Rapper Azuré dropped a music video for his single “As The Globe Spins” from his mixtape “Illusions Of Oasis”. It offers a unique blend of hip hop and soul. The kickback track talks about the dreams Azuré has for his career. We love the vibe and flow coming off the song. So chill.
Listen to the full track below:
Look for more from Azuré coming soon. He’s part of the Cable Car Stars.
As The Globe Spins by Azuré
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The film Touch is just getting its start on the film festival circuit. The movie follows an unexpected friendship between A Vietnamese manicurist and an American mechanic in modern Los Angeles. Here’s a synopsis:
At V.I.P. Nails, a Vietnamese manicurist named Tam has a new customer: Brendan, a shy mechanic who literally has a problem on his hands. He can never get rid of the oil stains around his nails, and when he tries to be intimate with his aloof wife, she always rejects him with the same excuse: “Your hands are filthy!” Desperately seeking to save his marriage, Brendan goes to the nail salon every day, where Tam does more than scrub his hands clean. She also offers him advice on how to get his wife to love him again. But soon, Tam and Brendan find themselves drawn to each other, an attraction which becomes harder and harder to resist.
This sensual film explores the sense of touch and its emotional impact — how with just a simple touch, we can reveal our deepest longings, give the utmost pleasure to others and even heal a wounded soul.
Touch is written and directed by Minh Duc Nguyen. The movie stars Porter Lynn, John Ruby, Melinda Bennett, Long Nguyen and Hiep Thi Le. Look for it at a festival near you.
Touch Trailer
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In this clip of Touch, Brendan tells Tam the reason why he’s going to the nail salon after work.
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updated Touch Trailer
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Director Jon M. Chu was the opening keynote at Connected Creativity. He gives an interesting overview of his filmmaking career. Although his name was attached to various projects early on, his big break was when he did “The Biggest Online Dance Battle in YouTube History.” From his experience with the ACDC vs M&M Cru and understanding you can control both sides of the storyline, Jon M. Chu developed the LXD series. Before the full series was developed, he had to scrap together some proof of concept videos to see that would happen. Although he has no dance background, Jon was able to learn and create something unique. Listen to his perspectives on how dance and film work together to tell a story.
In addition to camera work, the director delves into how technology is changing the way filmmakers interact with fans. He talks about using twitter, reacting to fans requests, getting fans involved in the project, and delivering products that fans want. With the Internet, anyone has the ability to create compelling stories and get it to “pop”. It’s a fascinating discussion on his groundbreaking work in dance & music films.
Director Jon M. Chu’s story doesn’t end there. Recently, it was announced that he will directing the sequel to G.I. Joe. Here’s what he stated on twitter:
My whole life I have been obsessed w/action figures. I collected them, I played with them. They made my childhood a giant crazy, fun world. From HeMan, to TMNT, to MASK, to goBots, to Voltron, to WWF figurines to M.U.S.C.LE. men…these were the things that trained my imagination. I am convinced I feel in love with storytelling because of my week long adventures with my toys… in the trees, on the slide, in the pool..&my favorite of these toys were my G.I. Joes. Snake, Storm, Duke, Barbecue Cobra Bazooka..when I hear those names I can taste my childhood. So I feel humbled and blessed to be joining forces with Paramount and Hasbro in a new adventure that i would love for all of u to join me o
You can read more about Jon M. Chu and his thoughts on G.I. Joe 2 here. As he states in the interview “Do Not Let My Inexperience Be The Thing That Holds This Movie Back”.
Director Jon M. Chu keynote at Connected Creativity
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From April 28 – May 5 , 2011, the 2011 Newport Beach Film Festival will showcase over 350 films from across the globe and host a wide array of multicultural events. Celebrated as Orange County’s premiere film event, the Newport Beach Film Festival attracts over 51,000 attendees from around the world who come together to experience the ultimate cinematic experience along the pristine coastline of Southern California.
Each year the Newport Beach Film Festival hosts nightly international spotlight events at Fashion Island. The Asian Showcase (May 2, 2011) will pay homage to the film industry and celebrate the extensive Asian history and culture whose influence has inspired many aspects of art across all mediums. The evening will feature three film screenings, followed by a gala celebration of Asian film, food and culture. In 2011, the Festival will spotlight three films from China, Korea, and Japan, which include Go Lola Go!, Harmony, and Redline. Here’s more about each film:
Go Lala Go – Buy tickets
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Lala is a hardworking young woman who gets an entry level position at a Beijing company and slowly learns the ins and outs of the business world. As she starts moving up the corporate ladder she becomes involved in an illicit relationship with a co-worker. This soon becomes something that tests both of them and their resolve to either work or romance.
