CARSON DALY SPOTLIGHT on DUMBFOUNDEAD

JONATHAN PARK aka DUMBFOUNDEAD

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina to South Korean refugees, Jonathan Park (better known as DUMBFOUNDEAD) was smuggled in along with his sister by his mother to Mexico, and then later settled in Koreatown in Los Angeles at the age of three.   At age 16, he discovered Project Blowed, an open-mic workshop located in Leimert Park in South Central L.A.  Equipped with a blunted grin and an arsenal of quick witted rhymes, Dumbfoundead has topped the hip-hop charts with his single “Are We There Yet?”  

Being a multi-hyphenate, Dumbfoundead recently released a six-episode webseries entitled RUN DMZ.   I asked questions about this new series, his love for K-Town and how to best make his mother proud.

*NOTE: Dumbfoundead to be a panelist at 2013 Conference for Creative Content (C3) on October 26, 2013 at SAG-AFTRA.

YELLOW FACE TRAILER

GRACE LEE

5 QUESTIONS WITH GRACE LEE

Grace Lee is a Los Angeles based writer and director.  Her feature film AMERICAN ZOMBIE premiered at Slamdance Film Festival and was released by Cinema Libre in 2008.  Prior to that, she produced, wrote and directed THE GRACE LEE PROJECT which was broadcast on Sundance Channel and is distributed by Women Make Movies.  She received her MFA in Directing from UCLA Film School, where her thesis film BARRIER DEVICE, starring Sandra Oh, won a Student Academy Award and Directors Guild of America award among others.  She is the recipient of the Henry Hampton Award for Excellence in Digital Media, a Rockefeller Media Arts grant, the PPP Pusan Prize as well as funding from the NEA, Center for Asian American Media, Chicken & Egg Pictures and the Armani Directing Fellowship from Film Independent.  Grace was also selected to Visual Communications’ 2012 PROJECT CATALYST (formerly known as C3: Project Market) where she promoted her film project MUSIC FOR AARDVARKS.

Grace just premiered her feature film JANEANE FROM DES MOINES at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival, where she was nominated for the prestigious International Critics’ Prize – Discovery.  In JANEANE, a conservative Iowa housewife’s personal and political convictions are severely tested as she seeks answers from the Republican presidential candidates leading up to the 2012 Iowa Caucuses.

During the recent tumultuous Presidential Election, the film’s release was very apropos.  We had a chance to delve into with Grace the the controversy surrounding JANEANE, not only from a political standpoint, but also from a narrative slant.  

Janeane From Des Moines

Awesome Asian Bad Guys — Kickstarter Video

The National Film Society, aka AWESOME ASIAN BAD GUYS

The National Film Society is a new media studio co-founded by filmmakers Patrick Epino and Stephen Dypiangco, who’ve decided to take their talents to YouTube. With a uniquely brainy and offbeat style, they produce original content, collaborate with talented creators and make fun of each other as much as possible. Part of PBS Digital Studios.

They recently announced they will be directing, producing and starring in a 5-episode arc of a webseries entitled Awesome Asian Bad Guys.  We asked questions, they answered them (somewhat adequately), and continue to make their mothers proud.

Sullivan and Son

STEVE BYRNE

Steve Byrne. On a typical Tuesday.

In just a few short years, STEVE BYRNE has risen through the ranks of the comedy world to become one of the industry’s most innovative and sought-after performers. Hailing from Pittsburgh, PA, Steve Byrne was born to a Korean mother and an Irish father. His unique background has given him the base comedic material for his first television show, Sullivan & Son, which premiered on TBS July 19th. We asked Steve questions about his new show, his new baby and his take on hair styles in the NHL.