BOA Constricts fans at Rage Nightclub in West Hollywood

Asian Pop sensation BOA had a surprise appearance in West Hollywood, CA last Friday. Showing her snake strength by debuting her new video at GameBoi.


BOA partying it up at Rage.


My photog partner Sthanlee Mirador was able to capture a few shots of BOA as she performed at the GameBoi Night held at Rage Nightclub. Fans didn't mind the hold she had on them as they danced and jumped to her video but were also hoping she would sing.


BOA ©Sthanlee B. Mirador.

Here's a quick bio of BOA from Wikipedia:
Boa Kwon (born November 5, 1986), commonly known by her stage name BoA, is a Korean singer, active in both South Korea and Japan. Born and raised in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, BoA was discovered by SM Entertainment talent agents when she accompanied her older brother to a talent search. In 2000, after two years of training, she released ID; Peace B, her debut Korean album, under SM Entertainment. Two years later, she released her debut Japanese album, Listen to My Heart, under the Avex label. In 2008, under SM Entertainment USA, a subdivision of SM Entertainment, BoA debuted in the United States with the single "Eat You Up".
BoA's multilingual skills (she speaks Japanese and conversational English along with her native Korean and has recorded songs in Mandarin Chinese) have contributed to her commercial success in South Korea and Japan and her popularity throughout Asia. She is one of only two non-Japanese Asians who have had million-selling albums in Japan and is one of only two artists to have first six consecutive number-one studio albums on the Oricon charts.

Aaron Yoo gets his playlist together of why he's proud to be Korean American

Last night in Los Angeles, KoreAM magazine celebrated its Unforgettable event that highlights achievement of Korean Americans in the U.S. Hosted by Margaret Cho, various Korean American came through the red carpet to show their pride in being American and in particular Korean. Up and coming actor Aaron Yoo took to the carpet and talked to this blogger about his experiences in Hollywood.


Aaron Yoo shows his support for Shia LaBeouf during the "Eagle Eye" premiere in Hollywood. ©Pacific Rim Photo Press.

For Aaron Yoo, this young actor started his career as a cinematographer then moved into acting in 2003 with his first role in "Ed" as a student. His major breakthrough in film came in the form of the independent feature "Rocket Science." However, the film that propelled him to mainstream America was "Disturbia" starring Shia LaBouf in which he played Shia's best friend.


Aaron Yoo in "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist."

From Disturbia, moved onto the sleeper hit "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist." Yoo played Thom, the gay leader of Nick's (Michael Cera) punk rock band The Jerk Offs. Interestingly enough, this character didn't perpetuate the flamboyant stereotype that gays are perceived in movies and tv.

As I caught Aaron on the red carpet for the KoreAM event, this rising star had a lot to say about being Korean American in the entertainment industry, his upcoming role in the remake of "Friday The Thirteenth" and turning the tables on my by asking about what kind of video camera to get since he's going on a trip.

Check out the full interview clip of Aaron. He's such a hoot to talk to!

Justin Chon breaks stereotypes with his role in "Twilight"

In a recent interview I did with Justin Chon, he feels that he's helping break stereotypes of Americans of Asian decent in Hollywood. Apparently, his role as Eric Yorkie in "Twilight" supposedly was an Anglo but the casting directors took a gamble and gave him the part.


Justin Chon signing autographs at the Twilight Premiere in the Westwood area of Los Angeles.

I also asked Chon if there's a possibility that there is some type of glass ceiling for Asians. Justin responded that there is some to a degree but change is coming. Hopefully, there comes a point in Hollywood, where a role a person receives is based upon their ability to play that part instead of defaulting to race.

Check out my interview with Justin Chon at the KoreAM Unforgettable event that celebrates Korean Americans in the U.S.



Photo by Pacific Rim Video Press

A sad day for Asian Americans in Entertainment

With much regret, I just found out that the only national Asian American Cable channel AZN TV will cease transmission as of April 9, 2008. According it's website, it states "The management of AZN Television regrets to announce that the channel will be taken off the air effective April 9 9 at 12pm. WE thank you, our loyal viewers, for your support of AZN over the years.



It's sad to see how mainstream media has not supported Asian American Talent also which also includes Madison Ave (advertisers). It seemed apparent as I attended AZN's Asian Excellence Awards Nominations last Wednesday. There were only a handful of video outlets and at least 10 event photographers in attendance.


Hosts of the 2008 Asian Excellence Awards - Carrie Ann Inaba and Bobby Lee.

Asian Americans are the last ethnic group to have a major recognition in mainstream media. Hopefully, there will be another Asian media outlet that helps enhance and gives a voice to Asian American talent. One in particular is ABS-CBN which had fostered a deal with Directv offering its Filipino programming as a package to TFC Direct Subscribers. This however, still does not open the eyes of of mainstream American to the talent that Asians and Asian Americans are capable of since the majority of TFC Direct Subscribers are Filipino.

Asian/Filipino music channel MYX may be the only one to keep and show Asian influences in entertainment alive. Until then, "Over The Shoulder!"