That’s what I took away from CinemaCon, the trade show for theater owners put on by the National Association of Theatre Owners (the other NATO, the one with fewer fighter jets).

On my GizmoPorn blog, I’ve been quite vocal about CinemaCon’s having a caste system for press. CinemaCon outsourced their press-handling to PR agency Rogers and Cowan.  Some were given full access; others were not.  I had to battle to get into seminars, panels, and especially screenings.  Part of the problem was that the temporary door staff hired by CinemaCon didn’t know about press access. The other problem was that Rogers and Cowan selected who would get access and who would not.

That marred my experience of the event.

Movie Posters Line Caesars Palace

And it marred the presentation of The Hobbit.  Deadline and the other Hollywood big media said that the audience at the Warner Brother’s screening was unimpressed with the footage shown.  It was not color-timed.  It had no digital effects.  It wasn’t edited fully.  But it wasn’t supposed to be.

So what the bigwig media capitalized on was the higher frame rate.  The Hobbit is using 48 frames per second as opposed to the traditional 24.  But one critic compared the higher frame rate to a bad soap opera look.

But from where I was sitting, the audience loved it.  I was sitting with actual theater owners — the ones who’ll exhibit the film and make money with it.

That’s the problem with VIP seating.  You tend to see privilege more than reality.

The biggest news that came out of the several panels at CinemaCon wasn’t official.  There’s a battle being waged among theater owners, with a minority in favor of allowing texting in movie theaters.  In my estimation, that would enable free telephone use in the theater, and once that door is opened, it won’t close again.

Another door that’s impossible to close is bootlegging video footage of movies screened in theaters.  But as shown at NAB 2012 and at CinemaCon were innovations such as Pirate Eye that can detect camera and phone use.

It was somewhat upsetting to me that many of the attendees at the Ang Lee and Martin Scorcese talk on 3D left the room early.  It turned out to be a monotonous discussion because it really did just stick to that topic.

More entertaining were Jack Black, Antonio Banderas, and Cameron Diaz honoring Jeffrey Katzenberg.

Many of the seminars were dry and not very interesting.  I was looking forward to the Walt Disney Institute’s lecture on Employee Engagement, but it turned out to be more “What Walt Did” than an offering of anything constructive.

It seems that the intention of the event is to motivate theater owners and get people talking about upcoming movies as well as informing theater owners of the latest in technology.  CinemaCon achieved all that, but as far as getting people pumped up about the upcoming year of movies, I’m not so sure. With The Avengers, Dark Night Rises, The Hobbit, and The Amazing Spiderman coming out, I’m not sure they need to be.

Some thoughts on the expo floor and exhibitors upcoming.

– Ken Choy

Related posts:

Lower those angry fingers for a sec…

It’s for “Chink,” a new film.

After a successful crowdsourced funding campaign, it looks like the film is gearing up for production.

An Actors Access notice appeared this morning.  Jason Tobin and Eugenia Yuan, attached to the project from the beginning, will star in the film.  Produced by The People I’ve Slept With alumni Quentin Lee, Stanley Yung, and Koji Steven Sakai, shooting is slated to begin in June for two weeks.

The team hired Brad Gilmore to cast.

The film, with script by Sakai and Yung as helmer, is about an Asian American serial killer.

If you don’t have an Actor’s Access account, the casting agency has a website where you might be able to get more information.

EDDY TSAI: CAST (Jason Tobin)
KARENA LEE: CAST (Eugenia Yuan)

[ MR. JEFFREY CHANG ]
50s to early-60s, the owner of a successful import/export company, Mr. Chang manipulates and exploits his workers, especially the attractive female ones. He likes Eddy and takes him under his wing until a love triangle develops between him, Eddy, and Karena. He may be a racist and a chauvinist, but he’s still charming and funny … LEAD … ASIAN AMERICAN OR CAUCASIAN

[ MICAH BETANCOURT ]
Late 20s to early-30s, Eddy’s only friend at work, he gets along with everyone. A bit of an outsider himself, Micah befriends Eddy because he feels sorry for him, but he’s naïve and fails to see the darkness that lurks beneath the surface with Eddy … LEAD … CAUCASIAN

[ TRICIA ARNOLD ]
Mid-30s to early-40s, sarcastic, cynical, and bitter because she’s stuck in a dead end job. She considers Eddy creepy and is jealous of his status as the boss’ pet, so she puts him down and turns others against him whenever she can. She sticks to Amber like glue, bathing in the afterglow of Amber’s popularity … LEAD … ALL ETHNICITIES

[ AMBER STERLING ]
Mid 20s to early-30s, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed receptionist at Eddy’s workplace and the object of just about everyone’s affection. An aspiring actress, she’s a genuinely sweet but sometimes oblivious Midwestern girl, and she’s prone to peer pressure, especially from Tricia. She doesn’t recognize Eddy’s affections and inadvertently humiliates him in front of everyone, so he stalks and brutally murders her … LEAD … CAUCASIAN

[ BETTY GOODMAN ]
Late-20s to mid-30s, Mr. Chang’s faithful but brow-beaten secretary, she’s often forced to carry out his dirty work around the office … SUPPORTING … CAUCASIAN

