Variety 05/01/2024

“Beef” creator, writer and director Lee Sung Jin recalls a dinner at M Kitchen in Santa Monica with his friend Bing Chen. Chen had experience working in the digital world, and at YouTube, but that night, he shared a vision with Lee. “He was pitching me the idea for Gold House,” says Lee. “He was so passionate about what this could mean for the [Asian and Pacific Islander] community and to be able to support one another and champion the different voices within it.” That was in 2014. Chen followed through on his idea and partnered with Jeremy Tran, and together, they co-founded and built Gold House. Ever since, the organization has been building bridges and championing voices within the API community and beyond. This year, Gold House celebrates its…

Gold House co-founder and CEO Bing Chen has a vision “to build the Gold Bridge.” It’s a symbolic bridge that is already being constructed and heralds the next phase of the not-for-profit he launched six years ago with Jeremy Tran, who also serves as the company’s COO. The Gold Bridge marks the next phase of Gold House, which has championed and empowered Asian Pacific creatives, companies and communities through various initiatives. One of those initiatives was #GoldOpen, a means of ensuring successful opening weekends for API-led films driven by grassroots campaigns. The #GoldOpen movement rallied minority communities to support such titles as “Crazy Rich Asians,” “Minari” and “Parasite” with such actions as theater buyouts on opening weekends with influencers, executives and press to help further engage audiences. “Crazy Rich Asians”…

It’s been a ride for “Beef” creator, writer and director Lee Sung Jin and the cast — the series dominated the Emmy Awards with five wins, and nabbed two SAG Awards for stars Ali Wong and Steven Yeun. While a second season has yet to be announced, Lee is making good use of his Notes app, inspired by his surroundings. Lee spoke with Variety about his year and receiving Gold House’s Icon Award. • It’s been a year since “Beef” dropped on Netflix and became this phenomenon, what have the past 12 months been like for you? The last 12 months have been quite a roller coaster. A lot of high highs — getting to go through the release and awards season with Steve and Ali and all our collaborators,…

A1 honors are given to individuals who have had the most impact within their respective industries over the past year. Special honors are also given to individuals or groups who have had transformative impact on American culture and society through their careers and projects. Featuring Rachell “Valkyrae” Hofstetter, Anish Melwani, Hoa Xuande, Maui’s first responders, Jensen Huang and Dev Patel Filipino American streamer Rachell “Valkyrae” Hofstetter never expected her career to take off as it did. She started streaming video games on Twitch in 2015 to battle loneliness and possibly make a few friends. Due to her bubbly personality, she amassed millions of followers on multiple platforms, which led to sponsorships and brand endorsements. In 2018, she became the first female streamer to join the gaming and lifestyle organization 100…

In February, global luxury leader LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) launched 22 Montaigne Entertainment, signaling its intent to explore film, TV and audio for the brands. At its helm is Anish Melwani, chairman and CEO for North America, who sees a powerful connection between culture and entertainment, more so with the rise of streaming services. Since his appointment in 2016, Melwani has integrated Tiffany & Co. into the company’s portfolio, driven the brands’ sustainable efforts, and overseen acquisitions and projects. Melwani will be honored May 11 at the Gold House Gala as an A1 honoree in Fashion & Lifestyle. • What does the A1 honor by Gold House mean to you? I hope that the platform A1 provides for representation of Asian Pacific leaders and helps not only to highlight…

Hoa Xuande’s life changed on Sept. 21, 2022. It was nine months after he had sent in his audition tape for HBO’s series “The Sympathizer”; he had gone through the gamut of Zoom calls, he’d met with director Park Chan-wook, he’d traveled to South Korea and even made some trips to Los Angeles as part of the audition process. But there was no word on whether he’d gotten the part — radio silence after readings and tests had to mean the worst. But on that fateful September morning, he learned that he’d be playing the Captain, starring in the series opposite Robert Downey Jr. and Sandra Oh. “I felt like I won the lottery,” says Xuande. The series is based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s 2016 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. The Captain…