Monthly Archives: September 2008

MTV Japanese game show host wanted

4 Replies

The Japanese game show import continues. We have seen ABC add Wipeout and I survived a Japanese Game show to their lineup over the summer. FOX recently added Hole in the Wall . This time on MTV takes a stab at a Japanese game show import.

MTV is searching for a host for a fun, Japanese game show pilot. They’re looking for outgoing, articulate, spirited males who appear to be between the ages of 21 – 35 and appear to be Japanese or of Japanese descent. Candidates must possess bold personalities and a devilish sense of humor.

People that exude a lot of enthusiasm, have wicked personalities, distinct styles and possess a unique charm on tape should apply ASAP. It is an amazing opportunity for the right talent, so please email nycastingteam@gmail.com with a headshot / pic and let them know why you’d be the perfect game show host. Must be well-versed in the English language. Union and non-union okay. Taping will be in New York. Television credits are not necessary. Improv / comedy backgrounds are a plus. There will be compensation.


UPDATE:

Zero Kazama – host of MTV Silent library

The new show for MTV is based on the hit Japanese game show, Gaki no Tsukai (Silent Library). Essentially, 6 friends get together in a library and have to perform hilarious tasks. The catch is you have to be quiet or you get kicked out of the library. The tasks are not dangerous, just funny. With each task you complete, you and your friends win money. For instance, you have to watch your friend perform karate with panty hose over his face. But you can’t laugh! Or one of you has to wear a “smelly helmet” for 1 minute and the rest of you can’t laugh.

Example of the MTV show based on Gaki no Tsukai (Silent Library)

Manoj

Leave a reply

MANOJ is a short documentary about the life and remarkable success of Indian-born standup comedian, Manoj Krishnamurthy. Manoj’s use of South Asian stereotypes has led to a growing fan base across the United States and has placed him on the edge of greater stardom. However, this begs the following questions: What happens in America when you’ll do whatever it takes for a laugh? What if you don’t care? Interviews with fans, fellow comedians, and a comedy club manager give us insight into the impact of Manoj’s comedy. MANOJ examines race and self-representation in standup comedy and the cost of uncritical, exploitative art. The short is directed by filmmaker Zia Mohajerjasbi.

You can also catch this short as part of the DC APA Film Festival.

Manoj

Manoj (extended version)

Mindy Kaling back in The Office

Leave a reply

Mindy Kaling plays the chatty and bubbly Kelly Kapoor on “The Office.” Kaling is also a writer/ producer on the show and has written several episodes, including “Hot Girl,” “The Dundies,” “Take Your Daughter to Work Day” and “The Injury.” “The Injury” is the recipient of the prestigious Media Access Award presented by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Prior to working on “The Office,” Kaling co-wrote and co-starred in the hit off-Broadway play “Matt & Ben,” which won the New York International Fringe Festival’s Best Play prize and went on to be a featured selection at the 2003 U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen. The play was on Rolling Stone’s Hot List and was listed as one of Time Magazine’s top ten theatrical events of 2003.

In film, Kaling was the object of Paul Rudd’s unwanted affections in Universal’s “The Forty Year-Old Virgin.” She has also been the object of Larry David’s unwanted affections in the hit HBO comedy series “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” Kaling can also be seen in the feature films “License to Wed” and “Unaccompanied Minors.”

Kaling was invited to be a guest writer on “Saturday Night Live” and is currently penning a sorority comedy for Fox Atomic. The film is based on her experiences at Dartmouth College.

She is from Cambridge, Massachusetts and currently resides in Los Angeles. In the past few months Mindy Kaling was spotted on the Late Show and at the Emmys.

Catch The Office on Thursdays on NBC.

Watch the first episode of Season 5 of The Office

White Rabbit Candy and Chinese Milk pulled

Leave a reply

As of September 25, 2008, the FDA testing of milk based products imported into the United States from China has not found melamine contamination. The classic candy favorite of Chinatowns around the world are seeing White Rabbit Candy banned. It is also affecting the US.

The FDA is working with regulatory agencies in other countries. The New Zealand Food Safety Authority reports that its testing of White Rabbit Creamy Candies has shown melamine contamination at high levels. In light of the widespread contamination of milk and milk-based products in China and the New Zealand Food Safety Authority’s finding, the FDA recommends that consumers not eat White Rabbit Creamy Candy and that retailers and foodservice operations remove the product from sale or service.
To date, the FDA is not aware of any illnesses in the United States stemming from consumption of either White Rabbit Creamy Candy.

White Rabbit Candy and Mr. Brown instant coffee and milk tea products recalled

On September 12, 2008, in light of reports from China of melamine contaminated infant formula, the FDA issued a Health Information Advisory to assure the American public that there is no known threat of contamination in infant formula manufactured by companies that have met the requirements to sell such products in the United States. That advisory also warned members of Chinese communities in the United States that infant formula manufactured in China, possibly available for purchase at Asian markets, could pose a risk to infants.

