ParryShen's Xanga

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:27:25 GMT

IT'S PING-PONG TIME!

Last week I mentioned the MADtv sketch, "Attitudes and Feelings, Both Desireable and Sometimes Secretive" that I shot. Well, here it is! I come in at the 2:30 mark. Props to my mom and aunt for helping me with the Cantonese. Enjoy!

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:40:45 GMT

MAASU, MADtv and... KORI

Just got back this weekend from speaking and workshopping at MAASU (Midwestern Asian American Student Union) and had a great time. As most may be aware, in my workshops I have the participants "audition" for the roles that my colleagues and I read for as actors -- both the good and the bad.

In doing so, it gives folks a real sense of how these roles seen by millions of viewers and will ultimately and subtly "trickle down" to the mass public's perception of Asian Americans. That seeing an Asian American character described for the 20th time as:

"Office I.T. guy, nerdy and shy. Awkward around women. However has the ability to access information with lightning speed" or "fiercely intelligent (a nerd, even), and asexual"

Leads to real-life statistics like this:

The authors of "Freakonomics" did a study of women who dated online and found 97% of white women preferred white men but responded equally to profiles of Hispanic Men if they made $77k+ more, Black Men if they made $154k+ and Asian Men if they made $247k or more.

In the workshops, I ask folks how did the Asian American Male become so undesirable -- that only having a quarter million dollars in his pocket could even things out?

My theory is it comes largely from the roles that are inundated in a medium that is seen all over the country and now the world with sites like YouTube. Because honestly, who'd want to be with a guy whose fingers are only magic on the computer keyboard and not in the bedroom?

So my intent in doing these workshops is to expose the future leaders and pillars of society to what is going on in the real world so that when they actually are in a position to do something about it 15 or 20 years from now... they'll hopefully do so.

Anyway, it's always inspiring to see the younger generation get gung-ho about being proactive. However, I do often wonder about how many follow-though once every day life gets to 'em after college.

Then a few weeks ago, Bobby Lee invited me into the Korean Drama parody sketch world of "Attitudes and Feelings, Both Desireable and Sometimes Secretive" on MADtv.

Here's where they left off in the storyline last season and the saga will continue with Bobby, Sung Kang, Cathy Shim and myself (speaking Chinese in a Korean Drama, natch!) this Saturday, April 5th on MADtv, 11/10 central on FOX! Not to give anything away but I can tell you the sketch has something to do with Ping-Pong!

I saw Bobby at an event two Christmas' ago, and told him how much I loved the 'Attitudes' sketches to which he replied, "You wanna do one?" To which I replied, "Hell yeah!" And lo and behold, 15 months later when there was an opening, he was true to his word.

When I met comedian Danny Cho at MAASU this weekend, he said Bobby did the same thing for him -- getting him in as "Pongo" on his Thailand Cable Access sketch on MADtv. Check out when Danny cuts in on Carmen "Electrica" at 4:38 during the slow dance at the end. Cracks me up all the time and apparently Carmen too - Danny told me that was part was all improvised.

Granted, the stuff isn't Shakespeare but here's a guy that's at least trying to use his position on a show to integrate as many Asian faces as possible and being a generous guy lending a hand out. Good lookin' out, Bobby!

And then finally -- it happened again 2 weeks ago. Low amniotic fluids in my wife's belly. Baby needs to come out 3 weeks early. Sound familiar? Well that's because the same thing happened 3 years ago with Avery!

Although this time we got to schedule the C-section the next day! Got to go home, shower, pack a bag. 24 hours notice -- sheesh, cake walk. Anyway, please welcome... Kori Layne Shen at 5lbs 10oz, 19 inches long.

Avery's been a great big sis so far.

I took her to see "Horton Hears a Who" last week since I was going to miss her B-Day speaking at MAASU and this time I got her a pair of earmuffs to wear because the theater's loud sound system just freaks her out.

She asked if Kori could come. I said, "No, she's too small." And she retorted, "But I'll share my earmuffs with her!" Aww. I have feeling I'm in store for a lot more "Aww" moments in the near future.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 04:03:01 GMT

MARRIAGE PROPOSAL

I posted this 4 years ago explaining how I worked in my marriage proposal into the pier scene of "Better Luck Tomorrow" before the film ever came out. However, this was before the advent of YouTube and describing it verbally or in text just never seemed to do it justice.

