Some feel good indie films — and a do-good shopping fest — happening this week.
When Harry Tries to Marry, May 6: A modern Indian American bachelor (Rahul Rai) living in New York City surprises his parents and opts for an arranged marriage. Nayan Padrai directs this award winner.
The First Grader, May 13: Based on a true story, The First Grader chronicles octogenarian Maruge who decides to take advantage of the Kenyan government’s new free public schools and enroll in first grade.
True Legend, May 13: The latest action epic by Yuen Woo Ping (The Matrix trilogy, Kill Bill Volumes I and II, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) features an all-star cast, including Vincent Zhao, Jay Chou, Michelle Yeoh and David Carradine.
Thread, May 15: Indie designers are out in full force at this shopping event, held at the Lab in Orange County, Calif.
“Filming in America feels like you’re taking a vacation.” -Jay Chou
ISSUE: Winter 2010
DEPT: Personalities
STORY: Janice Jann
National Hero
Before Rain and Wang Lee Hom, there was Jay Chou, the original Asian pop heartthrob. Since 2000, when the Taiwanese native came out with his debut album, Jay, the now-31-year-old has sold more than 28 million albums worldwide and racked up more than 350 singer, singer-songwriter, and producer awards in Asia. He’s bringing that star appeal to the silver screen this January in the remake of The Green Hornet, starring alongside Seth Rogen and Cameron Diaz. Marking his debut to the American market, Chou plays the title character’s partner, Kato, a
role originated by none other than Bruce Lee.
It’s been a while since a movie has really tickled my fancy but when I walked out of a sneak peek of The Green Hornet, I could not wait to tell all my friends to get the car ready for their next movie night.
Starring Seth Rogen and Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou, The Green Hornet– not to be confused with that other Green movie also coming out this year with sexyman Ryan Reynolds — tells of a spoiled son of a media tycoon who decides to fight crime by pretending to be bad guys. Chou is his sidekick-who-really-does-all-the-work, Kato.
Directed by Michael Gondry (after HK superstar Stephen Chow left the job) and co-written by Rogen, I was surprised by how good the film was. The lines were funny but sweet, the action left me at the edge of my seat and the casting was excellent, albeit unexpected. Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) killed it (pun, har har) as the villain and Rogen had you rooting for his bratty character.
Chou as Kato winning the heart of Cameron Diaz' character, Lenore
But I was most impressed by Jay Chou’s Kato — a fully fleshed-out Asian character who was mistaken as the sidekick but was the real hero of the show. The Green Hornet showed off Chou’s singing, lady-wooing, comedic and ass-kicking skills. That’s a lot of skills! I didn’t even care that I could hardly understand Chou’s English half the time. (This is Chou’s American film debut so we forgive him.)
The reviews are also rolling in and they’re really good!
But you don’t have to believe our critiques of the film. Let’s have some of the stars convince you.
The Green Hornet Hollywood premiere will be streaming live tonight at 9:30PM EST/6:30 pm PST and you can catch it right on Audrey’s website. Check back then. Rogen, Chou, Cameron Diaz, Michel Gondry, Jonah Hill, Judd Apatow, Stephen Lang, Anna Faris and Tom Green are just some of the stars slated to appear on the red carpet.
The Green Hornet will be released in theaters nationwide on January 14, 2011. Jay Chou is also part of Audrey’s Winter Personalities. Purchase issue here.
As if making it in the film business isn’t hard enough, try making it in another country. This year, we’ve selected a few greats for overcoming the language barrier (or at least mastering the accent) and becoming well-known in both their native country and in America.
In his U.S. debut, Jang Dong Gun stars in Relativity Media's The Warrior's Way.
Jang Dong Gun started out as a South Korean actor and musician. Jang made his first debut in the Korean drama, Our Heaven. From there, he won multiple Blue Dragon Awards (Korea’s Oscars) as an actor in Korean films. In 2005, he broke into Chinese cinema in the movie Wu Ji (The Promise), starring Cecilia Cheung. Now in 2010, Jang made his debut in the American film industry with the recent release of The Warrior’s Way. Jang has managed to make his name known not just in Korea, but all over Asia and now the States. We’ll have to wait and see if he’ll become a household name in the States like predecessors Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Ken Watanabe.
The Wonder Girls.
Wonder Girls are a South Korean girl band group. They debuted in 2007 with their hit song “Tell Me” in Korea. They entered into the American market in 2009 with the single “Nobody.” “Nobody” was the first song by a Korean group to have entered the Billboard Hot 100. After a successful run opening for the Jonas Brothers on the Jonas Brothers World Tour 2009, the Wonder Girls went on a world tour of their own in 2010, hitting more than two dozen cities in the U.S. and Canada. They also released the EP/single “2 Different Tears,” with a video starring Korean American comedian Bobby Lee. MTV Korea premiered a reality show that introduced the Wonder Girl’s everyday life in the United States, and on October 18th, the Wonder Girls’ management company JYP announced that the Wonder Girls were shooting a television series about five talented Asian pop stars crossing over to the United States that would be broadcast in the States.
Jay Chou, right, plays Kato in The Green Hornet.
Where do we even start with Jay Chou? Not only is he a musician, but he is also a singer, film producer, actor, and director. Oh and by the way, he’s won awards for these things too. In Taiwan, he is most known for composing all of his own songs, as well as for other artists. In 2005, Chou decided to break into the acting field in the movie Initial D, in the hope of expanding his exposure to Asian countries beyong Taiwan and China. Now that he had all that exposure, Chou went in full speed ahead and is about to make his American film debut in the highly anticipated film The Green Hornet. Chou stars as Kato, the Hornet’s partner, a role previously played by Bruce Lee (perhaps the greatest crossover of all time).
Emmy Award winning actress Archie Panjabi.
Archana “Archie” Panjabi is a British Indian actress who was first recognized in the United States in the film Bend It Like Beckham. In 2007, she appeared in the movie A Mighty Heart with Angelina Jolie, based on the book by Mariane Pearl. But 2010 was Panjabi’s breakout year, with her Primetime Emmy win for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role of Kalinda Sharma on the CBS critically acclaimed television series The Good Wife.
Korean singing sensation BoA.
Last but not least, BoA. If you don’t know who she is, listen up. BoA stands for Beat of Angel and is basically the Korean Britney Spears in entertainment. She has gone above and beyond in languages. She not only knows her native tongue, but she is also conversational in Japanese and English. Think those languages are hard to learn? Try learning Chinese. Oh wait, BoA did that too. BoA also recorded songs in Mandarin Chinese. In 2008, SM Entertainment announced her debut in America with the single “Eat You Up.” There was also a remix of “Eat You Up” featuring rapper Flo Rida. In 2010, BoA released her newest album, “Hurricane Venus.”
Finally! Our Winter 2010-11 Issue is out! Check out our stunning red-headed, be-freckled Asian American cover girl Angelina, luxuriating in the afterglow of the season!
Inside we’ve got all sorts of goodies for you like:
* The Green Hornet‘s Jay Chou
* YouTube mega-star Joseph Vincent
* Behind the scenes on American Idol with their resident stylist Soyon An
* More photos from Audrey’s Night Out 2010
* Escape (vicarously) to an Ayurveda spa in southern India
* Resolutions (the dating kind) for the new year
* Holiday dressing, tuxedo-style
* Cozy knits and rapturous wraps for a winter getaway
* Luxe beauty products
* Plus films, TV, books, music, food, travel and all the stories that matter to you!
Get Audrey Magazine now!
