March 28, 2008 by me.

Along with our 5 leads I should have given a shout out long time ago to our supporting actors, who graciously gave of their time and talent:

Christine Bunuan as Miel

Ghuon ‘Max’ Chung as the Karaoke Singer

Jared Beckley as Ivan

Young Kim as Jamie (cameo).

Because without their help, our “Wingmen” universe would have been sparse indeed!

Thanks, y’all!

Posted in Chicago, Asian American men, Television, Asian Cinema, Wingmen | No Comments »

March 20, 2008 by me.

…when real life intrudes and plans go slower than one hopes. I’ll try not to harp on that, I know this is a retread and even I’m tired of having to write this, but real life is real life and much as I would otherwise, that alas can’t be denied (there must be a song in there somewhere….;-)

Meanwhile, on a re-view of our as-yet singly posted clip and thinking to myself, as soon as the remaster is done, we’ll finally be able to replace it with a downloaded version (and the sound and picture quality) will be so much better! We’re grateful to Rob for snipping a clip for us from the DVD copy (so we could at least have something to show, back in December); as for those of you with DVD copies of the entire pilot, thanks for your help in helping us to produce the show (and most especially) for respecting our copyright!

Posted in Chicago, Asian American men, Television, Asian Cinema, Wingmen | No Comments »

March 14, 2008 by me.

One of the challenges of low-budget producing for a one-camera location sitcom (as opposed to a four-camera on set sitcom) is that sometimes the location one imagines for a scene falls through, or perhaps never even materializes. This was especially true for our pilot “Bubble Tea and Sympathy” when, due to scheduling and availability (we had a hard time persuading the business we had in mind that shooting at their establishment would be a help to the community and also great for their business), we needed to change the location of this particular scene from a pool hall to the karaoke place.

In the process, we lost some things but we gained some things too. Anyway here is how this scene would have played, had things worked out:

Int. Pool hall — Day

(We see Richard lining up a shot.)

Richard: Six ball in the side pocket.

(He sinks it in.)

Aaron: Lucky shot.

Richard: Sure. If you count practicing four hours after school everyday for six months being lucky.

Aaron: You really expect me to believe that?

Richard: Believe what you want. I’m not stopping you.

(Cut to shot of Richard sinking another ball.)

Aaron: But I am stopping myself — is that it?

Richard: All I’m saying is you should be grabbing life by the collar before it collars you.

Aaron: Pithy saying.

Richard: Got it from a fortune cookie.

Aaron: Figures.

Richard: Aaron, about that girl –

Aaron: What girl?

Richard: You know. Her. You should go for it.

Aaron: Right.

Richard: I mean it. You should ask her out.

Aaron: And do what?

Richard: Take her for a walk along the lake. Invite her for a bike ride. Or maybe –

(He shoots and misses.)

[Grins] — shoot some pool.

Aaron: Maybe. I don’t know.

Richard: Aaron, we’ve been friends a long time.

Aaron: Since before you and Jamie –

Richard: Yeah. And you owe it to her to get out there and, you know, tread the waters a bit.

(Cut to shot of Aaron walking around the table.)

Aaron: Funny. I should be asking you that. She was your wife.

Richard: And she was your sister.

Aaron: (Lining up the shot) And if Jamie was here, she’d be rolling her eyes and snapping her tea towel –

Richard: Yes, and saying: “What are doing waiting for, a solar eclipse? Get a move on and –”

Richard/Aaron: “– got for it already!”

Aaron sinks the eight ball, by mistake.

Aaron: Two out of three.

Richard: You’re on.

As for the remastering process, I’m afraid I have to tell you that we’re still in post-post-production (I know, it’s taking longer than any of us thought) — still I can say that as of March 1st that we’re about 60% done.

In the meantime, you do have this scene (as originally envisioned) to mull over. And when we’re finally done with the remastering, you’ll have the luxury of comparing and contrasting the script with the actual footage, as an example of how real world constraints can affect the tone and feeling of a show, from concept to shooting and the final (or maybe not so final) cut..!

Posted in Chicago, Asian American men, Television, Asian Cinema, Wingmen | No Comments »

March 13, 2008 by me.

Thought I’d throw something out into cyberspace and see what might come back…

For years (more like decades and dare I say it, a century even) we’ve shuddered from the negative stereotypes about Asian Americans, the “positive” stereotypes (i.e. Model Minority myths, etc.) and other so-called attempts to define who we are as a group. We’ve expressed on many occasions what we don’t like and at times wished for the types of depictions we’d like instead, or at least, in defense of those by which we’ve been offended.

So my question to you all is: what types of (specific and original) depictions and scenarios do we really want to see on the networks? To run to instead of running away from? Thankfully, I’ve seen a few in this truncated season (so I know there’s hope), but what else can we present and throw-into-the-mix that the networks haven’t seen (or thought of just yet)?

In my mind, that’s where our innovation of thought should come from. Presenting ideas and perceptions to help the networks catch up in their views of us for the 21st century…

Assertiveness, okay!!

Posted in Chicago, Asian American men, Television, Asian Cinema, Wingmen | No Comments »