All Star panel of female creators: SD Comic Con
August 1st, 2011 by Mr. C
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- Jenna Busch (moderator)
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- Marjorie Liu
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- Gail Anne Hurd
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- Jane Espenson
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- Laeta Kalogridis
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- Marti Noxon
The “best of the best” of these multi-talented writers/producers on this comic con panel shed a little insight on their success stories as well as hardships while trying to rise above the ranks of a traditionally male dominated field in the comic/sci-fi film genre. This estrogen connection cast of all stars would ultimately prove that if you have a great story to tell to your audience and you are able to deliver this message in an intelligent & entertaining fashion then it doesn’t matter if you are an alien, martian, monster, male, or female! Right on! It’s true that there are a few more obstacles that females have to contend with in this field but the ladies on this panel are knocking down barriers one by one, making it just a little bit easier for the next wave of creative writers to breakthrough! As we will discover from this discussion, you’ll have to learn to roll with the punches, don’t burn any bridges until you’re well across them, develop a thick skin, & take any advantages that may be bestowed upon you, & run with them! The special guests included : MARTI NOXON (screenwriter/producer) of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel, Mad Men, Fright Night, & Glee; GALE ANNE HURD (producer) of The Walking Dead, Terminator, & Aliens; MARJORIE LIU (writer) of X-23, Daken: Dark Wolverine, Black Widow, Dirk and Steele novel series; JANE ESPENSON (writer/producer) of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Battlestar Galactica, Torchwood, & Caprica; & LAETA KALOGRIDIS (screenwriter/producer) of Shutter Island, Ghost in the Shell, Bionic Woman, Avatar, & Fantastic Voyage. The moral of the story from this all star cast of creators: Be persistent, keep on writing, keep on submitting your work, & keep on, keeping on despite rejections!
Check out a brief clip below from the Q&A portion of the panel! Maybe this will help inspire some of you soon to be writer/producers of the next big hit TV/FILM/Comic/Novel series!
Tags: GALE ANNE HURD, JANE ESPENSON, LAETA KALOGRIDIS, MARJORIE LIU, MARTI NOXON
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Comic Con 2011 Cosplay
July 29th, 2011 by chocko
Cosplay at the San Diego Comic Con was off the hook as usual. Walking around the convention hall and running into a Cylon, a centaur, Darth Vader and Bart Simpson in the span of 10 minutes is pure magic and can only happen at the Con. Keep it up freaks, geeks and true believers!
(photos by chocko)
Tags: 2011, comic books, costume play, san diego comic con, sdcc
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BLACK DYNAMITE – animated series – ADULT SWIM: SD Comic Con
July 29th, 2011 by Mr. C
“All you suckas gather around!”
“He’s the smoothest, baddest, muther to ever hit the big screen…main man, Black Dynamite!”
“He’s super cool & he knows Kong fu!”
“Drives a $5000 car and wears a $100 suit!”
“When it comes to the ladies, BD is outta sight!”
“When the mob kills his brotha and puts the dope on the streets, Black Dynamite gets back in the game and is playing for keeps!”
“Black Dynamite is badder than Shaft, The Mack, & Superfly put together!”
With those sentiments in mind, I was struttin’ my stuff walking side to side, grabbing my crotch while muttering DYNO-MITE when I entered the Indigo ballroom of the Hilton Hotel at the San Diego Comic Con! We were all excited waiting for the BLACK DYNAMITE animated series cast members to drop step (Patrick Ewing style) into the panel consisting of Michael Jai White (voice of BD), Kym Whitley (voice of Honeybee), Scott Sanders (director), Carl Jones (executive producer), & Byron Minns (writer/voice over). It was real groovy that most of the voices from this animated series were also the same actors/actresses that were from the BLACK DYNAMITE live action film from 2009 including Arsenio Hall, Tommy Davidson, Kym Whitley, & of course BD himself, Michael Jai White! For all of you that haven’t seen Black Dynamite the movie, it’s a blaxploitation comedy/action flick depicting a 1970’s former CIA named BD with expert ‘kong fu’ skills who is fighting against everything that’s NOT good in the hood especially THE MAN to avenge his brother while he maxes, relaxes, & pleases all the ladies at the same time! Black Dynamite is sort of a spoof to the blaxploitation films of yesteryear but also pledges its allegiance towards the brother films of the past as well. I was really enamored to hear that Adult Swim was backing, waxing, & adapting an animated series to this film because the story is just too good not to! You can feel the energy and spirit of Michael Jai White, the director Scott Sanders, Kym Whitley, & blaxploitation film expert & writer, Byron Minns as they talked about their new project on the panel as well as ping ponging around some funny stories! It would of been really cool if Arsenio Hall & Tommy Davidson could of made it to comic con as well! We had the pleasure to be able to view the 1st episode of Black Dynamite the animated series that night at comic con and in the famous words of BD… “ha-ha, can you dig it?!!!”. I certainly dug it and as Jim Kelly (Williams) from Enter the Dragon would say, it “came straight out of a comic book!”. Be sure to keep Black Dynamite on your Adult Swim radar in early 2012! It’s gonna’ be OUTTA’ SIGHT!
