When I joined the HFPA in 2010, I noticed that it had only one Chinese member and one white Subsaharan African. So I decided to recruit more African and Chinese members. On March, 5th 2014, I received a call from a woman named Ting Ting. She introduced herself as a Chinese journalist and asked me … Continue reading Beware of Ting Ting Xu
Last month, “La La Land” broke the record for most Golden Globes won by a single film after snagging 7 trophies out of 7 nominations. Two weeks later, it made history again when it collected 14 Academy Awards nominations, record-tying with “All About Eve (1951)” and “Titanic (1997)”. It followed them with 8 accolades from … Continue reading Behind The Scene Of LA LA Land Awards Campaign
The visage of Tilda Swinton in Marvel’s recently released “Doctor Strange”, in which the English actress plays the Asian Ancient one, has yet again highlighted one of Hollywood’s most criticized habits: Whitewashing, namely casting white actors in non-white roles, particularly the lead ones. And it seems that Hollywood is not planning on fixing it. Next … Continue reading Is Green Truly Hollywood’s Favorite Color?
Since its release 3 weeks ago, Furious 7, has been breaking one record after another at the box office, scoring the second-biggest worldwide opening of all time ($397.2 million) behind only Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, and recently has become the fastest to reach the $1 billion at the global box office. … Continue reading Is Cinema dying?
Participating movies in the Sundance film festival are usually made on shoestring budgets and often by first-time directors, but they are rich in their substance, bold in their themes and unique in their subjects. This year, movies have touched on controversial issues such as nature vs nurture (Stockholm, Pennsylvania), homosexuality (I am Michael, D Train), … Continue reading Sundance movies explore the terrifying impact of authority on human behaviour
With weak performances at the US box office over the course of the this summer, it’s not a surprise that the final box office total gross from May to August is only $4.1 billion. That is 15% down from summer 2013 ($4.75 billion) and the lowest total since 2006 ($3.37 billion). And if we adjust … Continue reading How painful was this summer for Hollywood?
Since its release 4 weeks ago, Transformers: Age of Extinction, has racked up over $850 million in the global box office, breaking the record in China where it grossed over $280 million - 65 million more than in the US, where it drew $215 million. This is not the first time that the Chinese box … Continue reading China is on the path to take the lead from the US in the box office
While the Middle East rages with popular uprisings and civil wars and its people are being butchered by their leaders and terror groups, American and Israeli filmmakers are seeking to capture this harsh reality on TV. Last week, I spent a few days on two film sets in Israel: Tyrant and Dig. The first tells … Continue reading Will “Tyrant” reflect reality in the Middle East? – interview
Originating in ancient Athens, theatre had dominated human culture for nearly 2500 years, offering its audience a live performance of actors who communicated their experiences to them through a combination of gesture, song, speech, dance and music, until the advent of cinema, an illusion of moving images that gained a hold on the public imagination. … Continue reading Sam Mendes uses two different parts of his brain for Theatre and Cinema
At the age of 15, Ellen Page knew that she had a sexual propensity to women, and she thought that she was bisexual until she turned 20, when she became sure that she was gay and embarked on a romantic relationship with a woman, a fact that she kept secret for 6 years until February … Continue reading Why was Ellen Page afraid to come out as gay?
Husam (Sam) Asi 