#john chi

[freshthoughts2020]

[obsessed-with-everythings]

In a July 2016 interview in New York Magazine, John Cho said that it was important to him for Sulu's husband, Ben, to be Asian also: "Early on I said to Justin, 'Dude, it would be important to me to have an Asian husband.'...Basically it was a little Valentine to the gay Asian friends that I grew up with. This may be presumptuous, but I always felt the Asian gay men that I knew had much heavier cultural-shame issues. This is probably more so for my generation than for yours [meaning New York interviewer E. Alex Jung], but I felt like those guys didn't date Asian men because of that cultural shame. So I wanted it to seem really normal in the future. I thought that would be the most normal thing, that there was zero shame in the future. I don't know if that hit or not, but it was something that I felt in my gut and asked for that....Justin was [receptive]. There was talk of, 'Should he have a human husband?' So it went that far. I wanted that relationship to feel super familiar, you know what I'm saying? I didn't want to push the difference envelope; I just wanted it to be very, very traditional looking....There was something about this pairing that would seem very old-fashioned, and then something about it to gay men that would be radical." Cho also said that it was very hard to find an East Asian actor in Dubai (where they were shooting) who would agree to play a gay man: "We had a guy and then his parents really objected. Basically, we couldn't find an Asian actor willing to play gay in Dubai is my understanding." So they ended up enlisting the co-screenwriter Doug Jung, who is not a professional actor, to play the role.

[filmcourage]

(Read more here and watch the trailer to TENTACLE )

I Wouldn't Recommend Self-Financing a Movie, Unless it's a Question of Quitting Your Dream and Doing Something Else by John Chi of TENTACLE 8 - The film will screen at NYC’ Anthology Film Archives June 18-24, 2015  

FilmCourage:  Did your parents lend support toward creativity or encourage another type of career/focus?

John:  My dad was an aerospace engineer and my mom was an accountant, and together they provided our family with a comfortable life.  Like all parents, I think they just wanted me to be self sufficient one day. While I don't think they were unsupportive, they certainly tried to steer my career focus towards professions that provided a certain amount of financial stability. Prior to going to film school, I worked in management consulting for about 10 years.  Had I not done that, I wouldn't have had the means/savings to go to film school, or had the resources to make my first feature film.  So their influence had an impact.

FilmCourage:   First memory of going to the movies?

John:   I don't know exactly what my first movie going memory is, but I remember a very early experience, which as it turns out, had a profound influence on me as a filmmaker.  I remember sitting in a theater packed full with people, watching people who were whispering, and standing in shadows.  I couldn't see or hear anything very clearly, and definitely didn't understand anything that was going on.  I couldn't sit still, and kept getting "shushed."  It was the worst two hours of my life.

Years later, I learned this movie was All The President's Men, which was one my main inspirations behind TENTACLE 8.

FilmCourage:   What were your plans after high school?

John:   I wasn't an exceptional student in high school, but I did well enough.  Probably the least gifted student in a class full of 5.0 over achievers.  I was good at sports, in a school known for its outstanding academics.  That kind of sums it up. I made my first films in French class, as part of my "class assignments."  Where most kids were giving lessons on how to make croissants I was doing Siskel and Ebert parody reviews of Bruce Lee movies, in French.  It was pretty ridiculous, but I had a ton of fun doing them.

I went to The University of California, Berkeley, where my dad earned his Ph.D in engineering, not really knowing what I would focus my studies on.  Not engineering.  I really had no strong desire to pursue anything in particular, but at that time, I didn't consider a career in the arts.

FilmCourage:  If you recommend this self-fund method to other filmmakers, what also has to be present in order to take this risk?

John:   Again, I wouldn't recommend self-financing, unless it's a question of quitting your dream and doing something else. If that's the decision, then you have to decide what's more important. It's reckless and foolish to think you're going to spend your retirement money and become successful enough to overcome that kind of risk.  Chances are you won't.  But sometimes you need to go out there without a safety net, in order to pursue something with that kind of live or die desperation and relentlessness that's necessary to succeed.

[50thirdand3rd]

Record Of The Day.... "Words You Can Believe In" from Another Rising Sun by Jon Chi. Out May 2015.

Record Of The Day…. “Words You Can Believe In” from Another Rising Sun by Jon Chi. Out May 2015.

http://www.50thirdand3rd.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/01-Words-You-Can-Believe-In.mp3

Give a listen to Jon Chi, I guarantee that you will be hearing his name and talking about his music for years to come…

“Words You Can Believe In” from Another Rising Sun by Jon Chi

JON CHI TO RELEASE ANOTHER RISING SUN A blend of folk, gospel and jam with honest songwriting and lyrics at the forefront (May 5,…

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[magicallybitchless]

So who is excited for Sleepy Hollow?

So in the promos for Sleepy Hollow I see Nicole Berharie (American Violet) as a cop it looks like she one of the main characters. On top of that I also saw John Cho hopefully John Cho and Nicole Berharie are partners and are a couple. Flashforward may have killed the fictional interracial relationship between John and Gabrielle’s characters but there is new hope with sleepy hollow.