Tags: adult swim, animated, black dynamite, byron minns, carl jones, comic con, kym whitley, michael jai white, scott sanders
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BLOOD RED DRAGON comic book: Stan Lee, Yoshiki, & Todd Mcfarlane – San Diego Comic Con
July 29th, 2011 by Mr. C
The rock star from the east would meet the brazen comic creators from the west when YOSHIKI from X JAPAN, STAN LEE, & TODD MCFARLANE gathered at the Indigo Ballroom at the Hilton on one of the panels @ SD Comic Con! What was the special occassion for this eclectic mix of individuals, you ask? This trinity of artists would join forces to create a tale of a new superhero powered by the strength of music! BLOOD RED DRAGON is a new comic with Yoshiki as one of the characters who discovers the extraordinary powers exposed at his waist-side when he steps onto the stage of a concert on that stormy night! I was lucky to get a copy of Image’s BLOOD RED DRAGON preview issue which was available in limited quantities at the panel and it looks very promising! When you open the comic book, the mood is instantly set when Yoshiki’s music starts to play! Traditional kabuki like music pierced through my ears as I glanced at the first page! The artwork looked very dark, bleak, & ghoulish. The setting takes place “in the furtherst corners of deepest oblivion, lays a cathedral of sin. A place where those ordained in the DARKEST arts of damnation Dwell.” Blood Red Dragon was created by Stan Lee and Yoshiki. Todd Mcfarlane is the creative director and John Goff, the writer. All four were on hand at the comic con panel to promote the new project and to throw around some slapstick humor and plenty of brown nosing as they waxed poetic on each other! Stan Lee, Yoshiki, & Mcfarlane couldn’t have been more polar opposites of each other as witnessed on the panel, but the creative geniouses of this trio is no doubt off the galaxy scale! Yoshiki was the more reserved and shy one while Stan Lee was more silly, outrageous, & full of life even at his ripe young age! Todd Mcfarlane seemed to be the mad scientist and orchestrator of this super trifecta group! It was funny watching Stan Lee keep on complimenting Yoshiki on being the Bono of Japan and having the aura of the Rolling Stones & the Beatles all rolled up into one package! Yoshiki, if you didn’t know was a founding member of X Japan in the mid 80’s. X Japan was a very popular band with heavy metal influences that specialized in power ballads with Yoshiki wearing multiple hats of playing drums, piano, & song writing! Yoshiki scored the music for the comic for future renderings of the animated version of the story? Who knows? There could be a music video in the works with Yoshiki which wouldn’t be too far fetched because Todd Mcfarlane as we know has directed a few music videos in the past! Yoshi describes the music that he created for the comic book story as gothic, spooky, & Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind like! Be sure to look out for BLOOD RED DRAGON issue #0 at your nearest comic book store! Check out a brief clip of the brazen trio having fun at the panel below! Enjoy!
Tags: blood red dragon, stan lee, todd mcfarlane, x japan, yoshi, yoshiki
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GAHAN WILSON: BORN DEAD, STILL WEIRD (2009) – screening at 2011 SD Comic Con
July 29th, 2011 by Mr. C
Director Charles Jaffe (pic by mr c)
Attending the 2011 San Diego Comic convention was a blast and the screening of this documentary which pays respect to cartoon artist, Gahan Wilson was a nice, fitting way to end the festivities for me. This film really does reinforce what comic con is all about. Chocko and I were taking a car ride along with some friends to get some grub at the authentic & delicious TACOS EL GORDO in Chula Vista while we explained to some fellow comrades what the heart-beat of comic con is besides all the hype & glory of mainstream hollywood which seemed to have infested the convention shores as of late. Chocko coined it very poignantly, that we shouldn’t lose sight of what comic con is really about: comic book artists-writers, illustrators, & cartoonists are the core of this celebratory weekend! That statement really hit home for me and reminded me of what’s up! I think I shedded a few nerd tears?!!! Well, without further adieu and without doing a copy & paste to repeat myself, check out my writeup HERE of GAHAN WILSON: BORN DEAD, STILL WEIRD at the UNSEEN FILMS blog! We also took some video footage (below) of the Q&A with Charles Jaffe, the director of the film after the screening! Enjoy!
