December 19, 2006

• 2006  YEAR  END  ENTRY / JAMES KIM

  A few quick updates and one thing I’d like to say before the year’s out:

  - The film about Bruce Lee I shot this summer with Justin Lin, “FINISHING THE GAME“was accepted into the Sundance Film Festival Midnight Screening Category (previous flicks in this category include, “The Blair Witch Project”).  This one’s got a lot of folks: Roger Fan, Sung Kang, Jason Tobin, Dustin Nguyen, James Franco, Brian Tee, Leonardo Nam and George Takei… just to name a few.  The screening dates/times will be: 

  Sunday , Jan 21	11:59 PM	Egyptian Theatre, Park City	FINIS21EL
  Monday , Jan 22	11:30 AM	Holiday Village Cinema II	FINIS222D
  Thursday , Jan 25	9:00 PM	Tower Theatre, SLC	FINIS25WN
  Saturday , Jan 27	11:59 PM	Holiday Village Cinema III	FINIS273L

  Most of the cast will be there for the screenings – if you’ve never been to Park City, it’s a great time.  The tickets aren’t as overly pricey as you may think, the hotels get more reasonable a  few miles out of town and the cast and crew are almost always there for Q&A about the film afterwards.  Don’t like the ending or have a question about a storyline — raise your hand and ask the director him/herself.  Tickets for “FTG“may be purchased though here.

  -  I just received word that “HATCHET” will see a wide theatrical release in April 2007.  In the words of the director:

  “You’ll be happy to know that I actually saw the final press release for Hatchet’s acquisition and theatrical release…it’s all sealed up and done.  Yes, you’ve heard right- end of 1st Quarter, nationwide theatrical release.  (That means March/April in a theater near you.)  I noticed in this month’s Fangoria magazine that they threw the term “limited” next to our release.  They also had our release listed as January.  Just so everyone knows – limited is when they only make like 12 prints, run it in a few cities for a few weeks, and then hit the DVD.  Our release is not limited.  The intention is for WIDE.  Whether or not they open it wide right away or ramp up to a wide (known as “platforming” for you non-industry savvy folks)  is their game-time decision…but our release is not supposed to be limited.”  

  - On ”THE GENE GENERATION“‘s end, the director sent me this production still along with a note reading, “Hang in there – almost done!”  (That’s me in my white, Anakin Skywalker-esque tunic.  Hey, it’s the future – everyone’s going to be wearing ‘em!)   

  - And finally, as we all prepare to visit friends and familes for the holidays, please keep in mind Kati, Penelope and Sabine, the wife and children of James Kim. 

  Phil Yu from angryasianman.com sums up the whole situation best for me:

  “… there’s something about a man going beyond his personal limits to for the sake of loved ones. Very few of us ever experience the chance to see what we’re actually made of, what we’re capable of, and how far we’d go in such a situation. His death is tragic, but we know he died a hero. ”  

  I don’t know whether it’s because we were so close in age or that I’ve got a hapa daughter or that he was a fellow Asian Male in the business or that his wife is caucasian – probably all of the above but it’s struck a chord with me nevertheless.  

  It’s irrefutable the man was absolutely freezing and probably thought about turning back towards his car a hundred thousand times — but every time that urge was met with the three faces you see on the left and right side of this paragraph.  And that kept him forging ahead for help.     

  The tribute video here shows the soul and personality behind the name and face we’ve all read/seen in the newspapers or internet the past few weeks.  So in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of last minute shopping in the coming days, please consider setting something aside for James’ children: http://www.jamesandkati.com/ . 

  I sincerely thank you for your readership and support the past few years – and implore you to extend the generosity you’ve shown me towards the Kim Family.   Be safe and Happy Holidays to you and yours. 

  • 7:22 pm
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