[ DETECTIVE FRANK ANDERSON ]
Early 40s to early-50s, a somewhat jaded veteran homicide detective, he’s the lead investigator into Eddy’s crimes … SUPPORTING … ALL ETHNICITIES

[ DETECTIVE MIKE PHILLIPS ]
Early 30s to early-40s, Anderson’s less experienced but computer savvy partner, he’s prone to gallows humor …SUPPORTING … ALL ETHNICITIES

[ MRS. LIN FONG TSAI ]
50s to early-60s, Eddy’s caring and well-meaning mother, but she constantly nags him and is unable to stand up to her domineering husband …SUPPORTING … ASIAN AMERICAN

[ MR. MING WU TSAI ]
50s to early-60s, Eddy’s gruff, hot-tempered father who is verbally and physically abusive towards his wife and son. He and his wife work at the family-owned liquor store 24/7 … SUPPORTING … ASIAN AMERICAN

[ MRS. EVELYN CHANG ]
Early to late-40s, Mr. Chang’s wife and mother of his two children. She suspects that he’s cheating on her but is reluctant to leave him because she’s too used to being pampered … ASIAN AMERICAN

[ BRIAN BENNETT ]
30s to 50s, the eccentric owner of an art gallery and boutique that specializes in serial killer memorabilia and artwork … ALL ETHNICITIES

[ TIFFANY WONG ]
Mid to late-20s, Mr. Chang’s latest object of affection. She’s a party girl who’s sexy and knows it, but she gravitates towards older Sugar Daddies … ASIAN AMERICAN

[ LISA SIMPSON ]
Mid 20s to early-30s, Eddy’s newest flame and future murder victim … CAUCASIAN

STORY LINE: Eddy grew up getting beaten up and made fun of for being Asian. Those traumatic experiences turned him to hate being Asian. Looking for ways to discharge his inner rage, he studies famous serial killers like Ted Bundy and decides to become one himself. His preferred victims? Other Asians.

Related posts:

Girl in Progress — starring Eva Mendes
Mamitas — opened April 27 — in theaters now
For Greater Glory — opens June 1

GIRL IN PROGRESS

"Girl in Progress" - Eva & Cierra

Opens MOTHER’S DAY WEEKEND — May 11, 2012
Limited release

http://www.girlinprogressmovie.com/index.html

Starring: Eva Mendes, Cierra Ramirez, Patricia Arquette, Eugenio Derbez, Matthew Modine, Raini Rodriguez & Landon Liboiron

Directed By:  Patricia Riggen      Written By:  Hiram Martinez

Grace (Mendes) is a single mom. She is too busy juggling work, bills, and the very married Dr. Hartford (Matthew Modine), to give her daughter, Ansiedad (Ramirez) the attention she desperately needs. When Ansiedad’s English teacher, Ms. Armstrong (Patricia Arquette), introduces her students to classic coming-of-age stories, Ansiedad is inspired to skip adolescence and jump-start her life without mom.

While Grace becomes preoccupied with the increasing affections of her co-worker (Eugenio Derbez), Ansiedad enlists the help of her loyal friend, Tavita (Raini Rodriguez), to plot her shortcut to “adulthood.” But as her misguided plan unravels, Ansiedad and Grace must learn that sometimes growing-up means acting your age.

Watch the trailer/Web links:
http://www.facebook.co/GIRLINPROGRESSmovie
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1817676/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/10/girl-in-progress-trailer-eva-mendes_n_1196233.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girl_in_Progress

MAMITAS

Opened 4/ 27/ 12 — in L.A. theaters now!
Limited release

http://mamitasthemovie.com/Mamitas/Theaters.html

Written & Directed By: Nicholas Ozeki in his feature debut

Mamitas stars:  EJ Bonilla, Veronica Diaz, Jennifer Esposito, Joaquim de Almeida, Jesse Garcia and Pedro Armendariz Jr.

Beautifully shot in Echo Park and against Los Angeles’s downtown skyline, this beguiling coming-of-age romance introduces two phenomenal young actors in EJ Bonilla and Veronica Diaz-Carranza.  At school, Jordin (Bonilla) is a cocky but charming Latino firebrand; at home he is a doting grandson who can’t seem to please his perpetually cranky father. On the day he’s suspended for insulting a teacher, Jordin meets Felipa (Diaz-Carranza), a bookish, no-nonsense New York girl who sees past the swaggering facade. The two immediately embark on an unlikely friendship that inspires Jordin to find out who he really is.

Watch the trailer/Web links:
http://www.facebook.com/MamitasMovie
http://mamitasthemovie.com/Mamitas/Home.html
Review:  http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117945533/

AWARDS:

Independent Spirit Awards: Someone To Watch Award nominee

2011 Los Angeles Film Festival Premiere

The film was a Sundance entry and has been successful since, winning awards and nominations nationwide.

FOR GREATER GLORY

Opens:  June 1, 2012
Limited release

http://www.forgreaterglory.com/ [impressive snagging of the URL sans the typical "movie" or "themovie" appended to the title...]