Tags: born dead still weird, charles jaffe, gahan wilson, mr c, san diego comic con
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RIC MEYERS: KUNG FU EXTRAVAGANZA + FILMS OF FURY at SD Comic Con
July 28th, 2011 by Mr. C
Ric Meyers at San Diego Comic Con 2011 (Kung Fu Extravaganza) - pic by mr c
Ric Meyers’ Kung Fu Extravaganza program at the San Diego Comic Convention has definitely developed into a cult status type of an event over the years and 2011 was no different!
Basically, Meyers gives his blitzkrieg bop version of the best kung fu movie clips from new & retro films alike to satisfy the thirst for blood & violence of the “black belt theater” bulging gut, comic con crowd!
This years Kung Fu Extravaganza started with an appetizer of trailers promoting Eric Jacobus & THE STUNT PEOPLE, a crew of daring, throwback stuntmen/women with their new project called DEATH GRIP! If you don’t know who THE STUNT PEOPLE are then PLEASE, PLEASE check out their filmography! It’ll bound to bring back some memories of Hong Kong action of yesteryear! They also showed a trailer of JUSTICE FOR HIRE, an animation from the mixed martial art inspired comic book! It looks raw & full of action, y’all! Kaboom! After the trailer screenings, Ric Meyers threw in some kung fu nuggets by showing some old clips of Ron Van Clief, Carl Scott, Michael Jai White, Cheng Pei Pei’s COME DRINK WITH ME, & Etsuko Shihomi! Shoot, that got me throwing some compact jabs, uppercuts, & eye gouges into empty space! Sorry to the person sitting next to me!
The main course of the program included the world premiere screening of Ric Meyers’ FILMS OF FURY, THE KUNG FU MOVIE which is a documentary based on the history of kung fu films told by showing…*PAUSE*…you guessed it…movie clips of some of the most influential films in the genre! The film starts out in animated form with a kid looking for the secrets of kung fu when he is suddenly transported to the shaolin temple! This would begin the tale of the history of chop socky films in chronological order that have really influenced western audiences! Kwan Tak Hing, a chinese actor who made folk hero, Wong Fei Hong famous on the screen from the 1940’s-1980’s was mentioned first as well he should be! If you haven’t seen MAGNIFICENT BUTCHER yet, then what are you waiting for?! Shek Kin is another godfather of HK cinema. Some of you might know this legend from Bruce Lee’s ENTER THE DRAGON playing the role of HAN. Director, KING HU was also given some screen time with his classic 1971 wuxia film, A TOUCH OF ZEN! Of course, SHAW BROTHERS film director greats, Chang Cheh, Lau Kar Leung, Sun Chung, & Chu Yuan were also a big influence! Who can forget movies like CHALLENGE OF THE MASTERS, SHAOLIN MANTIS, FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS (one of the most violent films), BLOOD BROTHERS (Ti Lung, David Chiang, Chan Goon Tai), VENGEANCE, EXECUTIONERS FROM SHAOLIN, FIVE DEADLY VENOMS, & the 36th CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN to just name a few. FILMS OF FURY would leave no stone unturned as Bruce Lee, Fu Sheng, Ti Lung, The Venom Brothers, Chan Goon Tai, David Chiang, Lau Kar Leung, Gordon Liu, Sammo, Jackie Chan (Supercop, Police Story, Armour of God), Angela Mao, Cynthia Rothrock, Michelle Yeoh, Jet Li, & Stephen Chow (Shaolin Soccer, Kung Fu Hustle) were all given some air time! Even American Fu was represented with the likes of Chuck Norris, Carl Scott, & Steven Seagal! (Yes, I know Seagal & Norris are not KF practitioners) Of course, we can’t leave out “GUN FU!” John Woo would be highly praised in A BETTER TOMORROW, THE KILLER, HARDBOILED, & BULLET IN THE HEAD. FILMS OF FURY would do a nice job in segueing into the new millenium with films like CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON, KILL BILL, and KUNG FU PANDA! All in all, Ric Meyers’ new project did a great job in jogging up memories of the past that reminded me of why I love this genre so much! To quote the almighty wise one himself, Po the Kung Fu Panda, “I Love Kung Fu!” . If seeing this film is hard to come by, Ric Meyers also has a book out under the same title.
