6 a.m. – Standing on an airstrip in Macon, Georgia. Had a great shoot all night. We’re on our Martini (last shot of the day), waiting for the light to be perfect.
6:27 a.m. – The light is ready. We radio the pilots.
6:34 a.m. – The C130 approaches. Lower. Lower. Every nerve in my body tells me to run.
6:35 a.m. – Got our shot. Best job in the world.
Happy Labor Day!
Perks of the job
Conversations with Wayne (Pt. 1)
During the 2007 VC FilmFest (The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival), director and Offender Justin Lin (Better Luck Tomorrow, Fast & Furious) sat down with director Wayne Wang (Chan Is Missing, The Joy Luck Club) for an intimate one-on-one discussion. We will be presenting the edited transcript of that discussion in multiple parts starting today with Part 1.
PART 1: Of Origins and Beginnings
(in which Justin and Wayne discuss their early forays into filmmaking)
JUSTIN LIN: So before we get started, I wanted to share a story. I remember back in film school, I took this Asian American studies class and they showed a clip of Chan is Missing. I was instantly drawn because it was the first time I had seen Asian Americans exist in a world where they weren’t there for an “Asian” reason but were just there. I didn’t get to watch the whole film because it wasn’t available until ten years later. But it was amazing, the little clip that I saw. That was my first exposure to your work.
WAYNE WANG: Well, I have a similar story. Actually it was on vacation in Honolulu. I saw Better Luck Tomorrow advertised at this huge mall with like 300 theatres and I walked in without knowing too much about it and it was the first time I felt that there was a new generation of Asian American directors. You know after so long, you see a lot of stuff. But you know that was the first time I truly felt that in my gut, that it’s happening. There were a lot of interesting things in between; I mean there were really interesting documentaries; there were more executives in the studios; but it was great to see Better Luck Tomorrow because it’s truly a whole new generation, a new sensibility and it was authentic characters who are Asian and it was great.
Something fishy on Jump Street
I first felt it when I sat down with Dustin Nguyen for a lunch meeting on Finishing the Game. Something was just off but I couldn’t pin point it. Right in front of me eating a salad was the icon from my adolescence, Officer Harry Truman Ioki of 21 Jump Street. He was the first three dimensional Asian American character that I was introduced to on TV (sorry Sulu but you were in outer space and way too far in the future). I usually am not one to get star struck but this was different. This was Officer Harry Truman Ioki.
Since then I’ve had the pleasure of becoming good friends with Dustin. He’s simply one of the best human beings I’ve ever met, yet something was still not quite right. Then recently it finally dawned on me what it was– the dude has not aged one bit. When I first watched the show, Fox was barely a network and I was barely able to grow a mustache. I had just said good bye to Jr. High and yeah, I was still sporting a bowl cut.
And on every Sunday at 7pm, there was THE MAN- Officer Harry Truman Ioki. The mullet, the earring, the high fives with Holly Robinson.
Purple and…. Orange?
The Phoenix Suns wore “Los Suns” on their jerseys in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals on Wednesday night as a reaction to a law passed by the Arizona Legislature that makes it a crime under state law to be in the country illegally and it directs local police to question people about their immigration status and demand to see their documents if there is reason to suspect they are illegal.
“I think it’s fantastic,” Steve Nash, the Sun’s two time MVP point guard said. “I think the law is very misguided. I think it’s, unfortunately, to the detriment of our society and our civil liberties. I think it’s very important for us to stand up for things we believe in. As a team and as an organization, we have a lot of love and support for all of our fans. The league is very multicultural. We have players from all over the world, and our Latino community here is very strong and important to us.” Can you imagine LeBron or Kobe saying that?
YomyomF Sports Challenge Winner
So who is the winner of the YomyomF Challenge winner?
You may never know. Why? Here’s the reply I got when I sent ‘MacLu’ the good news about his victory Spam–
HI Justin,
Thanks! One thing… do I have to pose for the pic? I don’t want to sound like an ingrate but at my day job I have somewhat of a public persona and I have to deal with super conservative wingnuts (who fwd me emails to join the Tea Party and elect Sarah Palin in 2012, no joke). It’s a super long shot but I don’t want my ugly mug to be associated w/ my comments on the site.
The cat and the bat
Fellow offender Iris’ Youtube Cats post reminded me of this video.
As you can see, cats aren’t always just cute. They are predators after all.
I’d give up a year of my life in exchange for that kind of hops.
the more things change, the more we stay the same
It’s comforting to know that no matter how much we may evolve…
we’ll still get together to share destruction.
2 Comments on the more things change, the more we stay the same
YomYomF Challenge: Name this sport
It’s been awhile, but YomYomF Challenge is back!
