By APA Staff

Anil Kapoor joins 24, Justin Lin gets fast AND furious, and it's time to explore our Secret Identities. All this and more in the latest edition of News Bites.

Secret Identities is out!

Asian Americans may be underrepresented in comics, but in the new anthology, Secret Identities, Jeff Yang, Parry Shen, Keith Chow, and Jerry Ma gathered 66 top Asian American writers, artists, and comics professionals to create 26 novel stories that highlight Asian American superheroes. But Secret Identities is not only about action. According to Parry Shen, the managing editor of the anthology: "We wanted to use the conventions of the superhero comic book to expose the real face of the Asian American experience, usually hidden behind the mask of misperception and stereotype." Art director, Jerry Ma adds that this will be a great time to "showcase some of the amazing talent present in our community and unleash that talent to create the kinds of heroes we always wanted to be when we were kids." Secret Identities will be released on April 15th, and there will be a corresponding tour around the United States. For more information, click here. --Joyce Huang

Utada Hikaru to Break into the US Again
 
Apple's iTunes Store has begun offering Utada Hikaru's "Come Back to Me" music video for free in the United States. The song is the first single off This is the One, her English-language album that debuted on CD on March 14th. Utada joins a number of other artists from Asia that are trying to break into the American music scene, including BoA, Wonder Girls, and Se7en. Utada's debut album, 1999's First Love, is still Japan's bestselling album ever with about 8 million copies sold. Though she did very well in the Asian markets, her previous attempt to break into the American market a few years ago had results that were less than exceptional. This album will be Utada's second go in gaining more fans and popularity in the United States. --Kristie Hang
 

Anil Kapoor in 24
 
Anil Kapoor will be making a guest appearane on Kiefer Sutherland's hit show 24. Kapoor will play an Indian counter-terrorist cop who teams up with Jack Bauer from across the globe. While Kapoor is a household name in India, American audiences recently got a taste of his work in the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, where Kapoor plays the sneering Who Wants to Be A Millionaire game show host. The upcoming Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles in April will be honoring Kapoor and showing a selection of his films, including Lamhe and Virasat. --Ada Tseng

 
Go and Check out Japan Film Festival in LA

The second annual Japan Film Festival is here, and this year's program includes film such as The Sky Crawlers, Vacation, A Long Way, EVANGELION 1.0: You are (not) alone, and Toyo's Camera.  The Japan Film Festival of Los Angeles first started in 2003 as the Chanoma Film Festival. "Chanoma" centers on the idea of a cozy family gathering in the living room. Throughout the years, the festival has programmed a variety of genres. That's right: Japanese films are not limited to J-horror and anime. There will be a gamut of films from old and new to funny and scary. This year's festival will be held from April 10 to 16 For more information, visit here. --Joyce Huang

 
Roger Shimomura exhibit in Florida

Beginning on March 3 and ending on May 10, the Morikami Museum in Florida will be hosting the "Return of the Yellow Peril: A Survey of the Work of Roger Shimomura, 1969-2007" exhibit. Roger Shimomura, a third-generation Japanese American, combats racist stereotypes through his integration of ukiyo-e woodcut prints and American pop culture. 63 of his pieces are on exhibit, many of which utilize humor to satirize the term "yellow peril" and "yellow terror." The exhibition follows the change from a light-hearted tone to a serious critical tone of Shimomura's work, as he continued to face prejudice throughout his life. The juxtaposition of traditional Japanese art and modern American figures give Shimomura's work a captivating feel that still appeals to audiences today. --Megan Chun

Fast & Furious is back again

Fast & Furious is the fourth film in the Fast and the Furious film series. This film, however, is set between the second and third movies. The film will be released on April 3rd. The plot connects with the original film of the series, and Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, and Jordana Brewster will be reprising their previous roles. Korean band Dong Bang Shin Ki also has a song "Rising Sun" will be featured in the film in a chase scene with Paul Walker. After directing Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Taiwanese-American director Justin Lin is back to continue the car action franchise. --Kristie Hang

