Jo Koy on the ‘Easter Sunday’ Scene that Made Him Cry and ABC’s Decision to Reject His TV Show
01.08.2022 - 18:07
/ variety.com
Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorJo Koy’s upcoming film “Easter Sunday,” out on Aug. 5, is a dream come true for the comedian in more ways than one.For years, Jo Koy has shared stories about his family and Filipino culture in his stand-up shows, selling out arenas across the country. He has always wanted to bring that story to the big screen, but the idea was often met with rejection.
Their reasoning? The story was not accessible enough.That was until Steven Spielberg saw his 2019 comedy special, “Comin’ in Hot,” and Amblin Partners struck a deal with Koy to star in the feature film. In a Hollywood first, “Easter Sunday” features an all-Filipino cast.“It’s our time,” Koy says, calling the film a love letter to the Filipino community. Below, Koy speaks with Variety about the scene from the film that made him cry and the importance of representation.
My son and I could not stop refreshing it. We would watch the trailer and then we’d wait like 10 minutes, and it was literally moving at 150,000 views every five minutes. It finally hit 15 million and I said, “Thank you, Jesus.” I’ve been telling people for years that this needs to be seen, and people are going to love it.
If only you could just give us a shot.I would get “no” all the time, but it didn’t make sense to me with the numbers I was getting on the road. Why am I selling 18 shows out in a row, or 12 shows in a row in Texas, and for some reason you’re telling everyone that it’s too specific? There came a time, for some reason, that Netflix wasn’t going to offer a special to me. I didn’t understand why and I didn’t care.So, I paid for “Live From Seattle” myself.