The FDA had contacted the companies who manufacture infant formula for distribution in the United States and received, from the companies, information that they are not importing formula or sourcing milk-based materials from China.

At the same time, the FDA—in conjunction with state and local officials—began a nation-wide investigation to check Asian markets for Chinese manufactured infant formula that may have been brought into the United States. In particular, this effort focused on areas of the country with large Chinese communities, such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and New York. To date, investigators have visited more than 1,400 retail markets and have not found Chinese infant formula present on shelves in these markets.

The FDA also advises consumers not to purchase infant formula manufactured in China from Internet sites or from other sources.

The FDA has taken, and will continue to take, proactive measures to help ensure the safety of the American food supply. In conjunction with state and local officials, the FDA will continue to check Asian markets for food items that are imported from China and that could contain a significant amount of milk or milk proteins. In addition, the FDA has broadened its domestic and import sampling and testing of milk-derived ingredients and finished food products containing milk, such as candies, desserts, and beverages that could contain these ingredients from Chinese sources. Milk-derived ingredients include whole milk powder, non-fat milk powder, whey powder, lactose powder, and casein.

Chinese dairy products banned amid fears over a widening tainted milk scandal

Sandra Oh back on Grey’s Anatomy

1 Reply

The Emmy Award nominated Sandra Oh returns to Season 5 of Grey’s Anatomy as Cristina Yang. If you missed it yesterday, you can see the entire first episode here. Catch Grey’s Anatomy with Sandra Oh on Thursday nights on ABC.

Here’s more about Sandra Oh:

Born and raised in Ottawa, Canada, Sandra Oh started ballet lessons at the age of four and performed in her first play, The Canada Goose, at the age of ten. She started working professionally at age sixteen in television, theatre and commercials.

After three years at the prestigious National Theatre School of Canada, she beat out more than 1000 other hopefuls and landed the coveted title role in the CBC telefilm, The Diary of Evelyn Lau, based on the true story of a tortured poet who ran away from home and ended up a drug addict and prostitute in Vancouver. Her performance brought her a Gemini (Canada’s Emmy) nomination for Best Actress and the 1994 Cannes FIPA d’Or for Best Actress.

Oh won her first Genie (Canada’s Oscar) for her leading role in Double Happiness, a bittersweet coming-of-age story about a young Chinese-Canadian woman. She moved to Los Angeles in 1996 to begin the first of six seasons as Rita Wu, the smart and sassy assistant on the HBO comedy series, Arli$$, for which she won a Cable Ace Award for Best Actress in a Comedy. Additional television credits include HBO’s Six Feet Under and Showtime’s Further Tales of the City. She has been nominated for multiple Emmy Awards and won a Golden Globe Award (Best Actress in a Supporting Role), a Screen Actors Guild Award (Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series) and a Diversity Award (2005 Creative Liberty Award) for her portrayal of Cristina on Grey’s Anatomy.

On the big screen Oh can be seen in the films The Night Listener, 3 Needles and For Your Consideration. She starred in Sideways (for which she received a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture), Hard Candy and Sorry Haters. Other feature films include Under the Tuscan Sun with Diane Lane, Dancing at the Blue Iguana, Rick, Bean, Guinevere, The Red Violin, Waking the Dead, The Princess Diaries, Pay or Play and Long Life, Happiness and Prosperity. For Last Night, a Canadian film about the end of the world, Oh won her second Genie Award for Best Actress.

In 2006 Oh starred in the play Satellites at New York’s Public Theater for playwright Diana Son, and received both Drama Desk and Drama League nominations for her performance. She starred additionally in the world premieres of Son’s Stop Kiss, for which she received a Theatre World Award, and Jessica Hagedorn’s Dogeaters at the La Jolla Playhouse. She was also seen in The Vagina Monologues in New York.

Oh resides in Los Angeles.

See the latest highlights on Grey’s Anatomy with Sandra Oh

American Pastime airing on ESPN Classic

Leave a reply

ESPN Classic will televise Reel Classics: American Pastime, a film set in the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah during the Japanese American internment during World War II — Friday, September 26, at 9 pm. The 2007 film depicts life for the thousands staying inside the Japanese internment camps and demonstrates how baseball became one of the main diversions for the internees. You can catch up-and-coming actors like Aaron Yoo and Leonardo Nam in this movie.

American Pastime Synopsis:

Powerful story about the dramatic impact WWII had in the home-front as Japanese American families were uprooted from their every day lives and placed into internment camps in Western US in the early 1940’s. Faced with a country that now doubted their loyalty and struggling with their new situation they turn to baseball as a way to handle their plight and find the strength to stand up for themselves becoming a true symbol of honor and pride.

If you miss the movie on TV, you can buy the American Pastime DVD

American Pastime Trailer