Starring:  Andy Garcia, Eva Longoria, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Ruben Blades, Oscar Isaac, Peter O’Toole

Directed By: Dean Wright     Written By: Dean Wright & Michael Love

What price would you pay for freedom?  An impassioned group of men and women each make the decision to risk it all for family, faith and the very future of their country.  In the exhilarating action epic For Greater Glory an impassioned group of men and women make the decision to risk it all for family, faith and the very future of their country, as the film’s adventure unfolds against the long-hidden, true story of the 1920s Cristero War — the daring people’s revolt that rocked 20th Century North America.

Watch the trailer/Web links:
http://www.facebook.com/forgreaterglory
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1566501/

Related posts:

Stealing can be the sincerest form of flattery.  Implanting the desire to steal, maybe even more so.

Hollywood has made a habit of stealing ideas.  India, Japan, China, and Korea have recently been providing source material for Hollywood to [swipe/borrow/buy and adapt/co-opt?]….

There must be a Hollywood remake coming for “Helpless,” the new film by Byun Young-joo.

In the film, the lead character finds he is about to marry someone he doesn’t know at all.  That’s because her identity was stolen.  Yes, that’s kept intentionally vague.

There’s one short scene, and the chase begins. Think “Breakdown.”  A brief stop at a rest area on the way to meet his parents.

Gone.

In the pouring rain.

Stolen?

He checks her apartment.  It’s cleaned out.  And dusted off with no prints left.

So not stolen.

This goes beyond “Breakdown.”

And what was stolen will shock and horrify audiences.

***

Clearly driven by a love that cannot be diminished despite the discovery of sordid details about his love interest, the lead obsessively searches for his stolen one.  And as the factoids about his fiancée begin to pile up, we wonder if that obsession is at the level of the deeds done by the missing bride-to-be.  After all, the love he gave so unconditionally was stolen from him.  The audience knows at some point, he’ll find her.  But what will happen at that fated moment is the mystery.

Without giving much away, the film’s deviancy level is high, and the movie ends up being quite gruesome.

So much so that the lead character frenetically lies on the ground, shouting while spasming….

Like the characters, we, the audience, are helpless to watch.

Helpless opens May 11 at select theaters.

–Ken Choy

Related posts:

And headline number 2: Evolution Is Proven.

Yes, the President’s position has “evolved,” the term of art long used to describe his thinking on the subject, from semi- to fully enlightened at last.

We are overjoyed.  The hot question is whether this hurts him politically — after all, although Americans now are more supportive of gay marriage than not, a trend toward majority approval that’s taken decades to realize [cool chart here], voters across the country keep voting against it.  (Something like thirty-two of thirty-three votes taken across the country in the last few years have come down against gay rights, including, yesterday, a constitutional amendment vote in North Carolina.  Though at least people there aren’t all taking the news sitting down.)

Speaking of people not willing to sit down, anyone happen to catch Fox News’s original, nasty take on the President’s comments today, before they changed the post?

Screen grab from mediaite.com:

Ouch.  The Fair and the Balanced have a bad taste in their mouths today.

To sum up on the evolutionary front, here’s a Presidential evolutionary timeline from Good Morning America/Yahoo [Obama broke the news in an ABC interview today] that we found interesting:

.

President Obama will discuss same-sex marriage in an exclusive interview today with “Good Morning America” anchor  Robin Roberts. With his “evolving” position in the spotlight, here’s a look back at the various positions he has held on the issue: from appearing to support the unions as a young state senate candidate, opposing them outright as a matter of faith in 2004, to suggesting a shift in line with public opinion:

FEBRUARY 1996: “I favor legalizing same-sex marriages, and would fight efforts to prohibit such marriages,” reads a typed, signed statement from then-Illinois state senate candidate Obama in response to a questionnaire by the Chicago LGBT newspaper “Outlines.”   White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer later publicly disavowed the statement, claiming in June 2011 that the questionnaire was “actually filled out by someone else.”

OCTOBER 2004: ” What I believe is that marriage is between a man and a woman … What I believe, in my faith, is that a man and a woman, when they get married, are performing something before God, and it’s not simply the two persons who are meeting,” then-U.S. Senate candidate Obama said in an interview with WTTW Chicago public television.

“That doesn’t mean that that necessarily translates into a position on public policy or with respect to civil unions. What it does mean is that we have a set of traditions in place that, I think, need to be preserved, but I also think we need to make sure that gays and lesbians have the same set of basic rights that are in place.

“I don’t think marriage is a civil right,” Obama said when asked whether there’s an inherent right to marry.

OCTOBER 2010: ” I have been to this point unwilling to sign on to same-sex marriage primarily because of my understandings of the traditional definitions of marriage,” President Obama said during an interview with liberal bloggers. “But I also think you’re right that attitudes evolve, including mine. And I think that it is an issue that I wrestle with and think about because I have a whole host of friends who are in gay partnerships.”

DECEMBER 2010: ” My feelings about this are constantly evolving. I struggle with this. At this point, what I’ve said is, is that my baseline is a strong civil union that provides them the protections and the legal rights that married couples have,” Obama said in response to a question from ABC’s Jake Tapper at a White House press conference.

“I recognize that from their perspective it is not enough, and I think is something that we’re going to continue to debate and I personally am going to continue to wrestle with going forward,” he said.

JUNE 2011: ” The president has never favored same-sex marriage. He is against it. The country is evolving on this, and he is evolving on it,” Pfeiffer told progressive activists at the Net Roots Nation conference.

