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  1. #1
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    Crazy Rich Asians

    Jon M. Chu in Talks to Direct 'Crazy Rich Asians' (Exclusive)
    8:19 AM PDT 5/4/2016 by Rebecca Ford and Borys Kit


    Jon M Chu
    Getty Images

    The adaptation of Kevin Kwan's 2013 book centers on a group of Chinese families preparing for a large wedding in Singapore.

    Ahead of the release of his latest film Now You See Me 2, Jon M. Chu is in talks to direct Crazy Rich Asians.

    Color Force and Ivanhoe Pictures are developing the adaptation of Kevin Kwan's 2013 book, which centers on a group of wealthy Chinese families. When the heir to one of the most massive fortunes in Asia brings his American-born Chinese girlfriend to Singapore for a wedding, the gossip, backstabbing and scheming reaches a fever pitch among the three super-rich families.

    Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson and John Penotti are producing while Kwan will executive produce. Pete Chiarelli (The Proposal) wrote the script.

    Color Force nabbed the film rights to Kwan's debut novel in 2013. The project will feature a predominantly Asian and Asian-American cast, and comes at a time when there's been uproar over some recent adaptations that have recast Asian roles with Caucasian actors (such as Scarlett Johansson in The Ghost in the Shell.)

    Crazy Rich Asians, a personal, character-driven story about family and culture, is an interesting next step for Chu who has built up a successful career with several big spectacle films, like his latest, the magic-heist sequel Now You See Me 2, which hits theaters June 10.

    The helmer, who is Asian-American, has bounced between music-inspired projects and big actions films, previously directing 2015’s Jem and the Holograms, Justin Bieber’s Believe and G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Repped by WME and Principato Young, Chu is also attached to direct and produce Paramount's action-adventure project Escape.
    That would be really funny if this was re-cast with Scar-Jo and Tilda.
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  2. #2
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    Crazy Rich Asians

    Wonder if they will whitewash this. Cuz I don't think I'll understand it unless there is a white character to 'xplain it to me.

    ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Adaptation Lands at Warner Bros. (EXCLUSIVE)
    Brent Lang
    Senior Film and Media Reporter
    @BrentALang


    ANDREW H. WALKER/VARIETY/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK
    OCTOBER 20, 2016 | 11:26AM PT

    Warner Bros. has acquired “Crazy Rich Asians” and has fast-tracked the romantic-comedy for production. It will be one of the only major studio movies to feature an exclusively Asian cast. Rights for the project attracted a heated bidding war.

    “Crazy Rich Asians” unfolds in a world of opulence, as new and old money collide among a set of Chinese families living in Singapore. It’s being pitched as a combination of “Devil Wears Prada” and “Pride & Prejudice,” and follows Rachel Chu, a Chinese-American economics professor and her boyfriend, Nick Young. When Nick invites Rachel to attend his best friend’s wedding in his home town of Singapore, he fails to mention that as the heir to a massive fortune, he is viewed as the country’s most eligible bachelor.

    Color Force’s Nina Jacobson her partner Brad Simpson came on board two years ago when Kevin Kwan’s book of the same name was still in the manuscript stage.

    “It was just a page turner in and of itself,” said Jacobson. “It was a delight to be taken into this world that as a Westerner I didn’t know. It felt so new and fresh and gave you so much insight.”

    Color Force, which produced “The Hunger Games” series, brought in Ivanhoe Pictures, the maker of “In the Bedroom,” and developed the project and packaged the film with Jon M. Chu directing from a screenplay by Adele Lim (Fox’s “Lethal Weapon”) and Pete Chiarelli (“The Proposal”). To get the gig, Chu, a first-generation Asian-American, put together a visual presentation that included family photos to show his deeply personal connection to the material.

    Jacobson and Simpson knew that finding the right studio home would take a lot of time and effort. Aside from “The Joy Luck Club,” which was a hit when it came out in 1993, and “Memoirs of a Geisha,” which was not when it bowed 12 years later, there have been very few U.S.-backed films centered around Asian characters and experiences. It also comes at a time when the romantic-comedy genre is struggling. It’s been a long time since “Pretty Woman” and “Notting Hill” filled theaters, and with a few exceptions, such as “Trainwreck,” most studios have largely stopped making meet-cute films. The “Crazy Rich Asians” producers think that there story and setting is a novel way to revive the genre.

    “At a time where we keep asking how we can compete with TV and other offerings, it’s important to give people something different,” said Simpson. “We’re taking them to a world that hasn’t been shown much on film.”

    The story may be a rarity for Hollywood, but it hits at a time when the issue of diversity is being hotly debated across the entertainment industry. The Chinese film market is second only to the U.S., but despite its box office contribution, very few films feature Asian characters. Only 5% of speaking parts in film, television, and digital programming were played by Asian actors in all of 2014, according to a study by USC. Indeed, there have been several instances of white actors playing roles that were originally designated for Asians, including Emma Stone in “Aloha” and Scarlett Johansson in the upcoming “Ghost in the Shell.”

    “Inclusion is good business,” said Jacobson. “Inclusion is a way of reaching new and broader audiences and keeping material fresh.”

    Production may begin as early as this spring in Singapore. The producers are embarking on a worldwide search for the cast. “Crazy Rich Asians” was a bestseller upon release, with nearly one million copies in print worldwide. Kwan saw the novel as the first in a trilogy. His follow-up, “China Rich Girlfriend,” was a commercial success, and the last installment in the series, “Rich People Problems,” debuts next summer. Kwan felt so strongly that Color Force and Ivanhoe were the right companies to produce the film that he optioned the novel for a dollar.

    “I am beyond thrilled that the amazing film my fans around the world have been waiting for is finally happening,” said Kwan in a statement. “I have such tremendous respect and trust in Nina, Brad, Jon, and Warner Bros, and I know they are going to create an incredible, history-making movie.”

    Simpson and Jacobson will produce along with Ivanhoe President John Penotti. Kwan will serve as executive producer along with Ivanhoe’s Chairman Robert Friedland. Courtenay Valenti and Jon Gonda will oversee the project for Warner Bros. The studio has been trying to increase diversity both in front of and behind the camera — it lined up a female director in Patty Jenkins to oversee “Wonder Woman,” and enlisted African-American filmmaker Rick Famuyiwa to oversee “The Flash.”

