AAPI entertainers represent at the Emmy Awards

Randall Park and Constance Wu presented the Emmys for best guest actor and actress in a comedy series

By Louis Chan
REPRINTED FROM ASAM NEWS

ASIAN/AMERICAN entertainers were present both on stage and on the red carpet at the 68th Emmy Awards in Hollywood Sunday.

For AAPI folk, the win by Master of None creators and writers Alan Yang and Aziz Ansari was one of the show's highlights.

Constance Wu and Randall Park of Fresh Off the Boat presented the awards for best guest actor and actress in a comedy series.

Wu pointed out that the Creative Emmys were presented over two nights.

Priyanka Chopra

“Wow, that makes three nights of Emmys,” responded Park. “So I guess that means Fresh Off the Boat will get our award on the fourth night?”

“Get over it, Randall,” said Wu.

Fans apparently still haven’t gotten over it, with many on Twitter giving shout outs to Wu, expressing dismay that she didn’t receive a nomination.

Quantico's Priyanka Chopra presented the award for best directing of a limited series, movie or special. Chopra dazzled in a Jason Wu gown, but it was how she wore her cherry-hued red lipstick that drew raves from fashion critics.

Padma Laskshmi was on hand to see if her show Project Runway would win for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program. That honor went to The Voice.

(Views From the Edge contributed to this report.)

###

DNC: Day 2 of a Diary of a Clinton volunteer - A message to Sanders supporters

Actress Constance Wu of 'Fresh Off The Boat' spoke to the AAPI people at the Democratic National Convention.

By Nick Lee
Reprinted from AsAm News

AS A VOLUNTEER, I knew we would hit the ground running the first day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), but I was not entirely prepared for exactly how fast. We started work at 9 am and after a short meeting we headed straight downstairs to the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Caucus, essentially a rally for the AAPI Democrats in attendance at convention. Armed with an iPhone and the Periscope app, my job was to get as close as possible to the stage and livestream the event without my arm giving up on me. This gave me a front row view to the speakers and their messages to the AAPI community.

The best way to describe the atmosphere at the AAPI Caucus was one of excitement, excitement at the prospect of a new day for AAPI visibility in this election. For many of the local delegates and volunteers from around the country, seeing so many AAPIs in one room that are equally passionate about politics must have been an uncommon occurrence. Congresswoman Judy Chu’s favorite line that “we are going from being marginalized, to becoming the margin of victory,” was received with cheers and applause from the collection of delegates and supporters who gathered around.

RELATED: Diary of a Clinton Volunteer - Day 1

Congressman Mike Honda also delivered powerful remarks that celebrated how far the party and our community had come by speaking directly to AAPI historical experiences. He proclaimed, “If we had a [Democratic] party like we have today, I would have never been sent to [the internment] camp. If we had this Democratic Party back in the 1880s we would not have had the Chinese Exclusion Act. If we had parties like this, with our sentiment, Native Americans would have a better break, Native Hawaiians would have a better break.”

Nick Lee

Constance Wu also spoke out about the growing power of AAPI choice from her perspective as an actress on the hit sitcom Fresh Off The Boat . She attributed the rise of new shows prominently featuring Asian Americans as a product of increasing Asian American power. “This shows that Asian American voting and attention matter,” she explained. “They would have never picked up those other shows if our show hadn’t garnered a large audience that was really hungry for that content.”

Being in that room, surrounded by dozens of other AAPIs who were equally excited about a Democratic victory in 2016 helped lend credence to the theme of the Caucus: “Our Time Is Now”. There is a hunger in the AAPI political community to be legitimized in the eyes of the media, government, and larger political sphere. In the words of Congressman Ami Bera, “We’re a rising electorate. This is a coming of age election for the AAPI community. Let’s make 2016 our year.”

Later on that night, I received credentials to see some of the brightest superstars of the Democratic Party speak. Even though I have called DC home for two years and hardly blink when I see a Congressman, I was left mesmerized by the power that they brought to the arena. Sen. Cory Booker, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and Michelle Obama all laid out powerful progressive visions of an inclusive society formed on tolerance, justice, and fairness; a vision that appealed to my liberal instincts and did not shy or back away from issues.

RELATED: AAPI delegates, guests & elected meet at the DNC

However, what spoke to me most powerfully from the evening was seeing a crying Bernie supporter on the Jumbotron, as her candidate spoke fervently about the need to support Hillary in November. In that moment, I saw myself in her eyes and realized how hard all of the Sanders supporters present must have worked to try and get their candidate the nomination, and also how incredibly disappointing it must be to never reach your highest ambition. I thought back to those late nights spent making phone calls to strangers and striving to get Hillary the nomination, and remembered that they must have done much of the same.

Even though I still strongly believe Hillary would be the best president, I sympathized with the Bernie camp and their struggle to try and enact their vision of progressive change in America. Today reinforced the notion that the goals and ambitions of a Clinton presidency are far more similar than they are different from Bernie’s. Bernie’s campaign slogan “A Future to Believe In” spoke to me, because I felt that last night was an important step in healing the differences of the past and uniting in a common goal. I am looking forward to working with Bernie supporters going into November, where we need their passion and hard work to ensure that there is a future that we can all believe in.(Nick Lee of Chinese Americans for Hillary will be sharing his thoughts all week with AsAmNews readers.)

###

TGIF FEATURE: Constance Wu - Outspoken, thoughtful, articulate, unafraid, true to herself

The opinionated actress Constance Wu is not afraid to speak her mind.

CONSTANCE WU is fast becoming the No. 1 choice for interviews regarding the need for more diversity -- especially for Asian/Americans -- in the entertainment industry.

Perhaps it is because she is one of the most visible Asian/Americans with her role as Jessica Huang in the successful sitcom Fresh Off the Boat, or more likely, it is because she is unafraid to speak her mind and tackle head on the bias ingrained into the industry's decision makers. 

"Let's talk about some race shit!" she says at the beginning of an interview by Vulture's E. Allen Jung. 

Wu is "the actor Asian America has been waiting for: funny, bold,analytical, and outspoken about Asian-American representation in Hollywood," writes Jung.

Read her first two responses to Jung's questions:

How do you feel about the end of the second season of the Fresh Off the Boat? I feel good about the second season. We straddled the line of having the show be influenced by Chinese things, but not having it always be about being Chinese. Because that is essentially how we work. Yes, I have issues that have to do with growing up Asian-American. But there are other things, like doing my taxes or whether or not I should go here for vacation or what my Halloween costume is going to be. Regular human experiences, which for the most part have been only allowed to be white experiences. You're either Asian-Asian or you're white American. The in-between has not been explored very much. 

How do you consider the trope of the tiger mom in relation to your character? That's something I never thought about until I had this part. So bless this for making me think about what it must be like to have a kid you are responsible for, especially if you came to a country and people gave you shit for your accent or decorum, and it felt bad, and you don't want your kids to feel that bad. Also, you kind of want to say "Fuck you!" to the haters who gave you shit. How do you do that? By saying "Well, you know what? My kid got a 1600 on his SATs, and he's better than yours." That's your way of showing up all the haters. So that's how you open up the stereotype into a person. I almost think it's impossible not to have a stereotype, except in white culture we call them "archetypes," right? It's true!

Good stuff, right? Read the entire Vulture interview. 

In a David Yi article with Mashable, the outspoken 34-year-old Wu said:

"For some reason, Hollywood thinks marginalizing or teasing Asians is acceptable because we do okay. There’s been a culture of invisibility and I think some people think that we don’t have the right to seek representation or to file complaint because many of us “do okay” in the socio-economic aspect. But that’s only valid if you think that true happiness is defined by a bank account and a social status."

Mashable interviewed eight Asian/American actors/performers. Besides Wu, the group included: comedian Margaret Cho, Ken Jeong of Dr. Ken, director John Chu, actor Waris Ahluwalia, rapper and actress Awkwafina, Crazy Ex-Girlfirend's Vincent Rodriguez III, and DKNY designer Dao-Yi Chow. 

Mainstream media also has learned that Wu is good for some interesting quotes. In a Time Magazine interview last year, Wu confronts the question of using an accent for her portrayal of Jessica Huang in FOtB:

"If there were jokes written about the accent, then that would certainly be harmful. But there aren’t jokes written about it. It’s not even talked about. It’s just a fact of life: immigrants have accents. Making the choice to have that is a way of not watering down the character and making it politically correct. It’s choosing authenticity over safety, and I think that’s bold."

Wu, among others, was interviewed by the august New York Times in an article titled "Asian-American actors fighting for visibility.

“An Asian person who is competing against white people, for an audience of white people, has to train for that opportunity like it’s the Olympics,” Ms. Wu said. “An incredibly talented Asian actor might be considered for a leading role maybe once or twice in a lifetime. That’s a highly pressured situation.”

With Fresh Off the Boat renewed for a third season and the viral #StarringConstanceWu, the female counterpart to #StarringJohnCho, both questioning Hollywood's bias against Asian/American actors in lead roles, Wu is sure to be the subject of more interviews.

If her career continues its upward trend, could she be the voice the AAPI needs to turn around the mindsets of Hollywood producers and casting agents to be more inclusive when making their creative decisions? 

Wu's name was at the top of the list of The Hollywood Reporter's dream cast for the upcoming film adaptation of Crazy Rich Asians. Wu has a good chance of being nominated for an Emmy as Best Actress in A Comedy Series this year amid some stiff competition. If she was to win, her stock and influence would skyrocket.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Earlier versions of this post incorrectly said that Constance Wu was nominated for an Emmy in 2015.

Whatever the future holds, she most certainly won't be afraid to rock the boat. “I'd rather lose all my stuff than lose myself,” Wu tells Vulture, “because I've done that before, and that feels way worse.”

###

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

How would you cast the 'Crazy Rich Asians' movie?

A YEAR AGO, when news broke that a movie was being made from the novel Crazy Rich Asians, some people asked, "Where would you find enough Asians to play in that movie?" 

That's a silly question.

In response, The Hollywood Reporter did a piece about the perfect cast for the Kevin Kwan best seller .Heading the dream cast would be Constance Wu as Rachel Chu. 

Constance Wu as the All-American girl?

"Thanks to her breakout performance on Fresh Off the Boat, the rising star is quickly finding fans around the world," wrote THR. "Wu, a Virginia native and SUNY Purchase grad, actually has more in common with CRA's Asian-American heroine than with the immigrant mom she so hilariously plays on the ABC hit comedy, and she'd be able to portray Rachel's down-to-earth innocence as a normal girl suddenly thrust into the harsh spotlight of Singapore high society."

The role of Rachel is actually closer to the Virginia-born actress' real life than the immigrant mother she plays in Fresh Off the Boat.

Mark Chao would play Nicholas Young.  "In the past five years, the Taiwanese-Canadian actor has become one of Asia's most sought-after leading men and has the charisma and warmth to portray the reluctant Prince Charming at the center of Crazy Rich Asians," captioned the Reporter. "The So Young star, who is fluent in English, signed with UTA last year and is exploring his crossover options, starting with a principal role in Luc Besson's France-China co-production Warriors Gate."

THR thought of Joan Chen as Nicholas' domineering mother opposing the match between her rich son and the (gasp) American foreigner? 

And wouldn't it be something to see the sparks fly when Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon's Michelle Yeoh as Rachel's single mom lock horns with Joan Chen's character? Wow!

Since director John Chu vowed he would forgo any suggestions that some of the characters be whitewashed (turning some Asian roles into Euro/American characters), if you were casting director, who would you put into those roles?

When asked who would be in his dream cast, Kwan told the Hollywood Reporter, "Personally I'd like Emma Stone to play every single role in the movie. (Laughs.) We'll just CGI her."

"It's so perplexing to see how casting in Hollywood is so defensive. I think audiences are much more accepting of casting choices," said Kwan as he got more serious. "When Crazy Rich Asians came out, there was initial interest from a producer who wanted to change [the heroine] Rachel Chu into a white girl. I tell that story to book clubs in suburban middle America and they go crazy: 'Why does Hollywood think we would want to see this movie with white people?' They don't need every film to be chock-full of the latest stars."

RELATED: John Chu - from the streets of NYC to Hollywood back lots

"There are so many missed casting opportunities in Hollywood. It's still very much a challenge, but I have faith in the talent pool not just of existing actors, but also of actors coming out of film schools in England, in Australia, who are Asian. My hope is that there will be equal representation in terms of Singapore stars, Hong Kong stars, Asian American stars, mainland Chinese stars — I would love for it to be like a dream team cast."

Crazy Rich Asians, the novel, proved that readers are attracted to good stories with interesting characters no matter what race they are. The movie has the potential to have the same impact for films. In that context, Crazy Rich Asians, the movie, could make a huge  statement to Hollywood decision-makers who have been reluctant to make movies with Asian/American actors in substantial, impactful roles.

RELATED: Asian Americans decry the practice of 'whitewashing'

If the movie is a box-office success, it would be a sea change, a culture-shifting event, in Asian/American history. Most certainly there would be a sequel. Already, China Rich Girlfriend, which was released last year is the second book in what is envisioned by the author as a trilogy.

Where would you find enough Asian actors? Indeed, that's a really silly question.

###

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

Celebrities urge AAPI voters to exercise their right to vote

A CADRE of Asian/American celebrities joined a public service announcement intended to boost the voting turnout of the AAPI electorate.

The celebrities who participated included George Takei, John Cho, Vincent Rodriguez III,   Constance Wu, Sonal Shah and Joey Quenga. 

 The PSA was launched today (May 31), a week before California's primary on June 7.

Despite being the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States and making up 12 percent of California's registered voters, the AAPI participation in the voting process lags behind other groups.

Asian American voter registration has increased nationwide 600,000 per presidential election cycle. The number of congressional candidates from the Asian American community increased from 10 in 2010 to 40 in 2016.

The campaign is a project of APIAVote with the support of Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Imprenta Communications Group, The Great Company, and Asian Pacific American Leadership Foundation.

Celebrity short takes: Constance Wu, Justin Lin, Daniel Wu, Matt Damon, Vanessa Hudgens and more

The anime characters in FullmetalAlchemist and their human actors.

Director's decision counters Hollywood's 'whitewashing' practice

When the live-action adaptation of the wildly-popular manga-turned-anime Fullmetal Alchemist hits theaters next year, its entire cast of lead characters will be Japanese.
“I want to depict something that follows the original work as much as possible,” the movie’s director Fumihiko Sori told Natalie. “The cast is entirely Japanese, but the setting is Europe. However, their race and nationality isn’t expressed in a specific form.” This news is particularly refreshing in the wake of the upcoming Dr. Strange and Ghost in the Shell movies’ whitewashing of the Asian characters in their source material, tapping Tilda Swinton and Scarlett Johansson, respectively, to play them. Read the full story here.

Asian/American actors speaking out against 'whitewashing'

"AN ASIAN PERSON who is competing against white people, for an audience of white people, has to train for that opportunity like it's the Olympics," actress Constance Wu told writer Amanda Hess in the New York Times piece, titled 'Asian-American Actors Are Fighting For Visibility. They Will Not Be Ignored'. "An incredibly talented Asian actor might be considered for a leading role maybe once or twice in a lifetime. That's a highly pressured situation." Among the actors who were interviewed were heavy-hitters George Takei, Aziz Ansari and Daniel Dae Kim. Read the full article here.

AMC has renewed martial arts drama “Into the Badlands” for Season 2

The dystopian drama will return for a 10-episode second season that is slated to premiere on AMC in 2017. The show delivered the third highest-rated first season in U.S. cable TV history, averaging 5.6 million viewers per episode. “With its deep dive into authentic martial arts, the visually stunning ‘Into the Badlands’ proved to be unlike anything else on television,” said Charlie Collier, president of AMC, SundanceTV and AMC Studios. “Co-creators and showrunners Al Gough and Miles Millar, along with a talented team of producers, cast and crew, brought us an artfully crafted series. We’re eager to return to the world of barons and blades and spend even more time with these compelling and evolving characters across an expanded second season.” It stars California-raised Daniel Wu as its leading man.

