Jon Moritsugu (click here to read an Amoebog interview) and Amy Davis's latest film, Pig Death Machine, is playing in Downtown Los Angeles for one week (9 August till 15 August).


For those that aren't familiar with him, Jon Moritsugu is an auteur in the proper sense of the word. From 1986's Mommy Mommy Where's My Brain till  to his latest, all films have all reflected a distinct, personal creative vision. He has his own section in Cult Cinema on the mezzanine of Amoeba Hollywood.


Here's a trailer and plot summary of his latest:


"Starring Davis as a nerdy, yet doornail-dumb hottie who eats undercooked, paraside-laden, pink piggy and is transformed into a dangerous genius, while across town, a punky-buxom-botanist eats the same meaty treat and ends up endowed with the supernatural ability to 'hear' her specimens."




"A sci-fi/psych-horror/screwball ride of chaotic, day-glo fever dreams and glitter-dusted nightmares, shot in the stunning wilds of New Mexico and featuring the music of Deerhoof, Dirty Beaches, Polvo, and industrial legend Monte Cazazza (Throbbing Gristle)."




It's showing as part of a 25 year Moritsugu Retrospective -- alongside Mod Fuck Explosion, Fame Whore, Terminal USA, Scumrock, Hippy Porn, My Degeneration, and Der Elvis -- at the Downtown Independent (251 South Main Street (213)617-1033) in the Historic Core neighborhood -- just east of Little Tokyo and just south of Civic Center. There are still a few days left so check it out!

I missed the opening date (Film Radar is my one source for all things cinematic happening in and around LA). Oh well, the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival runs from April 28th till May 7th. 

The festival began in 1983 as the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film & Video Festival back when Asian-American Cinema was first being revived after a long absence. Since then it has grown to include more films and the works of Asian Cinema and the global Asian diaspora.


Screening venues include West Hollywood's Directors Guild of America and the Laemmle’s Sunset 5, and the CGV Cinemas in Wilshire Center.

To find out about film schedules and parties, click here. Have a great Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and...

I’m kind of embarrassed to admit it, but up until three months ago, the only Korean films and dramas I’d seen were 녹색 의자 (Green Chair), 미녀는 괴로워 (200 Pound Beauty) and 소울메이트 (Soulmate). I’d been given a grip of dramas by the good folks at MBC but I’d dutifully passed them along to my own soulmate’s mom, who’s a raging Korean drama addict.

The ninth of a nine part series on Asian-Americans in front of and behind the camera

INTRODUCTION TO ASIAN-AMERICAN CINEMA

The first efforts to combat negative racial stereotypes of Asians and Asian-Americans in film began in the silent era, when a few empowered figures attempted to create an alternative Asian-American Silent Cinema. After their efforts faltered, Hollywood provided most cinematic images of Asians in the '30s, 40s, 50s, and '60s. With the birth of Asian-American theater, Asian-American cinema was revived in the 1970s and began to take off as a viable independent cinema in the 1980s. By the '90s, the scope of Asian-American Cinema broadened considerably, a trend that continued in the 2000s.

APAMERICA IN THE 2000s
In the 2000s, Asians became the fastest growing racial minority in the county. As of 2006, there were over thirteen million Americans of Asian descent (not counting Native people). Of the top ten languages spoken in American homes (English, Spanish, Chinese, French, German, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean, Italian and Russian), four are Asian.


         Yunjin Kim                    Daniel Dae Kim               Masi Oka                     Bobby Lee                    B.D. Wong

APA TV IN THE 2000S

Despite the conspicous presence of Asians in America, in film and on TV Asian-American are still nearly invisible, aside from roles as doctors on ER, Grey’s Anatomy and House, or objects of ridicule (e.g. William Hung and Renaldo Lopez). Yunjin Kim, Daniel Dae Kim and Masi Oka, some of the few Asian-Americans on TV, all play foreigners. Bobby Lee of Mad TV and B. D. Wong on Law & Order: SVU are two of the few Asian-American male actors whose roles challenge stereotypes both directly and indirectly. My Life... Disoriented and A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila became only the fourth and fifth TV series with Asian Americans in starring roles.

