Koji Steven Sakai is my Writing Yoda

Koji Steven Sakai knows what it means to be a writer. He said something in this interview in Hyphen Magazine that has stuck in my head ever since I read it:

"I don't believe in writer's block. I always tell new writers that the biggest difference between professional writers and amateur writers is that the amateur writers waits for inspiration but the professional writer creates that same inspiration every time they sit down to write."

A powerful call to excellence for new writers like me. One of my favorite pieces of writing advice ever.

Koji is also on my mind because tonight is opening night of The ID Film Festival, which he co-founded two years ago with fellow filmmaker Quentin Lee. (Yes, he’s the guy who directed The People I’ve Slept With, the romantic comedy that Koji wrote and produced.)

The festival is packed with a variety of features, shorts programs, and events for filmmakers, all taking place at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy in Little Tokyo. Check out the schedule at the ID Film Fest web site and get your $30 festival pass online.

I recently bombarded Koji with a handful of questions and he graciously responded. He’s cool like that.

Why another Asian-centric film festival? What makes the ID Film Festival different?

KOJI: I don't think there can be enough Asian film festivals! :) But what makes this one different is that it’s a festival by Asian Pacific Islander filmmakers for API filmmakers.

What actor, Asian-American or otherwise, do you most look forward to working with someday?

KOJI: Ken Watanabe, because he's so sexy! And my mom loves him! She'd love to meet him!

What was your biggest unforeseen production obstacle while shooting The People I’ve Slept With and how did you overcome it?

KOJI: The biggest obstacle is just money. But we overcame with it with a passionate and professional crew and cast!

Who's kicking ass the most in the Asian-American media world right now?

KOJI: Justin Lin – he’s the only Asian American filmmaker to make 100 million in box office. Until someone beats that, they aren't on his level.

Dream lunch date?

KOJI: Hmm... I'm married so it'd have to be a business date. But my dream lunch date would be with President Obama, because I have a huge huge huge MAN CRUSH.

Thanks Koji! See everyone at IDFF tonight!

Frak the Nielsens - We've Got Tweets!

Alessandra Torresani couldn't have looked more like a Cylon if she tried. Shiny, silky hair, full red lips, wearing a black mini dress that showed off her long, statuesque legs. Clutching a handheld mic, her sexy, raspy voice implored, "Please tweet! Hashtag CapricaisBack!"

I witnessed her heartfelt plea last weekend at an exclusive screening of the Caprica Season 1.5 premiere, hosted by SyFy. Alessandra appeared on stage with series stars Esai Morales, Sasha Roiz and Executive Producers Ronald D. Moore, Kevin Murphy, Jane Espenson, & David Eick. Each one begged us to get the word out about the show in their own way. Ron expressed pride and excitement in the new episodes and said he couldn't wait for us to see them. Esai declared he was "frakkin' sick of reality TV." Kevin Murphy asked us to find a Nielsen family, because "it only takes one." Everyone asked us to tweet. And then tweet some more.

As we settled in to watch the episode (which was absolutely fantastic), I couldn't help but think there was something wrong with this picture. Caprica is an excellent television show - sharply written and expertly designed. Featuring superb acting performances by under-appreciated veterans of the biz (Eric Stoltz, Esai) as well as stunningly talented new faces (Alessandra, Magda Apanowicz) and cameos from genre favorites (James Marsters, Patton Oswalt). Yet as SyFy's Mark Stern clearly stated before introducing the screening, Caprica won't get a Season 2 unless people watch - now!

Now I'm pretty sure no one is tweeting about Two and a Half Men, and that show pulled in 13.8 million viewers in the premiere of its 8th season.

What gives? Why do good shows always have to fight so hard? Even within its genre, Caprica is a top-notch show, yet it's still struggling for viewers to stay on the air.

So watch the show, won't you? Caprica Season 1.5 premiere tonight at 10pm on SyFy.

And then Tweet away - Alessandra will really appreciate it.

Films. Lots and Lots of Films.

I love a good film festival. It’s like one-stop shopping for movie buffs. An intensified week or weekend of all-things cinema, served up with a variety of themes – gay films, films made in downtown LA, or films featuring frogs as protagonists.

(Okay, I made that last one up. Or did I?)

And you don’t have to be a fan of the particular theme in order to enjoy it. Because film is universal, don’t cha know. I had a great time at last year’s Frog Film Festival.

(Seriously, I’m kidding.)

Case in point – the ID Film Fest, which takes place this weekend at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy in Little Tokyo.

At first glance, it looks like just another Asian-centric film festival. Indeed, all the featured films are made by Asian people and have a bunch of Asian people in them.

But a closer look will tell you that these films are must-see gems. The opening night presentation Fog looks crazy good - a tension-filled powder keg of a directorial debut.



And check out this trailer for Air Doll – no English subtitles, yet I still understand enough to want to see it.



Films and programs are $10 each or $30 for an all-weekend pass. Steal, people!

So come on down and check it out, whether you’re Asian or not. I’ll be there, volunteering and soaking up the cinema glow.

