Jo Koy nominated for a People's Choice Award

It has been quite a year for comedian Jo Koy. 

The Filipino American funny man's world tour "Just Kidding" has exceeded expectations. He regularly plays to sold out arenas. 

He is the first Filipino American to get a cover for Variety, the show business trade magazine. 

"I got the cover of Variety magazine, October 2020! 30 years in the game and this still feels so surreal.. Mike Miller Photo killed it with this shot," Koy posted on his social media accounts.

In addition, Jo Koy's Netflix special "In His Elements" has been nominated for the People's Choice Award as the Comedy Show of 2020. The special was filmed in Manila during which he showcased his Filipino heritage and introduced up-and-coming Filipino American comedians.

Vote for Koy here for the People's Choice Award. Fans have until Oct. 23 to vote.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Earlier versions of this post misstated the voting deadline.

This year, Koy also worked out a deal with Amblin.  Easter Sunday, a movie based on his own experiences with the holiday. Koy says he’s excited to bring the story to the big screen and adds the cast is going to be remarkably diverse. “It’s going to be filled with Latinos, white people, Black people, Filipinos. It’s going to look like my family.”

Kumail Nanjiani and Gal Gadot have so much in common

SCREEN CAPTURE / YOUTUBE

2017 is a big year for both actors Kumail Nanjiani and Gal Gadot.

AN INTERESTING INTERVIEW between Kumail Nanjiani and Gal Gadot was taped as part of  Variety's "Actors on Actors,"  in which the  two actors discover that as Hollywood "outsiders," they had so much in common.

Portions of the 30-minute interview was reprinted by Variety.

Kumaill Nanjiani: "I try the best I can."

Nanjiani: I don’t know what happened. Huge mistake. My parents wanted me to be a doctor.
Gadot: They wanted me to be a lawyer. We have so much in common.
Nanjiani: We’re both immigrants. We play immigrants in our movies.
Gadot: We both get asked all the time, “How do I pronounce your name?”

The interview goes on to talk about women's representation in the media and why Gadot got so emotional when seeing the Amazons' battle scene in Wonder Woman.

Nanjiani talks about the pressure of representing all things Pakistan, "I'm not the guy,"  he laments, "But, I know, whether I like it or not, I'm trying to do the best I can."

Both actors are having a great year. Coincidentally, the two had the opportunity to  host Saturday Night Live, this year. Both Nanjiani's The Big Sick, is often mentioned as a possible Oscar nominee in several categories, and that's also the case for Gadot's Wonder Woman. Stay tuned for the nominations for Academy Awards next year.

WATCH and enjoy the YouTube interview below:

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Aziz Ansari: the new 'voice of a generation?'

Aziz Ansari

AZIZ ANSARI might be blushing a little bit after being named "the voice of his generation" by Variety magazine. Apologies to Lena Dunham, the previous "voice of a generation."

To be clear, that's Variety's opinion, not the opinion of the Indian/American comedian and actor. 

With the success of his television series Master of None, he has certainly connected with the Asian/American audience with little inside jokes only AAPI would get and issues that we talk about among ourselves but are not well known outside of the AAPI community.

The primes example of the latter was the episode about his immigrant parents and the sacrifices they made to assure a better life for their children.

The entertainment magazine says that Ansari is part of geration that sees the importance of the internet, and the importance of streaming services over traditional TV.

"He talks the language of a generation who lives online," Netflix's Ted Sarandos wrote for Variety.

In the second season, a lot of the dialogue between him and other cast members were over their smart phones by using social media.

"He talks the language of a generation who lives online," Netflix's Ted Sarandos wrote for Variety.

“Master of None is almost nothing like the show that he pitched to us," writes Netflix's chief content officer. "It is better. He is better. 

"Confidence is not the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of the character traits of a comedian, but Aziz is confident in every aspect of his work, and at least on the surface, it would seem in life too. He knows his material, he knows his audience and he knows how to connect his material and his audience with a remarkable hit rate," wrote Sarandos.

"With his track record, there are no ideas from Aziz that I can dismiss without long consideration. Being right and being funny are sometimes in conflict, but not for Aziz. He is right about when to go for the laugh and when to go for heartstrings and does both like a 'master.'”

"Voice of a generation" is a heavy crown to wear, but in one other way, Variety's proclamation may be  about the changing demographics of our country. Ansari's views and words as a person of color reflects what is slowly happening in the U.S., to the consternation of those who would prefer the old status quo.

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