I always thought it'd be cool for hard-core fans of the film to see it and I even suggested to MTV Films to include it as a hidden Easter Egg on the "BLT" Dvd but was shot down after being told of the escalating costs of getting the rights to the Backstreet Boys background music, paying actors, etc.

But two days ago, I learned how to upload videos from my camera for a montage for Kollaboration this Saturday -- so as a result: Here it is below!

The Prep: I wrangled the "BLT" guys together to reshoot the scene under the pier. Wrote a little script, got the director, Justin Lin, to work out the same camera angles. Kept the continuity of the scene by sticking a tissue in my left nostril (since my character had a major nose bleed in the prior scene), went to Macy's to purchase the same clothes so they'd match, etc.

The Plan: was to mail the tape to MYSELF, telling my then girlfriend that Justin had mailed me the newly re-cut scene of the cast under the pier.

Then we'd watch the new footage -- and this time, instead of the gun being in the box (as it is in the theatrical release) -- a ringbox is there. And when I turn towards the camera and the girl (Zooey Deschanel) "throws" the ringbox off-screen and says, "Now, get down on one knee..." -- my real-self, OUTSIDE the TV screen, would pretend to have caught the ringbox.

In reality, I would have the ringbox palmed in my hands to make "the catch" through the TV screen appear seamless. I'd pause the tape (as my on-screen persona instructs me to do) and then propose in real-life, with ring in hand. When she would hopefully say 'Yes', I'd unpause the tape and the cast on the TV screen would cheer. Make sense?

But as we all know, things hardly ever go as planned. Here's --

What actually happened: While Kim, my then girlfriend, was watching TV -- I opened the package with the tape. I had the ringbox in my pocket ready to do "the catch". Summing up the all acting ability I could muster, I coolly announced, "Hey look. Justin just sent me a tape of our reshoot footage under the pier. Wanna see it?"

Now I must preface -- this was in November 2001 and the biggest cliffhanger on television at the time was on a show from the defunct WB called "Felicity". And America was waiting on baited breath to see if Felicity (Keri Russell) would finally choose to be with her dependable Resident Advisor, Noel (Scott Foley) or long-time crush, Ben (Scott Speedman). So her answer to my question was, "No! I want to see who Felicity chooses!"

Hmph.

So I proceeded to wait in my office for 30 MORE minutes (with ringbox still in pocket) until I heard her say, "Okay, we can watch your stupid re-shoot footage now." (Keep in mind she'd already seen several cuts of the film at this point.)

I popped in the tape and the scene unfolded: Roger Fan gives me the box, I open it, the ring's inside, Jason smacks me on the head (superhard, by the way. Which I futilely attempt to shake off) I turn to camera and start gushing about all these feelings I have trapped inside, etc.

And what was her response?

"Omigosh. This is sooo lame..." She actually thought the footage was real. She thought Justin had switched the entire plot and now my character in the movie was proposing to my on-camera love interest Stephanie (Karin Anna Cheung). Yes, even despite the obvious format change from Film to DV, the cheesy music playing underneath and looking DIRECTLY into the camera. It was only until she saw Zooey Deschanel pop into frame (who I shot a movie with called, "The New Guy" and was in no way, any part of "BLT") did she realize that she was in the midst of a marriage proposal. She exclaimed, "No way, no way..." and the rest played out perfectly.

But of course, since I already had all the guys there -- I had to have a bit more fun with the whole thing. So as you can see, we had a ball shooting the "Plan B: In Case She Says No" sketch playing up Zooey and my makeout scene in "The New Guy" along with the "Deleted Scene".

I love Justin popping out from behind the camera, Sung's non-verbal improvisation at the end of "Plan B" mouthing, "The ring's small but hey, whatcha gonna do?" and I still crack up every time Roger yells, "You will love her!" at the end of the last scene. Fun, fun sh*t.

Anyway, thanks goes out to Evan Leong, Fabian Marquez, Justin, Roger, Sung, Jason and Zooey for making this an awesome memory for all time.

So if you're a fan of the movie, enjoy! Nothing like good 'ole illegal, viral material (wait a second, I just realized - that besides the 5 sceonds at the top, all this stuff was orginally shot by us - so no studio studio owns it)! And to this day, I still don't know who the heck Felicity did wind up choosing.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:21:15 GMT

"HATCHET" on DVD - Dec 18th

The release of a film's DVD is pretty much the close of a project's journey.

