In which 2008 movie of Clint Eastwood are the Hmong people prominently featured?
"in the Twin Cities. It is now known as the Center for Hmong Arts and Talent (CHAT). Mee Moua was elected as the nation's first Hmong American State Senator. She was elected in 2002 and served until 2010. She represented District 67 in the Minnesota Senate, which includes portions of the city of Saint Paul in Ramsey County. The film ""Gran Torino"" by Clint Eastwood, though set and filmed in Detroit, Michigan, stars five Minnesotan Hmong Americans, and the original story was based on a neighborhood in St. Paul. It was the first mainstream US film to feature Hmong Americans."
"a Hmong actress based in the Twin Cities, assisted with the film's casting of Hmong actors. ""Gran Torino"" was written by Nick Schenk and directed by Clint Eastwood. It was produced by Village Roadshow Pictures, Media Magik Entertainment and Malpaso Productions for film distributor Warner Bros. Eastwood co-produced with his Malpaso partners Robert Lorenz and Bill Gerber. Eastwood has stated he enjoyed the idea ""that it dealt with prejudice, that it was about never being too old to learn"". Shooting began in July 2008. Hmong crew, production assistants, consultants, and extras were used. The film was shot over five weeks."
"Gran Torino Gran Torino is a 2008 American drama film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, who also starred in the film. The film co-stars Christopher Carley, Bee Vang and Ahney Her. This was Eastwood's first starring role since 2004's ""Million Dollar Baby"". The film features a large Hmong American cast, as well as one of Eastwood's younger sons, Scott. Eastwood's oldest son, Kyle, provided the score. Set in Detroit, Michigan, it is the first mainstream American film to feature Hmong Americans. Many Lao Hmong war refugees resettled in the U.S. following the communist takeover of Laos in 1975. The"
"community, some criticized ""depictions of Hmong men"" and ""the archetypical white savior trope that permeated the film"". Clint Eastwood's decision to cast Hmong actors, including amateur actors, received a positive reception in Hmong communities. Tou Ger Xiong, a Hmong storyteller and performance artist from the Minneapolis-St. Paul who had auditioned for a role in the film, said that he had respect for the film because the producers actually cast Hmong instead of asking other Asian-Americans to mimic Hmong. Xiong also argued ""First things first, let's get our foot in the door. Complain later."" Dyane Hang Garvey, who served as a"
"to give little prominence to the history of the Hmong, and that only two male Hmong, Thao and a gang member, were given depth in the story. Schein said ""I feel a lot of the plot about the Eastwood character is driven by the fact that he is a veteran. Yet there is no possibility for representing the fact that the Hmong were veterans too."" An individual established a blog, eastwoodmovie-hmong.com, documenting what the author believed to be cultural inaccuracies of the film's depiction of the Hmong. David Brauer of ""MinnPost"" said that some Hmong liked ""Gran Torino"" and that"
"testimony in a 2011 program, that ""Though many of the people who have seen the film may have gotten a sense of satisfaction and joy from seeing that Walt overcame his racism, the people who acted as the Hmong members in the movie did not"" and that ""They were offended by the traces of racism that were included in the movie and that they experienced themselves on set"". Some Hmong on internet message boards had posted criticisms of the film. Philip W. Chung of ""AsianWeek"" said that Eastwood, portraying a White man, was the ""main weapon"" of the film even"
"lines, despite what he said in the earlier interviews. Nick Schenk said that he became friends with many Hmong coworkers while employed at a VHS factory in Bloomington, Minnesota. In regards to Schenk's stories of his interactions with the Hmong people, Laura Yuen of ""Minnesota Public Radio"" said ""That sense of humor and curiosity permeate the script, even though the ""Gran Torino"" trailers make the movie look like, by all measures, a drama."" Eastwood wanted Hmong as cast members, so casting director Ellen Chenoweth enlisted Hmong organizations and set up calls in Detroit, Fresno and Saint Paul; Fresno and Saint"
"when writing the script. Dyane Hang Garvey served as a cultural consultant, giving advice on names, traditions, and translations. Vang argued that the use of the Hmong people did not seem relevant to the overall plot. He said ""there is no real reason for us to be Hmong in the script"" and that even though Walt Kowalski had fought in Korea, he had still confused the Hmong with Koreans and other Asian ethnic groups. In a 2011 program Vang said that Hmong actors were treated unfairly on the set, and that Eastwood did not give tips on how to build"
