Sunset Stories is a dark comedy, part After Hours and part Chunking Express, combining satire and awkward, relentless denial. May (Monique Gabriela Curnen) and JP (Sung Kang) are each other’s perfect excuse for imperfect lives. Their unexpected reunion forces the couple to explore issues of penance and self-forgiveness through the genre of a chase movie. Here’s more about the film:
May, a high-strung and overly meticulous nurse with a swearing problem, must return to Los Angeles to retrieve bone marrow for a transplant. Soon after her trip begins, her world turns upside down when past and present collide and she runs smack into JP, the man she left behind five years ago. Flustered, May loses the cooler containing the marrow. With only 24 hours remaining, the two embark on an offbeat search through the streets of Los Angeles only to discover that just when you think all is lost you find what you least expected. The closer they get, the closer they come to finding the truth of what went so terribly wrong between them.
Propelled by insults from strangers, running from the past, losing time, and navigating through the world of the post-hipster, Sunset Stories visually carries the story through a use of macro-close up, wide city landscapes and a restless, voyeuristic camera to fuel the emotional urgency of the characters and heighten the joy ride for the audience.
It’s Lin-sanity!!! Jeremy Lin has had an amazing season so far and everyone has caught the fever. In a great tribute, one Asian superstar recognizes another as Jin recently released Nick of Time, a song praising the Knicks player’s faith in God. Check out the inspiration behind this song and what motivated Jin to Lin-sanity as we chat one-on-one with the rapper.
What inspired the Jeremy Lin song? Was it mainly the Asian-American bond?
It was a combination of things. The natural connection would, of course, be the Asian American experience as well as the challenge of facing new territory in our respective career paths, but it wasn’t necessarily these aspects that lead me to write the song. I saw an interview of Jeremy’s sometime late last year on Patheos.com where he was specifically sharing his faith and how it plays a role in both his career and outlook in life. As I was chartering into new ground on my own spiritual journey, this interview should be considered the true inspiration behind the song. If you listen to the song, it’s not so much a Jeremy Lin tribute per se. [It’s] more so, how his faith has played a role in his trials and tribulations.
Tell me about your spiritual path. What changes have you seen within yourself and in your life since you found God.
For me personally, the transformation that I’ve felt and seen couldn’t be confined to a paragraph answer in this interview. It’s really so much more intense and thorough. If I had to describe it one sentence, I’d say it’s been a 180-degree turnaround. Obviously, I am still a work in progress as I am learning more about God and myself as each second goes by on a daily basis. For your reference, I would recommend you check out this interview from last year here.
Are the Knicks your favorite b-ball team?
I have to be brutally honest. No, they are not. Let me rephrase that. I don’t think I’ve had a “Favorite Basketball” team since I was 14-15… that was the mid 90’s Chicago Bulls. Jordan, Pippen and the gang.
Of course, being born and raised in Miami I was extremely happy when they won a ring years ago with Shaq and Wade. Let’s put it like this, I’ve never had a dislike for the Knicks, yet I’ve never rooted for them in such a manner as I am now either.
Have you made plans to come to NY and catch Jeremy Lin in action?
I’ve been to one Knick game so far.. two years ago at the Garden. The next time I will be watching a game at the Garden they’ll be playing the Pacers. Looking forward to see Jeremy in action of course. Honestly, I’m more excited to see Novak raining threes.
As an Asian-American who has, almost overnight, been thrown in the spotlight, what words of wisdom do you have for Jeremy Lin?
Let God lead the way. Any other plan is bound to be flawed. The beauty of this is, he would be the first to agree.
Will there be a remix or part two to your tribute? Can we expect more sports-themed songs? Doin’ The Landry!
ESPN’s Bill Simmons interviews President Barack Obama and touch on the topic of Jeremy Lin. As an avid basketball fan, the President has followed Lin before the LINsanity. With his Harvard connections, he’s been on the LIN bandwagon for awhile. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan played basketball at Harvard. “And so way back when, Arne and I were playing and he said, ‘I’m telling you, we’ve got this terrific guard named Jeremy Lin at Harvard,’ ” Obama said. “And then one of my best friends — his son is a freshman at Harvard — and so when he went for a recruiting trip he saw Lin in action.” See the 1:40 mark for the full Presidential remarks on Lin. Could a White House invite be far away for Jeremy Lin?
Last year, San Francisco Bay Area sportscaster Rick Quan released some interviews with Jeremy Lin and Rex Walters. Now, Rick Quan has released the full interview with Jeremy Lin, who talks about stereotypes, racism, and Christianity. This interview was before he got BIG in New York. Hear from Lin as he talks about the racism he faced while attending Harvard and how he proved the doubters wrong about his basketball ability. Jeremy also shares about the importance of his Christian faith and how it puts everything he does in perspective.
For those who don’t know about Rick Quan, he was the first Chinese American television sports anchor in the United States and one of the first Asian men to be a fulltime anchor in the San Francisco Bay Area. Also read Rick Quan’s piece “Is the ‘Linsanity’ hype caused by race?”
A Conversation with Jeremy Lin (Interviewed by Rick Quan)
CNN’s Brooke Baldwin talks to sportscaster Rick Quan about a controversial ESPN headline.
As the Lunar New Year Begins, new census data shows Asian Americans moving to suburbs in record numbers, leading to the decline of historic Chinatowns throughout the country. More and more of the middle class are moving to the suburbs (62% of Asian American live in the suburbs vs 54 % in 1990). Los Angeles, Boston, Houston, Seattle, and San Francisco Chinatown are all seeing shifts in the population to safe, convenient, and quiet suburbs. These city’s populations prefer satellite Chinatowns like Richmond District, Irving, and Noriega in San Francisco or Flushing, Queens and Sunset Park, Brooklyn in New York. This leaves Chinatowns as tourist attractions. In Washinton DC, Asian residents have moved to Montgomery County, MD and Fairfax County, VA leaving Chinatown without many Chinese residents.
Karmaloop caught up with Harold & Kumar actor John Cho in LA to talk about his rock band Viva La Union, erotic instruments, terrible fashion, being featured in a Nas video, weed hangovers, Total Recall, and much more. In 2012, he slated to be in two big films Total Recall and American Reunion. Be on the look out for more John Cho this year.
