cinema – Journo James's Journal

“Wedding Palace” Director Chris Yoo

Post author:journojames
Post published:February 17, 2012
Post category:Entertainment & Culture Feature Interview

Originally published May 2, 2011

wedding_palace_gallerythetattler — Scene from “Wedding Palace,” Photo courtesy of the Tattler

LOS ANGELES – The swanky 600-seat theater at the Director’s Guild of America in Los Angeles was sold out Friday night. The crowd of mostly Asian-Americans filled the plush red seats. They were there to see the new Korean-American romantic comedy “Wedding Palace.” The movie was part of the 2011 L.A. Asian Pacific Film Festival’s second night of programming. The director of the movie, Christine Yoo, was there greeting viewers and looked delighted by the large turn out.

For Yoo, who was also the producer and co-writer of “Wedding Palace,” this was a special night. It was a culmination of her feature film directorial debut. (more…)

Tim Disney Profile

Post author:journojames
Post published:February 5, 2012
Post category:Entertainment & Culture Feature Interview

Originally published Feb. 20, 2011

LOS ANGELES – “It’s a David and Goliath story,” said Tim Disney, the executive producer of the environmental documentary “The Last Mountain.”

Scene from “the Last Mountain,” Photo courtesy of Fastertimes

The movie is about the Coal River Valley, West Virginia citizens’ fight to save one last Appalachian Mountain ridge from being blown up and strip-mined for coal. He said the movie was a “project of passion.”

Disney, who considers himself an environmentalist, told a group of USC Annenberg students during an interview session that the movie’s purpose was to give the people of Coal River Valley a voice.

“We tried to tell the personal stories of the locals who lived on the mountain. That was what was most compelling,” said Disney. “I’m very proud that I’ve been given the opportunity to do something like this.” (more…)

Movie Exhibition in the Future

Post author:journojames
Post published:January 20, 2012
Post category:Entertainment & Culture Feature News

Originally published Nov. 30, 2010

LOS ANGELES – A seismic revolution is taking place in Hollywood. Movie fans everywhere will have more options than ever before in getting their entertainment directly from studios, threatening the established movie theater business and vastly changing the landscape of movie exhibition.

The technological innovations in personal computers and home theater systems are forcing Hollywood moguls and executives to question their longstanding business model. Motion picture studios are now looking beyond traditional cinema theaters and making a major commitment to offer their latest productions on video-on-demand (VOD), as well as Web and Internet television, all in an effort to further push their product like never before and expand their audience.

“It’s a hot button issue,” said Lontih Khatami, in the Cinema Technology, Feature Film Post Production Department at Universal Studios. “It’s a sensitive issue among the studios right now because of all the interested parties that are involved.” (more…)