Tags: films of fury, kung fu extravaganza, ric meyers, san diego comic con
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2011 NYAFF: favorite lists – finale, bon voyage!
July 19th, 2011 by Mr. C
Inspired by subway cinema’s top 5 audience favorites list , Mondo Curry’s (Femme Fatales & fave new movie list), & DB’s summation on the NYAFF from Unseen Films, I’ve decided to throw up my slacker A-D-D version!
Here is the lot of movies that I screened at the 2011 NYAFF:
MILOCRORZE: A LOVE STORY
HORNY HOUSE OF HORROR
DARK ON DARK (Short)
BANGKOK KNOCKOUT
PUNISHED
MACHETE MAIDENS UNLEASHED
RAW FORCE
DUEL TO THE DEATH
KARATE-ROBO ZABORGAR
ABRAXAS
SELL OUT
THE LAST DAYS OF THE WORLD
RINGING IN THEIR EARS
BATTLE ROYALE
RIKI-OH: THE STORY OF RICKY
ZU: WARRIORS FROM THE MAGIC MOUNTAIN
REIGN OF ASSASSINS
DRAGON INN
LOVE AND LOATHING AND LULU AND AYANO
THE BLADE
CITY OF VIOLENCE
THE UNJUST
THE YELLOW SEA
BEDEVILLED
My lists:
Worst of the lot: THE LAST DAYS OF THE WORLD
What the freak factor: HORNY HOUSE OF HORROR/DARK ON DARK(short)
Favorite new movie: REIGN OF ASSASSINS
Favorite new movie that surprised me : LOVE AND LOATHING AND LULU AND AYANO
Favorite retro movie: Tri-tie: DUEL TO THE DEATH , RIKI-OH: THE STORY OF RICKY, & BATTLE ROYALE
Favorite movie PERIOD on the list: THE CITY OF VIOLENCE
Favorite comedy: SELL OUT
Favorite soundtrack: SELL OUT & THE CITY OF VIOLENCE
Honorable mentions: MILOCRORZE: A LOVE STORY, THE UNJUST, & BEDEVILLED
TOP 5 martial arts/action sequences:
1) THE CITY OF VIOLENCE
2) BANGKOK KNOCKOUT
3) DUEL TO THE DEATH
4) RIKI-OH: THE STORY OF RICKY
5) DRAGON INN via burnkee@youtube link
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Q-Tip and Friends played Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival
July 19th, 2011 by chocko
I almost missed the big hip hop event of the year, but after I woke up from a long nap and rolled out of bed, I went straight to Brooklyn…just in time for Q-Tip’s headlining set last Saturday under the Brooklyn Bridge. The folks at Brooklyn Bodega put together a week of hip hop events and I can’t stress it enough to get a ticket in advance for the main day. There was a long line of people stranded by the gates, not sure if they got in, but with my ticket I printed out at home, I was whisked away from the sweaty crowd and thrown in the sea of happy faces. I’m sure the day of hip hop music was a great one (I missed Random Axe-Sean Price, Guilty Simpson and Black Milk…Damn!), but one of the most influential and smoothest emcees was on the microphone. Q-Tip’s catalog runs deep and had solo songs as well as A Tribe Called Quest songs. The crowd got moving as soon as “Anita Applebum” started. Q-Tip was accompanied by Brooklyn’s own J. Period on the turntables and a band which had dudes on the keyboards and the bass. Business started picking up when his friends were invited on stage. First, from Flatbush…Shawn Pen. I never heard of him, but he sounded great. Next “Buddy” a song off the classic De La Soul album “3 Feet High and Rising” got going and Monie Love hopped on stage and joined in for a verse. Before leaving the stage, Monie performed some “Monie in the Middle” and got the crowd in a frenzy. Each guest got the crowd more hyped up….Black Thought from The Roots came through. When Busta Rhymes came out for “Scenario” and did his verse you know the one…”Rawr, Rawr like a dungeon dragon!” the audience went buck wild, jumping up and down and rapping along to Tip and Busta’s verses. Busta stayed for some rapid fire, tounge twisting rhyming and admitted when he was on a lot of Tribe records and samples back in the day that he was having problem with his own crew, The Leaders of the New School, and was THISCLOSE to joining the Tribe. Q-Tip nodded in agreement. Busta left the stage and thanked the crowd and especially Q-Tip for the “Scenario” money that still to this day pays for his “fly shit.” That could’ve been it but once the song “Dark Fantasy” started and Kanye West came out, backward baseball cap and all…forget about it. Kanye jumped into the crowd and started up “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” and came back on the stage for some “All of the Lights” and A Tribe Called Quest’s “Award Tour.” Those are the kind of moments one can only wish for at a hip hop show…classic songs you remember and love and surprise cameos. Q-Tip also mentioned the Tribe Called Quest documentary “Beats, Rhymes and Life” out in theatres right now and suggested people go check it out. For the encore, Q-Tip performed “Can I Kick It” and capped the night off with his solo track “Vivrant Thing.”