"though screenwriter Nick Schenk ""does his best to portray Hmong culture and the main Hmong characters with both depth and cultural sensitivity"". Chung argued that """"Gran Torino"" might have been another ""“white man saves the day” story"" but that ""What Eastwood has really created is not a story about the white man saving the minority (though it can be read on that level and I’m sure some will) but a critical examination of an iconic brand of white macho maleness that he played a significant part in creating."" ""Gran Torino"" was recognized by the American Film Institute as one of"
"witty older sister of Thao Vang Lor, who was portrayed by Bee Vang. She was 16 years old at the time of the film's opening in wide release on January 9, 2009. She was cast in the film after responding to an open casting call sign-up at a soccer tournament. The open call was specifically looking for potential Hmong actors. In a 2009 interview with ""The Grand Rapids Press"", she recalled, ""I didn't believe it, 'cause the tent said, you know, 'Clint Eastwood movie' or something like that, 'Hmong people needed.' And I'm like, 'OK, yeah right. Like this would"
"the Hmong actors. Ahney Her said that she liked the improvisation work, even when she was required to translate between the English and Hmong languages. When asked if the in-character racial slurs offended the actors in real life, Ahney said that she did not feel offense. Vang said ""I was called so many names that I can’t say here because of how vulgar they were. It disturbed me quite a lot, but at the end of the day it was just a script."" Vang said in a 2011 program that Eastwood did not allow the Hmong actors to change their"
"the Hmong community in the United States, the film received both praise and criticism. Walt Kowalski is a cantankerous, retired Polish American assembly line worker and Korean War veteran, who has recently been widowed after 50 years of marriage, causing him to be a lapsed Catholic. His Highland Park neighborhood in the Detroit area of Michigan, formerly populated by working-class white families, is now dominated by poor Asian immigrants, and gang violence is commonplace. Adding to his isolation and detachment are his feelings towards his married sons and their families. He rejects a suggestion from one of his sons to"
"the three main Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation (BOS) projects - Wanariset, Nyaru Menteng and Mawas. It is narrated by Brooke Shields. ""The Split Horn: Life of a Hmong Shaman in America"" and ""Between Two Worlds"" follow the story of Hmong people adapting to life in America. Both films have aired on Public Broadcasting Corporation. ""Between Two Worlds"" was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2004. Taggart Siegel Taggart Siegel is an American documentary filmmaker. For 30 years, he has produced and directed Emmy-nominated, award-winning documentaries and dramas that reflect cultural diversity. He is co-founder of Collective Eye Films, a nonprofit"
"when used outside of their home markets. Now, large companies from the emerging countries are looking at leveraging diaspora communities to enter the more mature market. ""Gran Torino"", a 2008 drama starring Clint Eastwood, was the first mainstream American film to feature the Hmong American diaspora. Diaspora A diaspora (/daɪˈæspərə/) is a scattered population whose origin lies in a separate geographic locale. In particular, diaspora has come to refer to involuntary mass dispersions of a population from its indigenous territories, most notably the expulsion of Jews from the Land of Israel (known as the Jewish diaspora) and the fleeing of"
"Next Door,"" about how Bee Vang and Ahney Her were chosen for their roles in the film and the Hmong actors' off-set activities. It was released on Blu-ray. Vang acted in a YouTube parody of one scene in ""Gran Torino"", titled ""Thao Does Walt: Lost Scenes from Gran Torino."" The YouTube parody addresses a scene involving a barbershop, and the views of masculinity in the original scene. Gran Torino Gran Torino is a 2008 American drama film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, who also starred in the film. The film co-stars Christopher Carley, Bee Vang and Ahney Her. This"
"many believed that the film was offensive. Actor Bee Vang said ""Hmong around the country were furious about its negative stereotypes and cultural distortions"" and that they confronted him when he spoke at events. Vang added that he engaged in ""explaining my obligation as an actor while also recognizing that, as a Hmong-American, I didn't feel that I could own the lines I was uttering."" Brauer said that in an opinion editorial released in 2011, Vang ""isn't kind to the Clint Eastwood film"". Krissy Reyes-Ortiz of ""The Bottom Line"" of the University of California Santa Barbara said, based on Vang's"
"into gangs due to a lack of father figures. Louisa Schein, a Rutgers University anthropologist who is an expert on the Hmong culture, approved the concept of Hmong achieving visibility in the popular culture of the United States, but believed that the film may be promoting out of date stereotypes of the Hmong. Schein said that her Hmong friends were ""touched"" by the film's portrayal of Hmong culture redeeming and reaching out to Walt Kowalski. Bee Vang, one of the Hmong actors, said that he was satisfied with the outcome of the film. Schein further added that the film seemed"
