Oscars Best Song: Will 'Moana' upset 'La La Land?'

Don't miss the performance of Auli'i Cravalho singing "How Far I Go" from Moana.

THE ODDS ON favorite at this year's Academy Awards airing tonight (Feb. 26) is La La Land's "City of Stars" in the best song category but don't be surprised if the song from Moana pulls off an upset. 

Disney has brought out the big guns to give the song "How Far I'll Go" from Moana a chance against favorite "City of Stars." Award-winning song writer Lin-Manuel Miranda will be performing with the 16-year old Auli'i Cravalho, who did the voice and singing for the animated title character of the Disney film Moana.

During rehearsal, the fresh-faced vocal powerhouse surprised onlookers and earned a spontaneous standing ovation at the end of her performance.

While the performance will channel the island feel of Moana, the Hawaiian teenager thinks it will also transcend the film: “It’s distinctly Moana, and at the same time it’s something where people will think, ‘Wow, that is a stunning piece.’”

If his song wins, Miranda will be the youngest performer to win the trifecta of the Tony, the Grammy and the Oscar. He earned the Tony and Grammy for Broadway musical hit Hamilton, which he wrote and starred in.
Auli'i is of course rooting for “How Far I’ll Go” to go all the way and win for best original song -- “It’s such an exciting time for Lin-Manuel, he’s right there and has almost got that EGOT” -- but says she’s also a fan of “City of Stars,” and looks forward to hearing John Legend’s rendition. She also mentions that she's a fan of Sting (who will perform his song “The Empty Chair” from Jim: The James Foley Story and Justin Timberlake.

As she speaks, glimmers of her character Moana shine through -- her excitement and passion for all that lies ahead is evident in every word.

“I could have never imagined that at 16 years old I would be having such amazing experiences like this,” she says. “I’ve been able to travel around the world and really share what Moana is about. The moral of our story is figuring out who you are, and listening to that voice deep down inside you, and I have been able to connect to that so much. [Moana] has that call for more, and I think for everyone -- no matter if you’re a teenager like me or someone who is in the prime of their lives -- there’s always going to be that call.”

Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences takes first (small) step to diversify membership

Some of the actors invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in 2016.

THE ACADEMY of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences invited 683 artists to become members of the organization which sponsors the Oscars. Forty-one percent of the invitees, or 272, are people of color. Seventy of those are Asian or Asian/American.

The move to diversify the Academy's membership was not unexpected after the firestorm that overlooked actors of color for any acting nominations for two straight years.

Academy President Cheryl Boone, who is African/American, promised to double the Academy's minority membership after the embarrassing voting results that spurred the #OscarsSoWhite outcry that spotlighted the lack of diversity in the motion picture industry.

“We’re proud to welcome these new members to the Academy, and know they view this as an opportunity and not just an invitation, a mission and not just a membership,” Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Academy president, said in a statement. She also encouraged Hollywood and the larger creative community to “open its doors wider, and create opportunities for anyone interested in working in this incredible and storied industry.”

James Hong

What was a jaw-breaking surprise to me, though, was who was among the invitees - many  of whom have been in the industry for years and have a long resume of movies - were not Academy members. I -- and most of the public, I'd venture to guess -- just assumed anybody in the business would have been members.

RELATED: For complete list of invitees, click here

For example, among those invited to join the Academy were James Hong, who has been in the movie business for decades and who has been in innumerable films had never been invited before. He's one of those character actors whose face is instantly recognizable but whose name most people overlook; Daniel Day Kim from TV's Lost and Hawaii 5-O also did the movies Spiderman 2, Crash, Insurgent and Allegiance; and Freida Pinto of Slumdog Millionaire.

Other big names invited and who I assumed were already Academy members included Kate Beckinsale, Idris Elba, Emma Watson, America Ferrera, Michael B. Jordan, Daphne Zuniga and Damon Wayans, Jr.
Among Asian/American directors, Cary Joji Fukunaga who has Beasts of No Nation and Jane Eyre under his belt; Karyn Kusama, Jennifer’s Body and Girlfight;  and James Wan, The Conjuring and Saw received invitations.

Academy graphic

“The Academy will supplement the traditional process in which current members sponsor new members by launching an ambitious, global campaign to identify and recruit qualified new members who represent greater diversity,” AMPAS said in a press release when the anger over #OscarsSoWhite became evident.  

Among the invitees were a number of actors, directors and technicians from other countries to help obtain the diversity the Academy sought.

