Three days ago we officially launched our Kickstarter fundraising campaign for Doughboy. By the end of the first day, we had $980. After day two, we were at $1480. Today we are at $1655 at 74% of our goal!!! It has been an overwhelming three days seeing all the generous support from friends, family, the APA community, and various others. I want to extend my deepest appreciation for everyone’s encouraging support in making Doughboy come to life.

We’re still not done yet, so please continue to spread the word! If you haven’t already donated and would like to, you can donate any amount starting at $1 via Kickstarter/Amazon payments. Seriously, don’t be afraid to donate a dollar! I appreciate every penny! I know times are tough for everyone these days so even if you can’t spare be of financial support, you can help the project by spreading the word and keeping up with the updates each week about our progress!

Donate here!

http://kck.st/futQDW

Soon to come: the making of the Doughboy suit.

Best,

Jason Lee

Turtlist Media is embarking on its biggest project to date!

Please help us make it happen by contributing to our fundraising effort! You can donate here!

If you wanted a funnel cake right now, would you know where to get one? Here are your options: Pay 50 bucks to get into Six Flags or wait for the circus to come to town. Here’s a million dollar idea. Data’s Funnel Cakes! Funnel cakes on every street corner!

Now here’s a thousand dollar idea:

“Doughboy” is a real life dark comedy about a quirky young man chasing his late father’s “American Dream”: To make funnel cakes as easily accessible as the American hot dog. The young man, Felix, is a long time (self-proclaimed #1) fan of Data from The Goonies and is an inventor, much like his trench coat-wearing role model. Felix’s father unfortunately died in a mysterious freak accident while making his funnel cake dream come true. An unexplained news photo of a burnt crisp sits on the kitchen counter to memorialize him. Now Felix feels a divine calling to continue his father’s dreeam. He designs and builds a suit to make funnel cakes mobile. The new business is an instant success, making him a local celebrity nicknamed “The Doughboy”. It’s a million dollar idea and it seems it may really be coming true until he is confronted by a militant activist group protesting the name of his business: Data’s Funnel Cakes.

Dear Supporters,

You may have noticed a fall in updates here, but that is because Turtlist Media is embarking on its biggest project to date!

This winter, we’ll be  producing a narrative short titled, Doughboy. It’s a dark comedy about a superfan of Data, the Asian kid from The Goonies, who feels a calling to continue his late father’s “American dream” of making funnel cakes as easily accessible as the American hot dog. He builds a mobile funnel cake machine suit inspired by Data and becomes an instant success. A new local celebrity, he is dubbed “The Doughboy”. It appears this business may really be coming true until he is confronted by a militant activist group protesting the name of his business: Data’s Funnel Cakes.

The script has been written and the team has been gathered. Now begins the journey of making it happen and we’ll be putting up weekly posts to keep you updated on its production. SO!…

Week 1

Yesterday we were approved to launch our Kickstarter project. In order to make this movie happen we need to raise at least $2200 to pay for the cost of production. I’m currently working with Teyu Chou (Chicago) and Richard Ford (Michigan) to create a bunch of images for marketing, costume, and storyboards. Here are a few preliminary drawings.

The short is slated to shoot in Little Tokyo, LA from Jan 17-23. Stay tuned to find out how you can help Doughboy come to life!

Best,

Jason Lee

Founder

Yet another shoot from our Summer Sessions project, putting high quality creative videos into the hands of talented Asian American artists through collaboration. Dan of Afterschoolspecial and Kevin Lien perform a cover of Lupe Fiasco’s Fighters.

Director’s Statement: Strangers in a Park is a post-modern psychological thriller that questions who is actually the victim and if the ambiguous line between sanity and insanity can really decipher judgement of morality and justice. This short pays homage to Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train (1951), where insanity and self-seeking evil are questioned even in the so-called “normal” protagonist when two strangers meet in happenstance and talk about murder.

