Awaken from that sleepy slumber of the editing board

And then it became deja vu to once again realize that I've completed a documentary film entitled, "That Asian Thing." As we left last our hero, a private screening to that daring documentary cinematic experience left readers wondering if the same version would enter the realms of judges who guarded the play button of film festivals. Well at long last, the disappearance of one Jonald Reyes has finally sighed a second sigh of relief as a completely revamped version of "That Asian Thing" has emerged from his mind.

Maybe it was artistic mentality that overwhelmed me and made me feel ill confident that the original version was "just not good enough." From an objective point of view, the original cut of "That Asian Thing" was buried deep between music videos. Although I did want to concentrate on the Asian-American musical talent, I did forget that I was aiming for a documentary film rather than a long music video movie (whom Michael Jackson was well known for). With that thought in mind and the well written feedback of peers who attended the private screening, I had a new gameplan in mind. I wanted to concentrate on what I learned.

I basically created an Asian-American 101: Intro to Asian-American Issues documentary. Now, I do apologize in the simplicity that came about in the final (new) product, but what I feel most confident about in this version is giving a decent portrayal of the Asian-American talent. The reason for the simplicity is exactly what I just wrote - "concentrate on what I learned." A moment that in this new version that is said from my own mouth is that I'm in my late 20's and I don't know that much about my own culture. SO - when I began this journey of those "Asian Things" I learned from the ground up. I learned about "model minority," stereotypes, marketing ploys on Asian-Americans, and all other relating issues that continue to hinder our equal existance in American culture.

My new version also followed the stages of an R&B group - Flipside/SOTO; a female folk singer - Cynthia Lin; and a musically versatile gentleman - Stephen Munoz. I believe audiences can relate with the stories that these people give from their experiences, interviews, and performances. This new version gives hope that good talent is still out there as opposed to fabricated, commercialized, voice altering people who make it in the limelight.

And as vain and egocentrical as my mind doesn't want to be, I pushed myself to insert more footage of ...well...myself. In my original cut, I was only apparent in the beginning to show how this "Asian Thing" started, but then I slowly cut myself out. This new version actually has me as the moderator of where the movie goes and the thoughts that poked out of my mind as the journey continued.

THEREFORE, this new version is approximately 85% complete. The remaining 15% lies in sound editing and credits. I do have my eye on a few film festivals as tonight was Oscar night, so now it's like a new season all over again in movie world. Not that this movie may sniff any Oscar dreams, but this is definitely a grand time to jump into the circuit.

I will soon post up a trailer, a few snippets, and possibly some new videos of left over footage. Please stay tuned and thanks!!