Last night there was a zoo-like atmosphere at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.
As I predicted in a post last week, Sci-Fi film buffs descended in droves on the CGV Theatre in Hollywood to catch a sneak preview of “Battleship” slated for wide-screen release May 18th.
Two other flicks on the program also attracted sell-out crowds which – not only filled the tiny lobby to capacity – but also caused some frustration and a lot of mayhem.
For example, in spite of the fact festival organizers should have known large crowds were expected, they elected to assign an inexperienced handler (usher?) to monitor the passageways.
Consequently, the guests were confronted with some rude insulting behavior.
For example, instead of politely directing ticket holders to form an orderly line near the wall, on occasion, the overzealous jerk grabbed the startled guests by the arm and shoved them out of the way.
I was surprised that someone didn’t punch him!
Who wants to be manhandled by a tall geeky-looking guy with bad skin?
After witnessing his shocking misconduct – which drew attention to his bad manners and lack of people skills – it was obvious to me that he was better-suited to scrub out the toilets and mop down the restroom floors.
It’s all in the details.
The Los Angeles Asian Pacific film staff work hard to lure filmgoers in the doors of the Theatre, then blow it, when they hire idiots who don’t know how to treat a guest at their festival events.
Hopefully, as the festival winds down this week, the higher-ups will rectify the problem.
That issue aside, the night went off without a hitch, for the most part.
In fact, the night air was electrically-charged because of all the excitement that was being generated on the red carpet.
As the frenzied paparazzi jockeyed for position, high-profile actors in the Asian American film community primped and posed and uttered up their thoughts on the films premiering to all within earshot.
Everyone was pretty-much hyped-up over the screening of:
UPLOADED: THE ASIAN AMERICAN MOVEMENT
The much-ballyhooed documentary focuses on the current phenomenon of Asian American actors emerging into the mainstream across the country with a big splash.
A handful of performers – featured in the insightful piece – were trotted out to chat up the media (such as AJ Raphael, Mike Song, Bing Shen, to name a few).
I managed to capture some footage as they trotted by and ran the gauntlet:
http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_edit?ns=1&video_id=lJ-1G168KKc
http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_edit?ns=1&video_id=Rg3lJYXEH88
http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_edit?ns=1&video_id=a0SoGFcAJjI
Tattler readers may recall that I penned a post on the subject last week.
Of course, I am quite familiar with the issues, and have been for quite a few years.
One of my first agents in Hollywood (who I later worked as a rep for) boasted an impressive roster of minority talent types at the SAG FRANCHISED theatrical agency.
I recall perusing the casting posts from “Breakdown Services” daily - and noting at the time - that roles for Asian Americans tended to be stereotypical.
The actors would often breeze into the office and lament their plight.
In the documentary one actress said it quite succinctly.
“I was always the token Asian,” she grimaced.
One performer that was interviewed on-camera for the documentary was ecstatic over the fact the “Asian” image has been radically-changing in recent days.
“Oh, you’re Asian, that’s so cool,” he recalled a contact on a social hub commenting.
Another quipped:
“Now if you say you’re Asian, people think you can dance,” he chuckled.
“And, there’s nothing feminine about that,” he was quick to note on the uptake.
At this point, a video clip of a well-muscled macho Asian American dancer splashed across the screen to stress the point.
Kevjumba fessed up about his humble beginnings on YouTube, too.
“I wasn’t very popular. And, I didn’t have any friends. So, I signed up to YouTube to connect with some,” he beamed.
His first performance was a clip of himself dancing hip-hop in the backyard.
Within a short while he built up a following.
In fact, one night a video of his went viral, and overnight he racked up 1/2 million hits.
The kid has never looked back since.
Uh-huh!
The Asian American actor has come a long way, baby!
By the way, tonight the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival is tossing their closing night GALA.
"Joyful Reunion" will screen at the CGV Theatre in Hollywood ( at Western & Wilshire).
Over the next few days, film buffs can catch repeats of films they missed earlier on in the Fest, as well.
And, for the first time, a handful of flicks will be screened at a third venue in Long Beach.
So, for folks who don't want to have to take the long trek up to LA LA LAND from the Beach Cities, the venue is downright appealing.
See 'ya there!
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