    The deal for “Crazy Rich Asians” was negotiated by Ziffren Brittenham LLP. Kwan is represented by Alexandra Machinist at ICM and Chu by WME and Principato Young.
    Gene Ching
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  3. #3
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    sequel...

    I copied the posts above from our Chinese Tycoons, CEOs & Tuhao. I don't think there's any martial arts in this film (it would actually detract if there was). But it's got Michelle Yeoh, and that's enough for me. Anyone see it yet?

    'Crazy Rich Asians' Sequel Moves Forward With Director Jon M. Chu (Exclusive)
    6:30 AM PDT 8/22/2018 by Rebecca Sun , Rebecca Ford


    Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
    Jon M. Chu at the premiere of 'Crazy Rich Asians'

    The creative team behind Warner Bros.' breakout romantic comedy is planning to reunite for the sequel, based on Kevin Kwan's second book, 'China Rich Girlfriend.'
    [This post contains spoilers for Warner Bros.’ Crazy Rich Asians.]

    The Crazy Rich Asians gang is getting back together. Jon M. Chu, who helmed the groundbreaking film that ruled the box office with a $35.3 million five-day opening, is planning to return for the sequel. Warner Bros.' is moving forward with development on the follow-up, with plans to reunite the first movie's original team, including producers Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson of Color Force and John Penotti of Ivanhoe.

    Chu, whose past credits include 2016's Now You See Me 2 and 2013's G.I. Joe: Retaliation, does have a packed schedule, but sources say he'd likely helm the follow-up to Crazy Rich Asians after shooting the long-awaited adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first musical, In the Heights, which Warners has scheduled for a June 26, 2020, release.

    The plan is to also bring back screenwriters Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim (who penned Crazy Rich Asians), although the deals have not yet been set.

    Warner Bros. has not yet officially greenlighted the sequel (it's standard practice for a studio to take a wait-and-see approach with a new potential franchise) but is moving forward on development. The studio and its CEO and chairman Kevin Tsujihara took a risk by greenlighting a comp-less film starring an all-Asian cast and a very specific story set in Singapore, but with the massive opening weekend results, a strong performance in weeks to come will all but guarantee the sequel is a go. The $30 million production, the first Hollywood studio movie since 1993’s The Joy Luck Club to feature an all-Westernized Asian ensemble, has opened better than any other comedy this year and any rom-com since 2015’s Trainwreck.

    Warner Bros. has the option for Kevin Kwan’s entire trilogy, which includes 2015’s China Rich Girlfriend and 2017’s Rich People Problems. “We have a plan with Kevin for the next two films,” says producer Simpson.

    Chu smartly teased the possible sequel in the final moments of the first film. Like any classic romantic comedy, Crazy Rich Asians wraps up happily ever after, with the entire ensemble gathered on the rooftop of Singapore’s iconic Marina Bay Sands resort to celebrate the engagement of Nick (Henry Golding) and Rachel (Constance Wu). But unlike most romantic comedies, the Warner Bros. hit actually ends with a mid-credits scene more commonly seen nowadays in Marvel movies, teasing the subject of the next installment.
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  4. #4
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    #摘金奇缘

    gold-picking unexpected romance


    Cast member Constance Wu poses at the premiere for "Crazy Rich Asians" in Los Angeles, California, U.S., August 7, 2018. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni - RC194553C530 Reuters/Mario Anzuoni
    Not Asian enough?
    TOO ABC
    CHINESE MOVIEGOERS THINK “CRAZY RICH ASIANS” IS REALLY NOT THAT ASIAN

    By Echo Huang 7 hours ago

    Crazy Rich Asians doesn’t even have a scheduled release in China, but more than a thousand Chinese moviegoers who have purportedly seen the movie are already chiming in—and many of them are not impressed.

    Already, the film is stirring up plenty of attention in the country. On Weibo, China’s Twitter-esque social network, posts with the hashtag #摘金奇缘 (the film’s Chinese title, which literally translates to “gold-picking unexpected romance”) have more than 8 million views (link in Chinese).

    The film, which is set in Singapore and features an all-Asian cast, is undoubtedly a resounding victory for Asian representation in Hollywood, but some Chinese viewers feel it’s not all that representative—and are instead criticizing the movie for its stereotypes and for being more reflective of Asian-American culture.

    As of today (Aug. 24), Douban, the Chinese version of IMDb, has amassed more than 1,600 reviews (link in Chinese) for Crazy Rich Asians—a relatively small number compared with blockbusters that have had official Chinese releases, like Dangal and Black Panther. The reviews are written in Chinese, likely by Chinese people who have watched the movie while traveling or living abroad, or by those who’ve obtained a pirated version.

    Currently, Crazy Rich Asians has a rating of 7.7 out of 10—almost half of romantic and comedy movies rated by Douban users have a better score. Outside of China, it has a 93% review from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

    “Crazy stereotypical,” wrote the user Drown (link in Chinese), whose Douban profile says she’s from Jiangsu province.

    “My ABC friends all love it while my Chinese friends hate it,” wrote the reviewer Mr.Charles (link in Chinese), who lives in Washington DC. His shorthand “ABC” refers to American-born Chinese, who are culturally different from Chinese people. “What the film offers is only a glimpse of [Asian] culture,” he added.

    One user criticized the film for its lack of authenticity, comparing it to Americanized Chinese food. “As a native Asian, I feel it’s like eating General Tso’s chicken in a Chinese restaurant” in a foreign country, chimed in someone in Los Angeles who goes by the moniker Durian Cake Brother (link in Chinese). “It looks like a film about Asians, but the spirit of it is American. The leading actress is an ABC. The story is about how Asians look in the eyes of the Americans.”

    One major exception to the criticisms is the deftly choreographed and symbol-laden mahjong scene between the protagonist, Chinese-American economist Rachel Chu, and her boyfriend’s disapproving Singaporean mother, Eleanor Young. Many users (link in Chinese) appreciated the layers of meaning behind their seated positions, strategies, and tiles, incorporating Chinese numerology and association with compass directions. ”Lots of good details in the mahjong scene that show the battle between the mother-in-law and [prospective] daughter-in-law,” wrote Miss Music (link in Chinese) from Shanghai.