Finishing the shoot just kicks off the first of many stages in the promotion machine and gatherings with the cast. There' s always stuff leading up to: the anticipated open, the premiere and finally the DVD.

So I'm closing the almost 3 year long chapter on "HATCHET" with the DVD signing this Sunday, Dec 16 at 2pm at The Dark Delicacies Bookstore (4213 W. Burbank Blvd.Burbank, CA 91505).

The DVD will be out everywhere on Dec 18th - so check it out on Netflicks, Blockbuster, Amazon, Best Buy (comes with a Hatchet Keychain) etc. This is the unrated version that originally scored us an NC-17 rating with the MPAA for basically showing a monster chasing kids around a swamp while other movies like "Saw IV" got an R-rating even though it depicts a guy being fed his own private parts. Weird set of standards.

The film did very well in major cities like NY and LA - where we were actually the number one film that weekend in those theaters.

However, we opened too wide in the first weekend -- in almost 80 theaters.

So while we were pulling in $10,000 per theater in the major cities, the dozen theaters in places like Texas sat totally empty because we had no promotion. Thus, those empty seats diluted our per screen average that weekend to about $1,500 per screen - not very impressive by any means.

Also, an early cut of the film got leaked onto the internet that weekend and was being downloaded like crazy-- like a few thousand times an hour. Stop the ripping, people!

A better way in hindsight would've been to open in a handful of theaters, even just one, and allowing word of mouth to catch on in addition to having a high per screen average to intrigue the audience and press. But $1,500 per screen just doesn't raise any eyebrows. It was a first theatrical release for the distributors, lesson learned I suppose.

But now it'll be on video shelves forever to hopefully become a cult hit. A funny tidbit to close out "Hatchet" -- the distribution company ran a contest where the winner received an all expense-paid trip out to LA to have dinner with the cast and director. Long story short... the winner was a 'sweepstakes-a-holic'. Meaning that she just enters tons of drawings/competitions to win prizes and trips. She hadn't even seen the film! It was a peculiar dinner to say the very least.

More power to her for bucking the system and scoring a free trip but would've made any horror-fan boy/girl's evening to win. Oh, and she also won a seat to the World Series of Poker two years ago but busted out early (she wasn't a poker player). Again! Some poker fanboy/girl (me!) would've loved to have won that and make a real run at the final table.

But with every project that comes to an end, a new one (hopefully) begins. Enter: The Gene Generation. The comicbook series entitled: 'DNA Hacker Chronicles' will kickoff in January -- to strengthen the audience base for the movie. An interesting marketing strategy. And interestingly enough, what's increasing the chances of distribution is the current Writer's Guild Strike. Hardly anything's being made right now and there's a shortage of movies and ours is already done!

Here's a new sneak peek:

Stealing the Transcoder

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 12:18:29 GMT

THE HELMET

Several years ago, I posted a list of pop culture items I'd like to someday own in my dream house.

And about a month ago, I finally came to the decision that wanting something for 16 years was long enough. So I sucked it up and purchased one of those items: The Rocketeer Replica Prop Helmet.

It was pricey but in my opinion -- way worth it. The piece is even better than I'd imagined. It's all brass, has leather straps, weighs about 3 lbs and is antiqued to look like it was from the 1930's. The inside is nicely lined and padded. It's basically the helmet!

Quick synopsis for those who haven't seen the movie: The hero (Cliff Secord) discovers a stolen experimental jetpack in his possession. Unfortunately, there's no way to control the direction of the pack once it's in motion. So his friend fashions a helmet out of a bronze space heater with a large rudder attached so that the wearer can steer by turning his/her head.

When I took it out of the box, this tag was attached -- it reads in bold: "DO NOT PLACE ON HEAD!" Which I'm sure is to legally protect them if kids get hurt wearing it. However, I found myself immediately thinking, "Um, my A** -- that's the first place this sucker's going on!"

I think it's a work of art that perfectly encapsulates and melds my love comics and movies. It's got absolutely no practical purpose whatsoever - but with something this cool, you just gotta shrug your shoulders and say, "Who Cares?"

