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Amy and her daughter Aubrey, 2008.
Filmmaker Eddie Chung (second from right) delves into the hype surrounding The Big Lebowski, the 1998 comedy often dubbed as the “first cult film of the internet age.” 
The groom and his men jumped for joy (in fancy custom-designed white Puma sneakers, no less!) From left to right: John Lee (C.S.’s brother), Ryan McVay (best man), C.S., Eric Scott Gould and Doug Hong. Photo by Studio Q.
ALL THE RAGE
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KOREAM REWIND
BLOG
Last Saturday, the who’s who of the KA community came together at the Park Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles for KoreAm’s annual gala, Unforgettable. Celebrities and fans alike were rubbing elbows and enjoying prime rib by Lawry’s as well as the endless flow of soju/Johnnie Walker during the awards ceremony and performances. Some highlights:
MC and Funnywoman Amy Anderson singing a song for the sponsors, accompanied by Big Phony himself, Bobby Choy.
Sandra Oh and Daniel Henney presenting Ken Jeong with the Achievement Award in Entertainment. Daniel Dae Kim also received the award, as well as Janice Min for her achievements in journalism.
The winner for KoreAm’s first video contest was announced. Director Andrew Oh accepting the award for “Gochu”.
The audience was mesmerized by the dance moves of the world class b-boy crew, Last For One. Lena Park and Priscilla Ahn also graced the stage with their beautiful voices.
The after party was when things really started to get crackin’. The newlyweds, C.S. Lee from Dexter and Lara Cho.
Sandra Oh getting down on the dance floor with the Drama Fo’ Yo Mama Contest winner, Andrew Oh.
More images to come, but check out the red carpet coverage here.
By Lola Pak
“Transylmania,” which opens on Dec. 4, is a film about a group of college students that embark on their wildest, sexiest, most outrageous semester abroad ever at Razvan University. We caught up with Paul H. Kim, who plays Wang.
Tell me about “Transylmania.”
For me, “Transylmania,” is very much like riding this fun roller-coaster with lots of twists and turns. There are some pretty outrageous things that happen in the film. And on this ride are a bunch of college kids that apply to every study abroad program looking for adventure and excitement, but get denied by all of them except for this one known as Razvan U, located in the heart of Transylvania. However, unbeknownst to us, Razvan U is riddled with vampires, a castle freak, and a maniacal dean hell bent on finding happiness for his daughter, though his methods are seriously questionable. To sum it up, we try to keep our cool, have a lot of fun, and not lose our heads.
Your character, Wang, is essentially a pothead in college. Any similarities with your own college experience?
Haha. I wish there were more similarities. Especially when it comes to my hairdo. My hair is pretty wild in the film. And that was inspired by the bride of Frankenstein. When I was back in school, I was so consumed with graduating on time and with my fellow classmates. My senior year I had two 20-unit-plus quarters on top of working on plays and rehearsals. I was literally in school five days a week starting at 8 a.m. and wouldn’t be finished on most nights till 11 p.m., with few or little breaks in between, and seven days if you count performing plays on the weekend. I still have nightmares about it. I have this recurring nightmare where I realize I’m a couple credits shy of graduating and I have to go back. EEK!
Fans outside the Grauman Chinese Theatre at last Thursday’s Ninja Assassin premiere
KoreAm’s Sophia Kim filed this report, and Elizabeth Kim the photos above, from last Thursday’s Hollywood premiere of Ninja Assassin, starring Rain:
Hundreds of giddy fans of all ages lined Hollywood Boulevard across from the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre last Thursday night, hoping to catch a glimpse, and maybe press the flesh, of the South Korean pop idol, Rain. It was a night that many die-hard Clouds (as Rain fans are called) had been anticipating for months—the Los Angeles premiere of Ninja Assassin, a martial arts action film in which “Bi,” as he is called in Korean, plays the lead role.
Paulina Yeung, one of the artist’s many international fans, said she flew in from Hong Kong just for the premiere. “I want to support Rain, to be here for him,” said Yeung, a retired government worker who wouldn’t give her age, but revealed she has a college-aged daughter. “Him being Asian, I am so proud of him.”
In Ninja Assassin, Rain plays Raizo, an orphan who is trained by the secret-society Ozunu Clan to become a deadly assassin. He later seeks revenge against the clan when his female friend is executed by the group’s leader, played by legendary martial arts performer Sho Kosugi. Produced by the Wachowski brothers of The Matrix triology and directed by James McTeigue, who directed V for Vendetta, Ninja Assassin opens nationwide and around the world on Wednesday. The film also features several Korean American actors, including Rick Yune, Sung Kang and Randall Duk Kim.
But, at Ninja Assassin’s Los Angeles premiere, much of the fan attention focused on Rain. Screaming females greeted the star who arrived around 6:30 p.m, looking quite GQ in a dark gray pin-striped suit and a solid magenta-colored tie. His short hair stylishly tousled at the top, the superstar took off his shades and broke into a broad smile. Much to the delight of his fans, he walked across the street to shake hands and sign autographs.
“It was a dream come true,” Rain would later say during an interview at Yamashiro Restaurant in Hollywood, two days after the premiere. “Wow, so many people! I thought, ‘Wow, am I popular in Hollywood?’ It was amazing.”
Check out more from the premiere and from KoreAm’s interview with Rain in our December issue!
Among the incredible group of women — including Michelle Obama, Stella McCartney and Rihanna — named as the 2009 Women of the Year by Glamour Magazine are Euna Lee and Laura Ling. The journalists endured the horrific ordeal of being arrested for stepping into North Korean territory, thrown into jail, and held captive for 140 days.
Along with being featured as one of Glamour’s Women of the Year, Euna Lee has been offered a six-figure book deal to write a memoir of the experience tentatively titled The World is Bigger Now: A Memoir of Faith, Family and Freedom.
Anissa Mayhew is a popular mom blogger who recently had a stroke and is fighting for her life. Her husband writes about her condition. The news comes to the shock and sadness of the online community.
The 35-year-old Atlanta mom chronicled her daughter’s battle with leukemia on a blog called Hope4Peyton. Peyton is now cancer-free.
I’ve had just a few online encounters with Anissa. A while back, someone had tweeted that his only two Asian Twitter followers were myself and @AnissaMayhew. Suddenly, @AnissaMayhew started following me. So I followed her. She would reply to some of my tweets with hilariously snarky comments. When it came to life circumstances, I didn’t have a whole lot in common with her (she’s a mother of three in Georgia; I’m an unmarried twenty-something in Los Angeles), but I knew I liked her. Everyone does. Just read the 200+ blog posts cheering her on. Or search the Twitter hashtag #prayersforanissa.
I send my support to Anissa and her family. Here are ways that you can help.
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