    It remains unclear if the film will come to Chinese theaters. China has a quota of 34 Hollywood films most years, though it allowed 39 releases (link in Chinese) in 2017. Already, 30 Hollywood movies have made it to China, the world’s second-largest film market, this year.
    Gene Ching
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  5. #5
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    Still on top

    Anyone see this yet? I almost went last weekend. I kinda feel obligated...

    Weekend Box Office: 'Crazy Rich Asians' Earns Crazy $25M; 'Happytime Murders' Bombs With $10M
    7:38 AM PDT 8/26/2018 by Pamela McClintock


    Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
    'Crazy Rich Asians'

    'The Happytime Murders' marks a career low for Melissa McCarthy in a lead role; Global Road's 'A.X.L' fared even worse as the mini-film studio teeters on bankruptcy.

    Jon M. Chu's Crazy Rich Asians soared to $25 million in its second outing — almost as much as the rom-com earned in its first weekend and representing one of the best holds in modern history for a wide release summer title.

    Not everyone escaped the dog days of August unscathed. Melissa McCarthy's latest R-rated comedy, The Happytime Murders, opened to a dismal $10 million domestically from 3,526 theaters in a career low for the actress for a movie in which she has top billing. The new family adventure A.X.L. fared even worse, launching to $2.9 million in another blow for Global Road as the mini-film studio teeters on the edge of bankruptcy.

    The big headline overseas was Disney and Marvel's Ant-Man and the Wasp, which topped the foreign chart with $71.2 million, fueled by a stellar debut in China of $68 million. That's the fourth-best showing of any title in the Marvel Cinematic Universe behind Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Infinity War and Captain America: Civil War.

    China and Japan (where the pic is set to bow Aug. 31) are Ant-Man's final foreign markets. The sequel has now overtaken the first Ant-Man ($519 million) to finish Sunday with a global total of $544 million.

    Happytime Murders landed at No. 3 in North America behind Crazy Rich Asians and The Meg, both from Warner Bros., which is dominating the final weeks of the summer season. All told, summer revenue is running ahead of the same corridor in 2017 by nearly 14 percent, according to comScore.

    Crazy Rich Asians — groundbreaking for featuring an all-Westernized Asian cast — fell a scant six percent domestically from the $25.6 million it earned last weekend as part of its five-day debut of $35.3 million. Playing in 3,526 locations, the movie's 12-day domestic total through Sunday is $76.8 million, an impressive number considering the overall comedy slump at the box office and the fact that the rom-com cost a modest $30 million to produce. Moreover, Crazy Rich Asians is already the top-grossing comedy of the year so far domestically after quickly besting Game Night ($69 million).

    Crazy Rich Asians continues to broaden out beyond the Asian-American demographic, which made up 27 percent of this weekend's audience, compared to 38 percent last weekend (and 44 percent on opening day). The Caucasian demo grew from 41 percent to 48 percent, while Hispanic ticket buyers increased from 11 percent to 13 percent, and African-Americans, 6 percent to 9 percent ("other" made up 3 percent).

    Crazy Rich Asians also picked up strength in the South and Midwest, according to Warners president of domestic distribution Jeff Goldstein. "It's significant that the film made just as much this Saturday as it did the Saturday before," he says.

    Internationally, Crazy Rich Asians grossed $6 million from its first 10 markets, including several countries in Asia. Singapore, one of the film's locales, turned in $1.8 million, the best opening of all time for a rom-com, according to Warners. The pic's foreign tally currently stands at $7.1 million for a global total of $83.9 million.

    In its third weekend, The Meg swam past the $100 million mark domestically upon earning another $13 million from 4,031 theaters. Globally, the big-budget pic has cleared $400 million, but it will need to continue to do big business considering it cost at least $150 million to produce (Warners puts the net budget at $130 million).

    STXfilms had high hopes for Happytime Murders, which came in behind expectations after getting slapped with a C- CinemaScore and poor reviews. McCarthy's last comedy, Life of the Party, opened to a disappointing $17.9 million domestically in May.

    Set in a world where humans and (raunchy) puppets coexist, the $40 million film was directed by Brian Henson, son of the late Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets. The story follows a private puppet detective (Bill Barretta) who reteams with his human former partner (McCarthy) to solve the murder of his brother by a serial killer who is now targeting the castmembers of a former TV show.

    Maya Rudolph, Joel McHale and Elizabeth Banks co-star in Happytime Murders, produced by The Henson Co.'s Henson Alternative alongside McCarthy and Ben Falcone's On the Day Productions.

    Holdovers Mission: Impossible — Fallout and Christopher Robin likewise stayed high on the North American chart, at Nos. 4 and No. 5 with $8 million and $6.3 million, respectively. Globally, Fallout finished Sunday with $538.7 million in ticket sales; Christopher Robin's worldwide tally is $112.7 million.

    A.X.L., which earned a B+ CinemaScore, tells the story of a military robotic dog who, after an experiment gone wrong, is found hiding in the desert by a civilian (Alex Neustaedter), who activates its owner-pairing technology and must protect the robot from the scientists who created him. Becky G., Alex MacNicoll, Dominc Rains and Thomas Jane also star in the pic, which was directed by Oliver Daly. The film wasn't screened in advance for reviewers.

    Among more limited offerings, Michael Noer's remake Papillon debuted in 544 theaters, grossing $1.2 million. The prison epic, starring Charlie Hunnam and Rami Malek, made its world premiere almost a year ago at the Toronto International Film Festival. Bleecker Street is handing the film in the U.S.

    Christopher Nolan's "unrestored" 70mm version of Stanley Kubrick's cinematic masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey began its one-week exclusive run in four Imax theaters, while more than 300 Imax theaters are playing a new 4K restoration of the film. The rerelease, timed to the film's 50th anniversary, grossed roughly $800,000 for the weekend.

    Screen Gems' Searching, a missing-child thriller about a Korean-American family living in the San Francisco Bay Area, launched in its first nine theaters. The film posted a screen average north of $42,000, the best of the weekend. Searching is set to expand nationwide next weekend.

