Can Chris Nolan Have His Oscar Now?

Since Oscar royally screwed the pooch in '09 when it totally snubbed The Dark Knight for Best Pic and Best Director noms, the Academy gets a chance to right a wrong this year if it gives Nolan his due for the mind-blowingly phenomenonal Inception. Seriously, I think this movie has a good chance to sweep the nominations when Oscar season descends upon Hollywood. For starters, people are still shocked that The Dark Knight was shut out of all the major categories save for Best Supporting Actor thanks to Heath Ledger's criminal-to-ignore performance as the Joker. But Director? Nope. Picture? Nada. I mean, it only grossed a billion dollars and everything. So why should it be recognized, right?

Anyway, since the Academy loves giving out make-up Oscars (see Pacino's Scent of a Woman win or Russell Crowe's Gladiator victory), it should finally give Chris Nolan a seat at the grown-up's table.

What other categories, besides Best Pic and Director, do I think Inception has a shot at? I'm glad you asked. Obviously, Wally Pfister will once again get acknowledged for his gorgeous cinematography. Art Direction and Visual Effects are locks as well. And Hans Zimmer's powerful score is his best work since, well, The Dark Knight. I'm also hoping for a few acting nods for Ken Watanabe, Tom Hardy and Marion Cotillard, but I won't hold my breath.

Lastly, while I'm hoping for an Inception sweep at the Oscars next year, I do worry that in doing so, the Academy will find no reason to honor Batman 3 in 2013.

SI at the SI! Talkstory at the 2010 Folklife Fest

Originally posted at the Secret Identities Blog:

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This past Sunday, the SI crew (Secret Identities, that is) got a chance to talk about the book and "build a hero" with a volunteer from the audience at the Smithsonian Institute's (the other SI, natch) 2010 Folklife Festival.

It was definitely an awesome experience to get a chance to be a part of such a great tradition. Big thanks to Phil Nash, Terry Hong, Chloe Ith, Kozue Tsunoda, and the rest of the Smithsonian staff and volunteers that made this happen!

To read more about our adventures in the D.C. heat, read Jerry's recap For What It's Worth and the Smithsonian's Asian Pacific American Program's official blog.

Secret Identities is Blacklava's Daily Deal!

It's hard to believe that it's been a whole year since Secret Identities came out. In honor of that anniversary, our buddies at Blacklava have made the book part of their daily deals!

For today only, if you order a copy of the book, you'll also receive a signed bookplate--drawn by the illustrious Jerry Ma--and an exclusive litho of Kelly Hu and her character "Jia" drawn by Cliff Chiang. Oh, and they've signed it as well. So what are you waiting for? Go to Blacklava and grab a copy of Secret Identities right now!

(And for what it's worth, I think Parry Shen is my favorite Asian American Superhero)

Batman & Oscar -- 2010

This is an almost yearly (and pointless) exercise, but hey, it's my blog and I can post stupid stuff if I want to. Anyway, after the 82nd annual round of Hollywood self-congratulations, it's time to update the following list with the Bat-alums to get nominated for little gold men in 2010.

Also, as a side note, this year's academy (futilely) attempted to make up for last year's snub by nominating 10 films (though Hurt Locker won Best Pic anyway) and using The Dark Knight to describe what the Sound Editing/Mixing awards are all about.

Well, hopefully Nolan's third go-round in Gotham will get the Oscar love it will more than likely deserve.

Kim Basinger (Vicki Vale -- Batman)
Academy Award Winner:
Best Supporting Actress -- L.A. Confidential (1998)

Halle Berry (Patience Phillips/Catwoman -- Catwoman)
Academy Award Winner:
Best Actress -- Monster’s Ball (2002)

Michael Caine (Alfred Pennyworth -- Batman Begins & The Dark Knight)
Academy Award Winner:
Best Supporting Actor -- Hannah and Her Sisters (1987)
Best Supporting Actor -- The Cider House Rules (2000)
Academy Award Nominee:
Best Actor -- Alfie (1967)
Best Actor -- Sleuth (1972)
Best Actor -- Educating Rita (1984)
Best Actor -- The Quiet American (2002)

George Clooney (Bruce Wayne/Batman -- Batman & Robin)
Academy Award Winner:
Best Supporting Actor -- Syriana (2006)
Academy Award Nominee:
Best Director -- Good Night, and Good Luck (2006)
Best Original Screenplay -- Good Night, and Good Luck (2006)
Best Actor -- Michael Clayton (2008)
Best Actor -- Up in the Air (2010)

Danny DeVito (Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin -- Batman Returns)
Academy Award Nominee:
Best Picture -- Erin Brockovich (2001)

Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox -- Batman Begins & The Dark Knight)
Academy Award Winner:
Best Supporting Actor -- Million Dollar Baby (2005)
Academy Award Nominee:
Best Supporting Actor -- Street Smart (1988)
Best Actor -- Driving Miss Daisy (1990)
Best Actor -- The Shawshank Redemption (1995)
Best Actor -- Invictus (2010)