JUNE 2011: ” I think it’s important for us to work through these issues because each community is going to be different, each state is going to be different,” Obama said when asked during a White House press conference about New York becoming the latest state to legalize same-sex marriage.

“I think what you’re seeing is a profound recognition on the part of the American people that gays and lesbians and transgender persons are our brothers, our sisters, our children, our cousins, our friends, our co-workers, and that they’ve got to be treated like every other American,” he said. “And I think that principle will win out. It’s not going to be perfectly smooth, and it turns out that the President – I’ve discovered since I’ve been in this office – can’t dictate precisely how this process moves.”

OCTOBER 2011:  “I’m still working on it,” Obama said when asked by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos whether he would move from supporting civil unions for same-sex couples to supporting gay marriage.

“I probably won’t make news right now, George. But I think that there’s no doubt that as I see friends, families children of gay couples who are thriving, you know, that has an impact on how I think about these issues.”

So celebrate!  And if you’re glad the President finally took the political risk and got there [video clip], maybe this will inspire you to work toward his reelection this year.  Or at least get out and vote for him.

Because his Republican opponent most assuredly does not share the same views.

Related posts:

Josefina Lopez is turning her hit play Detained in the Desert into a feature film.  Submit ASAP (non-union) if you’d like to audition.  Details follow from the filmmakers….

This dramatic story was written in protest to the anti-immigrant/racial profiling laws in Arizona and is a stand against hate talk and hate crimes.  Help us tell this story.

A low-budget independent feature film –
There is no pay just credit and meals

Director: Iliana Sosa    Producer:  Josefina Lopez

If interested please email your headshot/ resume to

RWHCStudio@gmail.com

mention referral from:  Carlos San Miguel at Wide Lantern

or drop off/ mail ASAP to:
CASA 0101 Theater, 2009 E. First St., L.A., CA 90033

DETAINED IN THE DESERT (based on the hit play by Josefina Lopez)
read about the original play:
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/sep/30/entertainment/la-et-immigration-plays-20101001

Character Breakdown

MAIN ROLE:

SANDI SANCHEZ – Lead/ Latina/ female – 27
Stubborn, hot headed and outspoken, Sandi is a second- generation Latina who does not speak Spanish, but is dark skinned and looks almost native American. She just finished her Master’s degree, and for a large part of her life, has denied her Mexican heritage.

FEATURED CAST:

J.C. /  Female / Latina – 20s
Raul’s sister and also one of Lou’s kidnappers.

SAUL / Male / Latino – 20s
Raul’s brother and one of Lou’s kidnappers. He’s the most austere out of the three kidnappers.

CHUY /  Male / Latino – 20s
Raul’s brother and the third kidnapper.

KEN BEAVERS /  Male / any ethnicity -  37
The ambitious and no nonsense radio producer of “Take Back America.”

DORIS / African-American / Female – 40s
An African American correctional officer at the Eloy Detention Center. She sympathizes with Sandi but at the same time is strict and believes in her job.

ARTEMIO HERNANDEZ / Male / Latino – 40
The ghost of a man who was murdered in the desert. Looking for a male with darker skin and indigenous features.

MILAGROS / Female / Latina – 27
A first generation Mexican immigrant who befriends Sandi at Eloy. Spanish must be first language, looking for someone that speaks English with an accent.

ELI / Male / Caucasian – 17
JAMESON / Male / Caucasian – / 17
DAVID / Male / Caucasian – / 16
One of three white, working class teenagers who commit a violent hate crime against a Latino immigrant in the streets of Phoenix, Arizona.   Looking for teens that are 18 but look younger and are comfortable performing in a violent scene.

RAUL MORENO / male / Latino – 23
A young, bilingual Latino man that is the target of the hate crime committed by three white teens. Looking for someone with a darker skin tone, who is also bilingual.

CARL DUNLOP / Male / Caucasian – 40
A middle-aged white male who is a leader of the racist, “Minuteclan” group. He is a firm believer that immigrants are toxic, and is an active protestor and “defender” of the Border. His group pokes holes through the gallons of water that Ernesto provides.

DONALD DAVIS / Male / Caucasian – 35
A racist talk show radio host that fills in for Lou and eventually replaces him.

MR. MARTINEZ  / Male / Latino – 40
Sandi’s put together Latino professor who teaches a Latino studies class. Educated, slightly hipster.

DEENA / female / Caucasian – 45
Eli’s mother, a white, working class woman that condones racism.

ELDERLY WOMAN / female / Caucasian – 60s-70s
An avid protestor against immigrants in the Phoenix protests.

LINDA SANCHEZ / female / Latina – 50
A third generation Latina who participates in the anti-immigrant protests. She has a deep hatred against her own kind and isn’t afraid to voice her anti-immigrant sentiments.

YOUNG SANDI / female / Latina – 11
Looking for a Latina girl to play Sandi as a young girl. Will play two roles in Sandi’s dream sequences and also in a flashback where she denies her Mexican identity.

YOUNG MILAGROS / female / Latina 11
In Sandi’s flashback while she’s at Eloy Detention Center, Sandi remembers a Young Milagros in her school who was teased by the white children but Young Sandi didn’t stand up for her.