"Later, Thao is seen driving the car along Jefferson Avenue with Daisy. After holding casting calls in Fresno, California, Detroit, Michigan, and Saint Paul, Minnesota, Eastwood selected ten Hmong lead actors and supporting actors. Of them, only one was not a first time actor. Of the Hmong cast, five, including Bee Vang, one of the principal actors, were from the state of Minnesota. Ahney Her comes from Lansing, Michigan. The casting agency Pound & Mooney recruited thirty actors and over 500 extras. The firm recruited many Hmong actors from a Hmong soccer tournament in Macomb County, Michigan. Sandy Ci Moua,"
"in film and television, noticeably as a villain. When his parents asked why he continued to play ""mean"" people, he jokingly stated that his parents had given him ""mean eyebrows"" due to his heritage. He decided to create a movie based on his own personal life as a Hmong American in Minnesota due to the lack of Hmong representation. The movie, entitled ""The Harvest"", was written by Doua himself and was to be directed by Dan Ireland with Doua also starring alongside Russell Wong and Ellen Wong. Ireland has since died with Li Lu reportedly directing. The movie is still"
"of the last refugee camps in Thailand in 1998, additional numbers of Hmong have left Asia, but the definitive figures are still to be produced. Outside of Asia, where about 5% of the world Hmong population now lives, the United States is home to the largest Hmong population. The 2008 Census counted 171,316 persons of Hmong Alone Population, and 221,948 persons of Hmong Alone Population or in Any Combination. Other countries with significant populations include: The Hmong population within the United States is centered in the Upper Midwest (Wisconsin, Minnesota) and California. In the early 1960s, partially as a result"
"Japanese film critic Shigehiko Hasumi listed the film as one of the best films of 2000-2009. Changeling (film) Changeling is a 2008 American mystery crime drama film directed, produced, and scored by Clint Eastwood and written by J. Michael Straczynski, that explores child endangerment, female disempowerment, political corruption, mistreatment of mental health patients, and the repercussions of violence. The script was based on real-life events, specifically the 1928 Wineville Chicken Coop Murders in Mira Loma, California. The film stars Angelina Jolie as a woman reunited with a boy whom she immediately realizes is not her missing son. When she tries"
"effects, visual style, action sequences, and its music score by Jerry Goldsmith. In Tibet, following the First World War, American Lamont Cranston (Alec Baldwin), succumbing to his dark instincts, sets himself up as a warlord and opium kingpin under the alias of ""Yin-Ko"" (said to mean ""Dark Eagle"" in Mandarin Chinese; ""ying"" means eagle, however it is unclear what ""ko"" means). He is abducted by servants of the Tulku (Brady Tsurutani, voiced by Barry Dennen), a holy man who exhibits otherworldly powers and knows Cranston's identity. He offers Cranston a chance to redeem himself and become a force for good."
"Paul have the two largest Hmong communities in the United States, while Detroit also has an appreciable population of Hmong. Chenoweth recruited Bee Vang in St. Paul and Ahney Her in Detroit. The screenplay was written entirely in English. Therefore, the actors of ""Gran Torino"" improvised the Hmong used in the film. Louisa Schein, author of ""Hmong Actors Making History Part 2: Meet the Gran Torino Family"", said before the end of production that ""some of the lines actors ad-libbed in Hmong on camera will be tricky to translate back for subtitles."" Screenwriter Nick Schenk had input from Hmong people"
"an average rating of 7.8/10. Hollywood Chinese Hollywood Chinese: The Chinese in American Feature Films is a 2007 American documentary film directed by Academy Award-nominated director Arthur Dong. From early films like the 1900s ""Beheading the Chinese Prisoner"" to Ang Lee's triumphant ""Brokeback Mountain"" in 2005, Dong uses clips of more than 100 films and interviews of prominent Chinese Americans to create a thorough overview on the depiction of Chinese in mainstream Hollywood films. He hits many major points such as white performers who portray Asians in both The Good Earth and Fu Manchu series, Nancy Kwan's roles in ""The"
"cultural consultant for the film production, said that the film was not intended to be a documentary on the Hmong people and that it positively highlights, as paraphrased by Laura Yuen of ""Minnesota Public Radio"", ""the close-knit nature of the Hmong community in Detroit"". Doua Moua, a Hmong actor in the film, said that he had no regrets in playing a gang member, because, in the words of Laura Yuen of ""Minnesota Public Radio"", ""gangs consumed his brother's life while they were growing up in Saint Paul"". Moua added that many first generation Hmong are affected by gangs and drift"