I keep it in my office as my muse when I'm writing or editing the Secret Identities Anthology (each index card on the bulletin board represents on of the 28 different stories/creative teams in The Anthology and helps me keep track of what scripts/art we have from who, etc). And the helmet is my thinking cap... well, that's what I tell my wife anyway.

Don't worry, I'm not planning to go overboard with this thing like this guy or this guy or even this guy. However, the custom arcylic display case I ordered is on it's way. I mean, I have to protect my investment, right?

As you can see, Avery's gotten some influence in the superhero department as well. We just found this cool Superman poncho/bath towel for her. Look at the cape - it's the perfect length! Saves me from having to tie a bulky towel or blanket around her neck that never winds up looking right in the first place.

We go 'flying' around the house a lot these days, especially with the current Writer's Strike going on.

And I'm sure we'll wrangle in her baby sister into our duo when she's born in April. Afterall, I've still got the Supergirl Onesie for her that my pal Ryan over at Blacklava made for me when Avery was a 'lil pup.

So yes, you read correctly -- we'll be expecting another Shen Girl in the household come next April. Interestingly enough, that's also when the Secret Identities Anthology is due into the publisher.

I recently was at a Finishing the Game event and told some folks about the baby and was also pitching the Anthology to an artist. I mentioned that the book had an "April delivery date" - and someone overheard and said, "Oh, for your baby right?" And I replied, "Oh yeah... that too," realizing for the first time that I in fact have two delivery dates for April!

Anyway, you can catch more of me within the comic realm tomorrow, Wednesday, Nov 28th on CBS' CRIMINAL MINDS at 9pm ET/PT when I'll be guest starring as Bobby Kim, Frankie Muniz's demanding literary agent. Muniz plays a popular comic book artist who is involved in the search for a serial killer.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 11:18:18 GMT

Comics, Comics Everywhere!

I just got back from NYC this past weekend meeting with the other editors of "Secret Identities" to go over all the submissions that we've received.

It was great to finally meet the other guys and put a face to the voices (we've been conference calling for the past year).

Basically all I had to go on were their comic rendered faces in the book's bio!

After selecting the stories that gelled with the Universe we were creating, the fun part was pairing them up with artists. Our Editor-In-Chief set up a powerpoint slideshow of all the artists and samples of their work on his 42 inch LCD. It felt muy professional.

It's going to be an awesome book with 20+ different creative teams. It'll be hard work logistically and creatively to pull together this 192 page project in the coming months but it's cool to delve into a medium like this and at this level. I'm even more stoked that a few of my own stories were selected and paired with some kicka** artists! Once finished work starts coming in, I'll post a sneak peek of a script page with a finished penciled/inked page for you all to see and compare.

And now that I'm knee deep in this world of drawn storytelling -- it just seems to be following me everywhere I turn!

I found out a few months ago that "The Gene Generation" is going to be made into a comicbook that will be released in conjunction with the film. Although the artists made me look all bada** and hard in it.

On the left is how I look in the movie. Now compare it to the images on the right of how I would normally look in comic form to how I'll look rendered in the "GG" comic. Oh yeah, baby.

Then a few weeks ago, I shot a Guest Appearance for CBS' "Criminal Minds" -- and the storyline is rooted in... yep, the world of comicbooks. I play this Type-A Literary Agent of a young rising artist played by Frankie Muniz ("Malcolm in the Middle", "Agent Cody Banks").

It's a pretty cool episode and one of the largest roles I've ever had on television. The episode, "True Night" is slated to air on Wed, November 28 at 9pm.

Monday, September 10, 2007

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:15:20 GMT

SECRET IDENTITIES

This is the project I've been working on for the past year - A Superhero Comic Anthology that will be published in Fall 2008 by The New Press. And we're open for submissions!

It's going to be a creator-owned graphic novel created by Asian Americans. What I like about this project is that once the book comes out, there will be at least 20 hip, cool and well developed Asian American characters ready for Film/TV, Animation, or as an ongoing comic. It's just jumpstarting another medium of storytelling.

And since the stories must all come from an Asian specific perspective, when Hollywood execs say, "I love the story but can we not go 'ethnic' with this project?" The creators can retort, "Um... it's about the survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings!"