APA THEATER IN THE 2000s

In the 2000s, APA theatre continued to quickly grow with new groups like Amherst's New WORLD Theater; The Bay Area's Krea; Chicago's DueEast Theatre Company, Rasaka Theater Company, Silk Road Theatre Project and YAWP; Dallas's Diwa Theater Company; Hawaii's Kumu Kahua Theatre; Houston's Shunya Theater; Los Angeles' Chinatown 90210 and Thumping Claw One Act Series; New York's Cuchipinoy Productions, Desipina & Company, Disha Theatre, eyeBLINK,  Fluid Motion Theater, Mellow Yellow Theatre Company and SALAAM Theatre; San Diego's Mo`olelo Performing Arts Company; San Francisco's Locus Arts and Youth for Asian Theatre; Seattle's Pratidhwani Drama Wing, Sex in Seattle;SoCal's Here and Now Theatre Company;Tampa's Asian Pacific American Scene and Washington DC's Awaaz Theatre all joining the fray during the decade. New playwrights included A. Rey Pamatmat, Carla Ching, Edward Bok Lee, J.P. Chan, Lloyd Suh, Michael Golacmo and Qui Nguyen.

APA COMICS IN THE 2000s

In the 2000s, there were finally recognized APA comics whose last names weren't "Cho." Aziz Ansari, Dat Phan, Bobby Lee, Dr. Ken, Steve Byrne, Susan Chuang, Kevin Shea, Joey Guila, Soonpoong Choi, Augustine Hong and Nakgyun Im may not be household names but have all received decent exposure. New comedy ensembles like Chicago's Taco Flavored Eggrolls and Los Angeles' Room to Improv also sprang up during the decade.

APA COMEDY DVDS



I'm the One That I Want (2000), Notorious C.H.O. (2002), Revolution (2003), Assassin (2005), The Kims of Comedy, What's That Clickin' Noise (both 2006), Comedy Zen (2007), Happy Hour (2008)

APA HOLLYWOOD IN THE 2000s

2002's Better Luck Tomorrow ushered in a new era for Asian American filmmakers and actors after it became a surprise independent success. In Hollywood, John Cho and Kal Penn, in Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, were quietly revolutionary by being the first two Asian-American male leads to co-star in a Hollywood film in forever. For the most part, however, Hollywood films like Memoirs of a Geisha, Mistress of Spices, Monsoon Wedding, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Wendy Wu - Homecoming Warrior continued to offer  familiar depictions. On the other hand,  for the first time, large numbers of APA films were made. A large percentage moved beyond the traditional focus on acculturation to explore a much greater variety of subject matter suggesting that Asian-American Cinema is now a healthy, viable movement if still a bit under the radar.

APA ACTORS WHOSE CAREERS BEGAN IN THE '00s

   
                Aaron Takahashi                                Aaron Yoo                                                Aiko Tanaka 

  

          Alexander Agate                              Alexis Chang                                               An Nguyen     

    
                        Angel Desai                                                  Angie Lieuw                                     Brenda Song

  
                        Camille Mana                                        Cat Ly                                                     Chil Kong                          

  
               Christina Stacey                                    Christopher Dinh                               Damien Nguyen  

   
                        David Huynh                                             David J. Lee                                  David Shih

 
                         Di Quon                                                    Dileep Rao                                             Eddie Shin     

 
                              Elizabeth Ho                                         Emily Ryan                                                Esther Chae            

  
                     Ewan Chung                                              Feodor Chin                                      Ganita Koonopakarn  

 
                       Grace Park                                              Hanh Cho                                               Hettienne Park

      
                  Hira Ambrosino                                             James Kyson Lee                                   Jane Kim       

  
                        Janet Linn                                               Jeff Lam                                              Jennifer Wu              

 
                        Joy Osmanski                                           Julia Ling                                              Justin Chon               

   
                   Karin Anna Cheung                                          Kathy Uyen                                              Kenzo Lee                                      
 
               Kevin Leung                                                Kylie Kim                                                       Lanny Joon   
                      
  
                 Leonardo Nam                                                      Linda Park                                           Lynn Chen  

 
         Michael David Cheng                                           Migina Tsai                                                 Natasha Yi   
 
 
                     Richard Chiu                                     Samantha Futerman                                     Samson Fu       
 
   
                      Shelley Conn                                 Shin Koyamada                                                 Siu Ta           

   
                    Smith Cho                                                   Steph Song                                                Tania Gunadi   

  
                      Tim Chiou                                       Tim Kang                                                          Tina Duong  


      
                       Valerie Tian                                      Wayne Chang                                                 Yoi Tanabe

The eighth of a nine part series on Asian-Americans in front of and behind the camera


INTRO TO ASIAN-AMERICAN CINEMA

In the silent film era, a few Asian-Americans braved decidedly limited opportunities and even attempted to create a cinematic outlet for their voices. By the dawn of the sound era, Asian-American cinema disappeared and Hollywood once again controlled depictions and roles. In the post-war era, roles for Asian-American actors grew in number, if not diversity. As a result, Asian-American theater arose to fill the void, ultimately leading to the rebirth of an authentic Asian-American Cinema that grew slowly over the next two decades before expanding rapidly in the '90s and continuing in the 2000s.

