Pin-Up Boys
Chiseled abs, glistening hunks. Did we mention this a charity project? The 2010 Asian Pacific Male Calendar features 12 shirtless actors and models–including KAs Yul Kwon, Christopher Kim and Ji Han–while benefiting the Asian Pacific Health Care Venture, a community center that provides medical services in over ten different languages. ($15, www.aphcv.org)
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It’s been awhile since Yul Kwon–and his six pack–graced the cover of KoreAm and indeed, he has moved on from his Survivor Cook Islands days. In fact, the Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski just announced the appointment of Yul Kwon as Deputy Chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau.
In an email he sent, Yul writes:
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Ktown Cowboys, a webseries-cum-feature film directed by Daniel “DPD” Park, pays homage to the soju-laced frontier known as Los Angeles Koreatown. Oliver Saria talks to the director and cast behind the award-winning movie—a crew not too different from the raucous party-hoppers they charmingly portray.
By Oliver Saria
Photographs by Eric Sueyoshi
It’s a warm June evening at Café Bleu in Los Angeles Koreatown, and outside, Red Devils have started lurking the streets. South Korea and Argentina will later duke it out in Jo-burg at 4 in the freaking morning, but until then, I’m sharing a round of drinks with the guys behind Ktown Cowboys—a new web series/film about partying in Ktown (think The Hangover with Asian dudes). While I order some booze for director Daniel “DPD” Park, writer and co-star Danny Cho, and co-stars Lanny Joon, Sunn Wee, Peter “Pedro” Jae and Bobby “Big Phony” Choy, I’m secretly hoping we’ll end up at a booking club, then in a fistfight, then at a noraebang with a group of Ktown hotties—just like in the movie. But tonight, the guys aren’t in the mood to tilt back shots. They have to pace themselves in order to stay awake for the soccer game. Plus, Danny’s got gout.
Not quite the start I was hoping for.
Perhaps it’s unfair to expect these guys to re-create the scenes of their movie, but damn, who wouldn’t want that kind of night? And, as a Bay Area native, I do feel a bit like the film’s primary character, John—a young Virginia transplant whose introduction to Ktown culture results in a raucous evening of (mis)adventures, busting balls, revelry, fights, food, booze and beautiful women. Sounds like a blast, doesn’t it? The film did such an effective job of selling that image it garnered Park the “Best First Feature” award at this year’s Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. Now, Park’s debut is chopped into individual webisodes available on YouTube, where viewers aren’t exactly shy about talking smack.
So who are these guys—really? Peter’s Bronx accent is legit, and though his meathead movie persona is an exaggeration, he did just come from his job as a bouncer at a dive bar in Echo Park. Bobby is as thoughtful and soft-spoken as his character, Robert. Danny’s acerbic wit cuts like the professional comedian that he is. Lanny’s leading-man swagger drops intermittently to laugh when Danny cracks on him. And Sunn (aka Sunny) shares his character’s low-key confidence, except now he’s decked in geek-chic hipster glasses and a red Manchester United tee. Despite their insistence that the characters are based on Ktown archetypes and not autobiographical per se, the movie undeniably hews closely to real-life. And that closeness—to the film, to the community, to their homies—is evident throughout the interview.
Danny Cho (DC), the film’s writer, plays Danny, a foul-mouthed smartass who likes to bust chops.
Bobby Choy (BC) plays Robert, the sensitive one. His friends think he’s “a pussy.”
Peter Jae (PJ) plays Peter, a belligerent, confrontational meathead who pulls his shirt off before every fight.
Lanny Joon (LJ) plays John, a Virginia transplant who loses his Ktown V-card on his first night in L.A.
Sunn Wee (SW) plays Sunny, the wise, smooth talker. The undisputed leader of the crew.
Daniel Park (DPD), the film’s director.
Oliver Saria: When I heard this was a movie about Ktown, I thought: gangsters, crime, dark underbelly. You guys went in a completely different direction.
Daniel “DPD” Park: We were more interested in just depicting Ktown like the way we see it. We wanted to capture some of the funnier moments that we’ve experienced here.
Danny Cho: You know that fight [from the film]? That happened to me a lot at that same spot.
OS: So are the characters based on you guys?
DPD: People that I knew growing up in this area, they knew people like that. There’s that one guy who always gets into fights and literally takes off his shirt before he fights. I’m not kidding. And I’ve had several friends hit me up after watching episode 6 saying, “Yo, my friend was exactly like that! At the same spot!”
DC: [Peter, who plays a meathead in the film] is not really a meathead.
OS: [To Peter] But there’s the presumption that you’re really like that.
Peter “Pedro” Jae: People are [saying], “Oh, this is horrible acting.” I’m like, “Motherf-cker, do you know me?!” [He then pops out of his seat, flexes his muscles and glowers at an unseen adversary. For a moment, I fear for my life.]
PJ: Naw, I’m just playing.
DPD: [Peter] has a fashion degree.
PJ: I used to design clothes. I’m nothing like that meathead guy.
OS: How about Sunn’s character?
Sunn Wee: When I read Danny’s script for the first time, I was kinda nervous because the lines were just way too cool. The character’s too cool for me.
DC: To be honest, I knew that he could do it. He’s not like [his character] Sunny in the sense that he’s too smooth, but he is smooth. You know what I mean? Just in a different way—a very Korean way.
DPD: He does well with women.
DC: He’s a pimp.
OS: You’re just like a low-key, undercover pimp?
SW: Just call me the goofy-pimp. Call me the gimp.
DC: I’m the gimp.
DPD: But Sunn gets the ladies, man. You know what, though? We also wanted to do a lot of blending. So Bobby is a singer, and his character is a singer. Danny is a comedian; his character is a comedian.
PJ: I’m really an asshole.
…
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Featured Event
In honor of Chuseok, a widely celebrated harvest-oriented Korean holiday, the University of Southern California’s Korean Studies Institute will host a “Chuseok Festival” on Sept. 17. Following a drum performance, lunch will be served. Free and open to all. (college.usc.edu/ksi)
Projekt NewSpeak
Projekt NewSpeak presents the 4th annual NewSpeak SLAM! Confirmed artists/musical guests for the spoken word showcase include Beau Sia, Poetri, Ruby Ibarra, Connie Lim and Kristina Wong. Save the date: Sept. 25 at the Nate Holden Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles. (projektnewspeak.com) read more
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