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Wong Fu Productions is an American filmmaking group founded by Wesley Chan (born April 27, 1984), Ted Fu (born October 26, 1981), and Philip Wang (born October 28, 1984). The trio met at the
University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...
in 2004 and produced a number of music videos and short films released on their website and later YouTube before establishing a professional media company, Sketchbook Media, after their graduation. Their works have been featured at a number of national and international film festivals, including the
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) – formerly known as VC FilmFest – is an annual film festival presented by Visual Communications (VC). It was established in 1983 by Linda Mabalot as a vehicle to promote Asian Pacific Ameri ...
,
San Diego Asian Film Festival The San Diego Asian Film Festival ( SDAFF) is an annual event organized by Pacific Arts Movement (formerly the San Diego Asian Film Foundation) that takes place every November in San Diego, California. Background SDAFF is the flagship event for ...
and the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
. As of April 2021, Wong Fu Productions'
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
channel has over 3.27 million subscribers and over 584 million video views. Since 2011, Wong Fu has developed a reputation as a springboard for Asian American acting talent.


History

According to Philip Wang, Wong Fu Productions was unofficially established in 2001 during his high school junior year at
Northgate High School (Walnut Creek, California) Northgate High School (NHS) is a public high school located in the suburban Northgate neighborhood of Walnut Creek, California, United States. The most recent of five high schools in the Mount Diablo Unified School District, the school was built ...
. Wang mainly utilized his family's digital
camcorder A camcorder is a self-contained portable electronic device with video and recording as its primary function. It is typically equipped with an articulating screen mounted on the left side, a belt to facilitate holding on the right side, hot-swa ...
to film school projects in collaboration with classmates. In his first year as an undeclared freshman at the
University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...
(UCSD), Wang and his friends released a music video of
Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...
's song "
Señorita Señorita (the Spanish honorific equivalent of Miss) may refer to: Film * ''Senorita'' (film), a 1927 American silent film *''Señorita'', a 2011 film directed by Isabel Sandoval Music * "Señorita" (Don Williams song), 1987 *'' Señorita EP'' ...
". It was the first music video produced by Wang and, although he did not actively promote it, the video was quickly circulated among other fellow college students. The video was circulated in its original computer file format because it was released prior to the advent of the
video sharing An online video platform (OVP), provided by a video hosting service, enables users to upload, convert, store and play back video content on the Internet, often via a structured, large-scale system that may generate revenue. Users will generally u ...
website YouTube. In 2004, Wang met classmates Wesley Chan (graduated from
Mills High School Mills High School is a public high school in Millbrae, California, one of seven in the San Mateo Union High School District. Mills was established in 1958. Mills High School has been named a California Distinguished School three times (1988, 199 ...
in 2002) and Ted Fu through a school production, and the trio began working on small scale projects in their spare time and for class assignments. They did not originally consider filmmaking as a career when they entered university; Chan explored an interest in animation, Fu had been a student in
electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
and Wang considered a career in economics. After graduation in 2006, the three moved to the Los Angeles area and continued their venture under the professional name Sketchbook Media. After approximately five years, Wong Fu Productions garnered 1 million subscribers in 2011. On June 8, 2013, Wong Fu Productions celebrated their 10 year anniversary and produced a 13 minute short on June 29 featuring Christine Chen, the surrounding cast of Wong Fu, and many familiar faces, including
Ryan Higa Ryan Higa (born June 6, 1990), also known as nigahiga ( ), is an American Internet personality. Best known for his comedy videos on YouTube, Higa began making YouTube videos in 2006 and was one of the most popular creators on the platform in it ...
, Dominic Sandoval (D-Trix), Kevin Wu (KevJumba),
Freddie Wong Freddie Wong (born September 13, 1985) is an American Internet celebrity, filmmaker, VFX artist, podcaster, and competitive gamer. Wong has participated in at least three YouTube channels; with ''RocketJump'', his production company's main chan ...
,
Brandon Laatsch Brandon Laatsch is an American game developer, filmmaker, and YouTuber known for directing ''Video Game High School'', founding the game company Stress Level Zero, and other online video content. Early life Laatsch went to high school with Corr ...
, Joe Penna (MysteryGuitarMan) and
The Fung Brothers The Fung Brothers are a Chinese-American duo consisting of comedians and rappers Andrew Fung (born March 30, 1989) and David Fung (born September 1, 1986), who are brothers born and raised in Kent, Washington, they gained traction in the early ...
. On July 23, 2013 Wong Fu Productions launched a second channel titled "More Wong Fu" which is described as "Home of Lunch Break, WF Recess, Failed It, FIRST, bloopers, behind the scenes, and special features. It's, just.. more Wong Fu." Wong Fu has begun to expand their team of creators. The current team includes Taylor Chan (senior editor / writer and director), Benson Quach (producer / assistant director), Christopher Yang (director of photography), Jessica Lin (production coordinator), and Michelle Hsieh (editor).


