Hard N.O.C. Life

Latest Episodes:

Episode 092: The Tiger Hunter with Director Lena Khan Sep 22, 2017

Show notes

This week, Edward Hong and Josephine Chang guest host with special guest, director Lena Khan of the brand new film starring Danny Pudi, The Tiger Hunter.

Set in the 1970s, The Tiger Hunter is the story of Sami Malik, a young Indian man who travels to America to become an engineer in order to impress his childhood crush and live up to the legacy of his father — a legendary tiger hunter — back home. When Sami's job falls through, he takes a low-end job and joins with a gang of oddball friends in hopes of convincing his childhood sweetheart that he's far more successful than he truly is… or perhaps ever could be.

A timely and topical comedy that captures a young immigrant's pursuit for success, love, and the American dream with humor and heart, The Tiger Hunter is a charming comedy bolstered by vibrant storytelling and an endearing comic spirit.

All this and more on Hard NOC Life! Watch it on your screen, hit "play," and check this. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Google Play!

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops.

Episode 091: Reviewing Netflix's Death Note Sep 01, 2017

Show notes

Hard NOC Life returns with a rundown of the nerd news with Desiree Rodriguez. Later Edward Hong and Josephine Chang join to help review Netflix's Death Note adaptation.

Keith and Desiree, a Starfire superfan, discuss the casting of Anna Diop in the live action Titans series before they tackle Hasbro's lawsuit against DC Comics over the Bumblebee trademark. Then, Edward and Josephine join in to analyze the aftermath of Ed Skrein dropping out of Hellboy. Then, the whole crew gives their opinion on Death Note.

All this and more on Hard NOC Life! Watch it on your screen, hit "play," and check this. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Google Play!

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops.

Episode 090: Southern Fried Asian Aug 18, 2017

Show notes

Southern Fried Asian is a new podcast from The Nerds of Color hosted by Keith Chow.

Typically, stories about Asian Americans are centered on the experiences of those who grew up on the coasts -- New York, Southern California, the Bay Area -- where communities of different Asian American subgroups have lived for many years.

On this podcast, though, we're gonna look at a region of the country that isn't typically associated with these stories and unpack what it means to be Asian American in the American South.

Our official theme music is the song "Top Down" by Chops, Timothy Flu, and Mic Barz.

Episode 089: Greg Pak Discusses 'Mech Cadet Yu' Aug 03, 2017

Show notes

This week, Boom! Studios has finally released the first issue of Mech Cadet Yu, the most recent collaboration between comic book stalwarts Greg Pak and Takeshi Miyazawa. To celebrate the book's release, Greg returns to Hard NOC Life to explain the book's creation, including its origins in the Secret Identities follow-up anthology, Shattered.

Greg and Keith also discuss everything from the lack of Asian American representation in lead roles, the evolution of the story from Shattered to now, depicting different kinds of Asian American characters, and why Greg should cosplay as John Wick for New York Comic-Con.

All this and more on Hard NOC Life! Watch it on your screen, hit "play," and check this.

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops

Episode 088: #AACC2017: #AAIronFist - Bringing an Asian American Hero to Life Jul 28, 2017

Show notes

Recorded live during the Asian American ComiCon Summit on Art, Action, and the Future.

Marvel's Iron Fist has generally been seen as a major disappointment — and it could've been so much more, if only Marvel and Netflix had embraced a not-so-radical rethinking of their martial artist hero as an Asian American. Some Asian American filmmakers actually brought their reimagined concepts for an Asian American Iron Fist to life, and they'll share their short videos as part of a conversation with the creator of the #AAIRONFIST hashtag.

Keith Chow, creator of the #AAIronFist hashtag moderates a screening of fan films and discussion with panelists Lewis Tan (Marvel's Iron Fist); Benjamin To (Filmmaker, The Immortal Iron Fist); Adam Lim (Iron Fist Pitch Video); John Brougher (Creator, Iron and Rage); and Susan Cheng (Entertainment Reporter, Buzzfeed).

All this and more on Hard NOC Life! Watch it on your screen, hit "play," and check this.

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops

Episode 087: Warrior Women -- Reimagining the Asian Female Hero (From AACC) Jul 26, 2017

Show notes

Recorded live during the Asian American ComiCon Summit on Art, Action, and the Future.

In the wake of Wonder Woman, with Mulan on the horizon, what should we expect in a rich, textured, powerful and provocative Asian (or Asian American!) heroine? What's worked, what hasn't and why has it taken so damned long?

Moderated by The Hollywood Reporter's Rebecca Sun, panelists include Paula Yoo (Writer/Producer, Supergirl); Sarah Kuhn (author of Heroine Complex); Samantha Jo (actor/stunts/Amazon, DC's Wonder Woman); Claire Lanay (actress, podcaster Afronerd Radio); and Sumalee Montano (Katana from Beware the Batman)!

All this and more on Hard NOC Life! Watch it on your screen, hit "play," and check this.

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops

Episode 086: Envisioning Diverse Futures (From AACC) Jul 24, 2017

Show notes

Recorded live during the Asian American ComiCon Summit on Art, Action, and the Future.

We've seen so many different kinds of futures unfurl in pop culture, and many of them have people of color and LGBTQ individuals as backdrop and "local color." What would a truly diverse, inclusive and intersectional future really look like?

Moderated by Keith Chow, panelists include: Steven Barnes (Sci-Fi writer, The Legacy of Heorot and the Dream Park series, with Larry Niven); CB Lee (author Not Your Sidekick); Arune Singh (VP of Marketing, BOOM! Studios); LaToya Morgan (writer for AMC's Into The Badlands); Marc Bernardin (Fatman on Baman podcast; writer, Castle Rock).

All this and more on Hard NOC Life! Watch it on your screen, hit "play," and check this.

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops

Episode 085: Can Pop Culture Save the World? (From AACC) Jul 21, 2017

Show notes

Recorded live during the Asian American ComiCon Summit on Art, Action, and the Future.

Pop culture is literally the people's culture. At a time when creative and diverse voices are both under attack, what can pop culture do to make social change?

Moderator Jeff Yang (CNN contributor, They Call Us Bruce) kicks off the festivities with an opening plenary that features panelists: Tananarive Due (Sci-Fi pioneer/Afrofuturist); Krista Suh (Pink Pussyhat Project founder); MILCK (Singer/Musician, "Quiet" Women's March anthem); and Ira Madison III (entertainment writer for The Daily Beast).

All this and more on Hard NOC Life! Watch it on your screen, hit "play," and check this.

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops

Episode 084: We Need #WonderWomanTAS Jun 23, 2017

Show notes

As Wonder Woman continues to break box office records, there still isn't enough content featuring everyone's favorite Amazon. That's why artists Jermaine Dickerson and Taylor Cordingley have each been championing for a Wonder Woman animated series.

Both artists stop by Hard NOC Life, along with Keith's DCTV Classics' co-host Desiree Rodriguez, to talk about how an animated Wonder Woman can finally be the intersectional and diverse series we've all been waiting for!

All this and more on Hard NOC Life! Watch it on your screen, hit "play," and check this.

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops.

Episode 083: Celebrating 'Batman Returns' with Ira Madison III Jun 14, 2017

Show notes

On June 19, 1992, Batman Returns premiered and was unlike any comic book superhero movie that came before -- or after. Starring Michael Keaton as Batman, Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman, and Danny DeVito as Penguin, Batman Returns was a beautiful dark twisted fantasy that doubled down on Tim Burton's gothic tendencies and created one of the most enduring female characters in superhero cinema.

So who better to talk about what this movie means to the culture than The Daily Beast's Ira Madison III -- who recently expounded on the importance of the Batman/Catwoman relationship? Together, Keith and Ira explore what made the movie great -- and why it's sometimes misunderstood. Keith may have also convinced Ira to buy a Catwoman action figure on eBay. They also take a moment to remember the original Batman, Adam West, who passed away on June 9.

All this and more on Hard NOC Life! Watch it on your screen, hit "play," and check this.

As always, our official theme music is brought to you by the super team of Adam WarRock and Chops.

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