Asian American Showcase in Chicago

The 14th Asian American Showcase, presented by the Gene Siskel Film Center and the Foundation for Asian American Independent Media (FAAIM), is to take place in Chicago next week. Beginning on April 3rd with the "Encounter with Distance" art show and the showing of Harry Kim's Dirty Hands: The Art and Crimes of David Choe, the showcase will celebrate Asian American artists in film, music, literature and visual art. Over the course of two weeks, documentaries such as Yours Truly, Miss Chinatown, shorts such as Across the Cultural Divide and features such as Fruit Fly will be shown. Declare INDIEpendence!, a concert featuring Asian American music, which usually takes place during the July 4th weekend, collaborated with FAAIM to put together a lineup of musicians to perform on Wednesday, April 15th. Featuring musicians like Spark*Shop and Wallet-Sized Photo, FAAIM seeks to further incorporate other mediums of art besides film into the festival. The program for the two weeks, which includes many up and coming artists as well as distinguished artists boasting of Sundance and Toronto film festival awards, promises to be a celebration of the artists representing the Asian American community. --Megan Chun
 

Ken Oak officially adds Gorski to the title

"Ken Oak Band is now Oak and Gorski." The simple message continues to flash in big letters on the Myspace pages of Ken Oak and his fellow bandmate, Ed Gorski. Having begun their collaboration under the name "Ken Oak Band" back in 2004, the two have decided to change their name to Oak and Gorski, under which they have recently released their first album since 2006, Good Advice, Bad Advice. Known for their unconventional pairing of the guitar and cello, Ken Oak and Ed Gorski have created a signature sound, which highlights and accentuates Oak' s vocals. Unlike their previous albums, Symposium and Vienna to Venice, their newest album, produced by Will Golden and Al Sgro, presents a deeper sound, due to the incorporation of a full band. Having undergone a major name change and recorded a new album, the duo remain hopeful. On their website, they state: "This name best describes what we have become; a songwriting team that is interested in growing, experimenting in genres, and making the best music we know how to." Their album was released on March 26 and is available for purchase through their website here.  --Megan Chun 
 

Charice Going Hollywood With Alvin and The Chipmunks
 
The Filipina international superstar Charice will be playing a small a role in 20th Century Fox's Alvin and The Chipmunks 2, a live action-animation movie scheduled to be released tenatively in January 2010. Charice is reportedly thrilled over her first Hollywood project, even though it is a small part. Contrary to earlier reports that she will play the role of a female chipmunk in the movie, Charice was just asked to play herself. In the film, her chracter will represent her school in a singing contest. She will be singing Alicia Key's hit song, "No One," and she will be competing with other contestants, including Alvin and The Chipmunks. Charice was reportedly chosen for Alvin and The Chipmunks after the director saw her on Oprah. He really impressed with her performance, and she was asked to audition for the role by speaking like a chipmunk and singing two Beyoncé songs. --Kristie Hang

B.D. Wong speaks about diversity in the workplace

We know him best as the forensic psychiatrist George Huang from Law and Order Special Victims Unit, but Tony Award-winning B.D. Wong has ambitions beyond acting. This past week, B.D. Wong was the featured speaker at the 11th annual "Respecting Differences" diversity event themed "From Exclusion to Inclusion." Sponsored by seven Kalamazoo organizations in Michigan, the event helped to raise awareness of diversity in the workplace. Since 2003, Wong became open about his sexuality as an Asian American gay actor. In an interview Wong states, "I've actually been able to draw parallels between my experiences as an ethnic minority and experiences as a gay person and as an American, and that actually enriches my remarks." The "Respecting Differences" free event was held on March 31 and April 1 in the Kalamazoo area. --LiAnn Ishizuka 
 

Published: Friday, April 3, 2009