Maggie Gyllenhaal (Rachel Dawes -- The Dark Knight)
Academy Award Nominee:
Best Supporting Actress -- Crazy Heart (2010)

Tommy Lee Jones (Harvey Dent/Two-Face -- Batman Forever)
Academy Award Winner:
Best Supporting Actor -- The Fugitive (1994)
Academy Award Nominee:
Best Supporting Actor -- JFK (1992)

Nicole Kidman (Dr. Chase Meridian -- Batman Forever)
Academy Award Winner:
Best Actress -- The Hours (2003)
Academy Award Nominee:
Best Actress -- Moulin Rouge (2002)

Heath Ledger (The Joker -- The Dark Knight)
Academy Award Winner:
Best Supporting Actor -- The Dark Knight (2009)
Academy Award Nominee:
Best Actor -- Brokeback Mountain (2006)





Burgess Meredith (The Penguin -- Batman: The Movie)
Academy Award Nominee:
Best Supporting Actor -- The Day of the Locust (1976)
Best Supporting Actor -- Rocky (1977)

Liam Neeson (Henri Ducard -- Batman Begins)
Academy Award Nominee:
Best Actor -- Schindler’s List (1994)

Jack Nicholson (Jack Napier/The Joker -- Batman)
Academy Award Winner:
Best Actor -- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1976)
Best Supporting Actor -- Terms of Endearment (1984)
Best Actor -- As Good As it Gets (1998)
Academy Award Nominee:
Best Supporting Actor -- Easy Rider (1970)
Best Actor -- Five Easy Pieces (1971)
Best Actor -- The Last Detail (1974)
Best Actor -- Chinatown (1975)
Best Supporting Actor -- Reds (1982)
Best Actor -- Prizzi’s Honor (1986)
Best Actor -- Ironweed (1988)
Best Supporting Actor -- A Few Good Men (1993)
Best Actor -- About Schmidt (2003)

Jack Palance (Carl Grissom -- Batman)
Academy Award Winner:
Best Supporting Actor -- City Slickers (1992)
Academy Award Nominee:
Best Supporting Actor -- Sudden Fear (1953)
Best Supporting Actor -- Shane (1954)

Michelle Pfeiffer (Selina Kyle/Catwoman -- Batman Returns)
Academy Award Nominee:
Best Supporting Actress -- Dangerous Liasons (1989)
Best Actress -- The Fabulous Baker Boys (1990)
Best Actress -- Love Field (1993)

Eric Roberts (Salvatore Maroni -- The Dark Knight)
Academy Award Nominee:
Best Supporting Actor -- Runaway Train (1986)

Sharon Stone (Laurel Hedare -- Catwoman)
Academy Award Nominee:
Best Actress -- Casino (1996)

Uma Thurman (Dr. Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy -- Batman & Robin)
Academy Award Nominee:
Best Supporting Actress -- Pulp Fiction (1995)

Christopher Walken (Max Shreck -- Batman Returns)
Academy Award Winner:
Best Supporting Actor -- The Deer Hunter (1979)
Academy Award Nominee:
Best Supporting Actor -- Catch Me if You Can (2003)

Ken Watanabe (R’as Al Ghul -- Batman Begins)
Academy Award Nominee:
Best Supporting Actor -- The Last Samurai (2004)

Tom Wilkinson (Carmine Falcone -- Batman Begins)
Academy Award Nominee:
Best Actor -- In the Bedroom (2002)
Best Supporting Actor -- Michael Clayton (2008)

Jeff & Erin Are Cool, But Parry Did It Better

By now, I'm sure you're aware of "Jeff and Erin's EPIC Wedding" trailer i.e., the wedding invitation seen 'round the world. It came out a few weeks ago and quickly infected the rest of the internetz soon after.

If you haven't heard of it, peep it below:



Pretty cool, no? But Jeff Wong ain't the only Asian guy to profess his love for his woman in a slickly edited video for the world to see. In fact, the actor Parry Shen did it first almost a decade ago when he proposed to his future wife in a "deleted scene" from the groundbreaking Better Luck Tomorrow. But what does Parry think about Jeff & Erin's Epic Wedding?

"[The video] is very cool," said Parry. "And although it is technically superior in terms of production value... Jeff and Erin weren't really in any of those films."

Touche, Parry.

"Heck, my wife thought it was really a part of BLT and thought my character was proposing to Stephanie [the female lead in the movie]!"



I'd also like to add that Jeff & Erin's EPIC Wedding doesn't have A-list cameos by Sung Kang, Roger Fan, Jason Tobin, and Zooey Deschanel and isn't directed by Justin Lin.

So Parry FTW!

PS, if you want to read more of my conversation with Parry, go to Pop Culture Shock and keep hitting "refresh" until you see the interview posted.