Notable productions

Wong Fu Productions was initially known for its independent music videos of contemporary hit songs such as
Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, drummer Matt ...
's " Sunday Morning" and
Jason Mraz Jason Thomas Mraz (; born June 23, 1977) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, ''Waiting for My Rocket to Come'' (2002), which spawned the single " The Remedy (I Won't ...
's " I'm Yours". Wong Fu released its first major short film called ''Yellow Fever'' on January 25, 2006. The film, which satirized the topic of interracial dating between Asian Americans and
White American White Americans are Americans who identify as and are perceived to be white people. This group constitutes the majority of the people in the United States. As of the 2020 Census, 61.6%, or 204,277,273 people, were white alone. This represented ...
s, brought Wong Fu into recognition among many college students in the United States. ''A Moment with You'', the group's first
feature-length A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
film, premiered on June 3, 2006, at their alma mater. It was also screened at the
San Diego Asian Film Festival The San Diego Asian Film Festival ( SDAFF) is an annual event organized by Pacific Arts Movement (formerly the San Diego Asian Film Foundation) that takes place every November in San Diego, California. Background SDAFF is the flagship event for ...
on October 18, 2006. The film revolves around two neighbors who share similar romantic situations, in which one person in each relationship cannot let go of his or her past. ''A Moment with You'' was promoted through a screening tour at high schools and universities around the United States and Canada. In a review for the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
's student newspaper '' The Tech'', Tina Ro wrote, "Despite its large Asian fan base, Wongfu's 'sic''.html" ;"title="sic.html" ;"title="'sic">'sic''">sic.html" ;"title="'sic">'sic''movie has a cast of equal numbers of Asians and Caucasians. Furthermore, all the characters were shaped by their own characteristics rather than by their race, a refreshing concept for a movie." According to ''The Daily Texans Katherine Fan, ''A Moment with You'' featured a "more mature, introspective mood than their previous work." Following the success of ''A Moment with You'', Wong Fu was approached to create a second film called ''Sleep Shift''. However, the project was abandoned after producers disagreed with casting an Asian male in the film's lead role. Since the end of its first tour, Wong Fu has created music videos for rising artists and continued producing short films. The group's merchandise line, which included original T-shirt designs, was launched in conjunction with the 2007 film ''Just a Nice Guy''. The short film ''The Spare'' was featured at the 2008
San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival CAAMFest, known prior to 2013 as the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF), is presented every March in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States as the nation’s largest showcase for new Asian American and Asia ...
, and two additional short films—''At Musing's End'' and ''A Peace of Home''—were shown at the 2009
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
Short Films Corner. In September 2009, Wong Fu released the short film ''Poser!'', a
mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...
on the history of the
peace sign A number of peace symbols have been used many ways in various cultures and contexts. The dove and olive branch was used symbolically by early Christians and then eventually became a secular peace symbol, popularized by a ''Dove'' lithograph by ...
. As of November 2009, Wong Fu Productions has created more than 130 short films and music videos. Because the group does not require a fee to view its films, it gains a salary from being a YouTube partner, draws profits from merchandise sales,
public speaking Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...
on university campuses, and music video production for rising Asian American artists. In May 2010, Wong Fu Productions and
Ryan Higa Ryan Higa (born June 6, 1990), also known as nigahiga ( ), is an American Internet personality. Best known for his comedy videos on YouTube, Higa began making YouTube videos in 2006 and was one of the most popular creators on the platform in it ...
opened talks about creating a major film. The movie was filmed in a one-week period during the summer, and was released to the public on November 23, while being released on YouTube a day later as '' Agents of Secret Stuff'' starring Ryan Higa and
Arden Cho Arden Lim Cho (born August 16, 1985) is an American actress, singer and model known for portraying Kira Yukimura in the 2011 MTV television series '' Teen Wolf'' and Ingrid Yun in the 2022 Netflix television series '' Partner Track''. Early lif ...
. On September 7, 2011, Wong Fu Productions announced that they have been hired by Taiwanese pop singer
Wang Leehom Wang Leehom (; born May 17, 1976), sometimes credited as Leehom Wang, is an American singer-songwriter, actor, producer, and film director. Formally trained at Eastman School of Music, Williams College and Berklee College of Music, his music ...
to direct his upcoming music video "Still In Love With You".