Tatsuya Nakadai

I'm glad to see an invitation was extended to Tatsuya Nakadai, he of the haunted eyes, who starred in a bunch of samurai movies, often as an outlaw samurai. Who can forget his scenes opposite Toshiro Mifune in Sanjuro and the  movie's (gasp!) powerful ending; or his character study of a man gone mad in Sword of Doom.

But really - the needle towards inclusiveness and diversity has barely moved. Prior to  the invitations being sent out, only 8 percent of the Academy membership were minorities. Even if all the minority invitees accepted, there would only be 11 percent minority membership. Hardly enough to make a significant change in the Academy's voting patterns. 

In order to meet the stated diversityi goals, the Academy will have to add 500 non-white members and 1,500 female members in the next five years.

The list of invitees, the largest number ever, was not without controversy. A mini-revolt was fomenting within the Academy causing a handful to run for the executive board with the intention of overturning the new recruiting strategy. However, after the voting was over, only one critic was successful. The counter campaigns did show that an institution such as the Academy is not changing willingly. 

Though the June 29 announcement represents only a slight bump in diversity, it is an improvement over past years. But it also shows, that there is plenty of room for improvement.
Maybe the 2017 Oscars will be worth watching  -- if they do away with the Asian jokes.

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For more news about Asian/Americans & Pacific Islanders, read AsAm News.

TGIF FEATURE: #HollywoodSoWhite - The incredible 'whiteness' of being

Hollywood has a long history of 'yellow face' with some pretty big names taking part including, from left: Marlon Brando, John Wayne and Mickey Rooney. Can you name the films they were in where they played Asians? (For answers, see below.)

I CAN'T WAIT until Chris Rock comes on stage to host the 88th Academy Awards this Sunday. The comedian has not been sh when talking about about Hollywood's portrayal of America and the impact that message has on the definition of who is an American. You can be sure he will have something to say about the ongoing #OscarsSoWhite and #HollywoodSoWhite controversy. 

     RELATED

• Chris Rock on the movie industry's lack of diversity
• Report says Hollywood is an "old (white) boys club)
• #OscarsSoWhite - The Sequel

There is a good possibility that we'll see an Asian/American receive an Oscar. Ronnie del Carmen, co-director and co-writer with Pete Doctor for Pixar's Inside Out, is up for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Screenplay. Del Carmen is one of the Filipinos employed by Pixar who call themselves the Pixnoys, some of whom drew the characters in the movie.

Embarrassed by the all-white nominees in the acting categories for the second straight year, the Oscars is adding a bit of color to its telecast by inviting minorities as presenters. (See, folks, we don't discriminate!)

Among the presenters are a few Asian/Americans including: Priyanka Chopra, Olivia Munn, Dev Patel, Syrian/American Sacha Baron Cohen and Byung-hun Lee. The last name might be unfamiliar to American moviegoers. He's a big star in Korea and has appeared in a few Hollywood films such as two of the G.I. Joe movies and Reds 2. 

For those of you who can't wait for the Academy Awards, Last Week Tonight host John Oliver presented this "report" on the film industry's diversity problem that explains why there aren't more AAPI actors being nominated - all the big roles are going to non-Asians. The video is pretty darn hilarious ... if ... It. Wasn't. So. True.

The 88th Academy Awards will be aired: Feb. 28 starting at 5:30 p.m. Pacific on ABC. Red carpet coverage starts at 4 p.m. Pacific. you can also lifestream the event if you want to avoid the censors on at ABC.com or the WATCH ABC app.

Answers: Brando in Teahouse of the August Moon (Ah, so.), Wayne in Genghis Khan as the title character (really?) and Rooney in an incredibly insulting performance in Breakfast At Tiffany's.

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For more news about Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders, read AsAm News.

#OscarsSoWhite - the sequel

The nominees for best actor and actress and best supporting actor and actress.

NOT AGAIN!?!

We've seen this picture before: All 20 nominees for Oscar acting awards this year are white. The last time we saw this blinding light of white was ... well ... a year ago.

Last year when the all-white roster of nominees were named Oscars got blasted on Twitter and #OscarsSoWhite went viral for overlooking Selma and Fruitvale and their stars and directors.

Many people - myself, included - thought the Academy of Motion Pictures wouldn't go through all the embarrassment of an all-white case of nominees ago again and all the criticism that it generated. Boy, was I wrong!

RELATED: The Oscar for Best Caucasian ...

“Of course I am disappointed, but this is not to take away the greatness (of the nominations),” Cheryl Boone Isaacs, the first black president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, told Deadline. “This has been a great year in film, it really has across the board. You are never going to know what is going to appear on the sheet of paper until you see it.”