BACKGROUND ACTORS

MALE POLICE OFFICER / male / any ethnicity – 35
While Matt tried to find out where Sandi was detained at, the police officer refers him to ICE.   *SPEAKING ROLE*

TALL BLONDE / female / any ethnicity – 40
A news reporter for Phoenix’s Fox 10 News who speaks about illegal immigration.
*SPEAKING ROLE*

SCHOOL NURSE / female / any ethnicity – 35
During Sandi’s flashback, the school nurse checks Sandi’s head for lice, which the children believe was passed around by a Mexican child.
*NON-SPEAKING ROLE*

WOMAN ON THE GROUND / female / Latina / any adult age
In Ernesto’s flashback of the most impacted death he has witnessed out in the desert, he remembers a woman lying on the ground with a snake slithering out her mouth.
*NON-SPEAKING ROLE*

LATINO MAN / BACKGROUND / male / Latino / any adult age
Lou sees a Latino man walking down the street as he makes a phone call.

PROTESTORS / any gender/ any ethnicity – 40-75
Four to five protestors hold signs and participate in a mock protest against illegal immigration. Wardrobe: overly patriotic wear.

LATINO CHILDREN / any gender / Latino -  8-12
Four young Latino boys and girls stand in line as they wait their turn to be checked by the school nurse.

WHITE BOYS / male / Caucasian – 9-12
Three boys tease Young Sandi, Young Milagros, and other Latino children in school. *One boy will have a speaking role*

FEMALE DETAINEES / female / Latina -  20s-50s
Various Latina women of varying looks to play immigrant detainees at Eloy detention center

Related posts:

Are we back to violence against Asians as comedy again?

Another in our watchdogging series, taking a closer look at some of the iffy language put out in Hollywood casting notices.  (Maybe you saw the WL watchdog post picked up and tweeted by Roger Ebert, and then written about elsewhere.  We were so proud.)

–Ken Choy

Related posts:

I’m biased …

… because Academy Award-winner Chris Tashima is in the film, and I’ve known him for over 20 years.

Jessica Tuck, Takayo Fischer, and Helen Slater are also onboard.  I loved Tuck on HBO’s True Blood; it must have been so cool to [SPOILER ALERT!] have been splattered at the end of last season.  Fischer made an indelible impression as one of the Pirates of the Caribbean Pirate Lords in film three.  I’m also a fan of Smallville and its cool casting of the former Supergirl as Clark’s mother.

My little cousin is in the film as well…

Uh, but more importantly, a treatment for the film came into my inbox just over two years ago.  I was helping Quentin Lee and Koji Steven Sakai on the Asian American Independent Features Conference, a component of ID Film Fest at the Japanese American National Museum.  Our task was difficult.  We had to narrow over 100 filmmakers down to 30 to attend the conference.  Model Minority was one of the films I felt strongly about.

We also couldn’t ignore Mariye’s background.  An award-winning director and four-time Sundance finalist, Lily spent 15 years on NBC’s hit show ER.  (Many of her cohorts from the seminal television show appear in the film.)  I made her a judge in my API TV Pilot Pitch competition.

Mariye credits her AAIFC inclusion with inspiring her to make the film.  While I was glad to play some small part in the making of the film, Mariye’s insights into human interactions are the real foundation for Model Minority.  For instance, things that didn’t leap off the page for me were extremely impactful on screen.  That’s testament to Mariye’s thoughtfulness as both a director and writer.

ABC/Disney is impressed with her as well.  Lily was selected into the Talent Development and Diversity Directing Program, a two-year program where she’ll be in a small pool of directors.  Executive producers and producing episodic directors of designated ABC, ABC Family, and Disney Channel shows will select individuals to shadow on an episode or episodes of their series.

It would be hard for me to review the film without getting called out for nepotism.  All I’ll say is that you know if you’ve read my reviews that I can be real picky about what I sit through.  And I sat through Mariye’s film and truly enjoyed it.

Model Minority World Premiere May 11 7Pm at CGV Cinemas.

–Ken Choy

Related posts:

Is that another “ethnically ambiguous” term to delete ethnic actors?

I just spoke with a fellow journalist about troubling casting notices.  You may have tuned in to our occasional Casting Notice Watchdog posts.

We missed a notice requesting “not too dark” actors while busy covering back-to-back conventions, but we’re back and ready to point out these not-so-innocuous gems.

Related posts:

Coming this weekend: a big Cinco de Mayo event in L.A., a multi-tiered celebration with:

an art gallery opening

book signing

a theatrical performance of a new play/musical

and lots of other stuff — and it’s all free (except parking, of course).  Here are details from the organizers at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, worth checking out in its own right before or after the Cinco de Mayo event:

150-Year Anniversary of Cinco de Mayo

May 5 & 6, 2012

Join us for a FREE Cinco de Mayo celebration!  Bring the entire family to enjoy live music and performances and participate in hands-on art workshops.

Venues include: North Main Street Stage and LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes Stage.