Cast: Robert Ryu Jennie Hong  Crew: Jason Lee Director Jon Lee 1st Assistant Director Kevin Yau Camera Operator Jon Shen Assistant Audrey Kim Assistant  Produced by Jason Lee, Jon Lee, Kevin Yau

A few days ago, we uploaded a ridiculously amazing and entertaining collaboration with Arthur Nakane, a street performer from LA who calls himself the One-Man-Band. Needless to say, we were jumping for joy when we finally saw Arthur Nakane on TV.

After an exciting year of shows, news coverage, and even a feature on a Dayquil commercial, PaperDoll, an indie band with an electro pop rock sound, has recently won Kollaboration NY.

Last summer we covered PaperDoll, a talented pop rock band from New York City. Unfortunately the footage of the interview and performances was lost somewhere in the midst, but we have nonetheless been an avid follower of this band who will most definitely be blowing up our radio stations in no time.

PaperDoll was named somewhat frantically after a song they performed when they first got together. After that, the name stuck and a regular performers at the Crash Mansion venue in NYC.

The band is a collaboration of four individuals who meet up regularly in between their day jobs. They love their art and they love what they are doing. PaperDoll exemplifies a group who are about the music and the rush of performing before any kind of political or social commentary.

The band practices often at the Music Room on 8th Avenue, a dark building graffitied on every wall, lit ever so dim, and hallways filled with the sounds of New York’s finest independent rockers.

Their latest album, “Ballad Nerd Pop”, is appropriately named. Their catchy electro pop rock sound invokes the carefree, no responsibilities attitude of summer while its lyrics are also full of an emotional depth that balances their upbeat melodies.

Check them out on

Amazon
Youtube
Myspace
www.Paperdollband.com

By Vanessa Mancao

Video by Jason Lee

Michelle Martinez performs an acoustic cover of Shontelle’s “Impossible”,  accompanied by Summer Breeze on guitar and made possible by the support of TaiwaneseAmerican.org.

Hailing from the Bay Area, Michelle Martinez is a passionate and contemporary vocalist who likes to let her fun and sassy personality translate in her songs.  She has been singing since she was 2-years-old and hasn’t stopped making a name for herself.  Her funky, feel-good vibe has attracted good attention and has help thrust her career into the mainstream.  She opened for Colby O’Donis and Donnie of MTV’s “Making of the Band.” Michelle is continuing to pursue her dream and doing what she loves: singing.

Follow Michelle on Youtube

Michelle on Myspace

Michelle on Twitter

Buy her newest album “Adrenaline” on Amazon

Summer Breeze on Youtube

By Vanessa Mancao and Jason Lee

Her genres range widely from acoustic folk to jazz, but her tenaciously elegant voice defines a unique style that is pure, lone, and comforting. When performing live, the rare binary of strength and sweet within her voice reveals an overwhelmingly emotional passion for music that hushes a pindrop quietness wherever she plays.

Her cool, jazzy, soulful style has captivated audiences from around the world and her fan base is still growing.  Based in Oakland, California, this longtime singer/songwriter first came to the scene only a few years ago, transforming her passion into her profession.

Tong does more than just sing.  She is a multi-talented musician, playing many different instruments such as the piano, guitar, ukulele, and harmonica.

She recently released her debut album “Please Be Brave Before The Lions They Come” which features all of Tong’s original songs and was recorded in LA with the help of other talented musicians and producer/engineer Glenn Suravech, who has worked with other big names in the industry like Bob Dylan and the Wallflowers.

Work Cited http://www.myspace.com/alicetongmusic

www.alicetongmusic.com

Not only do they reach new audiences through their music, they use their other talents to convey messages through the short films they make.  “Panacea’s Placebo” showcased a comical film that breaks the persistent stereotypes of Asian Americans and African Americans by delivering a positive message that communicates a powerful message to their peers.

Fawng&Koboei hope to start a company called “Infinite Entertainment” that will continue to produce media and entertainment for people internationally with people who share that same dream.

Check out their newest short, “Panacea’s Placebo”!

youtube.com/fawngdaw