FORBES: Telling Good Stories With William Yu

BY GOLDIE CHAN, OCTOBER 12 2022

Chan: Any last branding or career advice?

Yu: Many years ago, my mom ingrained a saying in me that has followed me across my professional life. It goes something like, “If you don’t tell people, they won’t ask.” In job interviews, I would get very self-conscious about mentioning my accomplishments. This saying reminds me that highlighting work you’re proud of isn’t bragging, it’s simply stating a fact. You’re not showing off, you’re informing. So many of us are raised to keep our heads down and not rock the boat, but I hope that, when that right moment comes, we all talk our talk and never regret letting others know how great we are.

DEADLINE: NBC TV Writers Program Selects 8 For 2022-23 Class

by denise petski, september 30 2022

Comedy writers Emman Sadorra and Ida Yazdi and drama writers Hernán Barangan, Aurora Ferlin, Amelia Swedeen, Varta Torossian, Tommar Wilson and William Yu have been selected for the 2022-23 class of the NBC TV Writers Program.

The program, formerly known as Writers on the Verge, was created in 2005 to prepare diverse, emerging writers for careers in television, The program is hosted by NBCU Launch , the umbrella brand that houses the diversity, equity and inclusion efforts across NBCU’s television portfolio.

LA Times: Directing a short film is expensive. How to crowdfund it.

By Ada Tseng, april 25 2022

Writer William Yu always knew he wanted to try directing, but he thought he wouldn’t get the opportunity for years… After his pilot script for “Good Boy,” which follows a Korean American aspiring streetwear designer, was selected for the 2020 Sundance Episodic Makers Lab, Yu started asking director friends whether he should try directing it himself… Once he decided to take on the project as a director, he started a spreadsheet, listing every person he thought he could ask privately for money and a projected amount they might give. He calculated how much more he’d need in order to cover the rest of his budget.

Deadline: The Black List 2021

By Patrick Hipes, December 13 2021

This year’s list was presented by Black Lady Sketch Show‘s Ashley Nicole Black and Gabrielle Dennis, who showcased a total of 73 screenplays and 71 writers/writing teams that were selected from votes by more than 375 film finance and production executives… Previous scripts on The Black List include four that went on to win the Best Picture Oscar: Slumdog Millionaire, Argo, The King’s Speech and Spotlight, and a total of 12 Screenwriting Oscars in the bunch… Since The Black List was first released in 2005, 440-plus scripts have been produced.

Character Media: Actor John Cho Is Living the Legacy

By Ada Tseng, June 9 2022

Since the advent of #StarringJohnCho, Cho has also become a reliable leading man, from his role as a son visiting his comatose father in “Columbus” to a father trying desperately to locate his missing daughter in “Searching.” But he has continued to push the boundaries of his audiences’ imaginations. He recently played William Shakespeare in “Drunk History” and Inigo Montoya in a socially distant celebrity re-enactment of “The Princess Bride” in the midst of the pandemic. And on a memorable episode of “Lip Sync Battle,” he even got to dress up as a bona fide cowboy while lip syncing to Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead Or Alive.”

BBC: Why Asian superhero Shang-Chi could truly change the world

By Kesewaa Browne, September 6 2021

Screenwriter and creative strategist William Yu says Shang-Chi represents a turning point "where we can see these types of Asian characters who are not only heroic but also have flaws and a range of experiences that make them complex and interesting". Yu has seen the film more than once and believes that the "sheer scale" of the film is "noteworthy": But while Yu thinks that Shang-Chi subverts some of the typical tropes of Asians on screen, he wants Hollywood to keep pushing the bar forward. "If we are still only making martial arts [films] in the next decade, I think that shows how Hollywood views Asian storytellers."

Inverse: HOW ASIAN AMERICAN INTERNET TRAILBLAZERS GAVE NEW LIFE TO SHANG-CHI

by Eric Francisco, September 1 2021

“When I made #StarringJohnCho, a Marvel movie starring an Asian lead seemed like a far off dream I’d never see,” William Yu says. “I don’t think anyone can doubt this is a culture-shifting event.… There are few things in the world that translate emotion and behavior in a way culture can. When you see something that understands you, that’s powerful. It has the power to hit on a personal level, and on a universal level, to change minds and make people believe in things they couldn’t before.”

PBS SoCal: Asian American Activists to Watch

By Teena Apeles, May 17 2020

The global attention #StarringJohnCho received has led Yu to speak about the lack of Asian American representation in Hollywood at various schools, film festivals and conferences. “What I am very grateful for is the fact that the conversation around Asian American representation, from a visual perspective, has now become table stakes,” he adds. “No one has to put on their imagination caps and envision it. Now, we get to talk about the complexities of our stories, the depth and breadth of our experiences, and the inclusivity and intersectionality we want for our community.” He’s also since moved from advertising to become a screenwriter in Hollywood. “At the core of all this change is an urgent need to not just critique the culture I live in, but to take up space and participate in its growth.”

THE WASHINGTON POST: HBO’s possible ‘Parasite’ spinoff with Mark Ruffalo raises whitewashing concerns

by marian liu, March 12 2020

“With ‘Parasite,’ the entire world just witnessed a foreign language film with actors and a cast that had no discernible Hollywood star in it, set in a non-Western society come and sweep the Oscars. I think there’s a lot of hope that … movies like this with faces like these can translate on a global level and can connect with an audience that doesn’t necessarily look like them.” But Yu said word that HBO was considering Ruffalo to star in its spinoff suggests “maybe we’re not quite there yet.”

