With his most recent Oscar win (Best Director for Life of Pi), Ang Lee has been quite the talk of the town. Lee’s list of awards are now an impressive number from Academy Awards to Golden Globes to Critics Choice Awards. Although Lee’s career is steadily shooting forward, this was not always the case for the Taiwanese-born film director.
After winning his first Oscar in 2006, Ang released an essay called “A Never-Ending Dream” where he expressed some personal tales of life before his fame. We’ll let you read it for yourself. Click “Continue Reading” for an English translation of the essay (translation credits to Irene Shih).
The Oscars took place this past Sunday and while there was a lack of Asian nominees within the categories, the film “Life of Pi” emerged a big winner (which was also nominated for 11 awards), coming home with four awards: Best Director (Ang Lee), Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, and Best Original Score.
Congrats to all the winners! Click here for the full list of winners.
The Oscars are now in full swing! Check out some of the Asian celebrities hitting the red carpet!
Olivia Munn in Marchesa. Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images.
d Ang Lee and Eiko Ishioka were among this year’s Oscar nominees.
Life of Pi 11 nods this year (including Best Picture and Directing nod for Ang Lee), while Eiko Ishioka (who passed away last year) received a Costume Design nomination for Mirror Mirror (starring Julia Roberts and Lily Collins). Lee previously won an Oscar for Brokeback Mountain (in Directing) in 2006 and has been nominated as well for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Ishioka also won an Oscar in Costume Design for Dracula (1992), making this her second nomination.
For a full list of the nominations, please visit here.
During the night of the Oscar’s, an award was given for a film not too familiar to the general public. Pakistan’s “Saving Face”, a 40-minute documentary focuses on the senseless acid attacks against women in Pakistan, was this year’s winner for Best Documentary Short.
After the film’s victory at the Oscars, a first for Pakistan, co-director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, 33, gave a stirring speech in which she dedicated the film to “all the women in Pakistan who are working for change.”, and adding, “Don’t give up on your dreams.”
Obaid-Chinoy is Pakistani, and was born in Karachi to Urdu speaking parents. She graduated from Smith College with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Government, and from Stanford University with a master’s in International Policy Studies in 2003, and a master’s in Communication in 2004.
Web interest in the film immediately jumped after the Oscar win. Yahoo! searches for the film surged an astounding 3,362%, demonstrating that people are clearly interested in learning about the history and reasoning behind these horrifying acid attacks.
“Saving Face” is set to air on March 8th on HBO.
So what’d you think of the Oscars? Did your favorite films win? Your supporting actress picks? (Hailee’s still got the next 50 years to win!) What’d you think of the hosts? Who wore the best dress? (Uh, Givenchy Haute Couture, anyone?)
The Oscars may be over, but the hype is not. Just to extend that post-Oscars afterglow a wee bit longer, here are some photos of your fave AA celebs from some of the pre-Oscar and post-Oscar events.
Vanessa Hudgens attended the 19th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party on February 27, 2011. She looked ravishing in Marchesa and a Katerina Maxine bracelet. What do you think of the silver eyeshadow? A do? A do not? (I’m personally digging the shorter ‘do.)
It’s award season, and what award show is bigger than the Oscars? This year marks the 83rd Academy Awards, and the nominees for this year’s show (airing next Sunday, February 27) are definitely packing a punch. Last year’s big winner was The Hurt Locker followed by Avatar (both as expected by critics and viewers alike), but this year truly is a toss-up. Many talented individual and group efforts were recognized in this year’s nominations, including actress Hailee Steinfeld, who is of Filipino, Jewish, Caucasian and African American descent; Indian British film editor Tariq Anwar; and the Chinese film The Warriors of Quigang. Also, this year’s OSCARS Designer Challenge 2011 is coordinated by an Asian American woman, Toni Pickett. That’s a record three Oscar nominations for people of Asian background this year, not to mention the Designer’s Challenge being spearheaded by an Asian American woman. This year’s Oscars is definitely a breakthrough for the Asian community.