Lin

Vin Diesel wants Justin Lin to direct the final 'Fast & Furious'

Vin Diesel wants Justin Lin to direct the final Fast & Furious Universal Pictures and director F. Gary Gray are currently shooting Fast 8 for an April 14, 2017 release, which is planned to launch a new trilogy of films. Fast 8 will be followed by a ninth film to be released April 19, 2019 and a tenth film planned to hit theaters April 2, 2021. Forward-thinking star Vin Diesel is already coming up with a master plan for Fast 10, which a new article from Wired indicates could include the return of Read the full story


'Space Jam 2' has found its director

It's finally on now. While Space Jam 2 has lingered in the minds of basketball and sneaker enthusiasts behind a regular season filled with Curry and Kobe headlines, LeBron James' summer is now closer to set. As The Hollwood Reporter breaks, the busy Justin Lin will direct the sequel to the cartoon classic. It's nice to be in demand. Read the full story

Chinese/American actress nominated for 2016 Tony Award

Phillipa Soo was nominated as Best Actress in a musical for her role as Eliza Hamilton in the Broadway hit Hamilton.  All together, Hamilton, the diversity-setting, rap-inspired musical set a new record with 16 nominations. Read the full story

Fukunaga

Cary Fukunaga may adapt Stanley Kubrick’s 'Napoleon' as HBO miniseries

According to a new report from ScreenRant, HBO is eying a revival of Stanley Kubrick’s famously never-produced version of "Napoleon" with Cary Fukunaga directing the historical epic. If done right, this could be spectacular. Anyone who has seen the first season of True Detective (or Sin Nombre or Beasts of No Nation) knows that Fukunaga is a special talent, one that could be trusted to bring a version of Kubrick’s singular vision to the screen. The project would also have the benefit of more modern technologies than Kubrick ever dreamed of, as well as the backing of HBO, which has shown a willingness to spend big money on huge projects. An hours-long program, with frequent battle scenes, filmed in multiple countries for a massive amount of money? That sounds an awful lot like Game of Thrones. Read the full story

Vanessa Hudgens agrees to pay $1,000 fine for carving on red rock wall

Actress Vanessa Hudgens has paid $1,000 in restitution for carving a heart into a red rock wall during a trip to Sedona, Arizona. The payment resolves a citation issued to the Filipino/American on a misdemeanor count of damaging a natural feature on U.S. Forest Service land. Read the full story

'The Great Wall' aims to bridge Hollywood-China divide

Matt Damon sported a new ponytail as he told fans in Beijing about his part in the fantasy epic The Great Wall, a $150 million U.S.-China co-production which could be a game-changer for the world's second biggest film market, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The legendary fantasy film, which is described as the largest film ever shot entirely in China for global distribution, centers on an elite force making a last stand for humanity on the iconic Great Wall in China. The English-language movie is directed by Zhang Yimou and is due to finish filming in August. The global release date is Nov. 23, 2016. Read the full story

First Filipina to win 'Best Actress' at Cannes Film Festival

Jaclyn Jose has become the first Filipino to win the best actress award at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. Jose won for her performance as a mother who falls prey to corrupt police after being forced to sell drugs to survive in Ma’ Rosa. The movie was directed by Brillante Mendoza, who in 2009 became the first Filipino to win best director at the festival for Kinatay.

The Filharmonics

NBC winds up its 'Life Stories' of Asian/Americans

The Filipino/American a capella singing group, the Filharmonics, was one of the groups and individuals profiled by NBC as part of its 'Life Stories' series in honor of Asian/American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Other episodes of 'Life Stories', can be found here.

###

Asian/Americans decry whitewashing of Asian characters

IT'S BEEN a hell of a week for Asian/American actresses. They lost out three prominent roles that called for Asian characters.

