BOARD OF ADVISORS

Terence Chang

After studying filmmaking at New York University, Terence Chang returned to his native Hong Kong in the late 1970s to become a production manager for Golden Harvest films, Rediffusion Television (RTV), and Johnny Mak Productions. While at Johnny Mak, he produced LONELY 15, DRAGON FORCE, and EVERLASTING LOVE, which was selected to participate in the Director's Fortnight section of the Cannes Festival in 1984.

While in Hong Kong he greatly contributed to launching the careers of Brandon Lee and Michelle Yeoh, and later managed Asia's superstar Chow Yun-Fat and writer Lilian Lee, author of Farewell, My Concubine. At Film Workshop, he oversaw the making of THE KILLER, SWORDSMAN, SPY GAMES, LOVE AND DEATH IN SAIGON, A CHINESE GHOST STORY II, and GUNMEN, and marketed these films internationally. Mr. Chang joined with director John Woo and together they created ONCE A THIEF and HARD BOILED.

His Hollywood collaborations with Mr. Woo include HARD TARGET, BROKEN ARROW, the two-hour television pilots John Woo's Once a Thief and Blackjack for Alliance Communications, FACE/OFF, REPLACEMENT KILLERS, THE BIG HIT, and the action drama THE CORRUPTOR, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE II and ANNA AND THE KING. With John Woo, Mr. Chang formed Lion Rock Productions, and has produced WINDTALKERS and BULLETPROOF MONK for MGM, and PAYCHECK starring Ben Affleck for Paramount. Mr. Woo and Mr. Chang also recently formed a video game entity, Tiger Hill Entertainment, which is producing MASTER THIEF for Sega to be released in 2005.

Dean Devlin

Dean Devlin founded Electric Entertainment in May 2001 to produce franchise-driven motion pictures and develop interactive, music and television projects. Over the last eight years, Dean Devlin has co-written and produced some of the most successful feature films of all time. Mr. Devlin co-wrote and produced STARGATE and INDEPENDENCE DAY. He co-wrote and produced GODZILLA and produced THE PATRIOT starring Mel Gibson, which was nominated for three Academy Awards.

Mr. Devlin's first production under the Electric banner, EIGHT LEGGED FREAKS, was released by Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow in July 2002. His current production for New Line Cinema, CELLULAR starring Kim Basinger, will be released in summer 2004.

Fritz Friedman

Fritz Friedman joined Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment in 1980 and has been instrumental to the growth of the Home Video division through its current incarnation today as Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment (CTHE). He currently oversees all worldwide publicity activities and product publicity activities for CTHE theatrical releases as well as the publicity for the Sony Pictures Digital Studios and Sony Pictures Releasing.

Born in Manila, he was raised in Boston, Massachusetts, and received his BA in Asian Studies at Vassar College and an MA in Communications from the University of Pennsylvania. From his start as an usher at Carnegie Hall, he rose to become associate manager at Columbia Artists Management in NYC, handling artists such as Lord Yehudi Menuhin and The Royal Ballet. He held several key marketing positions before creating the Publicity Division at Columbia Pictures Home Video.

Mr. Friedman's philanthropy and support for community organizations extends to the AIDS Project Los Angeles and his service as a member of the board of advisors for several organizations, including the San Diego Asian American Film Festival. He is a member of the Board of Directors for the Filipino American Heritage Institute, the Association of Asian Pacific American Artists, and the LA Independent Film Festival, Executive Director of The Assembly For Justice, and chair emeritus of the Asian American Alumni Association of Vassar College. His advocacy work on behalf of Filipino American World War II veterans has brought him before the U.S. Congressional Committee on Veterans Affairs and earned him a National Citation from Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He is the recipient of Filipinas Magazine Corporate Leadership Award, the 1999 Role Model Award from the Search to Involve Pilipino Americans, the 1997 Outstanding Corporate Executive Award from the Asian Business League, the 2003 Asian Entrepreneur Award Community Advocate of the Year, the 2003 Role Model Award from Diaryo Pilipino, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from Cinemanila International Film Festival in The Philippines. He is president emeritus and a co-founder of CAPE.

Warrington Hudlin

Warrington Hudlin, a native of East St. Louis and Yale graduate, is the founder of dvRepublic.com and the President and Executive Producer of the Black Film Foundation (BFF) DV Lab, the producer of multi-cultural, socially concerned digital film entertainment. He is also a pioneering black filmmaker, organizer, and curator who has spent over twenty years creating forums to foster independent black cinema, programming black film festivals and series all over the globe, including co-founding the Acapulco Black Film Festival.

As a filmmaker, Mr. Hudlin produced the popular feature films HOUSE PARTY, BOOMERANG, and BEBE'S KIDS. The box office hit HOUSE PARTY established a franchise for New Line Cinema and introduced the hip-hop film to American cinema. BOOMERANG, starring Eddie Murphy, is one of the highest grossing romantic comedies of all time. Currently Mr. Hudlin is the executive producer of three television pilots for the MTV Networks' Spike TV channel: Big Head People, an animated political sketch comedy show; a political activist reality show, Here Comes Mustafa; and a televised social issue forum, The Watchmen: Defenders of Democracy.

Mr. Hudlin is a guest curator and member of the board of trustees of the American Museum of Moving Images. He is a member of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences and serves on the advisory board of the Tribeca Film Festival, Asian Cinevision, ImageNation Film Festival, Indiana University's Black Film Center/Archive, the Capoeira Foundation, Danzisa Dance Company, and the national advisory board of the Intel Computer Clubhouse.

David Henry Hwang

Born in Los Angeles, Mr. Hwang graduated from Stanford University in 1979. By 1978 he had already written his first play, FOB (Fresh Off the Boat), which won the 1981 Obie Award as the Best New Play of the season when Joseph Papp produced it off-Broadway in New York. Mr. Hwang attended the Yale School of Drama during 1980 and 1981. Through the 1980s, Hwang addressed wider concerns of race, gender, and culture in plays such as The Dance and the Railroad and Family Devotions. His 1988 Broadway hit, M. Butterfly, won the Tony Award for Best Play, the Outer Critics Circle Award, the Drama Desk Award, the John Gassner Award, and established him as a major modern American playwright. Subsequently, his play Golden Child received a 1997 Obie Award for Playwriting, then moved to Broadway, where it received a 1998 Tony nomination for Best Play. His remake of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song earned him his third Tony nomination, for Best Book of a Musical, in 2003, and he's currently represented internationally as co-author of Disney's Aida, now in its fifth year on Broadway. In 1998, East West Players christened their new main stage The David Henry Hwang Theatre.

Mr. Hwang has worked on and scripted numerous films, including the screen adaptation of M. BUTTERFLY, GOLDEN GATE, and POSSESSION (co-writer). His opera libretti include three projects with Philip Glass, as well as works with composers Bright Sheng and Osvaldo Golijov. He also co-wrote the song "Solo" with composer/performer Prince.

Ang Lee

Ang Lee was born in 1954 in Taipei. He graduated from the National Taiwan College of Arts and studied theater acting at the University of Illinois and film production at New York University. Mr. Lee made his directorial mark with the "father knows best" trilogy PUSHING HANDS, THE WEDDING BANQUET, and EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN. BANQUET won a Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, and nominations from the Golden Globes, the Oscars, BAFTA and others.

Mr. Lee was voted the year's Best Director by the National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Circle for directing SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, which also garnered a Golden Bear award. His other films for Hollywood include THE ICE STORM, RIDE WITH THE DEVIL, and the runaway success CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, which became the highest grossing foreign-language film ever released in the U.S. CROUCHING TIGER earned award nominations across the board and won four Oscars including Best Foreign Language Film, Best Director at the Golden Globes, and four British Academy Awards including Best Director. Having most recently directed HULK, an adaptation of the comic book character the "Incredible Hulk," Mr. Lee is currently working on a cowboy love story, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN.

Chris P. Lee

Chris Lee began at TriStar Pictures as a freelance script analyst. Early in his career, he also worked with acclaimed director Wayne Wang on his groundbreaking film DIM SUM. He rose through the ranks to become president of motion picture production for Columbia/TriStar Pictures, where he oversaw hit films such as JERRY MAGUIRE and AS GOOD AS IT GETS.

Currently president and founder of Chris Lee Productions Inc., Mr. Lee's company is involved in a wide range of content creation: the production of motion pictures, television, internet programming, music videos, commercials and computer video games. Recent productions included FINAL FANTASY, BALLISTIC: ECKS VS. SEVER, and the upcoming release SWAT. Mr. Lee is a graduate of Yale University who originally hails from Hawaii. He is a co-founder of CAPE and founder of the University of Hawaii's Academy for Creative Media, the state's first film and digital media school.

Lou Diamond Phillips

Born in the Philippines of Filipino, Hawaiian, Japanese, Spanish, Scotch Irish, and one-eighth Cherokee Indian heritage, Lou Diamond Phillips grew up in Texas. His extensive theatre credits include A Hatful of Rain, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, P.S. Your Cat is Dead, The Lady's Not for Burning, Doctor Faustus, Hamlet, and of course, the Broadway hit revival of The King and I, for which he was nominated for a Tony for best actor.

Mr. Phillips first distinguished himself as rock star Richie Valens in LA BAMBA and a gang member in STAND AND DELIVER, for which he was nominated for the Golden Globe award for his acting and received the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male Actor. His recent films include the Alfonse Arau-directed PICKING UP THE PIECES, the psychological thriller, HANGMAN, A BETTER WAY TO DIE, COURAGE UNDER FIRE and SUPERNOVA. Other notable films include YOUNG GUNS and its sequel YOUNG GUNS 2: BLAZE OF GLORY, DISORGANIZED CRIME, RENEGADES, THE FIRST POWER, AMBITION, and THE BIG HIT.

Mr. Phillips will next be seen in Gone But Not Forgotten, a mini series for Hallmark co-starring Brooke Shields. He was most recently seen in the Turner Original film, RED WATER as well as the Ron Shelton-directed HOLLYWOOD HOMICIDE starring Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett. Mr. Phillips" cable and television credits include the CBS series Wolf Lake, Showtime's Wharf Rats, and HBO'S S.I.S. In addition to his acting talents, Mr. Phillips has written and directed the Miramax release, AMBITION, the psychological thriller DANGEROUS TOUCH, and directed and starred in SIOUX CITY for Cabin Fever Entertainment, which received a Gold Medal Award at the International Film Festival in Houston, Texas.

Richard Sakai

B.D. Wong

Born and raised in San Francisco, California, B. D. Wong is the only actor ever to have received all five major New York theater awards for a single role. For his performance in M. Butterfly, his Broadway debut, he received the Tony Award, the Drama Desk Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, the Theater World Award, and the Clarence Derwent Award. Additional New York theater credits include The Tempest, A Language of Their Own, As Thousands Cheers, and the Broadway musical revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Most recently, Mr. Wong was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for his portrayal of General Gong Fei in the off-Broadway play Shanghai Moon.

For the past six seasons, Mr. Wong has gained notice on the acclaimed series Oz, playing the resilient prison priest "Father Ray." His other television credits include starring roles in the network series All-American Girl and the cable movie And the Band Played On, as well as guest-starring roles on Welcome to New York, Chicago Hope, The X-Files, Bless This House and Shannon's Deal. He voiced the character of "Shang" in the Disney animated film MULAN and the upcoming sequel MULAN II and appears as "Dr. George Huang" on the television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Mr. Wong has also appeared in more than 20 feature films, including Steven Spielberg's JURASSIC PARK, THE FRESHMAN opposite Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick, FATHER OF THE BRIDE (the contemporary remake of the original and its sequel), SEVEN YEARS IN TIBET, EXECUTIVE DECISION, and THE SALTON SEA starring Val Kilmer and Vincent D'Onofrio. He recently completed filming STAY with director Marc Forster.

Mr. Wong's first book, Following Foo (the electronic adventures of the Chestnut Man) published by HarperCollins, is in bookstores now. It chronicles the community that formed around the extremely premature birth of identical twin sons via surrogacy to Mr. Wong and his partner.

John Woo

John Woo's illustrious career as a filmmaker began in Hong Kong with experimental films he made at the age of nineteen, and entry-level positions in the film industry there. He spent over two decades at the center of a thriving film industry, directing over twenty-six feature films. He was known primarily as a comedy specialist until the mid-1980s before creating a series of inspired romantic and violent gangster dramas that broke box-office records.

In 1983, Mr. Woo began a successful partnership directing actor Chow Yun-Fat with the gangster films, A BETTER TOMORROW, A BETTER TOMORROW II and the comedy caper, ONCE A THIEF. Woo's lush crime thrillers put him into film history books around the world; the most famous include the brilliantly choreographed, character-driven action films THE KILLER, HARD-BOILED, and BULLET IN THE HEAD. Mr. Woo's first film for Hollywood was HARD TARGET.

His hit U.S. films include BROKEN ARROW, starring John Travolta and Christian Slater, THE BIG HIT, REPLACEMENT KILLERS, FACE/OFF, with John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, and of course MISSION IMPOSSIBLE II, which grossed over a billion dollars worldwide. His most recent film, the WWII movie WINDTALKERS, reunited him with FACE/OFF star Nicolas Cage. In 2002 Mr. Woo helmed the short film the hostage for BMW winning five Clio awards for the project. Mr. Woo's most recent film PAYCHECK, an adaptation of a Philip K. Dick short story, is his first foray into the science-fiction genre.

Janet Yang

Janet Yang earned her MBA from Columbia University and began her professional career in Beijing as a translator and editor for the Foreign Languages Press Office, the official publishing arm of the Chinese government. Returning to the U.S., she ran World Entertainment in San Francisco, a firm involved in importing and distributing films from Hong Kong and China. Following that she was hired to represent several majors in the first ever sale of American studio films to China. This in turn led her to a position with Steven Spielberg on his film, EMPIRE OF THE SUN.

She then became a production executive at Universal Studios and laid the groundwork for DRAGON: THE BRUCE LEE STORY. She was then brought in to head up Oliver Stone's production company Ixtlan, where she developed and produced such movies as THE JOY LUCK CLUB and THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT. Following that Ms. Yang partnered with Lisa Henson at a deal at Sony to work on such films as ZERO EFFECT. Since then she has been producing on her own such films as SAVIOR, HIGH CRIMES, and THE WEIGHT OF WATER.

Teddy Zee

Teddy Zee began his entertainment career as a creative executive at Paramount, where he rose through the ranks to become senior vice president of production and oversaw the creation of films such as INDECENT PROPOSAL, COUSINS, and STAR TREK IV. As executive vice president of production at Columbia, Mr. Zee had a hand in developing and bringing to the screen CHARLIE'S ANGELS, THE REPLACEMENT KILLERS, ANACONDA, FOOLS RUSH IN, DEVIL'S OWN, CABLE GUY, FIRST KNIGHT, MY GIRL, MO MONEY, HERO and Stephen King's SLEEPWALKERS. He then became president of Davis Entertainment, based on the Fox lot. There, he worked on DR. DOOLITTLE 2, BEHIND ENEMY LINES, and HEARTBREAKERS, and executive produced LIFE OR SOMETHING LIKE IT.

Currently, he is President of Overbrook Films, a partnership between Will Smith and James Lassiter with a first look deal at Columbia Pictures. Zee produced THE LAST FIRST KISS, a romantic comedy for Columbia Pictures starring Will Smith, Eva Mendes and Kevin James, released in February 2004. In addition, for Screen Gems, he produced Alice Wu's directorial debut SAVING FACE starring Joan Chen, Michelle Krusiec and Lynn Chen. Shot in Mandarin and English, Wu's screenplay was a former CAPE Screenwriting Competition Winner.

Upcoming projects for Zee at Overbrook include a remake of UPTOWN SATURDAY NIGHT starring Will Smith, Pulitzer Prize winner Doug Wright's adaptation of the novel SCORCHED EARTH, and the urban rollerskating project, JELLYBEANS.