International Secret Agents

In the addition to the group's filmmaking career, Wong Fu Productions has organized a series of multidisciplinary concerts in California. The concert series, International Secret Agents (ISA), featured musical disciplines from
urban dance Street dance is an umbrella term for a large number of social dance styles such as: breakdancing, popping, locking, house dance, waacking etc. Social dance styles have many accompanying steps and foundations, created organically from a cult ...
to
deejaying A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...
with Asian American guest artists such as
Far East Movement Far East Movement (abbreviated FM) is an American Hip hop music, hip hop and electronic music group based in Los Angeles. The group formed in 2003 and as of August 2018 consists of Kev Nish (Kevin Nishimura), Prohgress (James Roh), DJ Virman (Vi ...
. Additional guest performances included '' America's Best Dance Crew'' champions
Quest Crew Quest Crew is an American hip-hop dance crew from Los Angeles, California who were declared winners of the third season of ''America's Best Dance Crew''. They made their first few appearances individually on shows like ''So You Think You Can D ...
and
Poreotics Poreotics, also known as Poreotix, is an American all-male dance crew from Westminster, California. The crew was formed in 2007 by Matthew "Dumbo" Nguyen and specializes in popping, choreography and robotics, hence the name Po-reo-tics. They ha ...
, Ryan Higa (aka
Nigahiga Ryan Higa (born June 6, 1990), also known as nigahiga ( ), is an American Internet personality. Best known for his comedy videos on YouTube, Higa began making YouTube videos in 2006 and was one of the most popular creators on the platform in it ...
),
Kevin Wu Kevin Wu (born June 12, 1990) is an American former YouTuber best known under the username KevJumba. The ''San Francisco Chronicles Jeff Yang has noted that Wu is not a comedian in the conventional sense but that by "just talking eis, well, ...
(aka
KevJumba Kevin Wu (born June 12, 1990) is an American former YouTuber best known under the username KevJumba. The ''San Francisco Chronicles Jeff Yang has noted that Wu is not a comedian in the conventional sense but that by "just talking eis, well, ...
),
Jay Park Jay Park ( Korean name: Park Jae-beom (Hangul: 박재범; Hanja: 朴載範); born April 25, 1987) is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer and entrepreneur of based in South Korea. He is a member of the Seattle-based ...
, and singers–songwriters
David Choi David Choi (born March 22, 1986) is a South Korean-born American musician, YouTuber, and a member of parody K-pop group BgA based in Los Angeles. He has worked with companies such as Kellogg's, Starburst, the American Cancer Society, General ...
and
Kina Grannis Kina Kasuya Grannis (born August 4, 1985) is an American guitarist, singer and YouTuber. Grannis was the winner of the 2008 Doritos Crash the Super Bowl contest, earning a recording contract with Interscope Records and having her music video ...
. According to Chinese American rapper Jin, "ISA is about self-branding and
viral marketing Viral marketing is a business strategy that uses existing social networks to promote a product mainly on various social media platforms. Its name refers to how consumers spread information about a product with other people, much in the same way tha ...
—using YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, and the Internet to promote yourself as an artist." He asserted, "We as artists are aware of this and make ourselves available
n these mediums N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...
" Far East Movement member Virman Coquia said, "We want to give back to the community to show that Asians can have an influence today in the U.S." Additionally, Coquia believed that ISA presented the opportunity to present Asian American talent as cool and mainstream. The first ISA concert was held in September 2008 at the
San Gabriel Mission Playhouse The San Gabriel Mission Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located in the Mission District of the city of San Gabriel, California. History The Playhouse was constructed between 1923 and 1927 for John Steven McGroarty’s hugely succe ...
in Los Angeles. A second concert was held in March 2009 at the
