“I’m very blessed. “I think that’s what people’s goals in life should be. Do what you love and get paid for it.” — Jared Eng
ISSUE: Summer 2011
DEPT: Personalities
STORY: Janice Jann
The face and brains behind the beloved Hollywood gossip blog is anything but Just Jared.
Jared Eng doesn’t sleep much. “Hollywood is 24/7. There’s always something going on,” says the 28-year-old Chinese American. “So I go with the flow.” It’s that mentality that earned Eng’s popular celebrity gossip blog, Just Jared, millions of devoted readers, top- ping Yahoo!’s Blogger List.
What sets Just Jared apart is that, in an increasingly mean-spirited Internet age where every celebrity humiliation is documented, Eng refuses to say anything but exuberantly positive things about his site’s subjects. “I don’t really diss people,” says Eng. “I’m just presenting news.” The news may be light fare like Cameron Diaz grabbing Starbucks or Zac Efron’s mustache, but the site is influential enough for shows like Entourage to reference and for publications like The New York Times to profile.
Eng’s ascent as the blogosphere’s King of Nice took time. “Growing up, there weren’t any aspirations to be a blogger,” he says. His strict upbringing didn’t help — he wasn’t exposed to pop culture until he entered Columbia University. “I fell in love with stars,” Eng remembers. “Jennifer Garner from Alias. Britney Spears. I would watch her video frame by frame so I could learn her choreography.” Eng started Just Jared simply to share his interests. The blog didn’t have the same initial take-off as some of Just Jared’s more sardonic counterparts, but that didn’t bother Eng. “Personally, I have a very apathetic personality,” Eng laughs. “I don’t really get mad at things. I liked what I was putting out. In the long run, it’s paying off.”
It sure is. Just Jared is now developing a younger sister site, Just Jared Jr., and with more than five full-time staff, including Eng’s older brother who runs the business side, Eng is working on expanding the JJ brand. Though that means even less sleep, you won’t find Eng complaining. “I’m very blessed,” he says. “I think that’s what people’s goals in life should be. Do what you love and get paid for it.”
— Janice Jann
More stories from Audrey Magazine’s Archives here. Jared also posted about Audrey Magazine at JustJared.com!
On October 13, 2011, the White House was filled with the beautiful music of the three Korean American sisters, the Ahn Trio, as part of a Welcoming State Dinner for South Korea. Continue Reading »
Taking you from the streets of Vietnam to the beautiful 2012 Saja Bridal Wedding collection, this week’s Happenings cater to the feminine side with a touch of war hero and a sprinkle of underground hip-hop. I think I’ll be wearing a white dress to the movies.
SAIGON ELECTRIC, VIETNAM’S FIRST HIP-HOP FILM
When : October 7, 2011
Where: In select U.S. cities Nationwide
How: For more information, visit www.saigonelectric.com
Saigon Electric, directed by Stephane Gauger, takes audiences to the streets of Vietnam to showcase the best underground talent in Vietnam. The Vietnamese Hip Hop film aims to expose the youth culture that is seeping onto the streets of Vietnam, and provide movie-goers with a fresh new look at the dreams and struggles of Asian youth.
Fall to me is TV season.
Sure, I like the leaves changing colors and the fresh feeling of returning to school/work/normalcy and all but what I REALLY like is being able to snuggle up to Hulu (can you even do that?) in the coziness of the evening.
Audrey Magazine already highlighted Glee star Jenna Ushkowitz in our Fall issue but this TV season seems promising, with plenty of Asian American actors making waves across the tube.
Some show developments that have caught my eye.
-Tamlin Tomita plays Harry Shum, Jr.‘s mom on Glee!
-Nicole Sherzinger tearing up contestants on The X Factor (but in actuality, she seems like a sweetheart so maybe not.)
-Mindy Kaling got promoted to executive producer on The Office! She’s always been hugely praised for her storytelling skills on the show so excited to see what fresh eye she can bring to the sitcom while wearing the bigger hat.
-Rex Lee‘s unforgettable role on The Entourage may be ending but he’s found another one on Suburgatory.
-Charlyne Yi drops the funny and picks up a stethoscope playing a doctor on House.
-Reggie Lee in Grimm.