Harmony – Buy Tickets
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At the time of her arrest, Jeong-hye was pregnant and ended up giving birth to her son in prison. Moon Ok was a collegiate musical professor but is now on death row for committing a crime caused by the abuse of her husband and mother-in-law. Jeon-hye makes a deal with the warden to form a choral group in order to spend one day outside with her son. Under the direction of Moon Ok, the women of the prison must put aside their differences and come together to form a successful choir.
Redline – Buy Tickets
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Rev your engines, adrenaline junkies! Redline is a new feature from famed Madhouse studios that reunites animator Takeshi Koike (Ninja Scroll, Animatrix) with his long-time collaborator Katushito Ishii, who is the genius behind Funky Forest: The First Contact. This meeting of warped minds results in a mind-melting psychedelic assault that is easily the wildest animated Japanese film to surface in years.
Every five years, top drivers from across the universe participate in an underground racing competition to see who is the best of them all. The final stage in the competition is called Redline. The race isn’t just about driving skills ― it is about heavily modified cars with nitroglycerin boosters, crazy weapons, and robot appendages. This year, the competition is set to occur (illegally) on Roboworld, a bizarre militaristic planet whose leaders looks like they stepped out of a Jack Kirby comic book.
Here’s an interesting short film showing how two generations of Chinese Americans experience Lunar New Year. We love how the activities are seemingly different, but essentially the same. There may be difference in how they approach things like getting together with friends, reading the latest news, and exercising, but in the end they’re still celebrating Chinese New Year. It’s a nice piece to bridge the generational gap.
Chinese American Lunar New Year Experience
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As the Boston University Filipino Student Association’s “ISA: The World is One” event got underway, the event’s featured performer, Andrew Garcia, was in his dressing room, good- naturedly laughing, “I wonder if they know I’m not Filipino?”
Garcia, a singer/songwriter out of Moreno Valley, California and a Top 10 finalist on Season 9 of American Idol, is Hispanic. But for many different reasons, including his YouTube collaborations with many other performers in the APA community, including fellow singer/songwriter and good friend AJ Rafael, he is often mistaken for being Filipino. He takes the mix-
up in stride and is more than willing to praise the community that “adopted him” as one of their own.
“Mexicans and Asians are the same, you know,” said Garcia, whose fiancé is Filipino, “very family-oriented and with a lot of love and support for good talent. It’s really cool to just be embraced by the culture.”
Garcia, who has collaborated with APA performers like AJ Rafael, Cathy Nguyen, and Lydia Paek, credits his network of collaborators to shows featuring YouTube entertainers and sharing connections with his friends. His focus is on the “jamming” and creating fresh music through blending the talents and passions of other performers.
It’s this dedication to the art form, and not necessarily the fame that comes with it, that helped make Garcia successful during his run on American Idol. After the preliminary rounds on the show, Garcia and the other contestants were kept in an “Idol bubble” and were only allowed to practice for their performances and to promote the “Idol” campaign. Because of this policy, he said that it was easy to focus only on the performance and the judges’ reaction, and not the 30 million viewers tuning in each show. He said that it wasn’t until the first time he ran into TMZ snapping pictures of the contestants out shopping that he realized how big of a deal his appearance on the show actually was. He remained focused on making the most of his “crazy” opportunity until his elimination on April 14, 2010.
The effects of that experience, however, are far from over. He is back to collaborating with fellow performers, adding the lessons he learned from “Idol” and the fan base he garnered from the show to the communal jam session. He is also working on his first album, due out on June 7th.
But despite all of this success, he still believes that one of the best parts of being a musician is being able to inspire others with his talent. He welcomes his opportunity to serve as a role model for others – no matter what ethnicity they believe him to be.
“Music has no color,” he said. “Whether people want to bring together different parts of Asia or all different cultures to make good music and have a good time, it really doesn’t matter.”
Andrew Garcia talks about being “adopted” by the APA community
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