Hailee Steinfeld is a young (just 14-years-old!) up-and-coming actress nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role as the role of Mattie Ross in True Grit.
Hailee Steinfeld in Prada at the 2011 Screen Actors Guild Awards.
After viewing the private screening of indie film Noy, I got to bring home a souvenir goody bag. But don’t worry — there were plenty of extras, so I decided to ask for additional bags for Audrey Magazine readers because ‘tis the season of giving!
The docu-drama from the Philippines is about a breadwinner journalist-via-fake-diploma who captures the presidential campaign of current President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.
For more information on the movie and the event I attended, check out my post here.
Noy is a contender for an Oscar nomination under the Foreign Language Category, but we won’t find out the official nominations for the 83rd Academy Awards until January 25. The actual ceremony will broadcast on February 27.
It may be a couple of months before we hear about the nominees, but you’ll be able to check out the film yourself — the DVD, among other things, is in the goody bag — if you are one of two lucky Audrey readers who win this week’s TGIFree Friday giveaway.
A Noy movie poster shirt, a notepad (so you can take down your own journalistic notes) and a DVD copy of the entire film can all be yours!
To win:
1) Look through AudreyMagazine.com and comment on three separate posts. (An @audreymagazine retweet will also count as a comment!)
2) On the comments section below THIS post, tell us which three posts you commented.
Giveaway submissions end Wednesday, December 8, 11:59 pm. As usual, a U.S. mailing address is required.
Good luck!
It may be a bit early for awards season, but the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is hard at work narrowing down its film nominations. Among them is the docu-drama under the Philippines’ Star Cinema Productions called Noy. Co-directed, produced and starring Filipino actor Coco Martin, Noy held a screening for press at Raleigh Studios in Los Angeles recently. The film is being considered in the Best Foreign Language Film category for the the 83rd Academy Awards, to be held in February 2011.
Fans, press and other celebrities gathered around the red carpet as the lone star, Coco Martin, stepped out of the limo and made his way to his film’s screening.
At last, the star of the night has arrived in a shining white blazer.
Before his arrival, stars like Michael Copon, Ron Jeremy and the dance group Poreotics made red carpet appearances.
ABS-CBN's Balitang America interviews Coco Martin.
Joining in with America's Best Dance Crews' Poreotics.
Martin plays Noy, a fabricated journalist amidst the real presidential campaign of now-President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. No, this story isn’t another Shattered Glass movie about a journalist who is a pathological liar. The film unravels as Noy’s true identity is revealed as he is blind-sighted by the drive to support his widowed mother, crippled older brother and bright young sister.
The indie film has all-around compelling performances from the actors who bring out the true core of the family-oriented Filipino who faces hardships with resilience and hard work. As heard on Disney’s Lilo and Stitch, ” ‘Ohana’ means ‘family.’ ‘Family’ means no one gets left behind.” That is the very case for this tale, but with a twist of fate and hint of Hurricane Ondoy’s aftermath. The cinematography is also charming, with an assortment of shots which make life like a box of chocolates because you never know if you’re going to get the bird’s eye view or the close-up. The musical score has a great way of embedding historic revivals into the film. However, its plot left me a little confused. Even Ron Jeremy said that he thought the acting was great, but the plot could have been clearer.
Coco Martin waits for his film, Noy to start.
After the film, Martin had a Q&A session and described his drive to carefully select roles because he is an advocate of the poor and also because he is one of the few Filipino celebrities who came from humble beginnings.
Martin has left his mark in the indie film industry in gay-oriented films Masahista (The Masseuse), Daybreak and Jay, but he truly got his break after starring in ABS-CBN dramas.
Filipino American actor Michael Copon prepares his notes before taking part in the Q&A portion.
Martin answered questions from the audience during the Q&A session.
The event ended with a reception, and it was on to more drinks, appetizers, gift bags and fun!
Gift bags containing a DVD of the film and other goodies were passed out to audience members.
Ron Jeremy (right) and a friend pose in their contrast-perfect clothes.
Keep checking back with AudreyMagazine.com to find out the fate of Noy for the awards season. In the meantime, check out the trailer here:
