The Oscars: More AAPI appearances than expected

Auli'i Carvalho wasn't fazed by one of the flags representing the moving ocean, brushed her hair as she was singing.

SIXTEEN-YEAR OLD Auli'i Cravalho showed how much a pro she is when a banner hit her in the head while singing 
"How Far I'll Go," which was nominated for Best Song for the Academy Awards.

Fortunately, the banner barely grazed her, slightly missing up her hair, but the Hawaiian/American, who provided the voice for Moana in the animated film of the same name, kept on smiling and singing as if nothing happened.

The song didn't win (the award went to "City of Stars" from La La Land) but the teenager's performance and natural good looks was a breath of fresh air in an auditorium full of movie industry big wigs, big names, silicon implants, nose jobs and face lifts. Considering the ovation she received from the audience and the fact it was the first time the world saw her live (not in animated form), that last night, a star was born. I wouldn't be surprised if she shows up onstage in a Lin-Manuel Miranda production.

I loved the "real" look she expressed as she was receiving a standing ovation. It was a combination look of relief and "I-told-you-I-could-do-it."

After Auli'i Cravalho's performance, she gave this look to someone in the audience.

The flag incident wasn't the only goof-up on the show watched by millions across the globe. The biggest mistake occurred at the end of the show.

While naming the winner of the Best Picture, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway mistakenly announced La La Land. Midway through the thank you speeches, it was announced that there was a mistake. The real winner was Moonlight. The La La Land crew was gracious in handing over their Oscars to the the Moonlight actors, director and producers.

It's a good thing that I wasn't playing the drinking game during the Oscars telecast last night. You know, every time an Asian appeared, drink a shot of scotch. With the number of Asian appearances, I might be so incapacitated that I wouldn't be able to write this post.

Newlyweds Patrick and Eulery were interviewed by emcee Jimmy Kimmel.

Besides Auli'i, there was a surprising number of AAPI folks representing during the show than expected. It was as if the camera people were told to zoom in on people of color in order to  beat back #OscarsSoWhite that's haunted the awards show the last two years: the wife of an awards winner; Patrick and Yulree, the anonymous honeymooning couple who were in a tour group that was surprised when they walked into the middle of the Oscar telecast, introduced to the star-filled audience and got to meet and shake hands with some of the biggest names in the movies.

Dwayne Johnson, looking dapper in his tux, introduced his Moana co-star, Auli'i Carvalho. 

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It was good to see Jackie Chan introduced and get some screen time and a round of applause for wining an honorary Oscar in an earlier, separate ceremony. 

Filipino/American Hailee Steinfeld looked stunning wearing a Ralph & Russo creation as she gave out the Oscars for best animated features with actor Gael Garcia Bernal. Zootopia beat out Moana.

John Cho was funny and charming, Hailee Steinfeld was beautiful, Riz Ahmed looked like James Bond and Dev Patel looked at ease on stage as the AAPI actors introduced or presented awards.

Illustrator Tyrus Wong was among the people honored in the Memoriam segment.

Emcee Jimmy Kimmel found Sunny Pawar, the young star of Lion, in the audience. Sunny is so adorable, he continues to capture the hearts of Hollywood.

Then there were the four anonymous Chinese fans in a clip explaining (in a Chinese dialect) why they like the movies (perhaps a nod to the emerging audience in China).

Anonymous Chinese fan.

John Legend performed "City of Stars," the Oscar-winning song from La La Land,  and wherever the singer performs, his wife, model Chrissy Teigen is not far away. The camera loves Teigen and often pans over to her as her husband sings.

Unfortunately, someone got a picture of her (see below) during the awarding of the Best Actor category near the end of the show -- which went to Casey Affleck's work in Manchester -- and posted it online. Uh ... perhaps Teigen's apparent slumber can best be explained by the fact that she was spotted making her way to the bar prior to the show. 

More likely, though, as any mother to an infant can understand; sometimes the exhausting work of being a mother catches up to you at the most unexpected time.

Chrissy Teigen, center, was found napping in the long, long awards show.

All in all, it was a fairly enjoyable show. The goof-ups added a bit of unrehearsed action that added to the entertainment.

At least we didn't have any crude anti-Asian jokes coming from Kimmel or any of the presenters although Kimmel was chided for making fun of Yulree's name. I think there was a pretty good blowback against those jokes that marred last year's Oscar telecast and it shows the value of speaking out and the power of social media.

Let's see: That would have been 13 shots of scotch, in case you're counting. Enough to put anyone over.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Earlier versions of this post misspelled Yulree's name.

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Dev Patel, 'Moana' song nominated for Oscars

Oscar nominee Dev Patel in a scene from 'Lion.'

By Louis Chan
ASAM NEWS

HOPEFULLY, #OscarsSoWhite, is no more.

The Oscar nominations came out today with six black actors garnering nominations, the most in Oscar history. After huge uproars two years in a row about the lack of diversity at the Academy Awards, this was a refreshing change.

Asian/American Pacific Islanders were also among the honored.

Dev Patel snagged a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role as Saroo Brierley in Lion, which stars Nicole Kidman and Rooney Mara. Patel portrays an Indian-born Australian businessman who goes in search for his birth mother 25 years later.

Patel's breakout film was Slum Dog Millionaire, which won eight Academy Awards, but none for acting. Patel was not even nominated back then. He is just the third Indian actor and just the 13th Asian to ever receive a nomination.

Disney’s Moana received a nomination for best animated feature. The film garnered praise from some members of the Pacific Islander community for its cultural authenticity and for its extensive research into the Island culture. Others, however, condemned it for what they perceived as cultural appropriation.

Moana was also nominated for best song for "How Far I’ll Go," performed in the movie by Auli’i Cravalho, a 16-year Hawaiian actress making her Hollywood debut.

Kubo and the Two Strings won two nominations, for best visual effects and best animated feature. It starred George Takei, but was largely criticized for its lack of diversity for a film set in ancient Japan.

Director Justin Lin’s Star Trek Beyond was honored with a nomination for best make up and hair.

The nominated songs are typically performed during the telecast of the Oscars. There are several versions of the songs by a host of singers. In their push for the song, created by Hamilton's Lin Manuel Miranda, Disney had the song recorded by Asian singers popular in their respective countries. In the U.S., it was released with pop singer Alessia Cara because Disney thought it was more commercial than actress/singer Auli'l Carvalho, who is the voice of the title character.

I don't know about that. Which version do you prefer? It sure would be great to have a Hawaiian sing the song live during the Oscar's program, one of the most watched TV shows in the world.

This animated version features the voice of Auli'l Carvalho.

This version features Alessia Cara. (Voices From the Edge contributed to this report.)

Disney donates $500,000 towards scholarship for AAPI students

Auli'i Cravalho and Neil Horikoshi hold the check from Disney.

THE WALT DISNEY Company announced that they will be making a $500,000 commitment to the Asian & Pacific Islander American Scholarship Fund (APIASF) which will go toward supporting high-achieving Asian and Pacific Islander college students. 

These funds will provide 150 scholarships to students over the course of three years starting with the fall 2017 semester. Auli‘i Cravalho, who voices the title character in Disney's animated film Moana, made the announcement at an APIASF gala along with Disney executives and APIASF President and Executive Director Neil Horikoshi.

“Disney is proud to support young Asian and Pacific Islander leaders in achieving their dreams of a higher education. By giving these promising students the resources and tools they need to earn a college degree, we enable them to create a better, brighter future for us all,” said Disney’s chief diversity officer Paul Richardson.  

“Speaking on behalf of Auli‘i and all of us at Disney Animation, we are extremely honored to be part of this important scholarship commitment," said producer Osnat Shurer. "We thank APIASF for their extraordinary work and Disney for its support of these initiatives.”

“The Walt Disney Company’s generous support will make a significant difference for some of the nation’s most underserved students,” Horikoshi said. “With many Asian American and Pacific Islander families facing financial barriers, The Walt Disney Company/APIASF Scholarship has the potential to be life-changing for students.”

The Walt Disney Company/APIASF Scholarship will be available for the 2017-2018 school year. In order to be eligible, applicants must:

• Be of Asian and/or Pacific Islander ethnicity, as defined by the U.S. Census;
• Be a citizen, national or legal permanent resident of the United States (citizens of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau are also eligible to apply);
• Be enrolling in a U.S.-accredited college or university as a full-time, degree-seeking, first-year student in the 2017-2018 academic year; 
• Have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.7 on a 4.0 scale (unweighted) or have earned a GED and
• Apply for federal financial aid using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by February 1, 2017.

