Hollywood

April 25, 2021

by Suzanne Joe Kai

"Nomadland" director Chloé Zhao made history at tonight's 2021 Academy Awards, becoming the first woman of color to win Best Director. 

Her film "Nomadland" also won the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Actress in a leading role. 

Frances McDormand won the Oscar for Best Actress in "Nomadland."

She was also a Producer of the film.

Frances plays a woman in her 60's who loses everything in the Great Recession of 2008 and lives in a van as a nomad like other transient workers in the American West during the 2008 economic crisis.

Frances McDormand howled onstage during her acceptance speech in tribute to Michael Wolf "Nomadland's" production sound mixer who died at the age of 35. 

Chloé Zhao is only the second woman ever to win the Directing award, tonight marking yet another milestone for the Oscars.

The only other woman to win an Oscar for Directing is Kathryn Bigelow[5] in 2010,[6] for The Hurt Locker.

Born in Beijing, China, Chloé moved with her parents to London when she was in high school, and attended Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts.

She attended New York University's MFA graduate film program. 

She currently lives in Ojai, California. 

Sources:

Oscars.org

IMDB

RottenTomatoes.com

Variety.com April 25, 2021 Frances McDormand

Variety.com March 6, 2021 Wolf Snyder

Update:

July 17, 2012

Goodbye New York, Hello Houston! 

After weeks of speculation, Tuesday night the New York Knicks announced it would not match the Houston Rockets' offer.

Emotions have been running high with Knicks fans. To quote writer Ian O'Connor at ESPNNewYork.com, "Jim Dolan just made one of the dumbest moves of his basketball life"...

Meanwhile, Lin remains a gentleman, thanking the Knicks and showing enthusiasm for Houston. 

Twitter comments: (@JLin7)

For the latest on Jeremy Lin:

ESPN.go.com

July 5, 2012

This afternoon Jeremy Lin agreed to a multi-million dollar offer sheet by the Houston Rockets. Numerous sources say that the Houston Rockets' offer is reportedly a four year $28.8 million deal with Lin. The contract cannot be signed until after the NBA moratorium ends next Wednesday, July 11, 2012, then the New York Knicks have three days to match the Rockets' offer or let him go. 

This story is evolving day by day, and in some cases hour by hour.

(Video image by Suzanne Joe Kai at a press interview with Jeremy Lin in the NY Knicks locker room at Madison Square Garden March 11, 2012)

Update:

February 21, 2012

"Can't escape race, no matter what," says writer William Wong who pens...

Jennifer Yuh Nelson was named best director for KUNG FU PANDA 2 by the International Animated Film Society (ASIFA-Hollywood) at the 39th Annual Annie Awards.

Nelson is the first solo woman to win the award for Directing in a Feature Production. KUNG FU PANDA 2 also won an Annie Award for Best Animated Special Production. 

The film is also nominated for an Oscar in the Best Animated Feature category.

AsianConnections team was at Kung Fu Panda 2's red carpet premiere in Los Angeles in 2011. 

Click here for the SI article on New York Knicks Starting Point Guard Jeremy Lin’s astonishing ascent. Linsanity continues tonight at Madison Square Garden, when the New York Knicks play the Sacramento Kings. Click here for more commentary on Linmania at AsianConnections.com.

Other Articles on Jeremy Lin:

cbsnews.com: Jeremy Lin: New York Knicks’ Cinderella story
espn.go.com: When Jeremy Lin takes over your team

Click here for the Lia Chang Articles Archive and here for the Lia Chang Photography Website.

Lia Chang is an actor, a performance and fine art botanical photographer, and an award-winning multi-platform journalist. In 2010, the Library of Congress established The Lia Chang APA Theater Portfolio in the Asian Pacific American Performing Arts Collection housed in the Library of Congress Asian Division’s Asian Pacific American Islander Collection.

A new super PAC is demanding an apology from GOP Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra for the broadcast of his controversial ad in Michigan on Super Bowl Sunday depicting negative stereotypes of Asian Americans. The ad shows an Asian female speaking in broken English, cycling through what appears to be rice paddies, "Your economy get very weak. Ours get very good."

Actress Lisa Chan apologized for her involvement. The recent UCLA graduate wrote on her Facebook page,"I am deeply sorry for any pain that the character I portrayed brought to my communities."

“In an age where virtually all Americans have moved forward on race relations, it seems Congressman Hoekstra has taken a giant step back. We are here to say we are not going to put up with it. We are here to tell him we are outraged and demand an official apology," said Jesse Tangkhpanya, the national political director for the American Values super PAC.

In addition to the Super Bowl ad which was aired in Michigan, the GOP Senate hopeful posted a website accusing GOP rival candidate Senator Debbie Stabenow, (D-MIch.) of supporting deficit spending. The Hoekstra campaign website www.DebbieSpenditnow.com showed the Superbowl ad, with Chinese characters, paper lanterns and dragons.

Amidst the firestorm from members of the AAPI community and mounting pressure from both Republicans and Democrats, the ad has been taken down. It is off Hoekstra's Facebook page, YouTube channel, and the website now reverts to Hoekstra's Senate...