Main location: LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, 501 North Main Street  Los Angeles, CA (Second Floor Galleries)
[SCHEDULE]

Saturday, May 5, 12pm-9pm
12:00 pm: Theatrical reenactment of The Real Cinco de Mayo, including special musical guest, Las Cafeteras

3:00 pm: Book signing and discussion with Dr. David Hayes-Bautista about his newest book, Cinco de Mayo: An American Tradition

7:00 pm: Official Ceremony

8:00 pm: Performance by featured artist Alex Lora of El Tri

Other entertainment by El Paraíso Ballet Folklórico, Los Chavos de la Cumbia, Luna Sur Este, and many more!

Sunday, May 6, 11am-6pm

The celebration continues with more family art workshops, food vendors, and live entertainment by Ballet Folklórico from Colima State, Los Chavos de la Cumbia, Luna Sur Este, and more!

These events are presented in partnership with the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA and Unión de Pobladores en El Exterior (UPEXT).

***

More about LAPCA.org:

The mission of LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes is to celebrate and cultivate an appreciation for the enduring and evolving influence of Mexican and Mexican-American culture, with a specific focus upon the unique Mexican-American experience in Los Angeles and Southern California.

LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes is the nation’s premier center of Mexican American culture. Providing an experience unlike any other, LA Plaza’s interactive exhibits and dynamic programs invite visitors to explore as well as contribute to the ongoing story of Mexican Americans in Los Angeles and beyond. 

Located near the site where Los Angeles was founded in 1781, LA Plaza’s 2.2-acre campus includes two historic and newly renovated buildings (the Vickrey-Brunswig Building and Plaza House) surrounded by 30,000 square feet of public garden.

 

LA Plaza is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Your contribution is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Federal Tax ID# 75-3059288

LA Plaza is an official project of Los Angeles County and a Smithsonian Affiliate.

– Carlos San Miguel

Related posts:

Director Neema Barnette. Photo thanks to blackfilm.com

By the author’s own admission the list is random and, by design, not comprehensive, but that doesn’t detract from the superb work done by ThinkProgress’s Alyssa Rosenberg in highlighting women of color in TV.

We’ll list Rosenberg’s ten, but we encourage you to read the rest of her piece here, as well as her Wide Lantern-esque reporting on diversity in network television in an article this week analyzing the data on women of color working in TV today:

Women Of Color Directed 1 Percent of TV Episodes Last Season, Make $23,325 Less Than Male Writers

Ah, would that she’d write for us, but she’s busy at ThinkProgress, about which you should know this:

ThinkProgress was voted “Best Liberal Blog” in the 2006 Weblog Awards and chosen as an Official Honoree in the 2009 and 2012 Webby awards. It was also named best blog of 2008 by The Sidney Hillman Foundation, receiving an award for journalism excellence. In 2009, ThinkProgress was named a “Gold Award Winner” by the International Academy of Visual Arts.

… not to mention that Rosenberg’s also busy working for TheAtlantic.com, Esquire.com, loop21.com, The Daily, The American Prospect, The New Republic, National Journal, and The Daily Beast.

We’ll shut up now and bring you her list.

2012 ABC/TCA press tour panel for "Don't Trust the B__ in Apt. 23." Nahnatchka Khan on far left

1) Nahnatchka Khan: Khan came up as a writer and producer on comedies like Malcolm in the Middle and American Dad*. She created Don’t Trust the B—- in Apt. 23, starring Dreama Walker, Krysten Ritter, and James Van Der Beek, which premiered on ABC earlier this month.

2) Denise Thé: Thé got her staff writing start on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and has since gone on to serve as the story editor on Medium and to write for Cold Case and Person of Interest.

Mara Brock Akil

3) Mara Brock Akil: She created Girlfriends and that show’s spinoff The Game. She’s a consulting producer on Cougar Town. And she wrote Sparkle, the Motown period piece that will be Whitney Houston’s last movie, and Gabrielle Union star vehicle Being Mary Jane, both of which are due out this year.

4) Silvia Olivas: Olivas co-produced Moesha and The Brothers Garcia, part of an initiative to make shows with Latino characters that would appeal to diverse audiences (these days, we just get Rob!). Recently, she’s been writing for children’s shows like Martha Speaks and Special Agent Oso.

5) Maurissa Tancharoen: Part of the Whedonverse by marriage (Tancharoen is married to Jed Whedon), Tancharoen wrote for Dollhouse, and currently is writing and producing in the Spartacus franchise for Starz.

6) Aisha Muharrar: Muharrar writes what I think are consistently some of the warmest episodes on Parks and Recreation, including “Kaboom,” involving prank volunteerism, and this season’s “Born and Raised,” the show’s rebuke to birtherism.

7) Stacy Littlejohn: She created MTV’s Single Ladies, wrote for both Wanda Sykes and Cedric the Entertainer, and has produced Life With Bonnie and All of Us.

Cherry Chevapravatdumrong

Cherry Chevapravatdumrong: Another veteran of Seth MacFarlane shows, Chevapravatdumrong is a long time Family Guy writer and story editor, including credits on the series’ movies.

Natalie Chaidez

 

9) Natalie Chaidez : She’s produced In Plain Sight, V, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Heroes, Judging Amy, Cracker: Mind Over Murder, and New York Undercover and written for all those shows as well as Kojak, Skin, and Past Life. Need I say more?

