A Milestone for Asian American Representation with ‘House of Gucci’ Hair and Makeup Oscar Nomination

And the women-led team behind Pixar’s ‘Turning Red’ explain why ‘authenticity’ is key.

Feb 18, 2022

“Almost half of all Asian roles serve as a punchline, study finds.”

You’re not the only ones disappointed by that headline. For us, “crushing the myth” means dismantling stereotypes and improving Asian representation across all industries, including Media & Entertainment. Because to “see” our community is to see us on screen.

So welcome to Entertainment Exclusive, Crushing the Myth’s weekly newsletter that breaks down the latest Asian Entertainment news & newsmakers.

Get ready for new shows to binge, videos to keep you on the edge of your seat, and Asian celebs to stan. If that’s not enough, there are also job listings for the entertainment industry & open casting calls just a scroll down.

🏆 The Headlines

‘House of Gucci’ Hair and Makeup Oscar Nomination for Frederic Aspiras Is a Milestone for Asian American Representation

Frederic Aspiras, hairstylist to Lady Gaga in “House of Gucci” has become the second Asian American to be nominated for a hair and makeup Oscar.
Japanese-born American special make-up effects artist and visual artist Kazuhiro Tsuji is the only other Asian American to be nominated and win for “The Darkest Hour” and “Bombshell.”

The award was created by the Academy in 1981 after complaints that there was no way to recognize the makeup artists for the 1980 film “The Elephant Man.”
Aspiras, who is of Vietnamese-Filipino descent, also earned a BAFTA nomination last week and is nominated for a Makeup and Hairstylist Guild nomination. He has worked with Gaga for over 13 years, including creating the look sported by Gaga for Variety’s Actors on Actors cover. Speaking with Variety recently about the significance of being recognized for his work, Aspiras said, “I started with Lady Gaga 13 years ago, and fans from around the world who have written to me telling me they have become hairdressers — that to me is probably one of the most rewarding things ever.” He continues, “It’s also about being a role model in that I am Asian American with refugee parents.”

‘I was Mei growing up’: Women-led team behind Pixar’s ‘Turning Red’ explain why ‘authenticity’ is key.

In Disney Pixar’s new coming of age movie, 13-year-old Mei Lee confronts the monstrous difficulty of puberty and becoming who you really are.

The woman-led team behind “Turning Red” spoke to NextShark about the challenges behind creating a movie that felt both universal but also distinctly Asian American.
“In light of all the terrible things that have happened to our community, it’s more important than ever to really showcase these stories and put our faces out there to tell the world hey, we’re here, we have emotions and complex feelings and relationships, and the issues we go through are universal,” director Domee Shi said.

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‘Take Out with Lisa Ling’ Is a Delicious Crash Course on Asian America

Take Out with Lisa Ling, the new HBO Max docuseries about Asian American cuisines, kicks off on an energetic note. “Tell me a story I don’t know,” snarls the theme song by the Linda Lindas. (You might remember them as the teenaged band whose Los Angeles Public Library performance of their song “Racist, Sexist Boy,” spurred by a Sinophobic incident, went viral last year.)

It’s a food show, sure, but it’s really more of an attempt at elucidating the overlooked yet long and rich history of Asians in the United States. For example, the first Asian American settlement on the continent—St. Malo in Louisiana, established as early as 1763—was created by Manilamen, a fact that few American history classes teach. But that’s covered in Take Out’s very first episode, in which journalist Lisa Ling sits down for a seafood boil with these Filipino settlers’ descendents and considers how they paved the way for the region’s shrimp industry.
This focus on Asian American history hits at the right time: Just this month New Jersey became the second state, after Illinois, to sign into law a history curriculum that’s more inclusive of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Across the country calls for increased education about this less-regarded history have grown, especially as anti-Asian prejudice and hate crimes have risen over the course of the pandemic.
In Take Out food becomes the conduit for bigger conversations about history, immigration, identity, and how to piece all of those things together. Take Out is the kind of show you’ll like if you enjoyed High on the Hog, Taste the Nation, or Broken Bread—shows that put food into context of a community’s struggles and successes. Of course, all of those big ideas are interspersed with segments of really, really good-looking meals and moments of levity, like Ling and her husband, Paul Song, doing kimchibacks (like picklebacks but with kimchi) with D.C.–based chef Danny Lee.

🎬 Industry Insider

Korean-American Series ‘Dramaworld’ to Launch on IMDb TV in U.S. (Variety)
‘The Big Door Prize’: Djouliet Amara, Ally Maki & Crystal Fox Round Out Series Regular Cast For Apple TV+ Comedy (Deadline)
WarnerMedia OneFifty Acquires Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Oscar-Nominated ‘Drive My Car’; Sets HBO Max Debut (Diaspora)