In a ninja-themed TV show for youth lies the talent of an Asian-American teen star. Which show would this be? Nickelodeon’s very own “Supah Ninjas,” with young actor Ryan Potter in the lead. Potter… Harry Potter’s cousin? No, Ryan is a half-Japanese 16 year-old who is just like any other high schooler, minus his ninja side, and Ningin recently had the awesome opportunity to ask him a few questions. More »

15 Comments

On Youtube, TimothyDeLaGhetto is best known as a top comedian whose views average in the millions. One of his most notable videos include a Bruno Mars song parody of Just The Way You Are, called Only From Afar. Following the wrap-up of his recent performance for MYX TV’s Loaded Concert, TimothyDeLaGhetto was kind enough to grant us an interview providing insight on his life as a Youtube comedian and his thoughts on the new Myspace. More »

16 Comments

2010 for Far East Movement was no doubt, one heck of a year. They signed a major record deal, toured with Lady Gaga, released their first major debut album, rose to the top of the charts and achieved double platinum status (and counting!) for Like a G6, a song that’s creeped into US pop culture conscious. Somewhere in between the craziness, the guys of Far East Movement were kind enough to spare us time to chat about 2010 and the year ahead. More »

13 Comments

Quest Crew and Kaba Modern, which are dance groups that have been featured in MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew in the past, are participating in a special event to promote a national campaign, B HERE. B HERE includes two events: a multimedia art exhibit and live performances by comedian Paul “PK” Kim of Kollaboration, singer/songwriters Clara C., Joseph Vincent, Jennifer Chung and Paul Dateh, and of course Quest Crew and Kaba Modern. Even though the event starts on September 27th at Rutgers, they were kind enough to let us interview them in advance. More »

19 Comments

I was fortunate to briefly meet and interview both Evonne Hsu and Vanness Wu at the 2010 Asian Pacific American Heritage Tour Concert in New York. When it comes to Asian pop, both Evonne and Vanness Wu are a jack and jane of all trades. Both are adept singers, dancers and actors. Although their time with the press before the concert was very brief, I managed to get in a few questions regarding what it’s like to be a celebrity. More »

26 Comments

No one fills us with more glee than Glee’s Jenna Ushkowitz. Jenna is best known on Glee as Tina, the stutter-er who not long ago, revealed that she’s not who you think she is. Jenna, on the other hand, has no problems revealing who she is and was nice enough to answer our questions for her. More »

19 Comments

Every March, the iconic Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition serves as a friendly reminder that I probably need to revisit my New Years’ resolutions. Recently, I was able to interview one of my reminders, Sports Illustrated model Jessica Gomes. Aside from Sports Illustrated and her work in Korea, some of her credits include Victoria’s Secret, Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue. She was kind enough to provide us insight on her life as a model, working in Korea (especially with Lee Min Ho) and her non-secrets to staying beautiful. More »

17 Comments

I had the opportunity to interview John Cho on the set at the Walt Disney Studio lot. I have to give props to John Cho who complimented me on my scarf right after I introduced myself to him. He asked if it was an Alexander McQueen skull scarf and I unfortunately had to admit that it was just a knock-off scarf I bought at a subway station in Seoul. He marveled that Seoul was a crazy city and we laughed about that. The man is kind, well-spoken and has a great sense of humor – and that definitely set the tone for the rest of the interview. In the interview he gave us the scoop on what we can expect in the second half of FlashForward’s first season, future projects and his preference between Sesame Street and Yo Gabba Gabba. More »

11 Comments

Tim Be Told is a 5 piece songwriting power house, whose sound I can’t stop comparing to a more soulful Maroon 5 or The Fray. Since their dorm room days of musical mayhem, the Charlottesville quintet has won UVA’s Battle of the Bands, sparking a booking frenzy on the college music circuit, and turning heads along the way. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to interview them! More »

1 Comment

When I first saw Steve Byrne perform stand-up on The Tonight Show last year, I knew he’d be going places from there. What sets him apart from most comedians is the fact that he doesn’t just stand when he does stand-up. He channels a lot of his comedic energy into moving around on stage. Not just on stage, but on TV and film. He has appeared on the big screen with Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon in Four Christmases , Jeremy Piven and Will Ferrell in The Goods: The Don Ready Story and Vince Vaughn film Couples Retreat. In addition, he’s no stranger to popular late night TV shows and his Comedy Central special has been hailed one of the best of all time. Steve was kind enough to let me interview him! More »