10) Elaine Ko: Another veteran of the Family Guy writers’ room, Ko is presently a writer and executive story editor on Modern Family, one of the most successful comedies on television.

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I was expecting CES (the Consumer Electronics Show).  I loved CES.

NAB wasn’t CES.

But it’s unfair to compare the two.

As an organization with an educational focus, the National Association of Broadcasters puts a sharp focus on panels at their conventions.

Many of these panels were unsuccessful, in my view.

Some of the seminar titles were misleading.  For instance the program listing the panel would have something like, “How to conquer the world.”  But it would turn out to be “How I conquered the world.” Big difference.  Sure, it’s inspiring to hear how someone else took their path.  But the thing about teaching strategy is that it should, in essence, be applicable to someone other than yourself.

NAB takes a strong curatorial role in their panels, unlike Comic-Con, at which panel concepts are pitched and produced by outsiders.  At NAB, approved teachers are brought in to teach courses at the conference.  If they bomb, an entire course track can be rendered worthless.

Some panels lacked structure.  I’m not sure those who create panels generally value structure.  I think an ideal seminar is structured like a hopscotch pattern….  Instead of setting up a progressive build to their course climaxes, some instructors at NAB haphazardly hurled topics at their attendees.  Not pretty.

Panels that were collaborations with with other organizations were hit-and-miss.  Sadly, Film Independent’s indie panel had too many clips, too much moderator spotlight, and too much “I did this.”

Fortunately there were exceptionally well done panels as well.

The International Cinematographers Guild and Local 600 put on an excellent one with Vampire Diaries co-creator Julie Plec and Director of Photography Dave Perkal, Supervising Producer Sam Hill and DP Ken Glassing.  This panel promised insight into the collaboration between creator and camera.  It delivered.  It promised a glimpse of how the team tackles problems.  It delivered. And it was entertaining.

A workshop on writing for the Web provided great information on what works these days.  CG Society’s Rod Harlan forced me to think about what’s digested on the web.  (I’m trying to apply what I retained.)  Essential: proper format, small bites of information, and omitting journalistic snobbery.

On the Web, it’s be read or die.

More on NAB to follow.
–KC

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Now what would a medieval story be without gay content?

While I’ve watched all the episodes of Game of Thrones, I can’t say that I’m a huge fan of the show.  I much prefer Merlin.

But in catching up with all my shows during a respite between NAB and CinemaCon, I caught the latest episode of GoT.

While there wasn’t any unsheathing of swords, so to speak, there was a layered convolution of a relationship depicted between Lord Renly Baratheon (Gethin Anthony) and Loras Tyrell (Finn Jones), the brother of Renly’s wife, Margaery.

Episode 3 has Loras being beaten by a woman in a bout, and Renly, fourth in line for the throne, makes her a knight.  Later a petulant Loras rebuffs Renly’s advances, and Margaery comes in to relieve him.  Unsuccessfully.

Renly: Sorry, I…

Margaery: Do you want my brother to come in and help?

Renly: What?

Margaery: Oh, he could get you started. I know he wouldn’t mind. Or I could turn over and you could pretend I’m him.

Oh, to have the privilege of saying those lines.  But there’s more to the scene, of course, advancing plot and character.  Wittily written and wryly directed, these kinds of multi-layered moments are what GoT excels in.

There’s more to come.  And, you know those Brits, there are plenty of gay connections to GoT, including Richard Madden (Robb Stark), who plays a gay character on the British ambulance drama Sirens.

Excerpted scenes.

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Christopher Johnson (left) and Nathaniel Claybrooks (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Twenty-three seasons’ worth of shows, and not once has there been a Bachelor or Bachelorette of color on ABC’s The Bachelor or The Bachelorette.  Sound like grounds for a lawsuit?  According to Deadline.com:

Football players Nathaniel Claybrooks and Christopher Johnson filed a class-action lawsuit today in federal court in Nashville against The Bachelor and The Bachelorette for racial discrimination. According to the suit (read it here exclusively), “over the course of 23 seasons, not one time has the show’s eclectic mix ever included a Bachelor or Bachelorette who is a person of color.” Seeking unstated damages and fees, the 24-page filing also asks the court “that an injunction be issued requiring Defendants to consider persons of color as finalists for the role of the Bachelor and the Bachelorette.” Bachelor executive producer and Bachelorette creator Michael Fleiss, ABC, Warner Horizon Television, Next Entertainment, and NZK Productions are all named as defendants. The Bachelor has been on the air since 2002, The Bachelorette has been on since 2003.

Claybrooks and Johnson, both black, say they unsuccessfully auditioned for The Bachelor. “Mr. Claybrooks’ interview lasted for a much shorter time than the interviews with white applicants who went before him,” the suit alleges. “Mr. Claybrooks felt that he was being rushed through the process and was not given the same opportunity as his white counterparts.” The suit says Claybrooks, who auditioned at Nashville’s Indigo Hotel in 2011, never heard back from Bachelor producers.

Jozen Cummings of The Root (owned by the Washington Post Co., the site celebrates their being a “leading online source of news and commentary from an African-American perspective”) responds with a “who cares” dismissal of the suit, saying it “has to be one of the most frivolous race-based lawsuits in the history of law,” and adding

I hope that Claybrooks or Johnson don’t think they’re about to get a march started in their favor over this. Everyone knows that the reason The Bachelor and The Bachelorette have been on so long is that they stick to the same formula, right down to the color of people they cast. Everyone also knows that as popular as those series are, they are the definition of junk TV.