“There’s an energy that you feel that people want to hear more of these stories. People are wanting to feel the richness of the culture and also to see what new possibilities these types of perspectives can open up narratively,” Yu said. “Frankly, I see this as just the beginning.”

The New York Times: A Photographer Looks for Herself in the movies she loved

by Rozette Rago, september 27 2019

“Three years ago, the screenwriter and digital strategist William Yu started #StarringJohnCho, in which he and others photoshopped Cho’s face onto several movie posters, sharing them online as a way to push for more Asian-American leads. What would it look like if Captain America and James Bond were Asian-American? Projects like his come from the same desire that I have to see myself represented on the big screen, and not just as a sidekick. We want to see ourselves as the heroes, too.”

Nikkei Asian Review: After 'Crazy Rich' smash, Hollywood embraces Asian faces

By Marrian Zhou, July 31 2019

With Asian American films continuing to blossom in Hollywood, many believe it is also encouraging the next generation to explore their identities. "Growing up, I often felt that there are only two ways to identify -- either you're Asian or you're American. You always felt very torn between those two things," said Yu. "[But] you have different ways to be Asian American and there's no correct way."

Nerds of Color: #StarringJohnCho Comes to Life in New York City Art Show

By Keith Chow, May 17 2019

“We’re excited and honored to be the first gallery to show William’s work in a way that translates his vision into an immersive experience,” said Joanne Kwong, President of Pearl River Mart and gallery curator. “His tweet was the spark that ultimately led to the wild success of last summer’s Crazy Rich Asians, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, and Searching, which starred the actual John Cho. As the adage goes, you can’t be what you can’t see, and we, like William, are committed to expanding people’s expectations and assumptions about Asian Americans, including our own.”

BUZZFEED: Asian Actors Can Play Any Hollywood Role, And The Incredible #SeeAsAmStar Campaign Proves It

BY PATRICE PECK, May 15 2019

“It was important to me that viewers would be able to see Asian faces on characters that are considered brave and courageous, but also flawed and messy. Because that's the reality of our experience."

As for why campaigns like #SeeAsAmStar and #StarringJonCho mean so much to William, he pointed to Hollywood's ongoing history of stereotyping and pigeonholing Asian characters. "Growing up, the conversation about Asian Hollywood leads has always been theoretical for me," William recalled.

NYLON: HOW PAOLO MONTALBAN INTRODUCED US TO A NEW KIND OF PRINCE CHARMING IN 'CINDERELLA'

BY JESSICA WANG, May 7 2019

“With the success of The Big Sick, Crazy Rich Asians, and Always Be My Maybe, Hollywood must now contend with a demographic it once deemed undesirable and unprofitable. The hunger for Asian leading men, however, has always been there. It first manifested in 2016 with #StarringJohnCho, a social movement created by digital strategist William Yu to combat Hollywood's whitewashing problem.” 

huffpost: Jon M. Chu - #StarringJohnCho Movement Pushed Me To Make ‘Crazy Rich Asians’

BY KIMBERLY YAM, FEBRUARY 20 2019

“One of the first things that made me want to make a movie like [“Crazy Rich Asians”] was the #StarringJohnCho movement. I remember at the time, they started inserting your face into all those movie posters ... it was as if a light turned on.” - Director Jon M. Chu, speaking with actor John Cho.

SYFY: WILLIAM YU USED DEEPFAKE AI TO HELP CHANGE THE GAME FOR ASIAN-AMERICAN ACTORS

BY JORDAN ZAKARIN, Jul 30 2018

For the #SeeAsAmStar campaign, Yu has inserted Cho, Steven Yuen, Constance Wu, and Arden Cho in films like Ghost in the Shell, Avengers: Age of Ultron, 500 Days of Summer, and The Hunger Games. Some are more natural fits than others, but each is impressive enough to illustrate just how easy it would be to have Asian-American actors in high-profile roles.

VANITY FAIR: Two Years After #StarringJohnCho, John Cho Is Finally a Leading Man

BY PAUL CHI, JULY 26 2018

“I think [#StarringJohnCho] started discussion in a positive way. The visual of seeing an Asian-American face on a poster said a lot in a moment. It was simple and impactful. We are taking the same idea and showing an Asian-American family as a simple thing. It says more in that moment than an entire Asian- American studies class could.” - John Cho

Super Asian America New York Comic-Con 2017

BY MIKE LE, Nov 9 2017

With live-action versions of Death Note and Ghost in the Shell, Hollywood keeps mining Asian culture for inspiration-while sidelining Asian people. At the same time, series like Into the Badlands and Master of None demonstrate how successful shows with Asian leads can be. This is Racebending's 2nd annual panel at NYCC. We again assess (and nerd out over) the state of Super Asian America. Featuring: Greg Pak, Preeti Chhibber, William Yu, and Alice Meichi Li. Moderated by Racebending's Mike Le.

CNN: Twitter meme has John Cho starring in ALL the movies

May 10, 2016

#StarringJohnCho isn't just a way for fans to show off how great they are at beheading people in Photoshop. The creators of the meme wanted to show what major films would look like if they cast Asian and Asian-American actors like Cho in lead roles. It's not just about lead roles, either. It's about coveted lead roles: the romantic roles, heroic roles, badass roles and aspirational roles that soak up the brightest parts of the spotlight and have historically been reserved for white actors.