Plus we're also planning to do a Teacher's Guide in conjunction with the Anthology, so that students can use this in the classroom to learn the real stories behind the stories in the Anthology. It'll be a great tool for kids to learn about Asian American Issues/Events that they normally wouldn't learn in the classroom.

I know the way I learned ALL the stories in the bible growing up was reading it via comic form in "The Picture Bible".

In the entry below, you will find: The official “Secret Identities” Announcement. A sneak preview of the anthology is available for exclusive download in PDF format from AngryAsianMan.com.

Pass along the word -- we're looking for some good story ideas from EVERYONE by OCT 15th! Send 'em with a filled out submission form to submit@secretidentities.org:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"SECRET IDENTITIES: The Asian American Superhero Anthology"
Picked Up for Publication by The New Press for Spring 2009 Release

Groundbreaking new graphic novel collection seeks contributions from Asian American
artists and writers interested in exploring the superhero genre

September 10, 2007 – What if we told you a tale about a quiet, unassuming guy with black hair and thick glasses? He's an immigrant, who's done his best to fit in to a world that isn't his—one very different from the land of his birth. He's got a hidden side to himself that he can't quite bring himself to show, not even to the popular girl he's got a huge crush on. If only she knew who he really was—what he could really do—she'd be amazed, he thinks. If only she knew. If only everyone knew...

For many Asian Americans, this chronicle is a familiar one, because many of us lived it. But this also happens to be the story of a mild-mannered reporter named Clark Kent, better known to the world by his alter ego: Superman. And it's just one example of the parallels between the cultural narrative of Asian America and the mythic foundation of the comic book superhero. These parallels, along with the burgeoning array of Asian American creative talent in the mainstream and alternative comics industries, are what have led New York Times best-selling author Jeff Yang; independent comics creator Jerry Ma; comics education specialist Keith Chow, and actor Parry Shen to team up to edit Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology, the first-ever graphic novel collection of original stories exploring the universe of masked marvels and caped crusaders from the perspective of the nation's fastest-growing and most dynamic emerging community. The book will be published in trade paperback by The New Press (http://www.thenewpress.com ), one of the nation's leading independent publishers, hitting bookshelves in Spring 2009.

Although top talents from the mainstream comic industry have already agreed to contribute stories to Secret Identities – including writers Greg Pak (World War Hulk) and J. Torres (Batman Strikes) and artists Sean Chen (Iron Man, Nova) and Cliff Chiang (Human Target), among others, the collection is actively seeking Asian American creators both within and outside the comics industry who are interested in contributing one to six page stories, either within the superhero genre or commenting on it in a satirical or insightful fashion. This may include artist/writer teams or artist-writer sole creators as well as artists seeking to be paired with a writer or writers with an idea seeking to be paired with an artist.

Interested artists must submit art samples, and writers must submit story ideas, by no later than October 15^th, 2007 to be considered for the anthology. All characters and stories included in the collection must be original to their creators and previously unpublished in any venue. The collection is intended to be creator-owned: Contributors will retain all rights to characters, depictions, backgrounds, marks, and storylines associated with their submissions. A special free sneak preview of the anthology is be available for exclusive download in PDF format from AngryAsianMan.com.

Why "Secret Identities"?
As Entertainment Weekly's review of NBC's hit series Heroes reads: "Superheroes speak to the part of us – and we all have it – that hopes, deep down, that we're special."

"I think for Asian Americans, those parallels are even stronger," says Secret Identities senior editor and educational director Keith Chow. "Superhero stories – geeks like Peter Parker turning into gods, or immigrant aliens like Clark Kent assimilating into mainstream society – are about the Ultimate Model Minority: a subset full of outsiders with abilities hidden to the rest of society. But, like the X-Men, when you as an Asian American go off to school and meet other people like yourself – you discover your secret heritage, the thing inside you that makes you special."

Anthology editor-in-chief Jeff Yang notes that while this special resonance has created an "overabundance" of Asian American comic artists and writers, "Asian superheroes are a still rarity—and we thought that shouldn't be the case. We want this book to jumpstart a bumper crop of Asian American superheroes that will inspire future generations of the community by representing the full breadth or our diversity and history."