    'Searching': Film Review | Sundance 2018
    Weekend Box Office 8/26/18
    3-Day Weekend Box Office Actuals - Source: comScore
    WEEKEND CUME THEATERS WEEK
    1. Crazy Rich Asians $25.0M $76.8M 3,526 2
    2. The Meg $13.0M $105.3M 4,031 3
    3. The Happytime Murders $10.0M $10.0M 3,256 1
    4. Mission: Impossible — Fallout $8.0M $193.9M 3,052 4
    5. Christopher Robin $6.3M $77.6M 3,394 4
    6. Mile 22 $6.0M $25.1M 3,520 2
    7. Alpha $5.6M $20.2M 2,719 2
    8. BlacKkKlansman $5.3M $32.0M 1,914 3
    9. A.X.L. $2.9M $2.9M 1,710 1
    10. Slender Man $2.8M $25.4M 2,065 3
    Gene Ching
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    James Hong's take

    James Hong, 89-Year-Old Chinese American Actor: “I Never Thought It Would Take This Long”
    by Anita Busch
    August 17, 2018 9:25am


    James Hong Collection

    EXCLUSIVE: James Hong who has been acting since the 1950s has been fighting for parity for Asian actors for decades. With the success of Warner Bros.’ Crazy Rich Asians this weekend employing an Asian cast in all leading roles, the 89 year-old Hong said, “I never thought it would take this long.”
    .
    It is, indeed, a watershed moment for Hollywood as this now becomes only one of the few films ever released by a major studio that heralds a full Asian cast. Hong, who has around 500 credits (not counting voiceovers like the character of Mr. Ping in the Kung Fu Panda film franchise) has, through impossible odds, racked up the most credits of any actor — living or dead — on film, TV and stage.

    He also soon became a role model to the next generation of Asian actors, as Jason Scott Lee (Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, Hawaii Five-0, Mulan) told Deadline three years ago.

    Hong’s heroic path through Hollywood included fighting racism, relentlessly advocating for non-stereotypical Asian roles and encouraging others to take up the fight and push through to make necessary change in the entertainment industry.



    He has worked on films with Clark Gable (Soldier of Fortune) and in TV with Jane Wyman in one of the only TV episodes John Ford ever helmed (The Bamboo Cross) and many, many others, but it was Groucho Marx who gave Hong his start in the most unusual way. Marx had been alerted to a Chinese man out of Minnesota who was an impressionist. Marx booked Hong on his show You Bet Your Life, and Hong — doing spot on impressions of Peter Lorre, Jimmy Stewart, James Cagney and Groucho himself — was a huge hit with television audiences. So much so that Hong landed an agent — with Bessie Loo (the only agent for Asians at that time).

    In 1953, Hong left Minnesota where he was born, grew up and was studying engineering, and drove cross country with a friend on Route 66. He transferred his school credits to USC and after graduating worked as an engineer for the Los Angeles County Roads Dept.

    He wanted to act, but it was a rude awakening on the West Coast. “When I first came here in 1953, basically, there were no Asian roles that were not cliche … all stereotypes … no real drama classes or clubs, only one Asian casting director and East/West players was non existent. There was no advocacy for Asians actors. There were no leading men roles. I became an actor, but then I had to fight for a very long time for Asian Americans.”



    As is characteristic for engineers, if there is a problem, you apply what you know and work to resolve it. “That quality locked together with my acting. I wanted to be able to do something for Asian Americans in this business,” said Hong. “To see so many stereotypical roles … and then to see what was offered us: Confessions of an Opium Eater directed by Albert Zugsmith. I said to a group of us — all Chinese, Asians — we cannot do this film because every role in it is a bad role for the Chinese. I took us all up to the director’s office and several of us Chinese sat around with Zugmsith and said this is not a good image for the Chinese because they are all prostitutes and opium eaters.

    “He listened and then said he didn’t care and was going to make the film anyway. He went on to make the film with Linda Ho (released in 1962). I was very perturbed that we couldn’t do anything. Around that time, there was a group called the Asian American Pacific Artists … so I became one of the presidents. We had meetings and wrote some letters to the producers’ and directors’ associations and said there should be better images and better castings. It didn’t do much good because, who ever heard of us? To them, we were just a bunch of *****s and Japs.”

    Hong served in the U.S. Army in the Korean War, and was part of the melting pot that is America, but it didn’t matter.

    “I am a Chinese American actor and there was nothing for me, and how can you take that slap in the face back and forth each year?” he said. “Being from Minnesota, I’m a fighter, you know. I was an artist and wanted something more because it’s a lifetime of work. You just don’t want to get a paycheck to become a cliché person. In the beginning, I played all those roles, but they were all houseboys, laundry men, railroad workers and villains, always the bad guy or always the persecuted Chinaman, always being saved by a white person. There were no roles as a principle person in American society.”


    Mako in 1966’s “The Sand Pebbles”
    20th Century Fox/Shutterstock

    Because the Asian creative community was so small, Hong knew a Japanese actor named Mako, who would much later be Oscar-nominated for his supporting role in Robert Wise’s The Sand Pebbles in 1966, which starred Steve McQueen.

    “Mako and (another actor) Al Huang came to my apartment and I said, ‘Let’s do something. We’re not getting anywhere!’ Everything was a step backwards. I said, ‘Let’s form some kind of group here, and do a play.” They decided on Ras****n, which legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosawa had already made into an award-winning film.

    “So we took the play, studied it and called whomever wanted to do a role and we ended up with an initial cluster of people who wanted to do something. We put up our own money and opened at the Warner Playhouse on La Cienega. Then we went to the University of Judaism on Sunset and performed there and also at USC, wherever we had the chance, we performed,” said Hong. The play ran for about two years. “Everyone just pitched in, and the play got good reviews. I was the producer and played the gatekeeper. Mako played the bandit. June Kim was also in the play.”



    After that, the theater troupe had momentum and they were encouraged. The Asian actress Beulah Quo then got her Church in Griffith Park to give the thespians the basement to perform in. “That became the first home of East/West players,” remembers Hong. The East/West Players was founded in 1965, and was the first all-Asian American theater troupe in America.

