It’s that time of year! Time for Kollaboration Toronto auditions. What’s Kollaboration Toronto? It’s an annual talent show that began in Los Angeles in 2000 and now has different shows in over twelve cities across North America with Toronto being the sole Canadian city.

But it’s not just a talent show! Kollaboration Toronto provides an outlet for local artists of Asian descent to showcase their talent. It is a great opportunity for artists to break into the entertainment industry in Canada, the United States, Asia and beyond. Their simple and strong mission statement, “Empowerment Through Entertainment” resounds in many. It gives Asian-Canadians the opportunity to break through stereotypes and showcase their talent, whatever it may be.

Are you an Asian-Canadian with talent? Do you have a beautiful voice? Do you wow your friends with your smooth dancing moves? Do you have a hidden talent that’s just waiting to break out?

Head on over to Kollaboration Toronto’s website and fill in the online audition application. But don’t delay, you only have until Sunday April 29th to fill out the application. There will be two audition dates to choose from – Saturday May 5th and Saturday May 19th.

Stand out, Toronto!

Just the facts:

• What: Kollaboration Toronto Auditions
• When: Saturday May 5th or Saturday May 19^th, 8:00am-5:00pm
• Where: Hart House, University of Toronto
• Deadline to register: Sunday April 29th
• How to register: Online at http://www.kollaborationto.org/audition.php

Kollaboration Toronto is entering its 6th year and I am proud to be a big part of it. This is a video I made to highlight the lineup of this year’s show:’

If you didn’t notice, you may remember Ally & Kevin from several Heroic Melon productions such as expert.ordinary and the second season of the Awkward Compilation. Please support this global movement of “Empowerment Through Entertainment”! Save the date! March 12th 2011 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

The finalists are: AJ Libramonte, Ally & Kevin, I Rock With The One, Patrick Simeon and Piano With A Beat

Featuring special guests: Boombox Saints, Esly, krNfx, J Reyez and Clara C as the headliner.

Tickets are available here!

www.kollaborationTO.org

-phibz.

Its been a little dry on the blog side of The Banana Times as of late, but I assure you its for good reason. Just bask yourselves on poster above and you’ll know its for good reason. Before I get into what I’ve been working on in the past 2 weeks, I first want to promise I will write reviews on all the amazing films I watched at the Reel Asian International Film Festival, just as soon as things ease up a little.

Now, I am happy to say that I am once again part of the amazing movement of Kollaboration Toronto for their upcoming 6th annual show in March 2011. This year I will reprise my duties in producing videos for Kollaboration Toronto as well as being part of the marketing team. I can already FEEL the excitement of this year’s show, because I know it will be awesome. Here are the two videos I’ve proudly done for them so far. Pump. It. UP!

Kollaboration Toronto 2011 Volunteer Video
A mash-up and montage of sorts, highlighting the success of the Kollaboration movement across 11 North American cities (the video is missing Boston, I sincerely apologize..). Did you know Far East Movement was a winner at one of the Kollaborations in LA? Yes. The guys who brought you LIKE A G6 and ROCKETEER (:

An Interview with ESLY – Winner of Kollaboration Toronto 2010
A short interview with last year’s champion of Kollaboration Toronto 2010. She shares her relationship with Kollaboration, what it has done for her, and her overall musical background.

So what are you waiting for? Log on to the Kollaboration Toronto website and get your friends, families, foes to audition! Keep this movement alive! Empowerment through Entertainment. This year’s gonna be huge. 100% guarantee. Stay tuned!

-phibz.

PS: It’s not to say that I didn’t have some time to myself. I carved for American Thanksgiving (:

Last week, a heartwarming, heart-sinking, and heart-exploding display of love appeared on the Heroic Melon youtube channel. One member of the HMC went above and beyond to show his affection for his one and only leading lady, and the result of his efforts is something the whole world (well, maybe only the females in the world) should bow down in envy for. Our courageous and heroic Lester Calleja of the Heroic Melon Collective created an epic music video, that absolutely contains no sign of fail, and presented it to this one lucky lady for her birthday.

The Banana Times is proud to be part of Heroic Melon Collective’s:
OPERATION: BLOSSOM BOY

Only a handful of people are able to notice the various locations this music video was filmed in were places where Lester and his lady spent many memorable moments. Rest assured we tried to keep the production as authentic as possible. Lester and our lead guitarist (also HMC member) Kevin both are able to play guitar, I can also play the bass, Alex used to play the drums, and of course what made the MV look amazing was our always-awesome cinematographer, RJ. Overall, the experience was very enjoyable and even more so now that we get to see this amazing final product. We shot on no budget, got some farmer’s tans, and something great was made.

