Mark Rivera plays an important character, Ritche on the CBC series, Son of a Critch. The series is based on Canadian commedian Mark Critch's memoir about his upbringing in 1980s St. John's. As he navigates through the awkward pre-teen stage and try to overcome his old-man-in-a-young-man's-body disposition, he just really wants friends. We all can relate.
Ritche (Rivera), a Filipino kid living in Newfoundland is Mark's best friend and is the only person of color at the entire school. They bond over being outsiders, but the other kids really targeted Ritche for being Asian. Although Ritche is having trouble at school, he has his friendship with Mark to lean on leading to many funny moments. Rivera shared that he genuinely felt connected to the actual Ritche Perez and wowed the producers with his energy. “When I read the script, I couldn’t stop laughing – it was so funny, I couldn’t even put it down,” says Mark Rivera.
The character is based off a real-life Ritche, Ritche Perez who even appears in one of the episodes. According to CBC.com, Critch got approval from Perez to include his experience in the show. The series even got help from Fil-Newfoundland-born writer, Romeo Candido. "I wanted to try and really tell his story of being a person of colour in a school with the diversity of a snowbank."
Catch Son of a Critch, Tuesdays at 8:30 EST (Toronto time) on CBC.
Cover Photo Credit: Mark Rivera Instagram
Hailee Steinfeld reprises her role as the original sad girl, Emily Dickinson in the final season of the Apple TV+ series Dickinson. The trailer show the chaos that has happened because of the previous seasons, a civil war, secrets, and family drama. Don't worry though, Emily Dickinson is here to help. She'll look to conquer the darkness and the suffering with her words and poetry.
To celebrate the final season, Hailee and the rest of the Dickinson cast gathered for a premiere at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles. Apple TV+ is releasing the first 3 episode to the season with weekly episodes following after. The third season is set during the American Civil War, Apple describes it as "Emily Dickinson's most productive time as an artist falls amid the raging American Civil War and an equally fierce battle that divides her own family. As Emily tries to heal the divides around her, she wonders if art can help keep hope alive, and whether the future can be better than the past."
If you can't get enough Hailee on your screen, catch her also on Disney+ late November on the much awaited Hawkeye series as she teams up with Jeremy Reiner as Kate Bishop and Clint Barton. The best presents always come with a bow.
Cover Photo Credit:
The trailer for NCIS: Hawai'i starring Vanessa Lachey as Jane Tennant is finally here. We don't have to wait much longer for the premiere as we'll get to watch it starting September 20th! Vanessa plays Jane Tennant Special Agent in Charge (SAC) and the first woman in the NCIS franchise to do so.
Along with Yasmine Al-Bustami and Jason Antoon who were casted as series regulars, another Fil-Am Kian Talan is also slated to co-star in the series. He'll play Alex Tennant, the eldest between the two Tennant siblings. Alex is struggling with his parents' divorce and all the changes that come along with that. Talan's character is described as a strong willed, mature teen who's good at his core, but not always make good choices. The New Hampshire native previously appeared on Netflix's Brainchild, Cicada, Homebound, Shadows, La Passion, and Mukbang. NCIS: Hawai'i will be Talan's biggest break yet. He wrote an essay about the experience of auditioning for a Filipino character, here on Backstage.
The trailer gives us a glimpse of what to expect in the series. There'll be action, great backdrops, and teamwork. Vanessa as the leader and SAC which is so refreshing to see and she does it so effortlessly. Who wouldn't want to be on her team?
Jane Tennant is described as being as diplomatic as she is hard-charging both in her career and personal life. She looks to thrive in a male-dominated profession through her confidence in her team and strategy. She’s also a single mother raising her kids while juggling her career with NCIS. She tasked with balancing the duty to both her children and her country. Check it out on CBS on September 20.
Cover Photo Credit: NCIS Hawaii Trailer.
Gold House, the premier nonprofit collective of Asian & Pacific Islander (API) cultural leaders, debuts a suite of ventures on representation, economic, and individual empowerment amidst record-high attacks against the API community during Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month. They launched the 2021 A100 List -- the definitive API honor for the 100 most impactful leaders of the past year -- as they aim to reshape public opinion of APIs through affirming media portrayals.
"We believe this story is more timely than ever amidst the surge in anti-Asian attacks and given that Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month is next month."
Gold House
A selection of the incredible people were involved with the 2021 A100 List:
REPRESENTATION
A100 Honorees are voted on through a rigorous process with a panel of multicultural icons. The panel consisted of: actress-singer Lea Salonga, Mastercard Executive Chairman Ajay Banga, Panda Express Co-CEOs Andrew and Peggy Cherng, multi-hyphenate Michael B. Jordan, Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger, and GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis, among others. The process involved 21 top API nonprofit groups, and hundreds of Gold House members. The A100 List launches in tandem to support We Can Do This that provides accessible knowledge about COVID-19 vaccines as communities reopen.
“Recognizing the achievements of the AAPI community couldn’t be more timely than right now. The tragic events of the recent past only serve to underscore the need to celebrate the many ways Asian Americans contribute to our country and the world.”
