MAY
2003 NEWS
As we enter
May 2003, we have witness some exciting events that will be
remembered in history books for the many generations that will
follow us.
Within
the world communities - we have seen the end of the prominent
battles between Iraq's Saddam Hussein with the US-lead coalition
forces, the dramatic effects of SARS on business to healthcare
issues, international battles on how to "reconstruct"
Iraq, the ongoing Israeli/Palestinian conflicts, nuclear arms
in North Korea,
Within
the Asian Pacific American communities (in addition to the
events listed in the "APA Media News" Section listed
on the right - we have seen the surprising and historic trail-blazing
success of Justin Lin's BLT
(aka "Better Luck Tomorrow") with the following
information as of the close of the April
25 - 27 weekend:
-
This
Week's Ranking: #18 (last week was #22
-
This Weekend's Gross: $1,031,460
-
Percentage Change: 111.5%
-
Number of Theaters: 380
-
Added Theaters: +338
-
Per Screen Average: $2,714
-
Total Gross: $2,197,177
-
Cost: $250,000
-
# of Weeks in Release: 3
-
As
of April 15, 2003, it has grossed $417,840.00
-
April
11 - 13, 2003 - highest grossing per screen average
-
April 18 - 20, 2003 weekend gross figures: $515,000.
-
As
of April 20, 2003 - estimated gross sales of $1,011,000
-
MTV
Film's First Purchase
This
is in addition to the opening of Eric
Byler's "Charlotte Sometimes," the ongoing strong support
for "Bend
It Like Beckham," the appearance of Russell
Wong in WB's Black Sash - unfornately, at the time of
this writing, it has just been cancelled), the music success
of Linkin Park and the start of Asian
Pacific American Heritage Month!
Please
note that upon "CLICKING" on each link listed within
this section, one will have the ability to obtain additional
in-depth information on each event.
FEATURED ARTISTS & LEADERS
APA MEDIA POLLS
HISTORY NEWS
ART NEWS
ONLINE NEWS
DIVERSITY NEWS
MUSIC NEWS
MEDIA NEWS
COMMUNITY NEWS
DISCRIMINATION & RACISM
FILM NEWS
TELEVISION NEWS
MILITARY NEWS
COMMUNITY NEWS
SARS NEWS
PERFORMANCE AND EVENT NEWS
COMMUNITY NEWS
POLITICAL NEWS
SPORTING NEWS
CLICK HERE
to participate
in a "APA Film Poll" that will let us know which
movies has the most buzz and support, along with reading some
of the latest information regarding other APA movies and the
film industry.
| Bend
It Like Beckham |
Close
Call |
Monsoon
Wedding |
| Notorious
C.H.O. |
ABC |
Better
Luck Tomorrow |
| American
Desi |
The
Debut |
American
Adobo |
| Blood
of the Samurai |
The
Flip Side |
Full
Time Killer |
| Charlotte
Sometimes |
The
Way Home |
Unknown
Pleasures |
YOUR MUSICAL INPUT IS NEEDED as we
seek identify the
talented and upcoming Asian/Asian Pacific American music artists
and their songs in our "Music Poll.".
Click
HERE to
participate in this poll that will indicate your opinion(s)
on the music groups listed below, along with reading some
of the latest information regarding selected artists and the
music industry
| N.E.R.D. |
Second
Wind |
String
Cheese Incident |
| Ghost
Orgy |
Vanessa
Mae |
Big
Head Todd |
| Hiroshima |
Linkin
Park |
Ill
Again |
FEATURED
ARTISTS & LEADERS
LING-CHI
WANG
It
is a simple phrase that has become his guiding principle in
a life devoted to Asian American civil rights - "When
you see injustice," Ling-chi Wang translates, "protest."
The
63- year-old coordinator of the Asian American studies program
at the University of California at Berkeley has been called
the "Asian Martin Luther King" for his four decades
of activism.
His
latest case is winning his toughest challenge yet -- improving
the lot of Asian American scientists at Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratories and the nation's other weapons research
facilities.
Wang
successfully fought for bilingual education in San Francisco
in the '70s, the establishment of an ethnic studies department
at UC Berkeley in the early '90s and revised height requirements
for San Francisco police and firefighters.
In
the wake of the Wen Ho Lee spy case, Wang and an Asian American
academic organization instituted a boycott of the two labs
run by the University of California, in Livermore and Los
Alamos, N.M.
Wang immigrated to the United States in 1957, and in the years
since, has devoted himself to speaking up for Asian American
rights and, occasionally, speaking out against Asian Americans
who he feels have tried to isolate themselves from the community
at large.
Wang
founded the Chinese for Affirmative Action civil rights group.
He's never had any political aspirations of his own, so he's
not afraid of making enemies."
In
1996, he angered some liberal Asian Americans by speaking
out against President Bill Clinton and fund- raiser John Huang
in the Democratic Party fund-raising scandal. In 1984, he
received death threats from people in Taiwan for chairing
the Committee to Obtain Justice for Henry Liu, a Daly City
journalist killed by gangs linked to the Taiwanese government.
HAZEL
YING LEE
 |
|
|
Hazel
Ying Lee was the first Chinese American woman to fly military
planes in U.S. history.
She
was the last American woman pilot to die in a military plane
in World War II.
Hazel
was one of nine children and was a first generation Chinese
American. After high school, she
learned to fly at Swan Island, Portland. She also trained
in aerobatics.
Lee
was among the first women to enroll in a groundbreaking program
(Women Air Force Service Pilots - WASP) that trained female
pilots to ferry military aircraft from their manufacturer
to airfields across North America. She
went to China during the Sino-Japan war but was not allowed
to fly.
When
she
returned to the U. S., she moved to New York and supported
the Chinese in procurement of materials for China. After completing
basic WASP training on August 7, 1943, she
reported to the 3rd Ferring Group in Romulus, Michigan. She
died on November 23, 1944.
ERIC
BYLER
This
first time writer/director Eric
Byler made the acclaim film "Charlotte
Sometimes" on a micro-budget of twenty thousand ($20,000)
dollars.
The
film
has won awards at South by Southwest and the Florida Film
Festival. Now, Charlotte Sometimes is vying for the John Cassavetes
Independent Spirit Award for best film made for under $500,000
and one of its stars, Jacqueline Kim, is up for a best supporting
actress Independent Spirit Award.
The
film will be in selected
theaters starting in May 2003. To discover what the initial
dates and theaters where the movie will be seen, click CLICK
HERE. Click HERE
to learn more about "Charlotte Sometimes." Click
HERE to learn more about Eric Byler.