Based in Washington, D.C., APIASF is the nation's largest nonprofit organization devoted to providing college scholarships for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) and developing their leadership skills. For details about APIASF and the new scholarship, visit APIASF's website at www.apiasf.org.

'Moana' passes test of cultural authenticity

Polynesian Moana and her erstwhile companion, the demigod Maui.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Thanksgiving hangover. Thinking of taking the family to a movie? Here's an offering you should consider.

By Louis Chan
REPRINTED FROM ASAM NEWS

MY TWO 20-something children called Moana, which opened this Thanksgiving weekend, one of the best Disney movies ever.

That’s high praise from two kids who’s collection of animated Disney and Pixar movies is quite extensive. (can you still call two 20-somethings kids? Hell, yes, especially if they’re yours)

The Media Action Network of Asian Americans joined in that praise applauding Disney studios for hiring Pacific Islanders at multiple levels and reflecting accurately the values and culture of Pacific Islanders.

“Moana is the gold standard for how movies should be made,” says MANAA board member Rakshak Sahni. “If you are making a film about Pacific Islanders, it is a given that you should hire Pacific Islanders both in front of and behind the camera. Yet in the past and present we have seen studios creating stories about Asians and Pacific Islanders, but hiring White writers and White actors to perform or voice the roles.”

Moana tells the story of a girl drawn to the ocean and who defies her father, the chief of the island village, when she goes beyond the reef to save her people.

According to the Disney Examiner, an independent online magazine devoted to Disney, directors John Musker and Ron Clements met up with prominent cultural advisors in the region and immersed themselves in the culture during visits to Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti, and New Zealand.

“The ocean is viewed as a living, breathing, powerful entity,” said Musker about what he learned. “There is immense respect and admiration for the ocean in this part of the world. We heard many times from the people we met during our trips to the Pacific Islands that the ocean doesn’t separate the islands, it connects them. Voyaging is real source of pride for the Pacific Islanders, a part of their identity. They were, and continue to be, some of the greatest explorers of all time. This wayfinding sense is not only quite sophisticated, it is miraculous.”

Members of MANAA had a chance to see an advanced screening of the movie. Some came away in tears.

“When many Pacific Islanders spoke up during a Q&A with ‘Moana’ producer Osnat Shurer, they were in tears,” said MANAA Vice President Miriam Nakamura-Quan. “They felt that Disney had somehow managed to combine three different cultures and values into one and present it accurately and authentically to a wider audience.”

According to MANAA co-founder Guy Aoki, there wasn’t a White person in the entire movie.

“Disney had confidence in their story that they didn’t have to compromise — as many filmmakers do — feeling they needed a White character for the audience to identify with,” he said. “We’re confident that children of all ages and backgrounds will identify with Moana.

Besides the lead voice roles of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and newcomer Auli’i Cravalho, the commitment of Disney to cultural sensitivity is impressive with all the Pacific Islander talent used in the movie.

Extra Hint: Watch the credits all the way to the end for an extra surprise scene.

Auli’i Cravalho as Moana

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Maui

Nicole Scherzinger as Sina

Rachel House as Gramma Tala

Temuera Morrison as Chief Tui

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TGIF FEATURE: New extended trailer for Polynesian princess

Meet the new Disney characters, Moana and Maui.

A NEW TRAILER for the Disney animated feature Moana debuted on Good Morning America this morning. It was introduced by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who provided the voice for the demi-god Maui.

Moana follows the story of Moana (voiced by newcomer Auli'i Cravalho), a daring 16-year-old who goes on a voyage across the ocean to save her people. Along the way she meets demigod Maui (voiced by Johnson), who guides her on her journey.

The gorgeous animation and what seem to be likable characterizations seem to mark another hit. Moana is the first "princess" of Pacific Islander heritage.

The movie is scheduled for a Thanksgiving release. For you AAPI parents, expect to see the Moana dolls by Christmas and a live character at the Disney parks this summer. Great tattoos, too!