Beverly Hills, CA

 Photo credit used by permission: Emmy Magazine, Lucy Liu

 
Congratulations to all of the 2013 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invitees.

"These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today," said Academy President Hawk Koch. "Their talent and creativity have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide, and I am proud to welcome each of them to the Academy. Invitees who accept their invitation to join will be eligible to vote in the annual Oscars.

The 276 invitees for 2013 include 12 names with Asian surnames that could be informally determined from the official Academy list. 

The 2013 invitees include actors Lucy Liu and Sandra Oh, CEO of Warner Bros Entertainment Kevin Tsujihara, documentary filmmaker Michael Chin, and composer and music director Joe Hisaishi who is a frequent collaborator to animation director Hayao Miyazaki ("Ponyo,""Spirited Away").

In 2012,  the overall list was 100 names shorter than 2013's. Only 7 people with Asian surnames made the 2012 list of 176 invitees including (Actor) Michelle Yeoh (“The Lady,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"), (Cinematographer)  Larry Fong ("Super 8,” “300”), (Cinematographer) Toyomichi Kurita ("Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family," "Waiting to Exhale"), (Director) Wong Kar Wai (“My Blueberry Nights,” “In the Mood for Love”), (Music) Ryuichi Sakamoto (“Love Is the Devil,” “The Last Emperor”),  (Short Film/Feature Animation) Jennifer Yuh Nelson (“Kung Fu Panda 2,” “Madagascar”).

The New York Times reports that the Academy had limited its membership numbers since 2004 by using quotas within its branches, but has now changed...

Hollywood

May 22, 2013

Legendary music producer/composer Quincy Jones turned 80 this year and he's still going strong. His latest endeavors include representing young talent including K-Pop style Asian girl group Blush. Click here for the story by James McKinley, Jr. at the New York Times.

Girl group Blush includes talents from five Asian countries, Ji Hae Lee from South Korea, Alisha Budhrani from India, Natsuko Danjo from Japan, Victoria Chan from Hong Kong/China and Angeli Flores from the Philippines. Quincy executive produced Blush's new single "Warrior." Click here to view the music video. 

On a separate note, Quincy Jones was interviewed for a documentary about Ben Fong-Torres, the legendary rock journalist and former senior editor of Rolling Stone magazine. The documentary is being directed by Suzanne Joe Kai. Thanks Quincy! 

May, 2013

New Asian film titles have been added to Hulu in celebration of Asian Pacific Heritage Month.

Hulu's Chinese, Japanese and Korean libraries now include:

Korean Titles:

Korean Dramas: Launching are My Sassy Girl (dir. Jae-Young Kwaek), 200 Pounds Beauty (Young-Hwa Kim), and action drama Crying Fist (Seung-Wan Ryoo with Oldboy’s Min-Sik Choi).
Korean Cannes Selections: Hahaha, Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors (Sang-Soo Hong), and A Brand New Life (Ounie Lecomte).

Additionally, the famed Oldboy trilogy is available on Hulu...

Update: May 17, 2013

Photo credit: Robert Ellis,
Paul McCartney and Wings on 1975-1976 "Wings Across America" tour. 

We saw ROCKSHOW last night, May 16.

If you are a Paul McCartney fan - this is a must see remastered concert film of his 1975-1976 "Wings Across America" tour with Wings, the band he and his late wife Linda put together back in 1971.

By its 1975-1976 tour Wings was going full throttle.

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