    “Mako was responsible for really building that theater up,” noted Hong. “He was really a theater man. He got his whole family involved in it.” Later, East/West Players moved to Santa Monica Blvd. and then into a Buddhist Church. The now legendary theater troupe continues to this day.

    “I look back, now I’m almost 90 years old, and think is that what I started?” said Hong. “There were so many good students, teachers and actors flowing through those doors. But, I just did what I had to do.”
    continued next post
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    Honors at Asia Society U.S.-China Summit

    OCTOBER 4, 2018 7:08PM PT
    Michelle Yeoh, Kevin Tsujihara to Be Honored at Asia Society U.S.-China Summit

    By PATRICK FRATER
    Asia Bureau Chief


    CREDIT: SANJA BUCKO

    Iconic actress Michelle Yeoh (“Crazy Rich Asians,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”) is to be honored alongside Warner Bros. chairman and CEO Kevin Tsujihara at the U.S.-China Entertainment Summit in Los Angeles later this month. Elizabeth Daley and Steven J. Ross, dean and Time Warner professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, respectively, will also be honored.

    Held at the Skirball Cultural Center on Oct. 30, the summit conference comes at a time of ratcheted-up tensions between China and the U.S. and at a moment of profound change in the two countries’ entertainment industry relations.

    Other prominent speakers include Legendary East CEO Wayne Jiang, “The Meg” director Jon Turteltaub, “Crazy Rich Asians” producer John Penotti, former Wanda executive Jack Gao, and Albert Cheng, COO and co-head of television, Amazon Studios.

    Chinese actress and director Eva Jin, producer Ben Ji, ICM partner Spencer Baumgarten, Warner Bros. executive Chantal Nong, Artist International Group CEO David Unger, super-agent Christina Chou, MPA Asia Pacific president Mike Ellis, and Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin also join the line-up.

    Yeoh is being honored for her achievements as an actress, producer and writer. Tsujihara will be honored for his vision and leadership. Warner Bros. was recently involved in two Asia-significant movies “Crazy Rich Asians,” and “The Meg.” Daley is to be honored as an education pioneer.

    “Michelle (Yeoh) outdid herself with her Oscar-worthy performance in ‘Crazy Rich Asians.’ We will undoubtedly look back on 2018 as a game-changing year for Asians and Asian-Americans because of Kevin Tsujihara and Warner Bros.,” said Janet Yang, chair of the Entertainment Summit. “Elizabeth Daley has steadily and brilliantly built a robust people-to-people relationship between China and the USC Cinema community that transcends anything Washington can do.”

    The summit is organized in conjunction with the Beijing Film Academy and the China Onscreen Biennial and with the support of organizations including the Los Angeles Chinese Film Festival and the Asian World Film Festival.
    THREADS
    Michelle Yeoh
    Crazy Rich Asians
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    CRA in PRC

    I'll be really curious to see how this does there.

    'Crazy Rich Asians' Scores Surprise Release in China
    2:05 AM PDT 10/15/2018 by Patrick Brzeski


    Courtesy of Warner Bros.
    'Crazy Rich Asians'

    After Warner Bros. failed to hear back from China's film bureau over the summer, some analysts had begun to speculate that Beijing regulators might block the film due to its celebration of decadence.

    Warner Bros. summer hit Crazy Rich Asians has landed a lucrative release date in China, Asia's richest box-office territory, after all.

    After weeks of doubt, Chinese regulators revealed Monday that the film would open in the massive market Nov. 30.

    When Warner Bros. failed to hear back from Beijing about the film's fate over the summer, some analysts began to speculate that the rom-com had been rejected by the country's censors over its very un-socialist celebration of decadence and ostentatious wealth.

    Others closer to the market argued that the film might be caught up in a regulatory backlog caused by recent structural changes at China's Film Bureau, the result of which was a more cautious and slower-moving approvals process.

    Warner Bros., meanwhile, maintained that it had heard no final ruling and remained optimistic. The latter theory now appears to more closely fit the case.

    In addition to Crazy Rich Asians, a slew of high-profile Hollywood studio titles learned of their China release dates Monday.

    They include: Universal's The House With a Clock in Its Walls opening Nov. 1; Disney's The Nutcracker and the Four Realms bowing Nov. 2; Sony's Venom on Nov. 9; Warner Bros.' Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald on Nov. 16; Disney animation Ralph Breaks the Internet on Nov. 23; and Warner Bros.' much-anticipated DC superhero title Aquaman on Dec. 7.

    Analysts will be watching to see whether the surge of Hollywood outings throughout November helps the U.S. studios overcome what has otherwise been a surprisingly downbeat year in China. As of the end of September, ticket revenue for studio imports was down 24 percent compared with the same period in 2017. The local box-office overall, however, has remained up a healthy 13.7 percent for the year to date, with Chinese blockbusters riding high.

    Hollywood's mysterious China downturn was also notable given that the North American box office has been enjoying a banner year, with ticket sales up 14 percent during the summer. The divergence suggests a possible change in Chinese tastes — a growing preference for local movies over imported foreign fare, is the fear — rather than an off-year in product quality.

    China's film market is in near constant flux and regulatory response, however. The gush of Hollywood content in the market in November could be a regulatory response to the even more recent slip of local titles during China's National Day holiday period in October, which is usually one of the country's most lucrative moviegoing seasons. Ticket sales during the weeklong holiday fell 22 percent this year from 2017, as a raft of Chinese new releases fell mostly flat.

    The hardworking state employees at China's film bureau are forever manning various regulatory levers — including which imported films they allow into the market, on what release date and against which competition — to ensure that Chinese films outperform the Hollywood interlopers overall, but also that top-line market growth for the year remains robust.
    Gene Ching
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  9. #9
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    If this hits it big in China, there will be no stopping it.

    There's an embedded vid that I couldn't cut&paste here.

    NOVEMBER 29, 2018 3:00AM PT
    Can ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Strike It Rich at the China Box Office?
    By BECKY DAVIS

    Three and a half months after its U.S. release, “Crazy Rich Asians” finally hits the ground in China on Friday. But it’s up in the air whether the movie can enjoy the same kind of success in the world’s second-biggest movie market.