Now, the question, “Is Lester a good boyfriend?”. Well, I won’t answer for obvious biases (we used to date, too much for me in bed). But if your answer is anything less than “yes”, “of course!” or “no, he is a GREAT boyfriend”, then you are a moron. A giant one.

Enjoy!!

-phibz

How nerdy are you when you recognize melodic similarities in theme songs from different Anime series? Otaku alert!

So when the fifth ending theme song, Ray Of Light by Shoko Nakagawa, premiered on episode 51 of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, I couldn’t help but notice a similar tune in a much earlier Anime, Yuu Yuu Hakusho, and one of its ending themes. Keep in mind that I find far-fetched resemblances in many things. Such as my post about Robert Downey Jr as Sherlock Holmes looking like Alucard who also resembles Carmen Sandiego.

First up, Ray Of Light in FMA: Brotherhood. Pay attention to the background strings from the beginning of the video to about the 0:32 point:

Now onto Yuu Yuu Hakusho’s Anbaransu na Kiss o Shite (Kissing the Unbalanced) by Takahashi Hiro. The similar background melody starts at the 1:12 mark:

Is it just me? Or do you catch the similarities as well?

-phibz.

PS: Click the links on the song titles to check out the full version of the songs.

On January 16th 2009 The Banana Times, as part of the Heroic Melon Collective, hosted a film screening and music event at O’Grady’s Tap & Grill in Downtown Toronto. The event was titled The Best Case Scenario. We had an audience of around 70 people, almost double the amount of our last screening, Awkward Night Out.

We showcased a lineup of films that were very diverse, to show the HMC’s versatility and varying styles. Along with our short films, the very talented Kevin Lam from Bujumed Media and others, performed several musical numbers that eased the crowd into the event.

The Banana Times screened three things on the night, A Melon’s Journey: The Beginning, a teaser trailer for our upcoming film Dry Cups and a short version of our definitive documentary Peel Me. Videos below:

A Melon’s Journey: The Beginning

Peel Me – Trailer

Other works of the night included The Homecoming from Reuben John A. Tumanguil’s Perfect Destiny Pictures, Central Squares I & II from Lester Calleja’s Lemon Meringue Productions, and the headliner Process Of Elmination from Alex Chung’s Saunica Films. Videos below!

The Homecoming

Central Squares I & II

Process Of Elimination

All in all the event very well! On behalf of the HMC, we’d like to thank everyone who came and for everyone who helped! Please tune in to www.HeroicMelon.com for more details on our upcoming projects, updates and events!

-phibz

A couple of months ago, I had a conversation with a good friend about my future and how The Banana Times is going to progress. One option for my future was to work for a few years then return to school for a masters degree in possibly Journalism. She asked why not Film Studies, and travel the world for my thesis. I responded “but I wouldn’t know what to write about”. With a brief hesitation I said “…Banana Cinema?”. In retrospect it was an obvious answer, but it never crossed my mind. Naturally, my friend knew this would be the answer all along.

It makes perfect sense since the national cinemas around the world have already been deeply covered and analyzed. Looking further, we live in such a globalized, information-dependent, and international society that language is becoming less and less of a requirement. With that said, national cinemas are evolving beyond the restrictions of their geography and race, thus Banana Cinema is possible.

Banana Cinema will not be contained within a country or a specific culture. It will encompass many Asian cultures and the traces they leave in broadening their horizons past their borders and into other identities. This is definitely something new that can be explored, where a national cinema requires not a nation, but a unified globalized ideology of sorts.

Looking back in the last 10 years, were there any potential young representatives of Banana Cinema that came about? Here are a three people I thought of who have made strides in culture, art and media, as well as influenced myself and The Banana Times (alphabetical order):

John Cho (Actor):

We know John Cho from the American Pie films, Harold & Kumar, and now in ABC’s new drama, Flashforward. Cho has made his mark with the Asian community by by portraying the stereotypical yellowman in Harold & Kumar (soon to be) trilogy, but has graciously advanced into deeper roles such as the revamped Hikaru Sulu in JJ Abrams’ Star Trek and even a guest spot on How I Met Your Mother as the Caucasian-named Jeff Coatsworth. In my opinion his most significant “Banana” role was in Justin Lin’s Better Luck Tomorrow where he played the cunning spoiled Asian high-school student, Steve Choe. More on the film later.

