Never knew this, but Hollywood has several diversity programs for directors and writers. Not many for Asian actors, so better practice your Long Duk Dong accent. Can you imagine an acting class for Asians? One hour spent on different intonations for “ah-so”. Twenty people, in unison, repeating “AHHH so. Ah SOOO. What’s happening hot stuff”. The auditions for Asians are a whole ‘nother story. “That was perfect! Now, can you make it more…ethnic?” Oh right, I get it. *grumbles*

Well, slowly the system can be changed. NBC, ABC, the Writer’s Guild and Director’s Guild all have some form of diversity initiative. Of course, entry into these programs can be difficult. However, there are actual success stories. Mindy Kaling, lead writer for “The Office”, came out of NBC’s program. Not only does she write, she also has a role in the show. You can bet she had a big part in the “Diwali” episode from a couple years back. I’ll admit, I never knew about Diwali until then. Could you be the one to write about the Mid-Autumn festival on network tv?

Besides Mindy, another recent success story is Danielle Sanchez-Witzel. She writes for “My Name is Earl” and just inked a seven figure development deal with Universal. Seven figures! That’s a lot of boba tea for you, my friend. Her background is very interesting. Hollywood Reporter writes

Once an aspiring sports broadcaster who covered the Stanford baseball team for the university’s radio station while a student there, Sanchez-Witzel shifted her attention to feature producing when she enrolled in the masters program at the UCLA School of Film & Television. A sitcom-writing class in the second year changed her career path yet again, and after graduation, she took a year writing comedy spec scripts until landing a staff writer job on the freshman half-hour “In-Laws” in 2002 under NBC’s diversity initiative for writers. The program, launched in 2000, sponsors a staff writer position on almost every NBC series for a minority scribe. The job on the short-lived “In-Laws” led to a story editor position on another new NBC comedy, “Happy Family,” the following year.

Each NBC program has one position assigned for the diversity program. Not much info on the programs offered by the different guilds and ABC. There are opportunities out there for you. So, stop dreaming and get to work!

Be inspired, read the full Hollywood Reporter article on Danielle

DiverseCity NBC and NBC Diversity Initiative

Writer’s Guild Diversity Program

* Pic of Mindy cuz she’s smart, funny and f-f-f-iinne.

Have you ever been fed ginger soup by your mother and thought, this would taste even better as a beer? Then, you tell her how you want to start a brewery and she tells you to stop wasting your time and go be a doctor or lawyer. Afterwards, you swear you’re gonna move out..right after you finish watching “The Real World”. No? Hmm..me neither.

When Chris Castillo, 32, and Joe Valvo, 29, both from Seattle, had this idea though, they started up Laughing Buddha Brewery. Their specialty is Asian flavored beer and sales have been impressive. Right now, they have ginger pale ale, mango weizen and pandan brown ale. What, no frog leg beer? According to my extensive research (wikipedia), pandan is some sort of leaf used in curry dishes. The Seattle Times writes

This month, Click [Wholesale Distributing] began distributing Laughing Buddha beer to bars, restaurants and grocery stores in the Seattle area.

The brewery can barely keep up with demand. It made about 30 barrels a month beginning last November and expects to ship more than 150 barrels a month by this summer.

Seattle’s too far to travel for a beer. However, if anybody can get us the hook up here at Smatterist, you will be handsomely rewarded. They also have been getting a good response from their lychee weizen. Have you ever had lychee liquor? Tastes like candy. I could drink two or three bottles of those and feel reaalll good. And so would you if you were with me. OHHH! No I didn’t! But I just did!

Castillo started experimenting with a home brewery years ago. A decade later, a college past-time has become a full time business. I’m still working on my college past-time, but amateur porn isn’t working out too well these days. Damn you Youtube!!

The next installment of Terminator, entitled Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins, begins principal photography on May 5th. On the one hand, it stars Christian Bale, one of the greatest actors of his generation. But..it’s directed by McG, who directed Charlie’s Angels. *sigh* Anyway, Warner Bros. has high hopes for this one, as they’ve given it a Memorial Day weekend opening, May 22, 2009.

Well, now comes word that Moon Bloodgood will come on board for the 4th installment of this series. Hollywood Reporter says that she plays a “no-nonsense and battle-hardened member of the resistance”. Not much more known about the part. Although not a lead role, she still continues to get work and increase her profile. This South Korean/Dutch/Irish beauty started off modeling for L’oreal, Revlon and Avon. Recently, she had a recurring role on Journeyman. Sadly, Journeyman is lost in the ether and will never time travel back to our tv screens.

Moon also has a smaller part as Maya in the new Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li. As you can tell, the plot is centered around Chun Li who’ll be played by Smallville’s Kristin Kreuk. Andrzej Bartkowiak will be at the helm. What? You don’t know the name Andrzej Bartkowiak? Well, you’ve probably seen his classic movies, Cradle 2 the Grave and Exit Wounds. Let me consult my crystal ball. Okay, I foresee major suckage. You remember Mortal Kombat don’t you? Try erasing that one out of your brain.

Interestingly, Robin Shou will play Gen in this Street Fighter. He also played Liu Kang in Mortal Kombat. Talk about typecasting. I can imagine him talking to his agent. “WTF?!? Tao Feng, Fist of the Lotus?! You’re fired!”

Twitchfilm: The Machine Girl reviewed…there will be blood

ReelzChannel: Collin Chou explains his general studliness

JoBlo: Pics of Maggie Q when not photographed by Edison Chen

Girls.pic: Girl of the Day, Sung Yu Ri. Her job? Look pretty

Korean superstar, Rain, is taking his first American leading role very seriously. He was recently cast in Ninja Assassin, a Wachowski brothers movie. Rumored to be based on the 1993 anime movie Ninja Scroll, Rain will have one of the main leads in the movie. Collin Chou was also slotted in another main role, but appears to have dropped out. Details on Rain’s role are limited, but according to Variety, he plays a rogue ninja chased by his clan to Berlin. James McTeigue, director of V for Vendetta, will also helm this one. Joel Silver, producer of The Matrix series and Speed Racer, will help produce.

Production started in early March in Germany. Per Hancinema,

“he has been training hard since 6 am for ten hours for the action scenes in the movie. The movie production company said that he also has to watch what he eats. A representative of J-Tune, Rain’s company, said, “It hasn’t been long since he started training officially. But he started dieting from the end of last year and has stopped intake of carbohydrates. He hasn’t eaten a grain of rice. He is eating chicken breast, raw fish, sweet potatoes, and salad, and he receiving hard training”. Because of his diet and training, he has lost about 12 kilograms.”

Rain is poised to make a major breakthrough in American cinema. He has a part in the upcoming Speed Racer, played Madison Square Garden a couple of years ago and now this lead role. Not only that, if you’ve read this New York Times article, you understand his strong work ethic. This, combined with his talent, will give him a great chance at the American market.

Rain will be in Los Angeles on May 9th, presumably to promote the opening of Speed Racer. Details of his itinerary are unknown, but will keep you posted.

Joel Silver, producer, talks about Ninja Assassin

Rain returns to Korea, pics courtesy of Indulging in Rain’s World

The Hong Kong Film Awards took place over the weekend and The Warlords took the top 3 categories: Best Picture, Best Director (Peter Chan) and Best Actor (Jet Li). This Peter Chan directed flick takes place in the mid-1860s. Jet Li, Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro fight to stop the Taiping Rebellion, but Xu Jinglei, a hottie, comes along and divides them.

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