    On the face of it, the Cinderella story of a Chinese-American academic who unwittingly falls for one of Asia’s wealthiest and most eligible bachelors might seem a natural hit in the Middle Kingdom, with its all-Asian cast, Asian setting, some dialogue in Chinese and a happy ending.

    But what made the film so groundbreaking and distinctive in Hollywood – its lineup of Asian actors – is nothing new in China, where nearly every theatrical release features primarily Asian talent. The depiction of opulence and wealth also sits uneasily at a time when the Communist government is cracking down on both real and fictional excess.

    And the China release comes well after the buzz around the film in the rest of the world has already died down. On major Chinese ticketing platform Maoyan, thousands more users have indicated that they want to see Bollywood dramedy “102 Not Out” and mainland teen romance “Twenty” than “Crazy Rich Asians,” all three of which open Friday.

    “I don’t quite think this one will do well in terms of box office here,” said one Chinese exhibitor, who nevertheless plans to allocate about 10% to 20% of the company’s screens to the film. “I don’t think the subject is that relatable to young audiences in China. I’m not quite sure how they will find that story interesting.”

    Many of those keen to see the film would have already watched it online by now, she added.

    Those close to the production team say they have no way to predict the film’s performance, as no directly comparable titles have been released recently in China. The country sets a quota on the number of foreign films it allows in and rarely imports romantic comedies. “We’re just very, very happy it got in,” a source close to the production told Variety.

    The closest comparisons might be with “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” which launched in China in August, or Amy Schumer’s “I Feel Pretty,” which was released in September. Both performed abysmally, bringing in just $602,000 and $206,000, respectively. Another point of comparison might be action-comedy caper “The Spy Who Dumped Me,” which still took in only $8.9 million.

    Kevin Kwan’s original “Crazy Rich Asians” novel was never a phenomenon in China, where it can’t even be purchased in Mandarin, and the cast of the film is little-known to Chinese audiences except for Michelle Yeoh, who has a loyal fan base. In the Chinese marketing poster, Yeoh is placed close to the center.

    While the film may vividly showcase extravagant wealth, its marketing in China has sought to emphasize aspects more in line with the Communist regime’s “core socialist values” — a potentially smart move as authorities crack down hard on luxury spending by officials and issue new restrictions on content deemed “overly entertaining” or focused on wealth accumulation.

    Last week in Beijing, director Jon M. Chu essentially disavowed every word in the film’s title. “The film is a satire,” Chu told the state-affiliated Global Times. “It’s not about ‘crazy rich’ or ‘Asians’ actually – it’s about the opposite of that. It’s about how all those things mean nothing and it comes down to our own relationships and finding love and our own families.”

    Although the title “Crazy Rich Asians” (in Chinese) was used for the film in Taiwan and Hong Kong, in mainland China it’s been changed to what translates roughly into English as “An Unexpected Gold-Digging Romance,” casting a certain aspersion on the characters.

    Warner Bros. has even been using Communist Party-approved terminology to describe the movie. “American humor is perfectly combined with Chinese style, and the independence and ‘positive energy’ of the female characters is especially touching,” the studio wrote on its official Weibo social media account, using a phrase that refers to the sunny, inspirational material preferred by Chinese authorities.

    Reactions from Chinese viewers who’ve already seen the film has been mixed, with users on key platform Douban giving it a middling aggregate rating of 6.2 out of 10. Though the film opens with a quote by Napoleon that sets its sights on the Middle Kingdom (“Let China sleep, for when she wakes, she will wake the world”), many mainlanders felt they saw little to do with themselves onscreen.

    “The opening quote is extremely misleading: China’s rise has no connection to this deceitful film full of stereotypes,” wrote one user, adding that the emphasis on popular U.S. topics of ethnicity and identity made it feel that the film had “built a church, hung up a few red lanterns and sang a few songs about Asia’s glory to promote the American spirit.” Another review summarized the film this way: “A bunch of aliens with Asian faces fall into a pile of money.”

    But others remained excited to see an Asian breakthrough in Hollywood. Whatever the gripes, one user wrote, “let’s first celebrate and support the box office, I guess, so that we have a chance to see more Asian stories.”
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  10. #10
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    PRC flop

    Can't win them all...

    DECEMBER 1, 2018 6:32PM PT
    ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Flops at the Chinese Box Office
    By PATRICK FRATER and BECKY DAVIS


    CREDIT: JOHN SALANGSANG/VARIETY/REX/SHUT

    Hollywood summer hit “Crazy Rich Asians” will be lucky to score more than $1 million in its opening weekend in China.

    Afternoon admissions Friday had ranked the romantic comedy in fourth place. But by Friday evening, it became apparent that mainstream Chinese audiences’ interest was barely flickering for the movie, and on Saturday, exhibitors began ditching it in favor of other titles.

    Estimates from local sources suggest only an eighth-place finish for “Crazy Rich Asians” over the weekend, with a performance far behind Chinese-made “A Cool Fish” and still-potent “Venom.” “Crazy Rich Asians“ earned about $410,000 on Friday and $400,000 on Saturday.

    Although the film was a groundbreaking hit in the U.S. because of its all-Asian cast, it has few stars of significance in China. Its release in the Middle Kingdom also comes several months after the rest of the world. As the extent of the film’s disappointing performance at the box office became apparent, Chinese exhibitors reacted quickly, slashing the number of screenings per day about 32,000 on Friday to 18,700 on Saturday.

    Large numbers of potential mainland Chinese viewers have already “Crazy Rich Asians” abroad or pirated online by this point. Others have been baffled by how what they see as a film full of Asian stereotypes could be celebrated as a coup for on-screen Asian representation.

    “The plot is passable, the quality of the production is also fine, but I still wanted to vomit a bit,” one Chinese user wrote Sunday on major review platform Douban, where the film has a middling 6.2 out of 10 rating – mostly from people who saw the film months ago. “So Chinese people in the eyes of Europeans and Americans are just about clans, extravagant snobbery, a blind sense of superiority, and stubbornly clinging to outdated rules and ideas?”

    Another user dismissed it by saying it pandered to hot-button U.S. issues of ethnic identity and inclusion without depicting anything that felt recognizably Chinese to mainlanders: “Well, guess it keeps the Americans watching it happy.”