Utada Hikaru (Singer/Songwriter):

Utada Hikaru has very little to do with cinema, let alone Banana Cinema, but she has made huge strides in bringing together Asian and Western audiences. Utada’s body of work speaks for itself, with 5 Japanese and 3 English studio albums selling well over 70 million copies. Although her English work is not as powerful or influential as her native tongue, her global reach is undeniable. You’d be hard pressed to find an Anime lover or a gamer who has not heard of Utada Hikaru (Kingdom Hearts, Rebuild of Evangelion). Personally, if Easy Breezy was not selected as her American debut single, Exodus would have been way more popular and recognized (an underrated album methinks).

Justin Lin (Director):

Born in Taiwan and grew up in LA, Justin Lin made one of the most relatable film to Banana Cinema. Better Luck Tomorrow revolved around a group of Asian-American high school students who became bored of school life and resorted to crime and violence. It was made with a very low budget ($250,000) but made it to the Official Selection of Sundance and the Toronto International Film Festival. The stereotypical Asian student who excels in school is portrayed relevantly, with a splash of crime and drama reminiscent of many Hong Kong films. Lin went on to direct Annapolis and Fast & Furious, but he will forever be remembered, at least in our eyes, by the man who possibly kickstarted Banana Cinema.

Please note that the aforementioned three people are not in any way better or more significant than any other possible representatives of Banana Cinema or any topic regarding the blending of Asian and Western cultures. They were elaborated on because of their emergence in the last decade more or less.

Honorable Mentions (alphabetical):
Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat, Ang Lee, Bruce Lee, Jet Li, Lucy Liu, Masi Oka, Ken Watanabe, John Woo, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi

-phibz.

The 3rd of four posts. The lead protagonist of the long-running grand manga/anime series One Piece, will appear on the cover of Men’s Non-No fashion magazine in their January issue. Monkey D. Luffy, the series’ main character, will be the first manga/anime character to appear on the cover in the magazine’s 24-year run. It is also Eiichiro Oda’s first cover illustration for a magazine that is not manga or anime related. Very cool! [More at AnimeNewsNetwork]

The first eight pages of this issue will showcase models who resemble various characters from the One Piece universe such as Nami, Robin, Zoro and Sanji.
This goes to show the status of the One Piece franchise. I say give it 5 to 6 more years, and One Piece will reach the level of influence, grandness and omnipresence that Dragonball had and still has. Oda explicitly states that his biggest influence was Akira Toriyama and his mammoth Dragonball franchise, so it isn’t far-fetched to say that One Piece will follow in his footsteps. They DID get together to create a one-shot collaboration, Cross Epoch. Sidenote: Doesn’t Luffy’s outer jacket resemble a something Gokou wears?

Another leading man on the cover of a magazine is Korea-superstar Rain on the Korean Allure magazine, promoting his latest blockbuster film Ninja Assassin. [More at AllureKorea]

Not much to say here. Asian men, feel inadequate? (:

-phibz.

The 2nd of four short posts today. A news update each for two Korean girl bands, Girls’ Generation and Wonder Girls.

First up, So Nyeo Shi Dae. Tickets for their upcoming Asian concert tour were sold out in three minute last week. You did not read wrong. THREE minutes. I guess every lonesome Asian guy out there is finally catching on to this great phenomenon. They are scheduled for two concerts in Seoul on December 19th and 20th, then they move on to Shanghai and Bangkok. [More at The Chosun Ilbo]

Next, Wonder Girls. The Wonder Girls are scheduled to appear and perform on the popular show So You Think You Can Dance next week. They’re going to perform their latest US released single “Nobody”. [More at StarEastAsia] Music Video Below:

I don’t really know why they were invited to perform at SYTYCD, their dancing in the MV has nothing compared to SNSD’s “Chocolate Love” in the video above. Ah well, hope they put on a good show.

-phibz.

I just recently watched Super Junior’s music video for their song “Sorry Sorry”, the latest of my recent fascination with Korean pop music. I’m sure it will fade soon, only if Yuri from SNSD somehow leaves the group. But if HyoHyeon leaves, my fascination will continue infinitely:

The political correctness and questionable part starts around 0:37 when the chorus begins. Its not that obvious, but you wonder if they’re singing the n-word, and they repeat it again and again and again..

Kind of how Chinese people when they speak Mandarin and they’re trying to decide what to eat at a fast food restaurant..

Go Russell Peters. Just a word of warning for African-North Americans out there who may stumble upon Super Junior (honestly, it sounds like a weird porno film title). Don’t hate on the Koreans, they don’t hate black people.

-phibz.