'American Born Chinese' Debuts Character Posters Featuring Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and More (Exclusive)

The journey for Jin Wang in “American Born Chinese” couldn’t have begun at a more opportune time. The protagonist of Gene Luen Yang’s 2006 graphic novel — now a Disney’s eight-episode series from showrunner Kelvin Yu — springs forth when narratives with an Asian identity are stratospheric-high in demand and popularity.

CANNES (Reuters) - Gong Li, one of China's best actors, told Reuters on Wednesday that Michelle Yeoh's recent success at the Oscars and Golden Globes was particularly encouraging for Asian actors. "Since the beginning of the epidemic to now, in fact, the film industry has not been so vibrant, not like it was before, so her award is also an encouragement," Gong said.

Michelle Yeoh is celebrating the power of embracing one’s roots.

William Earl Variety has announced the initial lineup for the Kering Women in Motion talks at the Cannes Film Festival. Moderated by Variety’s Senior Correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister, this year’s talks include some of the most important women working in cinema and offers a mix between up-and-coming talent and iconic figures such as Cate Blanchett and Michelle Yeoh. On Thursday, May 18, playwright, actor and philanthropist Jeremy O. Harris, who stars in Directors’ Fortnight premiere “The Sweet East,” will kick off the Women in Motion series to discuss female representation in his work. Following Harris’ talk, actress and director Katie Holmes will speak about her work as a director and how the industry has changed in its approach to female directors since she first began working in television.

Sophia Scorziello editor The 2024 Independent Spirit Awards are set to take place in Los Angeles on Feb. 25. The 39th annual awards will recognize achievements in American independent film and television and celebrate the power of independent visual storytelling. The February date, on a Sunday, puts the awards two weeks ahead of the March 10 Oscars, rather than the day before as the Spirits had been in some previous years. This year, the Spirit Awards embraced non-gendered award categories. ““For the first time in history, all the men will know how all the women feel when they find out they are competing against Cate Blanchett,” said the host of the evening, comedian, producer and writer Hasan Minhaj. The joke was met with a close-up of Blanchett looking quite confused.

Michelle Yeoh has made the transition from action hero to Oscar winner, thanks to her acclaimed performance in “Everything Everywhere All At Once”.

Thania Garcia Latin hip-hop found its footing in the bicoastal stomping grounds of the East and West Coasts where Spanglish-speaking communities were influenced and surrounded by urban rap and trap. Today that reach is much more global with booming subgenres extending beyond the United States, into Mexico, Puerto Rico and all the way down to Argentina. Amazon Music wants to showcase Latin rap’s growth and multicultural evolution by interviewing and spotlighting its most influential pioneers for hip-hop’s 50th anniversary with the new “Hip-Hop X Siempre” campaign. With visuals designed by Puerto Rican artist COVL, “Hip-Hop X Siempre” invites audiences to explore the intersection between Spanish language hip-hop with unique programming and editorial content including an Amazon Original by Eladio Carrión, and new playlists like “Hip-Hop x Siempre,” “Sin Filtro,” “pov: ur hyped,” “Puro Trap,” and “Puro Rap.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Alexi Tan, a screenwriter and director who was a protégé of John Woo, has teamed with artist Charles Simpson to launch comic book “Monk Wars.” The “Monk Wars” universe is a dystopian gritty world filled with martial arts action and a broad array of diverse characters. The first book will follow Monk Ma, who has ancient animal powers, as he assembles his followers to take on the Rat-Men soldiers.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor “Yellowstone” may have been shut out at the 2022 Emmys, but Paramount+’s Western spinoff “1923” is hoping to break that cycle. Creator Taylor Sheridan, who wrote the entire first season of the freshman series, has chosen to submit the premiere episode, titled “1923,” for Emmy consideration, Variety can exclusively confirm. In addition, the same kickoff episode will serve as Ben Richardson’s official submission for outstanding directing for a drama. Read Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Emmy predictions in all categories. The eight-episode prequel to Paramount Network’s “Yellowstone” and sequel to Paramount+’s “1883” follows a generation of the Dutton family during various hardships, including prohibition, drought and the early stages of the Great Depression.

Michelle Yeoh’s career has surprised even herself.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Fans of “The Voice” will soon be able to jump into a new immersive virtual world where they can create music, show off their dancing skills, compete in battles, win digital merch — and even audition to be on an upcoming season of the reality-competition series. “The Voice Studios,” from ITV Studios and metaverse developer Virtual Brand Group, is set to debut May 12. The global launch of the Roblox-style virtual world is timed for the final weeks of Season 23 of “The Voice” on NBC. Free for anyone to access, “The Voice Studios” will be located in Vegas City, the entertainment destination in metaverse platform Decentraland (at this link). Its launch follows a virtual pop-up event for “The Voice” last year at the Decentraland Metaverse Music Festival that also was created by VBG.

Flamin’ Hot, directed by Eva Longoria, tells the origin story of a Frito Lay janitor who created the iconic Flamin’ Hot Cheetos snack.

It’s an “Everything Everywhere All at Once” reunion!

Michelle Yeoh is sharing some Wicked insight.

Michaela Zee editor Hollywood has had considerable feats of Asian representation this year: “Everything Everywhere All at Once’s” historic Oscar wins, Netflix’s “Beef” and, on May 24, “American Born Chinese.” However, despite the nuanced portrayal of the Asian American identity within the phantasmagorical world of Chinese mythology, Ke Huy Quan was hesitant about joining the series’ Asian-led ensemble. “I remember when I first heard about this character when I was offered the role, it scared the hell out of me. In fact, I actually passed on it because I told our creative team that this is the type of portrayal that we do not want to see in 2023,” Quan said during a post-screening Q&A at Radio City Music Hall on Sunday night.

The White House hosted a screening of the upcoming Disney+ series American Born Chinese, and in remarks beforehand, President Joe Biden keyed in on the presence of its star, recent Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan was honored with the Gold House Leading Man award at the second annual Gold House Gold Gala on Saturday in Los Angeles. “When I think of a leading man, I think of someone who is six feet tall with big muscles, good-looking, and a ladies’ man,” the “Everything Everywhere All at Once” star said before cracking, “That practically screams me, right?” While the gala honored the most impactful Asians on the company’s A100 list, which recognizes the 100 AAPI individuals who impacted American culture and society in the last year, the night remained focused on celebrating Asian visibility and achievements. There was little talk of the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike currently impacting the industry.

So many celebrities stepped out to attend Gold House’s 2nd annual Gold Gala at The Music Center on Saturday (May 6) in Los Angeles.

Emily Longeretta The days of fall TV being the time for new shows to premiere are long gone. This summer, prep for bingeing per usual with a slew of unscripted and scripted series coming to both streamers and network TV. Likely the most-anticipated series of the year, HBO’s “The Idol,” will premiere in July after a great deal of delays and reshoots.

They’re back for amore!