On March 10, the DGA’s Asian American Committee (AAC) hosted the panel discussion Next Up! - Leading into the Future: The Director’s Team from an Asian American Perspective. Held in the Los Angeles Boardroom as part of their regular meeting, the event featured a conversation with UPMs Victor Ho and Lina Wong and 1st ADs Joel Nishimine, Lon Takiguchi and Lucille “Luc” OuYang, moderated by 2nd AD Ron Dempsey.
During the discussion, they covered subjects including working with emerging directors, networking and hiring diverse teams. Following the discussion, the floor was opened to questions from the audience.
ABOUT THE GUEST SPEAKERS:
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 UPM Victor Ho
Ho’s feature film UPM credits include Alexander Payne’s critically acclaimed and Academy Award-nominated Election, Tamra Davis’s Crossroads, Richard Linklater’s Fast Food Nation, Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Beyond the Lights, Nicolas Winding Refn’s The Neon Demon, Mike Flannigan’s Ouija: Origin of Evil, Stella Meghie’s Everything, Everything; and he oversaw additional photography on James Wan’s The Conjuring 2 and Aquaman. Most recently, he completed production on Anthony and Joe Russo’s upcoming feature, Cherry. A DGA member since 1997, Ho is a co-founder and Co-Chair Emeritus of the Asian American Committee.
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 1st AD Joel Nishimine
Nishimine has 26+ years of experience working in the film production industry. His resume includes feature films such as Jorma Taccone’s MacGruber, Don Mancini’s The Curse of Chucky, Daniel Stamm’s The Last Exorcism and 13 Sins; and episodes of the mini-series Looking for Alaska and the series The Orville. Nishimine has been a member of the DGA since 2008.
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 1st AD Lucille “Luc” OuYang
OuYang has been an AD on over 36 feature films including Philip Kaufman's Rising Sun, Gregory Hoblit's Primal Fear, Wes Craven’s Scream, Robert Zemeckis's Contact and James DeMonaco's The Purge; andDGA Award-nominated productions such as Rob Reiner’s When Harry Met Sally and Peter Weir's Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. She has also worked on television shows such as Numb3rs, Mad Men and Cherish the Day; and over 200 commercials. A DGA member since 1986, she is a participant on the Asian American and the Women’s Steering Committees and currently serves as 1st Vice Chair of the Western AD/UPM Council where she has co-chaired the DGA Awards Meet the AD/UPMs Organizing Committee for the past two years.
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 1st AD Lon Takiguchi
Takiguchi has worked as an Assistant Director on feature film projects such as Antoine Fuqua’s Tears of the Sun and Sean McNamara’s Soul Surfer; and television series including Lost, Ugly Betty, Hawaii Five-0, Black-ish and Grow-ish. He has been a member of the DGA since 2000.
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 UPM Lina Wong
Wong’s resume spans multiple genres and platforms including movies for television such as Stephen Kay's The Craigslist Killer, Mark Rosman's William & Kate and Dianne Houston's Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland; and episodic television including Married and Grown-ish. Wong joined the DGA as a UPM in 2010.
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 2nd AD Ron Dempsey (Moderator)
A graduate DGA-Producer Assistant Directors Training Program, Dempsey’s resume includes feature films such as Peter Segal’s My Fellow Americans, Louis Morneau’s Retroactive, Demian Lichtenstein’s Venus & Vegas, Neil Burger’s Interview with the Assassin Sandy Tung’s Alice Upside Down and Saving Shiloh; and episode of television series including My Own Worst Enemy, Wanda At Large, Angel, NYPD Blue and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. A DGA member since 1993, Dempsey served as a Co-Chair of the Asian American Committee from 2014-2016.
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About the Asian American Committee:
The Asian American Committee (AAC) was created as a networking group to provide a forum for interests and issues that concern Asian-American Guild members. Through outreach efforts in the entertainment industry that emphasize career development and skills enhancement, the committee provides a variety of networking opportunities as well as screenings, seminars and discussions with industry professionals. The current AAC Co-Chairs are Directors Cellin Gluck, Michael Goi and Lily Mariye.