APA DEMOGRAPHIC MILESTONES IN THE '90s

The 1990s were a time of tremendous growth in the Asian-American population, resulting in a notable demographic milestone when Monterey Park became the first Asian-American majority city on the US mainland. It was soon followed by several others, including Cerritos, Cupertino, Daly City, Milpitas and Rowland Heights in California as well as Millbourne in Pennsylvania.

       
           Chay Yew                      Diana Son                     Han Ong                      Ralph Pena                     Sung Rno
  
APA THEATER IN THE '90s

With Hollywood depictions of Asian-Americans surpsingly minimal and unsophisticated, not surprsingly APA theater exploded to exploit the ignored audience. Prominent new APA playwrights included Chay Yew, Diana Son, Euijoon Kim, Han Ong, Ji Hyun Lee, Mrinalini Kamath, Ralph Peña and Sung Rno. By the decade's close there were about forty APA theater companies. APA companies founded in the '90s included The Bay Area's Naatak; Chicago's Pintig Cultural Group; Nevada City's Community Asian Theatre of the Sierra; Los Angeles' 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors, Lodestone Theatre Ensemble, Propergander Theatre and TeAda Productions; Minneappolis's Mu Performing Arts; New York's In Mixed Company, Ma-Yi Theater Company Second Generation, National Asian American Theatre Company, PEELING,  The Slant Performance Group and Yangtze Repertory Theatre of America; Philadelphia's Asian Arts Initiative; Sacramento's InterACT, Sinag-tala Filipino Theater and Performing Arts Association; San Diego's Asian American Repertory Theatre; San Francisco's Bindlestiff Studio; San Jose's Contemporary Asian Theater Scene; Seattle's Aono Jikken Ensemble, Isangmahal Arts Kollective and Pork Filled Players.

APA TV IN THE '90s

On TV, Margaret Cho's All-American Girl became only the third TV series in American history with a predominantly Asian cast.

   
           Margaret Cho                                Henry Cho                               Stir-Fridays                                         OPM

APA COMEDY IN THE '90S
In the '90s, the concept of a mainstream APA comic was still novel, with Henry Cho and Margaret Cho undoubtedly the most visible. Meanwhile, new APA (and largely APA) groups like Chicago's Stir-Friday Night and Los Angeles' OPM nurture APA stand-up, sketch and improv comedy.

APA CINEMA AND ASIAN HOLLYWOOD IN THE '90s

Despite the revival of Asian-American Cinema in the 1980s, it wasn’t until the 1990s that it truly took off, part of the larger boom in independent film. Some films, like Joy Luck Club, enjoyed a great deal of crossover success with non-Asian audiences. In Hollywood, Rush Hour became one of the first mainstream films to star no white actors in decades. Perhaps an unintended consequence is that whilst Jackie Chan's performance opened doors for Hong Kong compatriots like Jet Li, Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh and others in Hollywood, it simultaneously closed doors for Asian-Americans and subconsciously reinforced notions about Asians as foreign martial artists from the exotic east.

APA ACTORS WHOSE CAREERS BEGAN IN THE '90s

   
      Bernadette Balagtas                    Charles Chun                           Christina Ma                               Cici Lau

   
            Cindy Cheung                         Colin Foo                         Constance Wu                            Corrine Hong Wu

     
              Derek Basco                              Elaine Kao                        Elizabeth Tsing                        Eugenia Yuan 

   
             Fann Wong                         Garrett Wang                                    Garz Chan                          Greg Watanabe

    
              Irene Ng                           Jade Wu                             James Sie                                 Jeanne Chinn 

   
        Jen Sung Outerbridge                      Jennifer Tung                         John Cho                         Joy Bisco   

  
                Kal Penn                            Kathy Shao-Lin Lee                Keiko Agena                           Keisuke Hoashi    

.   
          Ken Leung                            Kenneth Choi                             Kristy Wu                             Lee Wong

   
              Lela Lee                    Louis Ozawa Changchien               Lucy Liu                            Luoyong Wang

    
     Michelle Krusiec                Mina Shum                         Parry Shen                                     Peggy Ahn 

  
               Phil Young                         Ray Chang                                  Reggie Lee                        Richard Chang  

 
                  Rick Tae                              Robert Wu                                  Roger Fan                                Roger Yuan 

 
                  Sara Tanaka                      Sarita Choudhury                       Sharon Omi                           Shazia

 
           Sung Kang                         Susan Chuang                                  Suzy Nakamura                     Terry Chen     

  
                  Vivian Bang                                           Will Yun Lee                                                   Yi Ding