but I actually feel very strongly about this. The "this" I am refering to is "Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle". Is it going to be stupid, probably. Is it going to be gross, probably. Is it revolutionary? Absolutely. I had plans to write all sorts of editorials about why this movie is so important, about the representation of Asians in American mass media, about why Neela on E.R. needed a whole episode explaining that she's Indian, about why "Broken Blossoms" is a rascist movie, but then I got sent this email that basically sums it all up. Please read, and if you're not doing anything this weekend maybe we should make plans...
July 24, 2004
Dear Friends, Fans, Haters, Players, and True Money Makers,
Hey! This is Kal Penn (aka Kalpen Modi) and John Cho writing to encourage you to go see our upcoming comedy from New Line Cinema, "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle," opening nationwide on July 30th. This film marks the first time a major studio is releasing a project with two Asian American males as the leads. We don't have stereotypical accents, we don't passively tread through the story, we're not asexual or hypersexual, there are no martial arts scenes, one-dimensional cab driver segments. We play a couple of all-American guys who happen to be of Indian and Korean descent. Our characters (Harold and Kumar) are post-collegiate buddies who get the munchies and end up going on the adventure of their lives as they set out to satisfy a spontaneous craving for White Castle burgers. Ebert and Roeper just gave our movie "Two Thumbs Up"! We hope you will too. Read on.
The opening weekend for any film is extremely important. Studio executives (the people who make big decisions about movies) track the numbers from that first weekend's ticket sales and make all kinds of decisions based on that data. They decide if they will add more screens to show a film, if they will spend more money in promoting it, if they will start investing in a sequel... but most importantly, they decide if elements of the film work and whether they should do it again. In our case, that means they will be asking, "Will a strong script and story succeed or fail with 2 Asian American guys in non-stereotypical roles?". We personally think it will succeed, but we need your help! This film is our chance to prove that realistic, non-stereotypical depictions can make an audience have a blast, and take in enough money to make this happen in the future.
By buying a ticket to "Harold and Kumar go to White Castle", you aren't just gonna get to see a really funny movie with two dudes who look like you. Nope. You're also going to be saying to media outlets, "I support accurate representation of Asian Americans and would like to see more." You have the power to change things simply by buying a ticket to a film that we believe you'll have fun watching anyway!
Please go to the theaters next weekend and watch "Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle". We look at this awesome opportunity like we do voting in an election. Every movie ticket someone buys is a VOTE, and the cool part is, you're allowed to vote as many times as you want. With your support of the film, we will show decision-makers in Hollywood that supporting movies like these is not only the right thing to do, but is also good business. We'll also show YOU what it's like to ride a cheetah, hang glide off a cliff, pick up a hitchhiking Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Howser), tell off a bunch of ignorant punks, get love interests, and sing Wilson Phillips at the top of our lungs.
So just hold on for one more... week, and check out the website at www.HaroldandKumar.com. This film opens the weekend of July 30th! Send this email to all of your friends. Throw parties. Order food. Make a night (or weekend) out of it and go see "Harold and Kumar go to White Castle"! This is a landmark opportunity for the Asian American community, and we are proud to be the faces involved. With your support and the success of this film, we hope that it's only the beginning of many more Asian Americans on screen...
Enjoy the movie,
Kal Penn and John Cho
"Kumar" and "Harold"
Thursday, July 29, 2004
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3 comments:
I know that I, as a white person, drive around in a giant SUV with a suftboard strapped to the top, beat up and generally harass people of colour, eat nothing but doritos and drink mountain dew, and listen nearly enclusively to wilson philips...
well, at least that last bit is true...
in other words, harold and kumar was about as effective an anti-stereotyping vehicle as josie and the pussycats was an anti-commercialism vehicle.
I actually went to see the movie with my mom. Yes, you read that right: MY MOM. She loved it, and I quote "I've never seen a movie so anti-white before. It was great!" I also enjoyed it, even more than I thought I would as it was fairly clever for what it was. Then again, any movie that includes Doogie Howser doing coke off a stripper's ass is aces in my books.
I liked it...
Had some big problems with the end in which it seemed like the main characters accepted their destinies to take on the stereotypical roles of their races. I thought that smacked of terrible Hollywood status-quo bullshit.
The rest of the movie had some awesome bits (the film makers hightened the SHIT out of the pot-bag marriage fantasy scene. I was thrilled about that) and the two lead actors are fuckin hot as all get out hell. I want to meet the kid who plays Kumar and MARRY him. He is adorable.
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