I updated my acting reel with new material, including original scenes written and produced by Kill the Pig Productions. Scroll down for some behind the scenes photos! Thanks to Jonathan Cocco for cinematography, and Jamie Miller for sound recording. Another big thank you to my scene partners Irish Giron and Moses.
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It's been months since everything shut down, including the travel and hosting industry. So why not take this time to update my hosting reel for the flood of work to come! This edit still has my favorite clips from Hawaii, Florida, Little Rock and Chicago, and some new additions from Simon Properties. Enjoy! Film in Colour is Live! And I'm honored to be featured alongside some of Canada's great talent. Many thanks to actor/playwright Norman Yeung for putting me in touch. Find out more below.
"Film in Colour is a tool for Canadian filmmakers who identify as visible minorities. This includes Directors, Writers, Producers, Editors, Cinematographers, and other crew members of all levels of experience. Our goal is to provide a much-needed hub to organize and advocate for greater inclusion of visible minorities, specifically in Canadian films and television shows which despite relying on government funding. have been unmotivated to proportionately support filmmakers of colour." Actor Tyler Ham Pong shares his story with Rob Flores. Topics included; being a fan of professional wrestling, life growing up in Canada, moving to California to achieve his dream career, starting his own production company Kill the Pig Productions and much more.
So much fun making this short in 72 hours! And it was such a surprise to win the Best Actor Award and the Grand Prize. The theme this year was "Balancing Act." So on this note, I decided to make a film that takes place in a profession which is often criticized of being out-of-touch, the world of professional wrestling. But it was also an awesome excuse to make a larger-than-life character in a fish-out-of-water story.
Many thanks to my team Jamie Miller, Christian T. Chan, Nate Timmerman and Gina Arnone, as well as the Asian American Film Lab, Asian CineVision and The 72 Hour Film Shootout. Last month, or at least I think it was last month... Time compresses in LA since the seasons don't change. Last month... Actually February. February? Jesus... February, my old friend, Michael O'Keefe, from middle school happened to be in Hollyweird to cover the Oscars and interview some folks for his radio show in Ottawa: Movie Mondays on CKCU FM 93.1. What a gig! Anyway, while he was in town we caught a couple of 35mm movies at the New Beverly Cinema (famously owned by the man Quentin Tarantino), and later were denied access to an After Party for the Oscars. Apparently, it was overrated. But the highlight is that Mike wanted to interview me too! Being that I've been living in Los Angeles as an actor since 2011, I was honored to offer my insights on diversity, politics and show business. I say a lot of things in the interview, but I guess the most memorable was to "hone your craft in New York, and sell out in LA." Unfortunately, I'm still waiting for that check... Be sure to follow Movie Mondays on Facebook, and check out the INTERVIEW HERE. After being turned away from an Oscars After Party, Mike and I found a better time at the Belmont.
This is the 8th time I've competed in the The 72 Hour Film Shootout (screened at the prestigious Asian American International Film Festival 2018) and I have nothing but love for this competition and the values for which it stands. Their mission is to promote ethnic and gender diversity in media. It's a cause that means a lot to me, so it goes without saying that I'm honored to win Second Runner Up and for Jamie Miller to win Best Actress.
The theme of this year's shootout was 'No More,' and in our film we spoof 'Get Out.' As an Asian-American actor, I touch on my own personal experiences in casting. Being told that I'm too much, or not enough -- given my mixed ethnicity. Or that I should be someone I'm not. In 'Get Out' the imagery of the sunken place shows a man trapped, watching his own life through a television screen. The casting place serves as a substitute for the sunken place, forcing the actor to be a vessel for someone else's vision. That, in some way, is how much of the entertainment industry has operated. Watching TV and movies growing up, media was mostly from the white male perspective. I would see their perspective of me, but never my own. That being said, 'The Casting Place' is my sarcastic expression of these frustrations over the lack of diversity in media. The questions I'm asking are 'can an Asian-American actor be Asian-American? Or does Hollywood mostly write Asian roles for foreign Asian characters?' Thank you for watching, and please enjoy! P.S. If you're wondering how we did the sunken place effect, watch our behind the scenes. P.P.S. If you haven't seen Get Out, this is our scene reference. We were very particular about recreating it. A little bit ago, I received a casting notice asking for sketch comedy material. What fun! I'm a huge fan of shows like Key & Peele and Saturday Night Live. I love character acting and comedy. On the other hand, I haven't focussed on sketch or comedic improvisation for awhile because my last experience at The Groundlings School left me feeling judged and vulnerable. Needless to say, writing and creating a sketch character felt like an intimidating task. But I didn't want to give up the opportunity of a network audition. And a lot has changed since my last sketch/improv flop -- my production company is up-and-running and I have all the tools to produce a quality product -- so really, there weren't any acceptable excuses not to do it. I proceeded to write down a script outline, shot it a couple of times from different angles, improvised around the script, and edited it together. And surprise, surprise, it turned out pretty decent! Which is funny, because of my previous fears surrounding improv. What changed? Well, first, I wasn't improvising for an audience, which takes away the pressure. Second, I'm not only telling the story as a performer, but I'm also telling it as an editor. I chose the moments, the pacing, sound effects and the graphics to support my performance. I have so much more control in film versus live performance. And producing film has become one of my strengths over the past years. So it's about damn time I used it to break through my resistances! Okay, 'nuff said. Check out my sketch character Bro D. the Gamer Dude. Who knows, maybe he deserves more episodes. Thoughts? |
About MeI fall somewhere between Dogme 95 and Archives
April 2022
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