Idris Elba's powerful performance in 'Beasts of No Nation'
was overlooked by the Academy membership.

To be clear, a lot of white talent got snubbed too including Steven Spielberg, Jane Fonda, Aaron Sorkin among others.

But I thought for sure that Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation)  was a sure thing to get  nominated in the Best Actor category. I hoped that Michael B Jordan (Creed) would join the acting nominees. There were outside chances (but deserving) that Will Smith (Concussion), Jason Mitchell (Straight Outta Compton) or Benicio Del Toro (Sicario) would get nominations.

RELATED: Asian Americans earn Oscar nominations in animation entries

Through Isaacs' urging, the Academy increased its membership to include more people of color to perhaps widen the pool of preferences but, apparently, that effort was not enough.

It seems the only way an actor or director of color can get an Oscar is in a special honorific category. That's what happened director Spike Lee received an honorary Oscar at the Governors Awards. Lee took the occasion to excoriate the industry saying that it was "easier to be president of the United States as a black man than be the head of a studio."

As he accepted the honor, Lee said, “By the year 2043, white Americans are going to be a minority in this country. And all you people out there in the position of hiring, you better get smart. Because your work force should reflect what this country looks like.”
“Everybody in here probably voted for Obama,” he added, “but when I go to offices, I see no black folks except for the brother man at security.”

Let's face it, a lot of the Academy voters would rather see a film about Irish immigrants than go see Straight Outta Compton. The same voters would also prefer to not lend any legitimacy to a movie debuting on a rival medium like Netflix, where Beasts of No Nation premiered.

Spike Lee lambasted the movie industry's lack of diversity.

The Oscar nominations are only a symptom of the real problem. It is not a lack of talent among minority actors and film makers. 

The decision-makers - the people who cast the movies, the studio honchos who greenlight projects, the directors, writers and producers are overwhelmingly white men. In addition, there is a large residue of technicians, crew and office workers who have been in the white enclave of Hollywood who still wield plenty of influence. In order to get nominated for an Oscar, first, you have to have the opportunity to get the meaty role.

What if John Cho played the Martian? Or Lucy Liu was cast in Carol? Or Denzel Washington played the Revenant? For an industry that values creativity, there is a lack of  imagination in casting.

Even though the Oscars is losing its relevancy, I'll most likely be watching the telecast next month. #OscarsSoWhite should provide plenty of fodder for this year's emcee, Chris Rock, who has had plenty to say in the past about the institutional "whiteness" of Hollywood.

For more news about Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders, read AsAm News.

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Despite some progress, AAPI actors largely unrecognized by award shows

THE PEOPLE'S CHOICE Awards kicked off the awards season last week with a handful of Asian/American actors winning the fans' affection.

This Sunday, the Golden Globe will be handing out accolades to the favorites as voted by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. It should be a pretty good show considering the HFPA allows drinking during the program.

Priyanka Chopra

In the Peoples' Choice Awards, fans picked Priyanka Chopra as the Favorite Actress in a New TV series award for her role in Quantico and Dwayne "Rock" Johnson won Favorite Premium Cable TV Actor for his role in Ballers. Chopra was the first South Asian to be so recognized and The Rock, the first Samoan/American to receive that honor.

Filipino/Canadian Shay Mitchell was edged out for Favorite Cable TV Actress but won as a cast member of Pretty Little Liars, which was named Favorite Cable TV Drama.

Small victories, but we'll take them.

Even though the 2015-16 television season is one where we have seen the most shows featuring or starring Asian/Americans, as we see by the award winners and nominations, AAPI actors still represent a tiny, tiny portion of the roles on television.

RELATED: Why the Oscar's acting nominees are all white

But compared to the roles played by AAPI thespians and other actors of color in the motion picture industry, television looks like a celebration of diversity.

The 73rd annual Golden Globe Awards airs Sunday, Jan. 10  which continues the entertainment industry's awards season. The awards show will air on NBC at 8 p.m. Eastern. 

The nominees for the 2016 Golden Globe Awards include quite a few actors of color: Gina Rodriguez, Idris Elba, Taraji P. Henson, Uzo Aduba, Regina King, Queen Latifah, Viola Davis, David Oyelowo, Will Smith, and Egyptian-American actor Rami Malek. Aziz Ansari is the only Asian/American actor to get a nomination for his role in Master of None.

RELATED: The Oscar for Best Caucasian goes to ...

