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Dragonball Evolution

In one of my favorite bits from the short-lived Chappelle show, guest comedian Paul Mooney on Hollywood today rants:

First they had The Mexican with Brad Pitt and now they have The Last Samurai with Tom Cruise. Well I’ve written a film, maybe they’ll produce my film. The Last [N-Word] On Earth starring Tom Hanks how about that.

Tom Cruise as the Last samurai was an entertaining idea. Dragonball Evolution in a way continues the West meets East immersion sorta thing. Coming this summer, as one of the early Japanese anime’s to plant a foothold in America, Dragonball becomes a live action film this summer, April 2009. Dragonball Evolution’s movie producers found an Asian Director in James Wong, Chow Yun Fat, and an Asian co-star in Real World San Diego’s Jamie Chung. But for our main character and protagonist, Goku, they cast Justin Chatwin – Tom Cruise’s son in War of the Worlds. And I always thought Goku was Asian.

More interesting, after earning a role on the Real World San Diego cast, Jamie Chung, a San Francisco Bay Area native has aspired for an acting career since her days ended as a Real World Star – if there’s such a thing. Since her reality stint, Jamie has made appearances on Days of our Lives, CSI: New York, a background dancer in Rhianna’s music video for Umbrella, and most recently starred in her own ABC mini-series Samurai Girl.

Now I love to see Asian-Americans breaking into the big screen, but fellas, if any of your girlfriend’s forced you to sit through Samurai girl, you know as I do that Jamie’s got a ways to go to become a successful actor. Hopefully she has improved her acting and rely less on her looks in the upcoming Dragonball movie.

Gran Torino

Now more of us guys are probably going to watch Dragonball Evolution to check out Jamie, but another movie loosely-based and centers around Asian-American’s, more or less, is Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino.

In the movie, Clint Eastwood is an aged, old-school, Korean War veteran who unwilling to adjust to the changing world, see’s his own neighborhood around him change. As his old neighbors move out, he realizes his neighborhood is changing as Hmong immigrants soon move in next to him. Buried in his own bigotry and negative feelings towards Asians, Walt (Clint Eastwood) wants nothing to do with his new neighbors.

Through the movie, Walt eventually develops a relationship with his Hmong neighbors. As neighborhood Hmong gangsters pressure Walt’s young neighbor to steal his pristine Gran Torino (old school car), Walt intervenes and stops the confrontation. The boy and his family then try to repay Walt for stepping in and throughout the movie, Walt’s friendship with his neighbors unveils his own buried hatreds drawing a parallel to the his Gran Torino tucked away in his garage.

For myself, I love the old Dirty Harry films, Clint’s from my hometown of Oakland, and at his age, still directs brilliant movies and I’m sold on watching Gran Torino on opening day. As of now, Gran Torino is in select theaters in New York and LA. Gran Torino’s national premiere is set for January 9th, 2009. Check it out.

As you watch the preview, funny enough, Clint Eastwood mutters, “Why do these Chinese has to move here?” as he watches his Hmong neighbors move in. More power to this blog’s theme, eh?

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