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Company Flow and Juggaknots played Santos Party House
July 19th, 2011 by chocko
Company Flow is…
BIGG JUS
EL-P
and MR. LEN
Last Saturday night at Santos Party House in NYC started with Juggaknots performing a set of their underground classics. Breeze Brewin’, Buddy Slim, Queen Herawin and DJ Boo were all in attendance to set it off right. They were also joined on stage by legendary hip hop producer, Jesse West (aka 3rd Eye) who’s produced songs and remixes for some of hip hop’s biggest names…KRS-One, PMD, Mary J. Blige, Biggie Smalls. Breez and Buddy Slim are some the most talented and underrated MC’s out there. Complex and intelligent lyrics are what you get and the stuff they put out in 1996…nothing on the radio right now comes close. Queen Herawin is a fly female MC not to be messed with and DJ Boo…always on point. Back in the late 90’s, DJ Bobbito put out an EP of 9 classic Juggaknots tracks titled “Clear Blue Skies” on Fondle ‘Em Records. It’s definitely one of those hard to find albums, but a couple of years ago it got rereleased on Third Earth Music with 11 additional tracks. Definitely pick that up. Juggaknots brought some of their friends on stage with them including Mr. Len, MC SubCon who performed a song with the group and spit a little acapella and INI…Rob-O and the crew put out some dope stuff back in the day with Pete Rock and they definitely reminded the crowd who they were and announced that a new album was in the works.
After a brief introduction by DJ Bobbito, Company Flow took to the stage nearly 10 years after their “final” show. EL-P, Bigg Jus and DJ Mr. Len were asked to perform at the upcoming ATP festival in the U.K. and NYC was lucky to get a show too. In case you don’t know…Company Flow put out a ground breaking album in 1997 titled “Funcrusher Plus” which was filled with futuristic doom and gloom, dope beats and intelligent lyrics and a sense of humor to match-these guys were definitely ahead of their time. After getting screwed by Rawkus Records, the group eventually disbanded and everybody went solo. Many MCs and DJs came out to see Co Flow rock the stage once again: Poison Pen, Pumpkin Head, Sucio Smash, John Robinson, J-Zone, just to name a few. The place was sold out weeks before the show and many in the crowd came from great distances to see the underground legends. They started with “Bad Touch Example” and a song for all the graffiti writers, “Lune TNS.” The crowd was amped and rapped along to anthems like “Vital Nerve” and “The Fire In Which You Burn Slow” which featured Breeze Brewin’ back on stage. After a brief break, Company Flow returned for a set that featured EL-P doing “Deep Space 9mm” from his solo album “Fantastic Damage” and Mr. Len brought out Jean Grae and Pharoahe Monch for a performance of “Taco Day” a song that explores the mindset of a high school prom queen with a gun, out for revenge. Deep stuff. The night ended with a performance of “8 Steps To Perfection.” El-P, Bigg Jus and Mr. Len perform so naturally together…why stop now? Put out a new album and get the show on the road again!
Tags: bigg jus, breeze brewin', el-p, hip hop, mr. len, nyc, underground
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Asian American International Film festival & Sony Wonder Technology Lab updates!