That full breadth means that the collection is looking to bring in voices and ideas outside of the conventional superhero comics space as well. "If you're an Asian American writer/artist, author, performer, director – or have always just wanted to create a comic… we want to hear from you," says art director Jerry Ma. "We're looking for fun, illuminating and imaginative stories that live in the 'superhero' world while exploring the idea of the extraordinary side of ordinary Asian Americans."

The ultimate goal of the project extends beyond simply publishing a single book. As managing editor Parry Shen notes, "When this book comes out, there will instantly be at least 20 fresh, hip, and well developed Asian American characters that can be expanded for future comics, live action film or animated series."

The Secret Identities submission form and other information about the project can be found at the Secret Identities website, www.secretidentities.org . The deadline for all story ideas and art samples is OCTOBER 15, 2007; all ideas and samples should be sent to submit@secretidentities.org .

Examples of stories that have been submitted to date include:

"9066" – A Nisei superhero finds himself facing internment during WWII despite his powers and status as a hero.
"The Hibakusha" – The children of the survivors of Hiroshima experience strange side effects.
"Peril" – The son of an unjustly accused Chinese American scientist must use his father's inventions to clear his father's name.
"Driving Steel" – The legend of John Henry is well known: the African American rail worker who beat the steam engine by driving spikes with a sledgehammer in each hand. But did John Henry have a partner, and why is he absent from the legends that have been passed down through time?
"A Day at Costume Co." – A tongue-in-cheek look at an Asian American suburban supermom and her quest to get her two paranormally-super powered teens through a day of shopping at the local big-box hero outfitter.

As a critical companion to the anthology, the creation of an in-depth teacher's guide and discussion booklet based on social issues and historical events raised by the stories in "Secret Identities" is planned. Stories rooted in real-world context – like the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the murder of Vincent Chin in the 1970s and the prosecution of Dr. Wen Ho Lee – all offer strong potential use in educational settings at the middle school, high school and university levels.

Moreover, the signed, original artwork from the book's full-color gallery section will be auctioned off for charity, with the proceeds to benefit organizations supporting and advocating on behalf of Asian American youth.

About the Editors

Jeff Yang (Editor in Chief) founded and was editor and publisher of the pioneering Asian American periodical aMagazine. He has authored three books — Eastern Standard Time (Houghton Mifflin); I Am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action (Ballantine, the action hero's official autobiography); and Once Upon a Time in China (Atria/Pocket Books) — and has written for a wide variety of publications, including The Washington Post, Salon.com, Vibe, and Spin , and currently writes the "Asian Pop" column for the San Francisco Chronicle's website SFGate.com.

Ke ith Chow (Senior Editor/Educational Director) is currently a high school teacher and freelance Comics Education Specialist. Formerly with Diamond Comic Distributors, where he was Managing Editor of the Diamond Bookmark e-newsletter, Chow is dedicated to exploring the educational utility of comics. He has also contributed features for Wizard Entertainment's ToyFare Magazine, and his poetry has appeared in the Asian Pacific American Journal and the Powhatan Review. Chow is also the founder of the Asian Pacific American Student Union (APASU) at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA

Parry Shen (Managing Editor) began his career in the editorial side at Marvel Comics – specifically on the Beavis & Butthead book. He's since changed gears to tell stories in front of the camera and has had prominent roles in MTV Films' Better Luck Tomorrow, Columbia Pictures' The New Guy and slasher flick Hatchet. His television appearances include ABC's Brothers & Sisters, FX's Thief and CBS' Without a Trace. He has been featured on Entertainment Tonight and Extra, as well as in publications such as Premiere, Rolling Stone, VIBE, People Magazine, The LA Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Jerry Ma (Art Director) is one of the first creators on Digital Webbing Presents, where his graphic short story "Burn" evolved into an acclaimed self-published indie title, leading Jerry to launch the indie comics studio Epic Proportions.

# # #

Monday, September 03, 2007

Mon, 03 Sep 2007 03:19:50 GMT

"HATCHET" Theaters this Weekend

* EDIT - NYC & CANADIAN Theaters added!

Below are the theaters "HATCHET" will be opening in this Friday - Sept 7th. As always, this first weekend will determine if the film continues further into other parts of the country. So please make plans to check it out if it's near you!

The film's been getting great reviews so far - which is rare for a genre picture like this. I think the last time I read good reviews for a horror movie was "Shaun of the Dead" and "The Descent".