    The film was released in August in North America and became a breakaway hit that scored $174 million. It also played strongly from September releases in much of East Asia, including a $5 million haul in Singapore, where most of the film is set.

    But after Warner Bros. struggled to have “Crazy Rich Asians” obtain a coveted revenue-sharing import slot for China, it was unclear whether the effort was going to be worth it. The studio’s ultra-lowball benchmarks – likening “Crazy Rich Asians” to “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again”, which launched in China in August and earned $602,000, and Amy Schumer’s “I Feel Pretty,” which was released in September and earned $206,000 – turned out to be the right ones.

    Still, getting a release in China was important from the producers’ point of view. They aim to shoot the sequel, “China Rich Girlfriend,” at least partly in Shanghai, and possibly as a co-production.
    Gene Ching
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  11. #11
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    flop analysis

    I wonder what will be the next US/PRC crossover blockbuster - the next Titanic. When Titanic hit in 2007, PRC was a very different film market.

    9:40 A.M.
    Why Crazy Rich Asians Flopped in China

    By Chris Lee


    Awkwafina (left) and Constance Wu in Crazy Rich Asians. Photo: Crazy Rich Asians

    Since arriving in theaters in August, Crazy Rich Asians has been on a seemingly unstoppable march toward both critical and commercial glory. The romantic comedy — the first Hollywood studio film to feature a predominantly Asian cast in a contemporary setting since 1993’s Joy Luck Club — eclipsed financial expectations, taking in $237.9 million in worldwide ticket sales, to become the top-grossing rom-com of the last decade, as well as the sixth highest-grossing film in that genre of all time. In addition to making a bona fide movie star out of novice actor and first-time leading man Henry Golding, the $30 million movie (based on a best-selling novel of the same name by Kevin Kwan) almost single-handedly dragged industry expectations regarding Asian-American movies’ commerciality into the 21st century. Now, CRA is squarely in the awards-season conversation, the recipient of a robust Best Picture “For Your Consideration” push by its distributor Warner Bros.

    Which is why it comes as something of a shock that Crazy Rich Asians has been received so dismally in China. Although the crowd-pleasing film performed strongly across East Asia and Australia (which has a large Asian population) throughout the fall, over its debut weekend in Chinese theaters last weekend, CRA sold just $1.2 million in tickets — earning lackluster reviews and provoking withering scorn from some Chinese moviegoers who took to the Yelp-like crowd-sourced review platform Douban to express their displeasure with the movie’s perceived lack of authenticity and racial stereotyping. “It feels like a bunch of rubbish in the carnival!” wrote one viewer, adding that CRA is “insulting the Chinese.” Asked another: “So Chinese people in the eyes of Europeans and Americans are just about clans, extravagant snobbery, a blind sense of superiority, and stubbornly clinging to outdated rules and ideas?”

    So what made China less than crazy for CRA?

    According to sources with knowledge of the way Crazy Rich Asians was distributed and marketed, the Jon M. Chu–directed film’s hostile reception in the Middle Kingdom can be attributed to a pupu platter of mitigating factors — some cultural, some aesthetic, others political — that conspired to derail its box-office prospects in the world’s second-biggest movie market.

    Chinese authorities delayed CRA’s release

    Of the 30 or so foreign movies annually approved for Chinese release, each is carefully vetted by censorship authorities (Exhibit A: Disney’s CGI fantasy-drama Christopher Robin was allegedly banned earlier this year due to the popularity of a meme likening Chinese president Xi Jinping to Winnie the Pooh.) And only once the films have been approved, the Communist government — as opposed to a film’s distributor — chooses the release window. Crazy Rich Asians was not “dated” by these authorities until mid-October, nearly two months after its American rollout. And that long vetting period led many industry observers (and some studio executives) to conclude that local censors were uneasy with the film’s ostentatious displays of wealth, as well as its correlation of Asian with “crazy.”

    While a lag between a film’s Stateside release and Chinese bow is not uncommon, that three-and-a-half-month gap effectively diminished enthusiasm for the romantic comedy, which came to be considered “yesterday’s news” by Chinese consumers. (“Aquaman is all anyone over there is talking about right now,” says one executive, acknowledging another Warner Bros. film opening in China on Friday.) And since Crazy Rich Asians came out digitally on November 6, anecdotal evidence suggests that it had already been widely pirated by the time it hit theaters, further helping to suppress viewer turnout.

    Rom-coms don’t travel

    In China, locally made Chinese-language romantic comedies frequently ride the Zeitgeist and can be hugely lucrative. But Hollywood rom-coms? Pretty much exactly the opposite. Bridget Jones’s Baby, the last studio-backed romantic comedy to get past censors and crack the Chinese multiplex, met a fate similar to CRA, earning a dismal $746,000 in China and slinking from theaters after a single weekend in 2016.

    Then there’s Crazy Rich Asians’ inability to play the race card. Despite the fact that the cast hails from across the Asian diaspora and that it was green-lit by Kevin Tsujihara, Hollywood’s only Asian-American studio boss, overwhelmingly, Chinese audiences still regard the movie (whose title was translated as An Unexpected Gold-Digging Romance) as American and distinctly foreign. Hence, while CRA won praise for its ethnic “diversity” over the course of its domestic release — some much-needed positive representation for a historically underserved Asian-American moviegoing audience — the film could not rely on that type of counterprogramming dynamic to generate positive word of mouth in China.

    “It feels like going to a Chinese restaurant in America to eat General Tso’s chicken,” wrote another commenter on Douban —an oblique shout-out to a dish that gained popularity in America and is almost exclusively consumed by Westerners. “It looks like a film about Asians, but the spirit of it is American.”
    Gene Ching
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  12. #12
    Saw it in Taiwan with some in laws. those in the audience some understanding the english used
    and reading subtitles in Chinese or English as needed laughed...most seemed to enjoy it.

    Thought it was funny, and brought out many things to maybe a larger non asian audience
    would not know or think of.

    A lot of the plot has been played out in the many asian dramas shows
    commonly seen.

