We've been looking for information on the progress of The Scorpion King, which is currently in production. There are conflicting reports as to when it is coming out.

Scorpion may be one of the few films to have persons of Pacific Islander descent in both the male and female lead roles. Kelly Hu, who is part-Hawaiian, plays Cassandra in the film, while The Rock aka Dwayne Johnson is part-Samoan or 'afatasi' as they say in the islands. The film's story is centered around the first Pharaoh of ancient Egypt.

The publicity blitz is on for the Aug. 3 theatrical release of Rush Hour 2 starring Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker and Zhang Ziyi. Another interesting tidbit about this film is that it marks the world debut for Japanese pop queen Utada Hikaru who is featured on the soundtrack in the single Blow My Whistle with Foxy Brown.

I hope our East Coast friends showed their love for our APA filmmakers during the Asian American International Film Festival 2001 in NYC. Among the films screened were The Flip Side, The Motel and Wavetwisters.

Also stay tuned for the Ammy Awards sponsored by click2asia.com and aMagazine. The gala night presentations ceremony will happen on Nov. 10 at the Orpheum Theater in LA.

Lucy Liu and Antonio Banderas are in negotiations with Franchise Pictures for starring roles in Ecks vs. Sever, the world debut film for Thai director Kaos. The film is set to start production this fall.

 

 

 
Director Kirk Wong of The Big Hit fame is working with Artisan Entertainment on an adaptation of the Marvel martial arts comic Iron Fist. The film will likely start filming around the end of this year or in early 2001 and will star Ray Park.

 
Chinese basketball star Wang ZhiZhi might soon challenge major league player Ichiro Suzuki as the most popular Asian import in American sports. The 7-foot-1 center has a Nike contract and was recently hired by Beijing to help promote their Olympic bid.

Keep your eye out, we may see more Asian and Pacific Islander star atheletes on the American scene as sports programs in the Asia Pacific region continue to improve.

See you next time!
 

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