Slanted Screens

Jeff Adachi’s documentary Slanted Screen comes to PBS station KERA in Dallas as part of a series on Asian heritage.
“From silent film star Sessue Hayakawa to Harold & Kumar Go to Whitecastle, The Slanted Screen explores the portrayals of Asian men in American cinema, chronicling the experiences of actors who have had to struggle against ethnic stereotyping and limiting roles, according to the Slanted Screen website. The film presents a critical examination of Hollywood's image-making machine, through a fascinating parade of 50 film clips spanning a century.
“The Slanted Screen includes interviews with actors Mako (at left), Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, James Shigeta, Dustin Nguyen, Phillip Rhee, Will Yun Lee, Tzi Ma, Jason Scott Lee, comedian Bobby Lee, producer Terence Chang, casting director Heidi Levitt, writer Frank Chin, and directors Gene Cajayon and Eric Byler.
“The film was written, directed and produced by Adachi, co-produced and edited by Alex Yeung, with the opening music, titles and credits by Sean Dana. Michael Becker composed the musical score and the post-production sound and audio. The film also features a new song performed by the San Francisco rock-punk band Say Bok Gwai.
The documentary aires at 10 p.m., May 10 on KERA-TV Channel 13. Esther Wu, Dallas Morning News columnist, writes an interesting piece on her views on media as an Asian growing up in the United States.

This Movie is Totally “Sick”

The Japanese distributor of the movie Babel has begun warning Japanese audiences that some scenes make cause nausea or headaches.
Some 15 complaints had been filed with the distributor, Gaga Communications, which is investigating which scenes may lead to the nausea. The Academy Award-nominated film hasn’t reported this problem elsewhere in the world.
The film’s opening was highly anticipated, following the Best Supporting Actress nomination of Rinko Kikuchi (above left). The film starred Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett (above).
The film, which is directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, occurs in multiple countries and focuses on how lives in various cultures are intertwined.