After the #OscarsSoWhite controversy regarding diversity in the movie and TV industries, some thought that perhaps if we had more Asian writers and Asian-centric stories we would be able to generate more roles  for Asian actors.

Apparently, that was a blind alley.

Recently, the Internet has been buzzing about the casting of Scarlett Johansson as Ghost in the Shell heroine Major Motoko Kusanagi.

"It was particularly heinous because they ran CGI tests to make her look more Asian," said Constance Wu during a luncheon last week. She was one of the Asian/American actresss on the panel. Paramount has since denied that the studio tried to alter Johansson's appearance via computer graphics.

Wu, one of the stars of TV's Fresh Off The Boat, explained that the problem with the alleged tests is that "it reduces our race and ethnicity to mere physical appearance, when our race and culture are so much deeper than how we look."

Speaking out on issues always runs the risk of adverse reaction by Hollywood power-brokers but that didn't prevent Ming-Na Wen of Agents of SHIELD, who upon seeing the image of Johansson "with her Asian-esque haircut," she tweeted, "Nothing against Scarlett Johansson. In fact, I'm a big fan. But everything against this Whitewashing of Asian role."

The tweet went somewhat viral, which Wen said made her feel "happy and afraid, because to get back on the soapbox is scary, but I feel I need to. It's about accepting that part of the job," as reported in the Hollywood Reporter article about the panel.

RELATED: Another egregioius case of 'whitewashing'

For those of you who are not familiar with Ghost In A Shell and feel they've been dropped into an alternate universe, Ghost is based on a Japanese comic book, created by Japanese writers and artists, takes place in a Japanese setting and features an all-Japanese cast of characters.

This is not a case of Magnificent Seven's John Sturgis stealing Seven Samurai from Akira Kurosawa. At least in Magnificent Seven, by changing the setting to the Old American West, they could easily cast Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, et al, as the lead characters.

Ghost will still take place in a futuristic Tokyo, the values and mysticism will lean heavily on Buddhist principles and values and the SUPPORTING characters will still be Japanese, or at least, Asian.

At least they died Johansson's hair black. That will make her blend in, right?

Tilda Swinton, almost an albino, plays The Ancient One.

Another role made for an Asian actress is The Ancient One in Marvel's Dr. Strange. The producers tried to throw fans off balance by gender-bending the role by having a woman play the role of the Tibetan wise man. Maybe that makes it OK that Tilda Swinton, one of the whiter than white actresses, got the role of the monk.

"Well, it's not actually an Asian character — that's what I need to tell you about it. I wasn't asked to play an Asian character, you can be very well assured of that," Swinton is quoted as saying.

Duh, well ... not anymore. But the character still wears Asian-inspired clothes, and Dr. Strange still has to travel to Tibet to learn the mystical arts. The Ancient One's "power" seems to derive from his/her mastery of chi, or inner force, much in line with goals or higher levels of consciousness espoused in several Asian religions or martial arts.

UPDATED: Earlier versions of this post did not have the reaction of screenwriter Robert Cargill, which were made to The Guardian after the original posting.

Screenwriter C. Robert Cargill gives an explanation of turning the role the Tibetan monk to a Celtic wizard:  “[The Ancient One is] a racist stereotype who comes from a region of the world that is in [a] very weird political place,” he said in an interview for the Double Toasted Podcast, via The Guardian.

“He originates from Tibet, so if you acknowledge that Tibet is a place and that he’s Tibetan, you risk alienating one billion people who think that that’s bullsh*t and risk the Chinese government going, ‘Hey, you know one of the biggest film-watching countries in the world? We’re not going to show your movie because you decided to get political.’”

But the Chinese haven't erased Tibet as an entity and still recognize it as a identifiable part of their country. And if that's the best Cargill can give as an explanation, consider this: Asian audiences, particularly China's market, identify easier with Asian characters than non-Asian characters.

