Footage is surfacing online from a recent Madonna concert at Madison Square Gardens. The singer mashed up her song “Give It To Me” with PSY’s Gangnam Style. Madonna started to sing her song over the beats of Gangnam Style. About half way through the song, PSY made an appearance in the middle of the stage to perform his signature invisible horse dance. Joining in the horse riding was Madonna and her backup dancers. The two even recreate the infamous elevator scene from PSY’s video, each one taking a turn on top and the bottom. For the finale, Madonna jumps onto PSY after a little grinding on each other.
Gangnam Style x Give It To Me mashup with PSY x Madonna
Janet Yang, President of Janet Yang Productions discusses the evolution of China’s film industry. In 1986, Janet Yang landed in Shanghai as the top China advisor to Steven Spielberg during the filming of Empire of the Sun, a drama about an English boy who goes from living in a wealthy British family in Shanghai to becoming a prisoner of war during World War II. At that time, moviemaking in China was tightly regulated and the Chinese government controlled everything from approving the script to handling visa requests. Much has changed in China, and today films are being co-produced there by American studios that have enlisted Chinese partners.
Against that backdrop, Yang, president of Janet Yang Productions, continues to be a cultural ambassador who seeks to use movies to bridge understanding between China and the United States. Her film and TV credits include The Joy Luck Club, a movie that follows four Chinese-American women who live in California and gather weekly to play mahjong and share their life stories. In 2009, she worked with Disney Studios to make a Chinese version of its coveted franchise, High School Musical, for Chinese audiences. Most recently, Yang produced the film Shanghai Calling, which bills itself as “a romantic comedy about modern-day American immigrants in an unfamiliar land.”
The 2012 AMP Music Festival returns to San Diego. The all-day, outdoor music concert takes place on Saturday, November 10, 2012 from 11-8 pm at the Jacob’s Center for Neighborhood Innovation in Market Creek Plaza in San Diego. This year’s lineup includes:
You’ll get an opportunity to see local and regional APA artists perform at a venue with diverse audiences by revitalizing and building a stronger community through the celebration of music and art. You can get tickets here.
The 2012 Kollaboration Seattle is proud to return for its third annual talent showcase into the heart of downtown Seattle at the STG Moore Theatre on October 12, 2012. Six local competitors representing diverse talents of modern and traditional music and dance will be competing for the grand prize of $1000: Pentatonics, Ariel Yang, Hannah Hipolito, Nate Vibez, J-Pros, and Natya. Headlining for Kollaboration Seattle 3 will be singer-songwriter and Youtube star Joseph Vincent. Other guest performers include fellow Youtube sensation Cathy Nguyen, Kollaboration Seattle 2 winner Lion’s Ambition, and local hip-hop dance group Chapter1NE. The competitors will be judged by rapper and Kollaboration Seattle alumni Gowe, as well as Apprentice finalist James Sun, and Bruce Lee’s daughter Shannon Lee. One Day’s Wages executive director Eugene Cho and King 5 news anchor Mimi Jung will also serve as guest judges, alongside Kona Kitchen owner and Hollywood veteran Yuji Okumoto. The grand prize winner of Kollaboration Seattle 3 will also have the opportunity to perform in a live broadcast Kollaboration All-Stars show on November 16, 2012 in Los Angeles.
Kollaboration Seattle 3 will be held on Friday, October 12, 2012 from 7 PM to 10 PM at the STG Moore Theatre. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here. Prices are $20 for general audience and $40 for VIP. Purchasers of VIP tickets will have the opportunity to meet all performers at the show, access to reserved seats at the front of the house, and free entry before 11 PM into the official after party.
Television and film icon George Takei, Tony Award-winning actress Lea Salonga and Broadway favorite Telly Leung head up the cast of Allegiance. It’s an epic story of love, war and heroism set during the Japanese American internment of World War II. Allegiance follows the story of the Kimura family in the weeks and years following Pearl Harbor, as they are relocated from their farm in Salinas, California to the Heart Mountain internment camp in the rural plains of Wyoming.