Tools of the Trade: Getting Your SAG Card

It’s a classic catch-22. How do you get a role in a feature film? You need a SAG card. How do you get a SAG card? You need to get a role in a feature film.

So you want to be a card-toting, dues-paying member of the Screen Actors Guild. Who doesn’t? Being in SAG means access to roles that actually pay money! But getting into SAG is difficult for one simple reason –

SAG doesn’t want you to get in!

There are already thousands of SAG actors that don’t work consistently. The majority, in fact. Yet every SAG actor has an equal vote in all union issues, most of which don’t apply to them yet. Letting more members into SAG just means more unemployed actors making decisions that affect the small percentage of the membership that actually is working.

So they make it wicked hard to get into SAG. And wicked expensive – initiation fees were $2,277 last I checked. But if you want to move your career forward, getting into SAG is necessary and in my opinion, it can be done.

Here are the ways:

• Taft-Hartley – A fast pass into the ranks. Easier if you’re under 18, a celebrity in a different field (like Jordan Farmar), or if you have a crazy talent like fire-eating that happens to be needed on How I Met Your Mother this week. Make sure your resume lists all your special skills, but only if you can actually do them. Taft-Hartleys seem to be more common in the commercial world, so try to get a commercial agent right away.
  
  
• Background Vouchers – Get with a good call-in service and be professional. Show up on time, bring good wardrobe choices, and stay where you’re supposed to be. 2nd 2nd ADs like actors who listen to them, work hard, and don’t complain.
  
  
• Via AEA or AGVA – Snag a lead role on stage or in a theme park, and a year later you can become SAG Eligible. Disney’s Pixar Parade, anybody?

But most of all, be diligent! It’s a long road, but you’ll get there eventually. If I can do it, so can you! Click here to read Part 2 of this series!

Logo Land

Thought it was time to give my blog a logo. What do you think?

My logo inspiration:


Famima!! With two exclamation points!! One of my favorite places ever!!


This logo will do for now - unless there’s a brilliant graphic designer out there that wants to design a few alternatives for me. Anyone? Bueller?

To Do: Procrastinate and Be Impatient

I’ve accomplished so much today! I’ve done three loads of laundry, emptied the dishwasher, and vacuumed the living room! I even cleaned my keyboard! What haven’t I done yet?

Oh right...

Write.

Procrastination is a sneaky little devil. Disguising itself as productivity, eating up precious hours, slinking into my day and refusing to go away.

Whenever I’m running errands, waiting in line at the post office or stuck in traffic on the 405, I fantasize about writing. I picture myself curled up by the window with my notebook while the words pour out with graceful ease. I’m glowing with creativity. Any man who happened to see me in this state would be immediately drawn to my intensely beautiful aura, stunned by the breathtaking sight of me in my element. It’s an idyllic tableau in my mind’s eye. Me. Writing.

But then I get home and open up said notebook, and I can’t find a comfortable position on the sofa. I have emails to answer and vital Tweets to check. I often end up inspecting my pedicure, reading my past writing, or rambling for a while before drawing a huge X through the page, punctuated by an angry scrawl – “Who cares???”

Procrastination gets the blame, but I know that impatience and self-imposed expectations are my real enemies. The unnecessary demand for results that stunts my creativity and keeps me from diving in without fear.

And then I remember – bird by bird. A brilliant anecdote from Anne Lamott’swonderful book Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. Any daunting task becomes less daunting when you break it down into pieces. Everything is written one word at a time. One paragraph at a time. One page at a time. Bird by bird.

And then, I write.

Fictionless Friday: An Update

My writing has gone to a dark place. A delightful and delicious dark place. And although I’m enjoying it, I have no idea what happens next.

Two months ago, my writing mentor challenged me to set my fiction writing aside for a while and start writing about myself. To find the material that’s already within me, lying in wait to be discovered.

Didn’t seem like a difficult challenge. If anything, I was game to see what I would find once I dove into the dark recesses of my soul. So I did.

Sixty days later, I have almost 100 pages of material. I’ve written about my family, the pain of being an outsider, the guilt of failed relationships. Tearful and charged words about school picture day and my hatred of eHarmony. I remembered stories about train rides to Kansas and the Sears catalog that I thought I’d forgotten. Gotten angry over casual encounters of the kindergarten kind. It’s been a thrilling trip into my psyche and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.

But now, when I look at those 100 pages, I don’t have a clue what to do with any of it. How do I take all of my personal junk and use it in my fiction writing? Or my new television pilot ideas?

Putting my stories into my characters would just make those characters sad, pathetic losers. Perhaps that’s simply borne out of self-judgment, but I just don’t see how the dark details of my life can possibly be applicable.

Maybe you think it’s obvious, but I’m still waiting for the click. The ah-ha moment where I see how my personal material can be mined in my fictional narrative.

Established writers always tell me to write what I know, but who wants to see a show about my crazy little life? I don’t know. But until the pieces fall into place in my head, I’ll continue writing about myself. Fictionless and fancy free. We’ll see what happens next.