- Joy Osmanski brings the adorable to animated series Allen Gregory.
- Matthew Moy‘s obviously fake Asian accent on 2 Broke Girls is a bit jarring but in a series where stereotypes are not what they seem to be, I’m hopeful his character will also break out of the racial shell.
-Kal Penn charms Colbie Smulders in How I Met Your Mother! SO EXCITED FOR THIS.
-Lucy Liu in Southland. Lucy Liu in anything, I’ll pretty much watch. Except for those Tinker Bell movies.
What are you looking forward to watching on TV this Fall?
Awesome news of the week: Kal Penn will be returning to Hollywood to play Cobie Smulder‘s love interest in How I Met Your Mother!
The Washington Post has reported that Kal will be leaving his position as associate director in the Office of Public Engagement at the White House for a role on the hit CBS sitcom.
I love Kal in anything he does, whether it’s as an actor or as a government official. But I’m especially excited because I love Kal Penn and I love How I Met Your Mother!
It’s also exciting to hear that one of the lead females on prime time television will have an Asian American love interest. We’re already familiar with Asian Female – Caucasian Male relationships in Hollywood. It’s about time we show some love to our Asian American men out there!
How do you feel about Kal Penn on How I Met Your Mother?
Now that The Voice fever has officially swept the nation, my Facebook news feed, and the Audrey office, I can finally voice (heh heh) my love for the top 4 finalists.
Beverly McClellan, Vicci Martinez, and Javier Colon are all freakin’ telegenic mofos who have more talent in their pinky finger than my whole 5’7″ frame so forgive me for being a little jealous. However, the one I’m rooting for will definitely have to be the soft-spoken folksy half-Korean Dia Frampton.
This year’s Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival was bigger and better than ever before.
I know people use that phrase to advertise things all the time but in this circumstance, it was actually true!
I’ve attended this film fest for a couple of years in a row. Supporting my fellow Asian American artists and filmmakers, some whom I have the honor of calling friends now.
This year, I’m able to truly reflect how far we’ve come as Asian Americans working in the film and entertainment industry. And we’ve come far. Just take a look at these two AA institutions: Wong Fu Productions and Angry Asian Man.
With Mother’s Day coming up, we’d like to shine the spotlight on some particularly noteworthy Asian moms. These movers and shakers turn the Asian mom stereotype on its head!
Yoko Ono
Call it the spring mating season. Call it my biological clock ticking. But recently I’ve been seeing babies everywhere. And even though I’m totally biased and it’s probably totally not cool to say, you gotta admit that Asian babies are the cutest babies. Ever. It’s just a fact. Even Hollywood seems to think so. Here’s a look at some of the cutest famous Asian babies. (I’m not ranking them ’cause that would be really not cool.)
Brangelina Babies | Maddox Jolie-Pitt
The Brangelina clan has tons of cute babies, from Shiloh to Zahara to Pax. But the one nearest and dearest to my heart will always be the first-adopted: Cambodian American Maddox Jolie-Pitt.
Remember that survey that we made you all take awhile back? No? Well, we still remember all your responses! (Thanks for the overwhelmingly great and helpful suggestions, BTW!)
One of the tips that we took away from the surveys was that you wanted more “real” women to be featured in our pages. You wanted more diverse faces and body types to redefine the definition of Asian American beauty .
Well, here’s your chance!
We here at Audrey love women of all shapes, colors, ages and sizes and we want them in our pages! We’re looking for confident, sexy women (and that’s all of you, isn’t it?) to feature in a beautiful upcoming Audrey Magazine photo shoot. We’re looking for Asian American girls of all shapes, sizes, ages and personalities, of South Asian to East Asian descent, hapa to Pacific Islander. If you’re interested in being featured in Audrey Magazine, please submit the following:
1) Two photos of yourself. A full-length and a headshot.
2) A self-introduction (name, age, where you live, occupation, ethnicity) and what features you love most about your body and face and why.
Please email to submissions@audreymagazine.com with Subject Line: BODY PHOTOSHOOT
*Note: You DO NOT have to be a professional model or actress to be a part of our photo shoot! We are looking for REAL Asian American women who love their bodies and faces regardless of size, shape or color.
Looking forward to your submissions!