Sixty years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, a chance meeting forces WWII veteran Sam Kimura (George Takei) to remember his family’s relocation from their California farm to the Heart Mountain internment camp. As they struggle to adjust to their new home, Young Sam (Telly Leung) and his sister Kei (Lea Salonga) find themselves torn between loyalty to their family and allegiance to their country. Their story reflects the deep conflicts of a nation and a people divided, as younger brother Sammy strives to prove his loyalty and patriotism, while older sister Keiko comes to resist their internment and treatment by the government. The Kimura’s conflicts mirror the larger rift between the Japanese American Citizens League, which urged cooperation with the internment and unwavering loyalty to America, and the draft resisters of Heart Mountain, who steadfastly refused to serve a country that had put them in concentration camps.
With its moving score, Allegiance takes audiences on a journey into our nation’s history through the eyes of one American family. This universal story sheds new light upon a dark, under-explored, and wrenching chapter of American history. Through the remembrances of Old Sam, the painful past is revisited, and at long last, redemption and understanding begin to heal decades-old wounds. Allegiance sheds new light upon a dark chapter of American history. One of the first Asian musicals in more than a decade, with a stunning and moving score, Allegiance connects the audience with universal themes of love, family and redemption.
The cast also features Michael K. Lee (Frankie Suzuki), Paolo Montalban (Mike Masaoka), Paul Nakauchi (Tatsuo Kimura) and Allie Trimm (Hannah Campbell) with Katie Boren, Jon Jon Briones, Geno Carr, Karl Josef Co, Marc de la Cruz, MaryAnn Hu, Brandon Joel Maier, Kürt Norby, Ann Sanders, Jill Townsend, Kay Trinidad and Scott Watanabe (Ensemble) and Jennifer Hubilla and Conrad Ricamora (Swings). Directed by Stafford Arima, with music and lyrics by Jay Kuo and book by Marc Acito, Kuo and Lorenzo Thione, the production features choreography by Andrew Palermo and music supervision, arrangements and orchestrations by Lynne Shankel. Allegiance runs at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego through October 21, 2012. You can get tickets here.
Allegiance the musical highlights feature these songs:
“Going Places” performed by Telly Leung, Lea Salonga and Ensemble
“Gaman” performed by Lea Salonga, Telly Leung and Ensemble
“Ishi Kara Ishi” performed by George Takei and Lea Salonga
“Higher” performed by Lea Salonga
DC Asian American Film, Inc. (APA Film) is pleased to announce the 2012 DC APA Film Festival on October 4-7, 2012. Now for its 13th year, the DC APA Film Festival will continue at the nation’s capital, presenting a handful of narrative, documentary, animated, and experimental films that both entertain and educate. The festival will be held at city’s top venues including Smithsonian Freer-Sackler Galleries, Goethe Institute, E Street Landmark Theatres, Bethesda Row Cinema, Navy Memorial Theater and more, featuring non-stop screenings and numerous special events such as panel discussions, filmmaker Q&As, etc.
This year’s Opening Night presentation, on Thursday, October 4, is MR. CAO GOES TO WASHINGTON, presented in partnership with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American (APA) Program at the E Street Landmark Theatre. This film is a character study of then-Rep. Joseph Cao (R-New Orleans), the first Vietnamese-American elected to the Congress and the only Republican to vote for President Obama’s Health Care Reform Bill.
Closing the 2012 DC APA Film Festival will be DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’: EVERYMAN’S JOURNEY and SHANGHAI CALLING on October 6. 2012. DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’: EVERYMAN’S JOURNEY is a documentary following the ups and downs as the seminal band Journey goes on tour with their new lead singer found via youtube.com, Arnel Pineda. SHANGHAI CALLING is a feature film that follows New York attorney Sam (Daniel Henney) as he reluctantly moves to Shanghai
for business. Relying on the help of a relocation specialist (Eliza Coupe), a well-connected ex-pat (Bill Paxton), a clever journalist (Geng Le), and a street-smart legal assistant (Zhu Zhu), Sam might just find his true calling and a way home.
The film festival will be showing films from October 5-7, 2012. Please visit the festival website here for a full line up of film and special events.
