Marvel responds to casting concerns

Our friends at Racebending.com recently alerted us to the fact that in Marvel's casting announcement for a film version of The Runaways, the character of Nico Minoru was not specified as Asian American. We are so happy to report that they have remedied this situation! Thanks to Marissa Lee at Racebending for taking on this important issue. For more info, check out this report.

Here is our letter to Marvel, thanking them for responding to our concerns:

August 26, 2010

Mr. Pflug,

We recently heard that Marvel Entertainment has updated the casting notice for THE RUNAWAYS to specify that Nico Minoru is Asian American and extended the deadline for submissions. On behalf of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans, I wanted to thank you for this quick response to the concerns of the Asian American community. We take this action as an indication that Marvel is dedicated to seeking out minority talent for this project, which I'm sure you know is one of the most important steps toward diversifying our media landscape and providing more balanced representations of minorities.

Thank you again for listening to our concerns and taking action to support our community. We look forward to conversations with you in the future.

Sincerely,

Lori Lopez

Vice President

Media Action Network for Asian Americans

manaa.org

MANAA Announces Its Eighth Annual Filmmaking Scholarship

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: (909) 869-3899

LOS ANGELES- MANAA, the Media Action Network for Asian Americans, is pleased to announce one $1000 scholarship for currently enrolled graduate and undergraduate students interested in pursuing careers as filmmakers and in television production (not broadcast journalism). Formed in 1992, MANAA is the only organization solely dedicated to monitoring the media and advocating balanced, sensitive, and positive depiction and coverage of the Asian American community.

MANAA recognizes the urgent need to fill the ranks of television and film with persons of Asian descent in decision-making positions as screenwriters, directors, producers, and studio executives. We are looking to award students who have a strong desire to advance a positive and enlightened understanding of the Asian American experience in the mainstream media.

Scholarship recipients will be selected on the basis of their academic and personal merit, desire to uplift the image of Asian Americans in film and television as demonstrated in their essay, and potential as demonstrated in their work sample.

The postmark deadline for submission is Friday, October 29, 2010.

STUDENTS MUST SUBMIT THE FOLLOWING MATERIALS. INCOMPLETE APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

1. A copy of all official transcripts.

2. Two letters of recommendation, one that evaluates academic and artistic aptitude and another that speaks to the student’s interest and involvement in the community.

3. A double-spaced essay consisting of no more than 1,000 words addressing the following items: Describe your involvement in the Asian/Pacific Islander Community. How does this involvement influence your creative work? How do you see your creative work influencing the API community in the next five to ten years?

4. A work sample consisting of either a short film or a selection from a screenplay (your best scene plus a synopsis or a 1000-word excerpt). Materials will not be returned.

5. A resume of both your work history and your community involvement.

Send all completed applications to MANAA Scholarship, P.O. Box 11105, Burbank, CA 91510.

Please do not send applications via certified or registered mail.

For more information about MANAA and our monthly meetings, please visit:

MANAA website: www.manaa.org

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/manaaLA

MANAA blog: manaa.blogspot.com

Any questions regarding the scholarship should be directed to scholarship@manaa.org or (213) 486-4433.