NATHANIEL SCHOSSAU WRITES – A scene in Greta Gerwig’s highly anticipated “Barbie” movie, set for release July 21 and starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, has caused controversy over—of all things!— a territorial dispute in the South China Sea. The reason: Vietnam and China both claim a particular part of…
GABY RUSLI WRITES— Do you have what it takes to become the next big thing? If so, would you do anything to have your shot at stardom? Translated into English, Siren Queen (2022) by Nghi Vo chronicles Luli Wei – a girl born and raised in a stereotypical traditional Chinese laundromat family in the pre-Code…
ANDREA PLATE WRITES – The outpouring of grief that followed the death this week of actor Dwayne Hickman at age 87, star of the smash 1959-1963 CBS TV series “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,” came as no surprise. Yes, he was just an actor in a role: a clean-cut,…
NATHAN RIVAS WRITES – Once again, anime has come to Tinsel Town. Sort of. A few weeks ago, Warner Bros. announced that Lana Wachowski will write and direct a fourth Matrix film, with actors Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss reprising their roles as Neo and Trinity. Never mind that the…
Chantal Nong talks about her experiences with Crazy Rich Asians and the movie’s impact on film awards. Nong is an executive producer at Warner Brothers. She recently oversaw the production of Crazy Rich Asians. She has now moved over to DC to be the VP of Production. She attended USC…
JENICA ROSE GARCIA WRITES — Every December, the internet excitedly awaits the acclaimed “Moving Pictures” mashup, which strings multiple pieces of footage from disparate movie trailers into a whole new trailer. The creative genius behind “Moving Pictures” is Clark Zhu, who has accumulated millions of fans and has been featured…
IMMANUEL PORTUS WRITES- Purple and scarlet lights illuminated Stage 4’s facade at Sunset Las Palmas Studios during the event of New Filmmakers Los Angeles on October 6th, a film festival that aims to celebrate LA’s heritage and identity. Emerging creative voices such as LA filmmakers Rona Par and Mengfang Yang drew…
FASSA SAR WRITES – “Black Panther” tops box offices, at this point running ahead of “Avatar,” the Star Wars franchise, “Jumanji” and countless other titles in sales. There is an old standing conception that mass audiences do not want to see black narratives with a majority black cast. In order…
FASSA SAR WRITES – This is a story of how the mighty have fallen. It has been about a month since a myriad of actresses confronted Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein on how he raped, sexually assaulted, and harassed them for decades. Over 78 courageous women, including Angelina Jolie, Rose Mcgowan,…
FASSA SAR WRITES – Chinese officials say that despite the country’s current prosperity, there’s trouble brewing: commercial films just aren’t socialist enough. China’s legislature, National People’s of Congress, revisited a draft of a film law proposed in 2015 that attempts to regulate its domestic film Industry and Chinese-owned Hollywood studios.…
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – Published earlier this month, Paul Fischer’s “A Kim Jong-il Production” explores the late North Korean president’s zeal for film and his attempts to make his country’s film industry the best in the world. After the controversy surrounding the release of “The Interview,” Fischer’s book could not…
DYLAN FIELDS WRITES – L.A. EigaFest 2014 hit the town last month, bringing fans of Japanese cinema from East to West to Hollywood’s main drag. A mash-up of the Japanese word for film, eiga, and ‘festival,’ the annual gathering, now in its fourth year, showcases Japanese and Japanese-influenced films for American…
Mataichiro “Mata” Yamamoto & Ryuhei Kitamura After his directorial debut with his cult hit action/horror flick Versus, Ryuhei Kitamura received both domestic and international fame among filmmakers. He went on to make a number of exciting films including his first Hollywood movie, Clive Barker’s The Midnight Meat Train, starring Bradley…
DYLAN FIELDS WRITES – This weekend the Japan Film Society hosts the 4th annual Los Angeles EigaFest, showcasing contemporary Japanese cinema in the US. A portmanteau of the Japanese word for film (eiga) and ‘festival,’ the name signifies its objectives to “showcase Japanese and Japanese-influenced films that appeal to the…