    Fun movie would recommend it

  13. #13
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    Brenda's FOMO

    Jon M. Chu denies Brenda Song 'not Asian enough' for 'Crazy Rich Asians'
    Lisa France byline
    By Lisa Respers France, CNN
    Updated 8:22 AM ET, Thu November 21, 2019
    'Crazy Rich Asians' director on film's success 01:41

    (CNN)The director for "Crazy Rich Asians" has responded to an actresses' claim she was passed over for an audition because she was deemed "not Asian enough."

    In an interview with Teen Vogue former Disney Channel star Brenda Song said she had expressed interest to her managers in trying for a role in the 2018 film, which was the first major studio movie in more than 25 years to feature a predominately Asian cast.
    "Their reasoning behind that, what they said was that my image was basically not Asian enough, in not so many words," she told the publication. "It broke my heart."
    She added "I said, 'This character is in her late to mid-20s, an Asian American, and I can't even audition for it? I've auditioned for Caucasian roles my entire career, but this specific role, you're not going to let me do it? You're going to fault me for having worked my whole life?' I was like, 'Where do I fit?'"
    But the film's director, Jon M. Chu, is disputing that.
    On Wednesday Chu responded to an Entertainment Weekly tweet about Song's claim via his official Twitter account.

    Entertainment Weekly

    @EW
    · 18h
    Brenda Song wasn't allowed to audition for Crazy Rich Asians because she was 'not Asian enough' http://share.ew.com/WaVbh9U


    Brenda Song wasn't allowed to audition for 'Crazy Rich Asians' because she was 'not Asian enough'
    The former Disney star, who played rich hotel heiress London Tipton on the show 'The Suite Life of Zack and Cody,' was discouraged by her managers from auditioning for the groundbreaking rom-com.

    ew.com
    Jon M. Chu

    @jonmchu
    ����*♂️would these words ever come out of my mouth? Nope makes no sense. I feel horrible she thinks this is the reason. The fact is I love Brenda Song and am a fan. I didn’t need her to audition because I already knew who she was!

    99
    2:04 PM - Nov 20, 2019
    Twitter Ads info and privacy
    27 people are talking about this
    "Would these words ever come out of my mouth? Nope makes no sense," he tweeted. "I feel horrible she thinks this is the reason. The fact is I love Brenda Song and am a fan. I didn't need her to audition because I already knew who she was!"
    On Thursday the director tweeted a 2018 article about the open casting call for the film.

    Jon M. Chu

    @jonmchu
    One of my favorite memories of making #CrazyRichAsians was when we opened the auditions to anyone in the world with our open call. We watched hundreds &hundreds of videos from very talented people from all around the world. Made us tear up many times. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.pri...dio-film%3famp



    What happens when you let everyone in the world audition for a Hollywood studio film
    Three people who participated in the viral #CrazyRichAsiansCasting campaign earned their first ever parts in a big motion picture. Here’s why director Jon M. Chu thought it was necessary to scour the...

    pri.org
    85
    3:58 AM - Nov 21, 2019
    Twitter Ads info and privacy
    See Jon M. Chu's other Tweets
    "One of my favorite memories of making #CrazyRichAsians was when we opened the auditions to anyone in the world with our open call," Chu tweeted. "We watched hundreds & hundreds of videos from very talented people from all around the world. Made us tear up many times."
    Song, who is currently starring in the Hulu series "Dollface," has been hailed as one of the most visible Asian American actors thanks to her roles in various Disney Channel projects including the film "Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior" and the series "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody."
    CNN has reached out to Song for additional comment.
    One of the things that I liked about Brenda's role in Zack & Cody was that she wasn't played off as Asian. In fact, her character was a spoof of Paris Hilton, so it could've just as easily been played by some white blonde engenue. What made her character stand out was that it didn't default to race, so her playing the race card here for this is really awkward.

    THREADS
    Crazy Rich Asians
    Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior
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  14. #14
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    Didn't quite know where to post this because we don't have a Hustlers thread...

    HUSTLERS 7:35 A.M.
    Constance Wu Went Undercover As a Stripper for One Night, Made $600

    By Claire Lampen @claire_lampen


    Constance Wu. Photo: JEAN-BAPTISTE LACROIX/AFP via Getty Images

    Constance Wu’s Method work for Hustlers appears to have paid off, and I absolutely mean literally: The actor recently disclosed that she made $600 in a single night spent researching at a strip club. As Hustlers reminds us, stripping can be an extremely lucrative craft one day (particularly for young dancers who have a seasoned J.Lo to guide them, and who are willing to bend some laws to up their tips) and a bust the next, so I am impressed. Wu’s would be a sizable take even for someone who wasn’t making her first (and possibly also only? Unclear.) public appearance onstage.

    Speaking to Kelly Clarkson on her eponymous talk show on Monday, Wu admitted that she did “study,” to borrow Clarkson’s phrasing, for her role as a dancer in Hustlers. “I did work at a strip club,” she said. “I went undercover.”

    “What did you have to do?” an aghast Clarkson cut in.

    “Stripped,” Wu replied. “I gave lap dances to strangers. I made 600 bucks my first night.”

    Hell yeah.



    The experience was crucial, she said, because it introduced her to “that feeling — because you can’t duplicate it — [of] the first time you walk into a club and say, ‘Hey, I would like to have a job here,’ and then you go work that night.”

    Wu said she installed a stripper pole in her living room to practice for the movie, in addition to working with a private coach, so she didn’t walk into her big debut totally green. Having castmate Cardi B as a personal lap-dance instructor probably didn’t hurt, either.
    Did anyone here see Hustlers?
    Gene Ching
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  15. #15
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    Golden Globes

    I've never felt the need to discuss the Golden Globes because so few of the films we discuss here are ever nominated there. Our Academy Awards and Asian Film Festivals and Awards threads were sufficient.

    That has changed.

    I'm only cut&pasting the relevant nominations. You can see the full list here.

    Best Motion Picture - Drama


    NOMINEE
    Black Panther

    Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy


    NOMINEE
    Crazy Rich Asians

    Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy


    NOMINEE
    Constance Wu
    Crazy Rich Asians

    Best Original Score - Motion Picture


    Ludwig Göransson
    Black Panther

    Best Original Song - Motion Picture


    NOMINEE
    All The Stars
    Black Panther
    THREADS
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