To Cummings’s credit, the rest of the article calls out other examples of dubiously anti-diverse programming.  But why belittle an effort to force the industry to address unfair practices?  Why try to label the suit as frivolous, or sour grapes?  Yes, one of the plaintiffs felt he was being “rushed through the [audition] process,” which may on the surface sound petty.  But when executives favor white faces over all others, no matter their reasoning, no matter their excuses, no matter whether you think the show in question is silly or not, people of color are getting the short end of the stick.  That’s not what America is supposed to be about in 2012.

Sugey Palomares of latina.com delves deeper into what this discrimination may stem from:

In other words, there may be a racial inclusion and exclusion paradigms taking place based on the idea that viewers will get turned off by interracial dating – specifically when a person of color is in the position of power. Let’s be clear, the show has featured a rainbow of ethnicities when it comes to their pool of contestants, including Latinos, African Americans, and Asians. This signifies that the issue runs deeper than intermixing being considered a taboo in the U.S.

The notion that people of color can’t stand in the place of authority and hand their red rose to a white contestant if they choose to, mirrors the post-colonial mentality that interracial dating is acceptable as long as the white person is the initiator (or the aggressor during slavery).

Whether they win the lawsuit or not, the widespread media attention has already succeeded at giving a voice to the silent discrimination that has been going on since the show’s conception. Let’s challenge these reality shows and really think about what kind of ‘reality’ it forms about our community and our people.

If we really look at television in this lens, we will be hitting the off button a lot more, which could make some of these networks rethink their programming.

Lawsuits get a bad rap in this country, thanks in large part — according to the invaluable new documentary Hot Coffee (about the McDonald’s scalding-hot-coffee incident, subsequent lawsuit, and corporate efforts to belittle that suit) — to the myths being spread to try to chop away at ordinary people’s rights to stand up to big corporations in court.

The myths and smears about the value of these kinds of lawsuits have taken deep root in our society.  Listen to the whining on the usually savvy The Atlantic‘s The Atlantic Wire blog — no right-wingers, they, and yet they’re buying into this right-wing, tort-reform meme — in a post titled, “Please drop The Bachelor Discrimination Lawsuit”:

Like, is that where we are right now, suing reality shows because they won’t cast us? Sue a job that doesn’t hire you because you’re black, that’s a real offense for sure. But a reality show isn’t a job exactly, is it? Specifically, The Bachelor is not a job. Being The Bachelor is not employment from which one can be unfairly discriminated. Yes, you receive money and it may lead to future employment as, say, a cast member on Bachelor Pad, but it is not a livelihood that should be legally fair and inclusive. If ABC et .al. are deliberately not casting a black Bachelor or a Latina Bachelorette in favor of the blond(e) zombies they’ve had on so far, then that is bad and they are jerks. But sued? By two random people? For discrimination? That makes no sense!

The writer, Richard Lawson, goes on (rightly, we think, though that’s beside the point for the moment) to tar the show as misogynistic, so he’s coming at the issue from a similar POV to that of Cummings of The Root … saying in effect that since the show sucks so bad and society’s got bigger problems, hey, we should let this whole racist casting thing slide.

This kind of self-defeatism is a mistake.  This is no small infraction: People of color may have missed an opportunity to star on a major network television show based on their ethnicity.  Justice should be pursued by any effective means available.

That’s what the courtroom is for.  If this lawsuit turns out to be legally frivolous, the American justice system should and will slap it down, not the blogosphere.

When there’s injustice, though; when there’s harm caused by unfair practices; when those in power won’t respond to repeated pleas that they do the right thing, be glad the wronged have the right to a day in court.  Let’s celebrate Claybrooks and Johnson’s move to bring suit, not trash it.

Twenty-three seasons and not a single person of color in the leading roles, not once.  Break off a piece of that, everyone, and chew on it a while.  Does it really pass the taste test?

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It’s like the flag of its own country.

I totally was going to write about my trip to Houston in a funny kinda way, but the experience was so unexpected and too diffuse to pull together in a meaningful (and more importantly) funny way.  So I’ll just post some pics and write out comments.

Me: So you call these shitkickers?  Him: Actually, they were made in Italy.

Drinkin’ and hornin’.

Public art at the William P. Hobby airport.  Not made in Italy.

If you’re Asian and live in Houston, you will likely have your wedding reception here or at one of the other gigantic Chinese/Vietnamese facilities.

I put this photo up on Facebook and when I noted that I was in Texas, people wrote in saying, “That’s all?”  Hey, it was my second serving!

Kolaches.  Big.

I think I’d holler if I had to drive this highway every day like most everybody in Houston.

Think you know what Asian weddings are like?  How many families do you know that are deep enough in talent to *be* the band?  That’s the groom, Jon, singing, “Twist and Shout”!

My cousins Jon and Helen are the best.  They are going to do awesome!

Did I mention that I married them?

Keep the faith.

–Ed Lin

Check out Ed’s own site, www.edlinforpresident.com

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