As you know, I’m always on the lookout for a new sport to love (here and here).
And I found one more–
And the great thing is, there’s no name for it. Sure there’s ‘nunchuck baseball’, but that’s just too obvious. Let’s take it upon ourselves and give it a proper name. Just leave your submission in our comments section (and an email address we can reach you at if you win) and as always, winner gets a can of our beloved Spam.
by any means necessary
I am happy to announce today that, we here at Yomyomf and Wicked Pictures are partnering up to form a new high end adult entertainment division aptly named YomWick.
This five years in the making venture will not only aim to provide the best quality in story telling, performance, and lighting for the mature content enthusiasts, but also use 100% of the profit generated from those projects to fund indie features that will explore subjects and themes neglected by an outdated financing, production and distribution system.
The idea of YomWick started in 2005, when I was shooting Tokyo Drift in downtown LA. As I was walking to set, I noticed a beautiful naked woman having crazy sex in a broken down building across the street. It turned out to be up and coming porn star Stormy Daniels filming a scene for her project. During one of our setups I decided to walk over for a visit. We clicked right away as we exchanged stories about our challenges and desire to balance both art and commerce in our respective industries.
What Stress?
Having a tough day at the office? Too much BS in class? Here are a couple of world beaters to help you release that tension.
Baby Dictators
Does the Big Head Challenge apply to this?
Danish-Norwegian artist Nina Maria Kleivan dressed her daughter up as some of the past century’s most infamous historical figures of the 20th century as part of her controversial photo-series titled “Potency.”
“We all have evil within us. Even small children are evil towards each other,” Kleivan shared.
simple answers
Been traveling around Rio de Janeiro, location scouting. Love the city and the people. This is definitely one of the best parts of my job.
I have to say one of the things that made the scout so enjoyable was the fact that there seems to be a juice bar on every other block. Each was loaded with fresh fruits, which became juice when ordered. Refreshing. Simple.
the deal with owning exotic cars
You spend the dough. You cringe at the thought of other people touching it. Now this?
Forget fight clubs…
This is the real underground sport no one wants you to know about.
It started back in the 1930′s and is still thriving today. Here are some rare footage.
If I had all the money in the world, I’d remake WANTED, FIGHT CLUB, and TEEN WOLF with BETTY WHITE
From Offenders Justin (text) and David (images)
Why? Come on, just look at the posters. It’s Betty freakin’ White!
Attention Chinese Women…
Here’s a surefire way to know if your husband is cheating on you, courtesy of Tag Heuer and Tiger Woods.
According to Tag Heuer chief executive Jean-Christophe Babin, even though the watchmaker may have dropped Tiger Woods in America, his endorsement is still valuable in certain countries. In fact, Babin claims that Woods marketability has increased in China because of his infidelity. “In China conversely you have Tag Heuer with Tiger Woods everywhere because [with] the Chinese it rather increases their esteem,” he said. “In China, by tradition, your success is measured by your number of mistresses.”
Knuckle your way to the pros
In an age of bigger, stronger, faster, I love stories of people who succeed by finding alternate routes. At 5-foot, 114-pounder Eri Yoshida could be a perfect example. Yoshida became Japan’s first female professional baseball player when she made her debut last year. The then 17 year old who throws a sidearm knuckleball, stuck out one batter in Kobe 9 Cruise’s 5-0 win over the Osaka Gold Villicanes.
Working in a Box?
I was 15 years old and broke. And as we all know, it sucks to be 15 and broke (I know, it sucks at all ages but at 15 you’re simply stuck with very few options). Unlike my friends who got allowances, I was not so fortunate. I did, however work at my parents’ mom ‘n pop fish and chips restaurant. But knowing how much of a struggle it was to get by, no way was I going to ask for money. So one day I went to school and applied for a work permit. I decided it was time for me to grow up and make it on my own. And the corporate ladder I chose to climb was our local Jack in the Box.
This is not the glorious Jack in the Box we all know now with the Lakers halftime show, this was the old Jack in the Box known for allegedly serving its patrons kangeroo meat (still not sure if this is a fact but in the 80′s that was the word on the street).
PussyCow?
Growing up in SoCal during the 80′s, one guy dominated the airwaves when it came to local TV– Cal Worthington. Whether it’s channel 9′s Saturday Kung Fu theater, KTLA’s Family Film Festival or reruns of iconic 60′s shows on channel 13, it seemed like Cal sponsored them all. What made him unique was that he was truly an old school pitchman. Usually dressed in a cowboy outfit, he’d hawk used cars while playing with some exotic animal that seemed to have fallen off a circus truck as his catchy jingle played in the background.