"by the original ""King Kong"" and Ray Harryhausen films, remade ""King Kong"" in 2005, which was both a critical and commercial success. In 2006, a South Korean monster film, ""The Host"", involved more political overtones than most of its genre. The 2008 monster movie, ""Cloverfield"", a story in the vein of classic monster movies, focuses entirely on the perspective and reactions of the human cast and is regarded by some as a look at terrorism and the September 11 attacks metaphorically. The following year """" was released, and the legendary Loch Ness Monster is a playful creature menaced by overly"
"like Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, with Manny Pacquiao in the lead role. The story concerns a wealthy, influential American who is wrongfully implicated in a crime. To prove his innocence he tracks the only witness to the crime into the forests of Bohol where he encounters the Eskaya tribe. Eskaya people The Eskaya, less commonly known as the Visayan-Eskaya, is the collective name for the members of a cultural minority found in Bohol, Philippines, which is distinguished by its cultural heritage, particularly its literature, language, dress and religious observances. After the Eskaya first came to public attention in 1980,"
"Festival of Bangkok and the San Francisco Asian Film Festival. ""Genghis Khan"" was released by The Bigger Picture in only 40 U.S. theaters on February 21, 2008. As of February 25, it has made only US$3,892 there. It grossed nearly US$11 million in Japan and Mongolia. ""Genghis Khan"" was released on DVD in the US in 2008. Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and Sea Temujin (Sorimachi Takashi) is born the son of the chief of a Mongolian tribe, and grows up as the one who carries the blood of “blue wolf”. When he is grown up, he"
"pilgrimage. This was followed by non-fiction film projects based on Indian spirituality and cultural heritage in Cambodia, the Himalayas, India and Thailand. ""Hong Kong Dreaming"" (2008), an English-language film shot in Hong Kong, made with British actress, and Hollywood actor/producer Kai Wong, resulting in his biggest film to date. The film premiered at the International Film Festival of England and later at the Bengalooru Film Festival. In 2008, Kanchi served as the production manager on the short film ""Supraman and the School of Necessity"" with UK-based filmmakers. The film's cast were from real slums in Bangalore and stars a young"
"Hollywood Chinese Hollywood Chinese: The Chinese in American Feature Films is a 2007 American documentary film directed by Academy Award-nominated director Arthur Dong. From early films like the 1900s ""Beheading the Chinese Prisoner"" to Ang Lee's triumphant ""Brokeback Mountain"" in 2005, Dong uses clips of more than 100 films and interviews of prominent Chinese Americans to create a thorough overview on the depiction of Chinese in mainstream Hollywood films. He hits many major points such as white performers who portray Asians in both The Good Earth and Fu Manchu series, Nancy Kwan's roles in ""The World of Suzie Wong"", Bruce"
"exaggerations and distortion."" Schein also said that ""[t]he [Hmong] actors struggle, too, with their culture being made into spectacle."" Even though a real Hmong shaman acts as a Hmong shaman in the film, Schein said that ""his expertise was overridden by the screenplay and the filming, which distorted the ceremonial scenes by making them inaccurately exotic."" Vang said that the tea ceremonies depicted in the film were not correctly performed. Even though, in the film, Hmong characters feel offense when Walt touches a girl on the head, Schein said that in real life in Hmong culture it is okay to"
"said that the film's portrayal of the Hmong is ""generally accurate."" Regarding the result, Vang said ""[t]his film is not a documentary. We can't expect 101 percent correctness."" During the filming, Hmong cast members addressed what they believed to be cultural inaccuracies that were being introduced. Cedric Lee, a half-Hmong who worked as a production assistant and a cultural consultant, said that ""Some things were over-exaggerated for dramatic purposes. Whether it was our job or not, I still felt some responsibility to speak our mind and say something, but at the same time, the script was what it was. We"
"local species, and played a large part in the proposal of the Tibetan antelope as a candidate for official mascot of the 2008 Summer Olympics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a score of 98% based on 50 reviews, and an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads, ""In a setting both visually stunning and cruel, this Eastern film evokes the epic spirit of old-fashioned Westerns."" On Metacritic, it has an average score of 77/100 based on 23 critics, indicating ""generally favorable reviews."" Kekexili: Mountain Patrol Kekexili: Mountain Patrol () (ཨ་ཆེན་གངས་རྒྱལ། in Tibetan) is a 2004"