July 18th, 2011 by Mr. C
Just wanted to provide a few updates before the Planet Chocko spaceship lifts off from dirty jerzy, headed straight towards the confines of sunny san diego for a weekend full of wind sailing, surfing, tanning, & roller blading…NOT! Instead, we are taking these chiseled all star profiles full of edward scissor-hand landscapers, dock workers, line cooks, & 21 Jump street wannabees on this geek expedition known as the San Diego Comic Con to shadow box amongst the best of the sci fi, comic, kung fu, manga, & anime nerds! One love, y’all! Chocko & Joel NJ Dev have been rockin’ this funky joint since they were nursing halo-halo (filipino dessert) from their martian moms while I made cameo appearances every now & then with my soy bean milk inspired self so that I can pay my union card nerd membership dues! But seriously, the San Diego Comic Convention is a holding cell full of creative geniouses from all different types of media outlets & demographics showing their wares for a fun filled weekend! I usually have an affinity for checking out Ric Meyers’ Kung Fu extravaganza show piece as well as the Spike & Mike’s sick & twisted animation showings while Chocko goes full force with hunting down comic book sketches from his favorite artists, attending Q&A sessions from cast members of new shows, getting autographs from his favorite comic book writers, & going to movie screenings! Joel NJ Dev is a hybrid gecko absorbing all of the above while maintaining a sci fi cocoon in Hall H!
We were planning on having a limited paper print run of Planet Chocko Zine to hand out at the San Diego Comic con just like old times, but life got in the way. Besides, the godzilla like xerox machines at this office space location were on sabbatical!
Getting back to the matter at hand, I wanted to give a proper shoutout to the 34th annual Asian American International Film festival which takes place from August 10-20th! Asian Cinevision, who runs this event deserves a standing ovation & a high flying somersault, if possible because as far as I know, ACV was one of the 1st organizations in New York City to bring Hong Kong & chinese cinema to the american masses via film festivals! This is where many NYC gwai lo’s & gwai po’s first got introduced to John Woo’s Hardboiled & The Killer, Super Cop, City on Fire, Fong Sai Yuk, & Once upon a time in China to just name a few movies! When Tsui Hark was talking about working in NYC at the Daily News as a reporter and starting a project on an asian american documentary program 30 years ago, ASIAN CINEVISION would be this catalyst that would battle in the ring for the development, promotion and preservation of film and video arts by and about people of Asian descent. Tsui Hark’s vision to take asian films to the next level would inspire the creation of ASIAN CINEVISION in 1976! Nowadays, ACV seems to be more focused on the Asian AMERICAN aspect of films with their new mission statement. We would like to thank Asian Cinevision, Tsui Hark, Peter Chow, & the whole host of ACV all stars for shining such a bright light on making asian films more accessible! With that, I encourage you all to support & checkout a few screenings at the 34th annual AAIFF taking place throughout a few venues in NYC including the Clearview Chelsea Cinemas & the Museum of Chinese Americas on centre street in chinatown!
The 2nd bird that I wanted to cast a stone to in this planet chocko update are the FREE screenings that take place EVERY saturday at the Sony Wonder Technology Labs on 56th street! I caught wind of this free movie event last Saturday while watching INSIDIOUS at the Sony Technology Labs 73-seat stadium seating HI-DEF theater! The Sony Wonder Technology labs project sony blu ray formatted films as opposed to traditional film but free is free & the projection screen is a decent contender for your viewing pleasures! Check out their list of films & the process to RSVP for these free screenings: here!
Tags: aaiff, asian american international film festival, free screenings, sony, sony wonder technology labs
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Relatively cheap eats up & around the NY Asian Film festival!
July 17th, 2011 by Mr. C
Of course with the frenzy of attending 20+ movie screenings at the New York Asian film festival in the Lincoln Center & Japan Society area from July 1st-14th, there had to be a decent staple of affordable foods to fuel these chiseled silhouettes of ours! We tried to keep it fun by eating the same region themed food as the movie that we were screening for the night! For example, if we watched BANGKOK KNOCKOUT then Thai food it would be! If it was the korean sea of vengeance theme, then BON CHON chicken…cluck, cluck, cluck..here we come! When someone said SELL OUT(Malaysian), we did our best & went to an Indonesian joint in Hell’s Kitchen! Did you say HORNY HOUSE OF HORROR? Donburi-ya on 47th street, make room for the planet chocko shogun raggamuffins…Sho-nuff! One of our rag-tag team champions of many things japanese, mondo curry-san breaks it down much better on his mondo curry epicuriosities food blog of NYC cheap eats! Without further adieu AND with the same energy as Jim Belushi in ANIMAL HOUSE (1978)…..FOOD PORN!!!