Cargill went on to say that if they cast the character with a Chinese actress, they risk the ire from other Asians. “If you are telling me you think it’s a good idea to cast a Chinese actress as a Tibetan character, you are out of your damn fool mind and have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about,” he said. “Oh, ‘she could be Asian!’ Asian? She should be Japanese, she should be Indian, really? The levels of cultural sensitivity around this thing is, everyone is staking out their one particular place and not realizing that every single thing here is a losing proposition.”

Elizabeth Bank's Rita Repulsa has been updated
to be more sexy and evil-looking.

AAPI actors didn't have time to recover from this double whammy of whitewashing when pictures were released of actress Elizabeth Banks as the villain Rita Repulsa in the reboot of the Power Rangers.

The character, though not specifically Asian, was an Asian creation using Asian source material. The role has been played historically by actresses of color. In the last live-action movie, Repulsa was played by Filipina/American actress Julia Cortez.

The newest reincarnation of Repulsa has been updated so she doesn't look so comedic in her two-cone headgear. She's a villain, after all.

So what exactly is happening in Hollywood? What happened about all the promises made surrounding #OscarsSoWhite?

Nothing new is happening that hasn't been done before. There have been more white actresses playing Asian women who have won Oscars than there have been Oscars awarded to actual Asian actresses: Luise Rainer, who won the Oscar for Best Actress for playing a Chinese woman named O-Lan in The Good Earth and Linda Hunt, who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for playing male Chinese-Australian photographer Billy Kwan in The Year of Living Dangerously. The sole REAL Asian woman to win an Oscar was Miyoshi Umeki  for her supporting role in Sayonara.

RELATED: Hollywood grapples with 'whitewashing' Asian roles - AGAIN!

I'm not sure which disappointed me more: the fact that these actresses were cast in Asian roles or the fact that they agreed to play those roles. I thought better of them.

I could almost understand the casting of Scarlett Johansson. She's one of the most bankable stars around. Her appeal is worldwide, not just in the U.S. Any project she's associated with will earn big bucks. But how will the film explain the existence of a white character as played by Johansson in a futuristic Tokyo and everybody else is Asian?  We'll have to wait and see. 

But Tilda Swinton and Elizabeth Banks? I really like their work but I wouldn't put them in the same category as Johansson. The economic argument for their casting is weaker. Certainly there are Asian/American and Asian actresses who are fully capable of playing any of these roles.

How can any Asian or Asian/American actress get to Johansson's level of popularity and bankability if they are never given the roles that would elevate them to that status? 

"Culturally, I think it is not in our (Asian) nature to confront these types of conflicts, to voice our concerns, to band together to voice our concerns, and that needs to change," Wen said in the panel discussion.

She said that African/Americans were right to protest #OscarsSoWhite and demand more opportunities for African/American actors. Asians should learn a lesson from that. "We have to fight our own fight," said Wen.

Racism is easier to understand when the shoe is on the other foot

The diverse cast of Hamilton includes Phillipa Soo, 2nd from right, as Eliza Hamilton.

C'MON FOLKS, give people credit when it's deserved.

European/Americans (AKA "white people," aka "caucasians") are not insensitive to the racist slings and arrows thrown at people of color. When they see an injustice, or an act of bigotry, they sometimes take the time to point it out.

RELATED: Why I prefer using the / instead of the -

Sarcasm or satire is so hard to convey in the written word. In case you can't read the sarcasm in the first few lines of this post, let's dispense with the subtleties. 

When the Hamilton producers put out a casting call last month for the traveling production of the hit Broadway musical, posted a casting call looking for “non-White men and women,” there was such a hue and cry along the lines of reverse discrimination.

“What if they put an ad out that said, ‘Whites only need apply?’” said civil rights attorney Randolph McLaughlin, of the Newman Ferrara Law Firm. “Why, African-Americans, Latinos, Asians would be outraged.”

“You cannot advertise showing that you have a preference for one racial group over another,” McLaughlin said. “As an artistic question—sure, he can cast whomever he wants to cast, but he has to give every actor eligible for the role an opportunity to try.”