The most prestigious award show, though, is the Oscar awards for the motion picture industry. There is a fear that there could very well be a repeat of last year's Oscar show where all the Oscar nominations were European Americans. It generated a backlash and earned a hashtag #OscarsSoWhite.

The widespread discussion about the lack of diversity in the entertainment industry, produced loads of stories and commentaries not only in the trade media but also within the minority communities, who feel that their stories are not being told even though they represent a huge part of the audience. 

RELATED: Hollywood stumbles when it comes to race

In a way, #OscarsSoWhite may have been one of the factors because 2016 was such a racially charged year spurred by the Black Lives Matter movement, the debate over immigration, the hateful statements and fear-mongering coming from some of the candidates for President and the acts of violence (including the Oregon standoff) that have racial overtones.

Producers and entertainment executives are people too (although that might be open for debate) and I assume that they are affected by the social atmosphere of the past year. Movies take so long to produce, it may be a year or two before we see if the debate on race that is happening on Main Street has had any impact on Hollywood. Television was the first to react with the plethora of shows of and by minority actors/producers that resulted in shows like Dr. Ken, Master of None, Quantico and Into the Badlands. 

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I have another theory. Madison Avenue, the hurricane's eye of advertising, has a better sense on America's pulse. Advertisers feature mixed-race couples, families of color, LBGTQ couples, racially-mixed groups of friends and families to sell their products. Yes, good ol' capitalists sense the changing demographic of our country and are adjusting their strategies to sell their goods, whether it be insurance, cars, cereals or skin-care products. 

It doesn't matter that the reason for the advertising trend is not as altruistic as we would like, the images created by these seemingly innocuous ads that we see as we flip through  the magazines, flash on television, billboards and on the Internet are subconsciously seared into the public's/customer's brain. (Who can forget Coke's "America the Beautiful commercial for the Superbowl of 2014? See below.) 

Advertisers seek television programs that reflect the socially progressive values of contemporary America, despite the Tea Party's delusion that they represent America. That may be why television is quicker to react to the social shifts of America; TV shows depend on commercials and the denizens of Madison Ave. are battling in the marketplace. Their data analysts actually look at the Census statistics that show the changing the face of this country.

"Advertisers for many years always took the safe route, which was to try to ruffle no feathers and in doing so became less and less authentic and real," said Allen Adamson, managing director of the branding firm Landor Associates. "To succeed today, big brands ... need to be in touch with what's authentic and true about American families."

According to Census data, those families include married couples of different races and ethnicities who grew by 28 percent in the decade between 2000 and 2010, from 7 percent to 10 percent.

"The traditional approach depicting the old `Leave it to Beaver' family, while offending no one, is not very realistic," Adamson said.

(I must add that my view on this is based on commercials shown in California, a very diverse marketplace and as we know, the Golden State doesn't represent the rest of the country. But as a national trendsetter, California's impact can't be ignored.)

Motion pictures executives, unfortunately, are slower to adjust to reality and tend to depend on their "gut" feelings or whatever worked in the past. Motion pictures are so expensive to make, studios are reluctant to take risks. Once in a while we'll get a  Joy Luck Club, Selma or 12 Years A Slave, but those examples are still few and far between.

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Idris Elba has a chance to be nominated for
Best Actor for his role in "Beast of No Nation." 

The Motion Picture Academy doesn't want to have a repeat of #OscarsSoWhite but its members are still mostly old school and may be resistant to being more open-minded.  Oscar nominations will be announced Jan. 14.

The Academy has been trying to diversify the nomination process so that the voters - the actors, producers, camera operators, directors and technicians - are more diverse themselves. We see that ever-so-slowly happening but more importantly, we see people of influence move into the decision-making positions. African/American producers like Shonda Rhimes and Tyler Perry are chipping away at the old boys' club but there is no Asian/American equivalent to Rhimes and Perry yet. However, AAPI directors, producers and writers such as Justin Lin, Dean Devlin, Ang Lee and Gary Fukunaga are inching into positions of influence and artists Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project), Aziz Ansari (Masters of None), Dwayne Johnson (Ballers), Ken Jeong (Dr. Ken) and Daniel Wu (Into the Badlands) creating their own products. 

For an industry that has been so exclusive for so long, it may take a Sisyphus-like effort for the entertainment industry to move  from a black and white world view to one with full color. 

• GOLDEN GLOBES: Jan. 10, 8 p.m., EST on NBC
• SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS: Jan. 30, 8 p.m. EST on TNT and TBS
• 88TH ACADEMY AWARDS: Feb. 28, 5:30 p.m. EST on ABC

For more news about Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders, go to AsAm News.