entertainment honor. Chu’s film directing credits include Now You See Me 2, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, and the upcoming and highly anticipated film, Crazy Rich Asians. During his acceptance speech, Jon M. Chu did not hesitate to invite the audience to show their support and watch Crazy Rich Asians when it hits theaters in August.

Identity LA 2018 was a free and public event sponsored by Comcast | NBC Universal and Private Internet Access.

See below for a recap of this year’s Identity LA and a special performance of “In the End” by Mike Shinoda and fans at the end of the video.

JON CHU'S "CRAZY RICH ASIANS" TRAILER RELEASE

Trailers for the highly anticipated film, Crazy Rich Asians have just been released.

Based on the Kevin Kwan novel by the same name, Crazy Rich Asians follows 2 NYU professors; the dashing and exceptionally wealthy Nick Young and his economics professor girlfriend Rachel Chu.  Nick however, has kept his family fortune and background a secret to his friends in New York, including his girlfriend.  It isn’t until the two travel to Singapore for Nick’s best friends’ wedding, “the biggest wedding of the year” that Rachel realizes Nick’s family is one of the top ten wealthiest in Asia. Their relationship is put to the test when lies, deceit, family drama and a deep and mysterious past all come to light. 

Actors Henry Golding who plays Nick Young and Constance Wu, who plays Rachel Wu lead the Asian Cast. Other stars in the film include legendary actress and action star Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), comedian Ken Jeong (ABC’s Dr. Ken, Hangover Triology, NBC’s Community), Harry Shum Jr. ( Fox’s Glee), British actress and model Gemma Chan (AMC’s Humans, Transformers: The Last Knight) and Nico Santos (NBC’s Superstore).

According to Warner Bros, Crazy Rich Asians is the first Hollywood studio backed film that is directed by an Asian American and stars an all-Asian cast in 25 years, since The Joy Luck Club. The Jon Chu directed movie is expected to hit theaters August 17th.