RELATED: Leading ladies speak about diversity onstage

The New York Times reports that Maria Somma, the spokesperson for Broadway union Actors’ Equity, said the notice was “absolutely inconsistent with Equity’s policy.” She also said that the union wants “to encourage that everyone has an equal opportunity to go in and audition for shows.”

The producers responded, it is essential to the storytelling of Hamilton that the principal roles—which were written for non-whitee characters (excepting King George)—be performed by actors of color. Precedence for this accepted practice for casting certain characteristics in certain roles is OK if it constitutes a “bona fide occupational qualification." This follows in the tradition of many shows that call for race-, ethnicity- or age-specific casting, such as in The Color Purple or Porgy & Bess or the recently closed George Takei-inspired Allegiance. 

"The casting will be amended to also include language we neglected to add, that is, we welcome people of all ethnicities to audition for Hamilton," concluded the response.

But nothing tops in honest the response from actress Constance Wu of ABC's Fresh Off The Boat.

ESPN host Bomani Jones favored subtlety in his satirical protest of the racist mascots used by sports teams but the response he got was anything but subtle.

RELATED: That darn football team in Washington D.C.

When Bomani filled in for Mike Golic on Mike & Mike wearing a T-shirt with graphic that had similarities to the MLB's Cleveland Indians' logo  — but in place of "Indians" was the word "Caucasians." And instead of the cartoony Chief Wahoo mascot with a feather headdress was a cartoony Euro/American with a dollar sign over his head.

A closeup of the Bomani Jones' controversial T-shirt.

"The detrimental effect of treating Native Americans like mascots isn't just a matter of hurt feelings ... Native youth already face among the highest rates of depression, substance abuse and suicide in the nation, the direct result of a history of state-sanctioned violence, endemic poverty and systemic racism," Mic's Zak Cheney-Rice wrote in an article last year. He went on to cite a 2014 report from the Center for American Progress that said such imagery damages the mental health and self-esteem of Native American Youth.

Bowman's sarcastic T-shirt was noticed by viewers even though it was not a topic of conversation on the ESPN show.

To which Bowman replied:

Clearly the T-shirt struck a chord. Upset viewers used the reverse racism argument, thusly:

The debate surrounding the name-change and the Cleveland team's mascot has been going on for years and like their NFL counterpart based in our nation's capitol, the Cleveland baseball team has resisted the name change.

That leaves us with one final burning question: Where can I get the Cleveland Caucasians T-shirt?

###

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

Two Filipino Americans vie for same Emmy; "Delano Manongs" nominated

Darren Criss also had an acting role in Glee.

IT IS NOT OFTEN that Asian Americans get nominated for the 67th Emmy awards but this year, two were nominated in the same category of Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics. 

In addition, a documentary about the Filipino labor movement, Delano Manongs, was nominated in the Cultural/Historical category. The documentary is directed by Marisa Aroy and focuses on the unsung role that labor leaders Larry Itliong and Philip Vera Cruz played in the 1965 farm workers' strike that led to the creation of the United Farm Workers.

Robert and Kristen Lopez won Oscars in
2014 for "Let It Go" from Frozen.

Asian American nominees were sprinkled throughout, mostly for their technical expertise in  sound, editing and lighting - you know - behind the camera. 

Minority actors fared better in the Emmy nominations than they did for this year's Oscars where all the nominees were white. Overall, television has done a better job than the movies in terms of diversity although there is still plenty of room for television for improvement in order to look more like America. Several African American and Latino Americans were nominated in the acting categories. No Asian Americans were singled out for acting.

Many thought that Constance Wu would get a nomination as best supporting actor in a comedy series for her role Fresh Off the Boat. Alas, not this year.

Filipino/American Robert Lopez and his wife, Kristen Anderson Lopez, have two songs nominated this year: "Kiss An Old Man" for the show "The Comedians", and for "Moving Pictures" the opening song that they wrote for the Oscars award show.Ironically, for the category Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics, Lopez goes up against another Filipino/American, Darren Criss, who wrote the final song of Glee finale, "This Time" and performed by Lea Michele. Listen to the nominated songs: