Asian Americans in Arts and Entertainment - Film and TV Production

Film and TV Production

James Wong, a Hong Kong-born writer raised in the US, was a writer, co-executive producer and consulting producer of The X-Files in its first, second and fourth seasons (1993-1997); co-creator, producer and writer of the TV series Space: Above and Beyond (1995-1996); and writer, consulting producer and co-executive producer of Millennium in its first and second seasons (1996-1998). Before The X-Files, Wong had worked as a writer on police dramas such as 21 Jump Street, The Commish, Booker and Wiseguy as well as on the script for the independent crime film The Boys Next Door (1984), starring Charlie Sheen in his first leading role. Wong later wrote, produced and directed horror and action films such as Final Destination (2000) and the Jet Li-starring The One (2001), and he was hired by 20th Century Fox to direct Dragonball Evolution (2009), although like other producers and crew members on that production, complained of having little creative input as the studio made all the major decisions. As part of the initial production crew on The X-Files, Wong was among the most influential four writer-producers who worked closely with X-Files creator Chris Carter to define the characters, plots and aesthetics of the new series (the others were Glen Morgan, Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa). Wong was responsible with his longtime writing partner Glen Morgan for introducing a number of elements that defined The X-Files throughout its run. Wong co-wrote "Squeeze," only the second X-Files episode ever produced, and the first "monster of the week" episode, which would provide a template for two thirds of the future episodes of the series; "Ice," the first episode to focus centrally on the Mulder/Scully relationship as the key to its plot; "Beyond the Sea," the first episode to receive notable critical acclaim beyond the science fiction genre, the first episode with serious character development for Gillian Anderson in her role as Dana Scully, and also Carter's personal favorite episode of the series; "E.B.E.," the first episode to introduce The Lone Gunmen trio of characters, whose popularity resulted in their own short-lived spinoff series (without Wong's participation) in 2001; "Tooms," the first episode to introduce the character of Walter Skinner, Mulder and Scully's boss, who would become a more central character over the remainder of the series, and also the first episode to give a speaking part to the Cigarette Smoking Man, the main nemesis of Mulder and Scully for most of the series' run; "Little Green Men," the first mythology episode to make use of voiceover and flashback; "Blood," the first episode to include a story contribution from Glen Morgan's brother Darin Morgan, who would become the most acclaimed X-Files writer and the only one to win an Emmy for his writing; "3," the first episode in which Mulder or Scully was involved in a sexual situation; "One Breath," the resolution episode for the abduction plot that was the foundation of the series' long running mythology; "Die Hand Die Verletzt," the first episode in which Kim Manners, who became the series' most prolific director over its nine seasons, was brought on board to direct, being an acquaintance of Morgan and Wong from their work with Manners on previous TV series; and "Home," the first episode to be preceded by a warning from the network that it was intended for mature audiences only due to its disturbing content. James Wong, in his directorial debut, also directed the episode "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man," for which he received an Emmy nomination, also becoming the first member of the series's regular writing staff (after Chris Carter) to direct an episode, as well as the only person of color to ever direct an X-Files episode. Wong's Emmy nomination for directing "Musings" made him the first Asian American to receive an Emmy nomination for directing anything on television; at that time, no Asian American and no person of Chinese descent had yet been nominated for an Oscar for directing a film. Wong was also, along with Chris Carter (nominated a year later) the only director of an X-Files episode to be Emmy nominated for his work. As part of The X-Files main production team in 1994-1995, Wong shared the show's first Golden Globe Award win for Best Dramatic Series, and also shared its second win (The X-Files would become the first series to win a Golden Globe three times) in the 1996-1997 season.

Mindy Kaling, a Dartmouth graduate, has been involved from the beginning in the production of the American series of The Office, having originally been the only female writer on a staff of eight; since the show's eighth season she has been an executive producer.

Lance Fong was the director of photography on recent Hollywood hits 300, The Watchmen, Super 8, and Suckerpunch.

Curt Apduhan is a NATAS News/Documentary Cinematography Emmy awarded cinematographer for the Sundance Channel feature documentary Amargosa about a dancer who performs regularly in an opera house in a California ghost town.

In 2007, Myx TV became the first Asian American Music, Entertainment and Lifestyle network.