MIHO HATORI FUMES OVER MISINFORMATION
Former Cibo Matto vocalist Miho Hatori rocked San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall for her first U.S. tour since releasing her solo album, Ecdysis, in 2005. And, dressed in an outfit possibly inspired by the ‘80s and The Fifth Element, Miho explained her awe of Imelda Marcos on how to write a song about the female psyche. “I thought if information was a woman, she would be a bitch. We have to be careful, yeah.”
LYRICS BORN: I LIKE BEING IN MOVIES
How’d you like to be in the movies? Bay Area hip-hop mini-mogul, Lyrics Born, née Tom Shimura, loved his short cameo as a restaurant manager in Justin Lin’s upcoming Bruce Lee spoof, Finishing the Game, but didn’t get an official invite to the San Francisco premiere. “I think I’ve got a concert the night before. I’ll try to make it, though.” You can catch Lyrics Born on March 1, at the Fillmore Theater for the NoisePop 2007 music festival.
KELLY HU BOWS OUT TWO YEARS IN A ROW
For those of you boys and girls who’ve been clutching your Maxims and FHM’s, you’re going to have to wait a little longer. Word has it that the Hawaiian vixen Kelly Hu won’t be making it to the 25th Annual San Francisco Asian American International Film Festival. Last year, Kelly bowed out due to scheduling conflicts with ongoing filming. No word yet on why she can’t come this year — but Russell Wong “has an extended invitation” to take her place, says a source.
SUNG TANG PSYCHED TO GO BACK TO CHURCH
Sung Tang’s career has been skyrocketing since appearing in Justin Lin’s Better Luck Tomorrow, and has since appeared in the indie film Wadelaid and Hollywood blockbuster The Fast and the Furious 3: Tokyo Drift — but he still remembers the kind folks at NATA who steered him away from restaurant gigs to acting gigs. “You’ve got to support the church, the church of NATA.” Sung wrote to me that he’s excited to be reunited in Justin’s new spoof, Finishing the Game, and can’t wait to drop by March 15 to revisit the old crew, now known as The Center for Asian American Media.
DIRECTOR FINDS LOVE FOR BASEBALL AND SEX
Most directors don’t mind lending a hand to their stars to help move along production, but Japanese indie director Kumakiri Kazuyoshi went a step ahead and went in drag for his leading actor. Kuma showed up in an anorak at the screening with interpreter, Taro Goto, who also provided the subtitles for his film Green Mind, Metal Bats. “This was Pistol [Takehara]’s first movie and you notice that Namba doesn’t have very many lines. I, myself, played the part of Eiko, in all her scenes. And I made it sexy, too.”