I'm off today on a plane to open the movie in Boston this Tuesday, Sept 4 at the AMC Boston Commons 19 and then I'll be back in Los Angeles on Thursday, Sept 6th for the "Finishing the Game" LA Kickoff Party to check out Anson Ho's documentary: "Building a Journey: From 'BETTER LUCK TOMORROW' to 'FINISHING THE GAME'" (FTG opens in theaters Oct 5th). And then the "Hatchet" cast and I will be at the Arclight Cinemas on Fri, Sept 7th for the 10pm screening. Should be a fun time. Check the "News" section on www.hatchetmovie.com for updated theater listings.

Next week: I'll formally announce the Comic Anthology I'm helping to put together. But if you've got a story idea that can't wait, you can shoot it on over to secretidentitiescomic@yahoo.com

When a group of tourists on a New Orleans haunted swamp tour led by Shawn (Parry Shen) find themselves stranded in the wilderness, their evening of fun and spooks turns into a horrific nightmare...

"Hatchet" premiered at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival and has won 3 Best Picture Awards at festivals around the country.

"Parry Shen (Shawn) = funny."

-John Fallon, ARROWINTHEHEAD.COM-

“One of the biggest hits at the Tribeca Film Festival.”

– VARIETY -

“Entertaining even if you are not a horror fan.

HATCHET is well worth the price of the ticket.”

– Nadine Matthews, NY TIMES - ABOUT.COM -

“Amazing, magnificent and immensely stupefying...

HATCHET not only delivers all the goods but manages to up the bar

a few notches as well.”

– Monster & Critics, U.K. -

“HATCHET delivers on all fronts.

You’ll be giddier than a maniac on a killing spree by the time it’s all over. I loved it!”

– AIN’T IT COOL NEWS -

Austin

Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar 6

AMC Barton Creek 14

Baltimore

Muvico Egyptian 24

AMC White Marsh 16

AMC Owings Mills 17

Boston

AMC Boston Commons 19

National Amusements Showcase Revere 20

CFC Entertainment Cinemas Fresh Pond 10

Chicago

AMC Crestwood 18

AMC River East 21

AMC Ford City 14

AMC Barrington 30

AMC Streets of Woodfield 20

AMC Cantara 30

AMC Country Club 16

Marcus Gurnee 20

Marcus Addison 20

Detroit

AMC Fairlane 21

AMC Southfield 20

AMC Great Lakes 25

AMC Forum 30 with IMAX

MJR Southgate 20

MJR Marketplace 20

MJR Ford Wyoming Drive-In Complex

El Paso

Carmike El Paso 16

Harlingen/Brownsville

Carmike 20 EdinburgTX

Cinemark 16

Cinemark Tinseltown, Mission TX

Cinemark 16, Brownsville, TX

Cinemark Hollywood, McAllen TX

Houston

AMC Gulf Pointe 30

AMC Studio Houston 30

AMC Deerbrook 24

AMC Willowbrook 24

Las Vegas

Brenden Palms Casino

Los Angeles

Arclight Hollywood

Memphis

Malco Majestic 20

Malco Paradiso Cinema

Malco Towne 16

Muvico Peabody Place 22

New Orleans

AMC Elmwood Palace 20

AMC Westbank Palace 16

New York

AMC Empire 25

Norfolk/Newport News

AMC Lynnhaven 18

AMC Hampton Towne Center 24

Phoenix

AMC Ahwatukee 24

AMC Mesa Grande 24

AMC Deer Valley 30

AMC Westgate 20

Harkins Arizona Mills 24

Harkins Gateway Pavilions 18

Harkins Superstition Springs Luxury 25

Providence

National Amusements Providence Place 16

National Amusements Showcase Warwick Mall

National Amusements Showcase Seekonk

CFC Cinema World Lincoln Mall 16

Sacramento / Stockton / Modesto

Brenden Modesto 18

San Antonio

AMC Hueber Oaks 24

Santikos Embassy 14

Santikos Mayan Palace

Santikos Palladium 18 and IMAX

Santikos Silverado 16

San Diego

AMC Mission Valley 20

AMC Palm Promenade 24

Fashion Valley 18

CANADIAN THEATERS

Toronto

Canada Square

Coliseum Scarboro

Colossus

SC Brampton

Square One

Calgary

Spectrum

Country Hills

Vancouver

Granville

SC Qoquitlam

SC Riverport

Colossus Langley

Guilford

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 15:27:38 GMT

Countdown to HATCHET... and me topless

So it's 3 weeks before my movie "HATCHET" finally hits theaters nationwide.