Dan Dan Ramen @ Terakawa Ramen in Hell’s Kitchen
Tonkotsu Ramen @ Terakawa Ramen in Hell’s Kitchen
Real decadent double chocolate chip cookies at Levain Bakery. There’s also a peanut butter version to keep the double chocolate company!
Grilled khmer sausage at Num Pang (cambodian sandwich)
Grilled skirt steak at Num Pang
Roasted chicken with yellow rice & beans at La Caridad 78
Ja Ja ramen at Menkui Tei on 56th st
vietnamese pork meatball hero at Mooncake Foods in Hell’s kitchen
pulled pork sandwich with curry lime BBQ sauce at Mooncake Foods
Addresses:
Mooncake Foods
359 West 54th St, New York, NY 10019
La Caridad 78
2199 Broadway, New York 10024 At 78th St
Num Pang
140 east 41st street
Levain Bakery
167 West 74th St
New York, NY 10023
Terakawa Ramen
885C 9th Ave
(between 57th St & 58th St)
Manhattan, NY 10019
Men Kui Tei
60 W. 56th St. (between 5 & 6th)
honorable mentions:
Gray’s Papaya
2090 Broadway
(between 72nd St & 73rd St)
New York, NY 10023
Bouchon Bakery (Time Warner building)
10 Columbus Circle
New York, NY 10019
Bon Chon chicken
325 5th Ave
(between 32nd St & 33rd St)
New York, NY 10016
Bali Nusa Indah (Indonesian)
651 9th Ave (Hell’s kitchen)
New York, NY 10036
Pure Thai shophouse
766 9th Ave
(between 51st St & 52nd St)
New York, NY 10019
Gourmet Garage
155 W 66th St (between Broadway & Amsterdam Ave) New York, NY 10023
Donburi-ya
137 E 47th St
(between 3rd Ave & Lexington Ave)
New York, NY 10017
Tags: cheap eats, food
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movie theaters in chinatown
July 16th, 2011 by Mr. C
Since we’ve been on an asian film kick for the past several weeks due to the NY Asian film festival, I would love to share some cool pics I found floating on the interwebz! I wanted to pay homage to some of those grindhouse-sleazy style theaters from chinatown which included the Pagoda on 11 E. Broadway, The Music Palace on 91-93 Bowery, the Sun Sing Theater underneath the Manhattan bridge on 75–85 East Broadway, & the Rosemary Theater on 133 Canal Street which is close to the entrance of the manhattan bridge. These theaters would play host to comedy, period piece wu xia, & old skool kung fu movies! Sometimes, the films wouldn’t even have english subtitles! Some of the venues even played category 3 (adult) films!
The Rosemary is now a beautiful buddhist temple! Buddha bless you, but we still miss the theater! I’m failing to name some other smaller theaters around chinatown, though. I do remember one on the corner of Canal & Mulberry but I forgot the name. If anybody has any recollection of any phantom & lesser known theaters in chinatown, please shout it out! I grew up in the ‘burbs of NJ not far from NYC but my mom, dad, & sisters all worked in Chinatown so a lot of my weekends would be spent roaming around C-Town aimlessly! I have some distant memories of my sister taking me to see movies at the music palace, the Rosemary, & Sun Sing! I think the first time I laid my eyes on Donnie Yen films was in one of those chinatown theaters with his DRUNKEN TAI CHI! I also got my Jackie Chan fixation on with SNAKE IN THE EAGLE’S SHADOW among many other slapstick, buster keaton like movies from Jackie, Yuen Biao, & Sammo Hung!
Grady Hendrix from Subway Cinema has a great article ode to the Music Palace on the bowery! PLEASE spare us with your extracurricular activities at the Music Palace, Grady! You are one crazy Gwai Lo! Click here to read Grady’s Music Palace article!
There’s also a very cool 9 minute documentary on the MUSIC PALACE directed by Eric Lin that you can buy for $1.99 at Amazon for your viewing pleasure! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001N9YSKA/?tag=renmed-20
I’m really fiending for some of those dried cuttlefish treats to go with that Jackie Chan movie at those retro chinatown theaters! Is that cat urine, I smell?
The Museum of Chinese in America on centre street should have ALL the answers & pictures that we’re looking for in getting a slice of the old Chinatown!
Tags: chinatown theaters, music palace, rosemary, sun sing
Posted in community, movies, mr. c, photos | Comments (2)