7 Comments

The Tuesday night before Thanksgiving I attended a Boom Boom Satellites (BBS) concert in New York City. I had no idea who they were before the concert but quickly grew in love with their music. 12 hours later, they were in the Ningin office lounge hanging out with the Ningin NYC staff. It was kind of surreal because it’s not every day we have rock stars just kickin’ it in our office and at the time I’ve yet to fully recover from the wild night of partying. It was a great experience and I was able to learn a lot about them through a somewhat informal interview. Again BBS is a two-person band, Michiyuki (right) is the vocalist and guitarist and Masayuki (left) is on bass. Mimi, their manager helped answer a few questions as well. Enjoy! More »

11 Comments

Since I went nuts over Red Cliff, the good people here at Ningin (and the good people who work with Takeshi Kaneshiro) allowed me to interview Takeshi Kaneshiro (that’s right, I bolded it twice- can you tell I was excited about this?) For those of you who haven’t been following my Red Cliff posts (shame on you, go read my blog!), Takeshi played a leading role in Red Cliff as famous military strategist Zhuge Liang. Read on for Takeshi on his role in Red Cliff and more. More »

41 Comments

Interviewing Director James McTeigue was a challenge of a different sort for me. I didn’t know much about him at first other than that he directed V for Vendetta, which so happens to be one of my favorite films. That’s the only movie that’s he directed prior to Ninja Assassin but he’s been part of the Wachowski’s team for a long time and he’s had a role in the making of Speed Racer as well. I’m starting to see a pattern of Wachowski, James McTeigue, and Rain. I hope those three combine to produce movies forever! More »

39 Comments

Ningin has interviewed BoA, the Wonder Girls, Utada, and many other wonderful Asian celebs. This interview with Rain felt bigger than all of those. For me, part of the reason why is because of what we’re interviewing him for, the Ninja Assassin movie – the first big budget Hollywood film with an Asian male lead and a mostly Asian cast. Plus, it’s Rain. There’s no bigger male Asian pop star in the world! I was actually a little nervous but, more excited than anything else. More »

39 Comments

Today has definitely been one of those “I love my job” type days. Since most of you guys never had the experience of doing a press junket and interviewing celebs, I thought it would be good to go through my entire three hour experience with Rain and the marketing team at Warner Bros. And what a great team they have at Warner Bros. Everyone was so nice, open and chatty. I wish every studio was like that. More »

39 Comments

For most Americans, dressing up in costume only happens once a year on Halloween. For others, Halloween need not be required to dress up — it’s a hobby called cosplay. Cosplay for Alodia Gosiengfiao is more than just a hobby. In the world of cosplay, Alodia Gosiengfiao is a queen. She’s graced magazine covers, been featured on talk shows and ranked in this year’s FHM’s 100 Sexiest Women in the World list, Philippine edition. I obviously did not rank this year, but luckily for us, Alodia was kind to let me interview her. More »

142 Comments

I was a big geek in high school. Proof? I went to prom twice in high school and had no date…twice. Almost a decade later, I’m still a geek but with an L — I’m a Gleek. The term ‘gleek’ is now widely popularized as a nickname for fans of Fox’s Glee. The show follows a high school Spanish teacher who’s driven to turn a group of underdogs into a high school Glee club of superstars. Speaking of superstar, last week I was able to interview Glee’s Harry Shum. More »

26 Comments

In part one of our interview with Justin Chon, we learned about his recent travels and life since Twilight. Today, Justin continues dishing on the Twilight saga, future endeavors and gives us a surprising revelation. More »

34 Comments

Although you know Twilight’s Justin Chon as human Eric Yorkie, I’m happy to say that the humanity doesn’t stop there. After chatting with him yesterday for a few minutes he’s easily made it on my list of super down-to-earth people. That my friends, is a good list to be on. Aside from earning a spot on that list, he was able to dish on the upcoming New Moon movie and fill us in on what he’s been up to since we last chatted. A few times, he even turned the tables on me by asking me questions. More »

34 Comments

After watching Dave Boyle’s “White on Rice” comedy film about the trials and tribulations of a quirky 40 year old divorcee, I had the opportunity to briefly interview him about the making of White on Rice: More »

11 Comments