Daniel Dae Kim, A100 Icon Judge
The A100 List also highlights A1 Honorees, the most impactful API(s) per category:
This year also marks the first time ever that A100 Honorees who have been recognized more than twice, including:
Awkwafina
BTS
Dwayne Johnson
Grace Meng
Michelle Lee
Prabal Gurung
Priyanka Chopra
Steven Yeun
They will be inducted into the Hall of Fame—a continual tribute to their indelible contributions. Gold House will host several Future Town Halls with Facebook mid-May that explore women-led businesses, representation, and cross-cultural solidarity.
Additionally, to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Amazon Music and IMDb are coming together with Gold House, Pacific Bridge Arts Foundation (PBA) and Transparent Arts to present the 2021 installment of Identity Festival. Streaming live on Saturday, May 15th at 5PM PST on Amazon Music’s Twitch Channel.
This year’s festival will feature performances and segments from transformational figures across the AANHPI community, including Dumbfoundead, Karen Fukuhara, James Reid, Yuna, Steve Aoki, and many more to be announced. The event will also raise money to help aspiring API talent break into the music industry through PBA's scholarship programs and the AAPI Community Fund, Gold House’s GoFundMe collaboration.
View the full list of this year’s Honorees and Selection Committee.
ECONOMIC INVESTMENTS
While the New York Times reports that AAPIs are the fastest growing population in the nation, Asian-owned businesses were the hardest hit out of all demographic groups nationwide during the pandemic.
To that end, Gold House’s nation-leading founder accelerator, Gold Rush, will debut its fourth signature sale (dubbed “Asian Prime Day”) from May 17-31 at GoldRush.Market and in partnership with Facebook where consumers can support promising API-led small businesses via exclusive products and discounts. The newest accelerator class will also engage in a new women’s programming track, courtesy of Endowed Chair, Julia Gouw (Chairwoman of Piermont Bank), to address Asian women being the least likely to be promoted to management, as well as an intimate founder-investor matchmaking showcase powered by BMW.
Further, Gold House is unveiling its Future Network, the premier next generation API collective, to create pathways for representation and success that allow top filmmakers, actors, musicians, fashion designers, and founders to rise: through career-making and company-defining job opportunities with major industry partners as well as world-class mentoring and skill-building. The collective will also collaborate with other multicultural communities for mutual co-elevation. Applications are open now at goldhouse.org/members with the first class and major partners announced later this year.
“There’s a discrepancy between how APIs are regarded publicly and the power the community has always wielded. We’ve always been here--leading, artifying, investing, and speaking up. And as we continue forging allyship with other communities, we must also remember that we’re only as strong for others as we are, ourselves. On the shoulders of established leaders and activists who we celebrate today, it’s time to send the elevator down to invest in even more socioeconomic opportunities for our communities: from investing in the next generation of cultural leaders to We Can Do This’ vaccination education to local community investments via our GoFundMe collaboration and the Gold Futures Grant Challenge. When things get tough, we get tougher; we’re here--and we’re here to last.”
Bing Chen, President of Gold House
INDIVIDUAL EMPOWERMENT
Community empowerment begins with individuals. The Journal of General Internal Medicine recently found that Asians, Latinx, and Black Americans had the highest COVID-19 attributable deaths, with frequencies at least twice that of White Americans. To help ensure community health that will lead to accelerated returns of normalcy, Gold House is supporting We Can Do This to raise awareness on COVID-19 vaccines through educational campaigns with API communities that have been historically omitted due to language barriers or lack of healthcare access.
Gold House is continuing its on-the-ground empowerment through a new annual Gold Futures Grants Challenge in collaboration with Asian American Futures, a nonprofit led by philanthropists and community leaders. The challenge will increase and democratize philanthropy by engaging the public in funding projects that help AAPIs be Seen, Heard, and Empowered. Organizations can apply now at www.goldfutureschallenge.org.
“Our hope in launching the Gold Futures Grants Challenge is to inspire philanthropic giving, volunteerism, and social innovation among younger generations of AAPI.”
Joanna Kong, AAF Board Co-Chair
ABOUT GOLD HOUSE
Gold House is the premier nonprofit collective of Asian founders, creative voices, and leaders dedicated to unifying the world’s largest populace–Asians and Pacific Islanders–to fight for authentic multicultural representation and societal equity. Our ventures include membership systems and benefits to fortify relationships among Asians and with other marginalized communities (#StopAsianHate, All of Us Movement); championing authentic Asian representation through media to reshape public opinion (Gold Open, Gold Records, A100 List); and accelerating economic success and commercial representation through Asian founders (Gold Rush, Founder Network, Angel Network). To learn more, visit www.goldhouse.org or follow @GoldHouseCo on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Many of us grew up watching Blue's Clues on Nick Jr. and are familiar with helping figure out the clues to the adventures for the day. Since then, the revamp of Blue's Clues & You with a new host, Joshua Dela Cruz is brining more awareness to the Filipino culture.
The episode premiering on Friday, November 20th is part of the the network's "Blue Friday" campaign that's about celebrating families and giving back. We're excited because the episode will feature Josh's Lola (grandma) and they bake one of our favorite desserts, bibinka! In this extended teaser from the Asian Journal, viewers see more Filipino customs.
When sharing this with family and friends, their initial reactions include "What? No way!" and "They're recognizing Filipinos?" This made me realize how underrepresented our culture is in mainstream media and how it's still not normal to see ourselves in TV, movies, and music. There's still a long way to go equal representation in popular media, but this is a start. We're looking forward to the episode and seeing Josh, Lola, and Blue!