To get everyone up to speed, I did an entry two years ago (READ HERE) about the character I play, "Shawn". At first "Shawn" was a bit stereotypical but the director, Adam Green, was cool enough to hear out my thoughts and we wound up making some fixes and now he's one of my favorite characters I've ever played.

It's been a 2 and a half year journey since we shot the movie and it's exciting to finally see things come to fruition. The following new theatrical trailer below debuted at our Comic Con panel a few weeks ago.

We figure at least 1,200 folks came out for our panel (the seating was 40 seats across and went at least 30 rows deep - and it was packed, people standing along the walls too!) And yes, that's Twisted Sister's Dee Snider moderating our panel.

Even though we technically have a "wide" release, it only means that it'll show in the major theaters across the country on Sept 7th. However, we'll still only be in about 120 theaters as opposed to a 2,000 plus theater count of a big studio backed film with endless advertising bucks.

So as with "BLT", how well the film does that first weekend will determine if the movie gets released wider in the weeks after. So our intro to the world at Comic Con was huge for us.

And since our advertising dollars are limited, it was back to good 'ole fashioned grassroots viral marketing.

Which meant the cast and crew sporting their "Hatchet Army" shirts at various events across town. Even Milo Ventimiglia ("Heroes") enlisted in the 'Army'! (You can get yours here too if you'd like to help spread the word - the opening date of the film is subtly printed on the back -- no really, it's not one of those obnoxious shirts that you can't wear years after the movie.)

But another big coup came last night when the trailer screened in front of 18,000 fans at a World Wrestling Entertainment event in Madison Square Garden. Read here from the director how our man, John Saba was able to think out of the box and get us some free advertising.

Freakin' sweet, huh?

Okay. And now for the part which I'm sure you've all been anxiously awaiting.

What drew you to this entry in the first place.

Me displayed as a piece of meat.

This is a new still from my other flick, "THE GENE GENERATION".

As you can read from this article, the director's been working feverishly to finish the film (incidentally, also after 2 years) by the end of the month as we've gotten multiple distribution bids.

Yes, I have no soul -- I will resort to showing cheesecake photos of myself in order to get readership.

But hey, you gotta do what you gotta do -- it's a living.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 17:09:12 GMT

COMIC-CON

When I was growing up reading comic books and interning with Marvel Comics, I'd always heard of the legendary "Comic-Con" in San Diego.

And just like how the Sundance Film Festival began with humble beginnings -- it's now gotten so big that any Film/TV project with appeal to the comic fanboy/girl will set up camp at the convention to tout their goods.

This week's Entertainment Weekly starts off with an article centered on the comic world's Mecca. Even HBO's fictional movie "Aquaman" within it's semifictional show, "Entourage" kicked off their promotion at 'The Con'.

However, I've never been to The Convention despite living in California for the past 12 years, that is... until now.

Tomorrow (July 26th) I'll finally see what it's all about when I take part in the Starz Media Panel for my movie "HATCHET" at 3:00-4:30 in Room 6CDEF. I'm sure my castmates and I will basically play second fiddle to the main draw of panel, the horror legends in our film -- Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger), Kane Hodder (Jason Voorhees), and Tony Todd (Candyman). But as long those theater seats are packed come September 7th, I'm fine with being ignored.

But I'll also be down there for double duty.

I will be scouting out some Asian American artists and writers for an Asian American Superhero Anthology Comic, called SECRET IDENTITIES that I've been working on with the past year with a few talented fellas. I'll elaborate on it further in a later entry but I'll say this now... we've already got a publisher and it's set to see print in Fall 2008!

And just because I have no other place to stick this mention, I'll just do it right here. Check out this deleted scene from the movie, "Knocked Up" -- where a buddy of mine, Dr. Ken Jeong, does some killer improvisation (Warning: Lots of vulgarity) -- you can totally see Katherine Heigl cracking up off camera. (He's actually a real doctor as well -- and basically channeled everything he ever wanted to say to his difficult patients!) Hope to see some of you at 'The Con'!