Anna May Wong to Become First Asian American Featured on US Currency

EXCLUSIVE: Vertical Entertainment has picked up U.S. rights to Misanthrope, a psychological thriller marking the first English-feature from BAFTA-winning Argentinian director Damián Szifron (Wild Tales). The indie distributor has slated the film starring Emmy nominee Shailene Woodley (Big Little Lies), Emmy winner Ben Mendelsohn (The Outsider) and Emmy nominee Jovan Adepo (Babylon) for release exclusively in theaters nationwide in the first half of 2023.

CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment) and Janet Yang Productions announced the second year of the Julia S. Gouw Short Film Challenge for Asian American and Pacific Islander Women and Non-Binary Filmmakers. The Challenge’s sophomore year kicks off with a Nov. 1st premiere, sponsored by AMC Theatres, where the four short films by year one’s winning filmmakers will be unveiled: 

Penny Mordaunt has become the first candidate to throw her hat into the ring in the race to succeed Liz Truss as prime minister, with a pledge to re-unite the bitterly divided Tory Party.

Anna May Wong is getting her own quarter!

Silent era movie icon Anna May Wong is now a different kind of star. Starting Monday, her image will appear on new quarters, making her the first Asian American to appear on US currency.

Anna May Wong broke into Hollywood during the silent film era, and now her name speaks louder. The late star will soon be in our pockets after becoming the first Asian American to appear on U.S currency.A century after she landed her first leading role, Wong’s signature blunt bangs and pencil-thin eyebrows will be on full display at the back of the new quarters starting Monday, October 24, 2022.The new coin design is part of the American Women Quarters Program, a project highlighting pioneering women in different fields.

EJ Panaligan editor As part of a new initiative, the United States Mint will honor Anna May Wong, star of movies such as “Shanghai Express,” by making her the first Asian American featured on U.S. currency, placing her likeness on quarters with production starting Oct. 18. The printed quarter shows an image of Wong resting on her hand, serving as a tribute to what most consider the first Chinese American movie star. She was born in 1905 in Chinatown, Los Angeles and died in 1961 of a heart attack in her Santa Monica home. Wong started her career in the entertainment business at 14 years old, talking her way into her first movie role. In the following years, she rose to stardom as among the first Asian American stars in Hollywood and appeared in more than 50 films. Though the quarter seeks to pay tribute to her career in the film industry, it also acknowledges the difficulties that came her way trying to land meaningful roles as an Asian American actress during a time where racial discrimination and commonplace practices of putting white actors in “yellowface” to portray Asian characters was prevalent. In addition, Wong’s characters were often killed in the films she acted in, which she once joked about, saying that she had already “died a thousand deaths.”

The Better Angels Society, the Library of Congress and the Crimson Lion/Lavine Family Foundation have set two winners of the fourth annual Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film: director Jeff L. Lieberman’s Bella! and Philly on Fire, directed by Ross Hockrow and Tommy Walker. This is the first time that the selection process for the coveted documentary award has resulted in a tie.

It was reported that Naked Attraction host Anna Richardson was taking the steps towards adoption to become a mother, and now she has revealed she is "interested in adopting a refugee child or an asylum seeker". Anna opened up on her experience with menopause, telling the Menopause Monologues event that while there are many funny anecdotes around the transitional period, she endured a “period of suffering” with hers. But this along with turning 52, has given her the motivation to chase the one thing she really wants to tick off her list – becoming a mother.

BLACKPINK have become the first K-pop act to receive a nomination for Best Video at this year’s MTV Europe Music Awards.The MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs) announced its list of nominations for its 2022 edition on October 12, which included a nomination for BLACKPINK in the Best Video category for their ‘Pink Venom’ music video. This makes them the first-ever K-pop act to receive a nomination in this category.Aside from their Best Video nomination, BLACKPINK have also been nominated in three other categories at the awards: Biggest Fans, Best Metaverse Performance (for their PUBG Mobile in-game concert ‘The Virtual’) as well as Best K-pop.

A sequel to “The Joy Luck Club” is on its way.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Novelist Amy Tan and Oscar-winning “Rain Man” screenwriter Ron Bass are on board to deliver a sequel to “The Joy Luck Club,” the 1993 movie that broke new ground for Asian American representation. The new film, “Joy Luck Club 2,” is set up at Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park Entertainment Group, with Ashok and Priya Amritraj producing alongside Tan, Bass and Jeff Kleeman. A director hasn’t been announced yet. The original “Joy Luck Club,” directed by Wayne Wang, was an epic, multigenerational saga of Chinese and Chinese-American mothers and daughters, whose histories, stories and lives interweave as they navigate life. Club members included characters played by Tsai Chin, France Nuyen, Lisa Lu and Kieu Chinh. The ensemble cast also included Tamlyn Tomita, Rosalind Chao and Russell Wong.

Something Corporate have announced that they’re set to reunite next year for their first gig in 13 years.The Californian rock band will get back together for a slot at the When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas next October, which announced its line-up yesterday (October 12).The news of the full reunion comes after all four members of the band staged a surprise reunion on stage during a gig in Anaheim, California last month, where they performed six songs at a gig celebrating singer Andrew McMahon’s 40th birthday.Discussing the reunion show at When We Were Young, which will be the band’s first gig since their US reunion tour in 2010, McMahon tweeted: “Well, I figure since #somethingcorporate is trending at the moment, I’d jump on here for the first time in forever and let you all know how excited the band and I are to be playing the 2023 When We Were Young festival.”Well, I figure since #somethingcorporate is trending at the moment, I’d jump on here for the first time in forever and let you all know how excited the band and I are to be playing the 2023 @WWWYFest— Andrew McMahon (@andrewmcmahon) October 11, 2022Discussing last month’s mini-reunion in an interview with Alternative Press, McMahon said: “Truthfully, it’s rare that all of us can even get together.

Tom Cruise has ambition too grand for this world.

Tom Cruise is set to perform a spacewalk for an upcoming film, making him the first civilian to do so.Speaking to the BBC, Universal chairwoman Dame Donna Langley revealed that the actor, if all goes to plan, will be blasted into space to film scenes on and outside the International Space Station.“Tom Cruise is taking us to space. He’s taking the world to space.

 The Bourne Identity director Doug Liman on a movie pitch that involves filming in space, which was first tabled in 2020 before the Covid-19 pandemic halted plans.Cruise and Liman are said to have reached out to Universal Filmed Entertainment Group (UFEG) on an idea which will see the actor take a rocket up to the International Space Station.“I think Tom Cruise is taking us to space, he’s taking the world to space,” UFEG Chairman Donna Langley said, per BBC News.“That’s the plan.