Palace of Fine Arts The Palace of Fine Arts is a monumental structure located in the Marina District of San Francisco, California, originally constructed for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition to exhibit works of art. Completely rebuilt from 1964 to ...
in San Francisco, and both events were attended by a sold-out crowd. The concert returned to Los Angeles in September 2009 and was sponsored by department store J. C. Penney. In 2010, ISA was held in New York City for the first time. Wong Fu has also expressed interest in holding future ISA concerts in Washington, D.C. They also had another ISA concert in Los Angeles on September 5. Playing up the name "International Secret Agents", The LA leg of the 2010 ISA Concert was filled with surprises as secret guests like
Nick Cannon Nicholas Scott Cannon (born October 8, 1980) is an American television host, actor, rapper, and comedian. In television, Cannon began as a teenager on ''All That'' before going on to host ''The Nick Cannon Show'', ''Wild 'n Out'', ''America's G ...
showed up to join the performers on stage. On March 30, 2013, ISA held and filmed their first game show at YouTube Space Los Angeles. The event had several famous YouTubers including Anthony Lee,
Brandon Laatsch Brandon Laatsch is an American game developer, filmmaker, and YouTuber known for directing ''Video Game High School'', founding the game company Stress Level Zero, and other online video content. Early life Laatsch went to high school with Corr ...
,
Clara C Clara Chung (born October 31, 1987), known by her stage name CLARA (previously Clara C), is an American singer-songwriter, producer and composer. She is a music artist who rose to fame on Youtube when she won numerous talent competitions in a ...
,
David Choi David Choi (born March 22, 1986) is a South Korean-born American musician, YouTuber, and a member of parody K-pop group BgA based in Los Angeles. He has worked with companies such as Kellogg's, Starburst, the American Cancer Society, General ...
,
Freddie Wong Freddie Wong (born September 13, 1985) is an American Internet celebrity, filmmaker, VFX artist, podcaster, and competitive gamer. Wong has participated in at least three YouTube channels; with ''RocketJump'', his production company's main chan ...
, Jen Chae Buescher(FrmHeadToToe),
Mike Song Kaba Modern is a dance group originating in Irvine, California. Kaba Modern is a spin-off of the University of California, Irvine Filipino cultural club, Kababayan, which means "countrymen" in Tagalog. Created by Arnel Calvario in 1992, Kaba Mode ...
, Ted Fu, Wesley Chan as players,
Kevin Wu Kevin Wu (born June 12, 1990) is an American former YouTuber best known under the username KevJumba. The ''San Francisco Chronicles Jeff Yang has noted that Wu is not a comedian in the conventional sense but that by "just talking eis, well, ...
as the gamemaster named Yoshi, and
Amy Okuda Amy Okuda is an American actress. She portrayed Julia Sasaki on the Netflix comedy-drama ''Atypical'' (2017–2021), where she was a series regular during the first two seasons. Okuda is most well-known as Tinkerballa in the popular web series '' ...
and Philip Wang as the hosts.


''Everything Before Us''

''
Everything Before Us ''Everything Before Us'' is a 2015 Canadian–American romantic drama film, directed by Philip Wang and Wesley Chan and produced by Christine Chen, Chris Dinh, and Preston Clay Reed. The film marks the first feature film of Wong Fu Productions. ...
'' is the first feature film of Wong Fu Productions. Released 23 April 2015 over Vimeo, the film was directed by Philip Wang and Wesley Chan. The film tells the story of two couples in the near future where the Department of Emotional Integrity (D.E.I.) issues 'relationship scores', somewhat like a credit score, that affect couples' everyday choices. With a nearly all-Asian cast, some of its stars include
Aaron Yoo Aaron Yoo (born May 12, 1979) is an American actor. He is best known for appearing in the films '' Disturbia'' (2007), '' 21'' (2008), and ''Friday the 13th'' (2009), as well as playing Russell Kwon in the sci-fi series ''The Tomorrow People'' ( ...
,
Brittany Ishibashi Brittany Mariko Ishibashi (born November 2, 1980) is a Japanese-American actress. She has had starring television roles on '' Political Animals'', '' Supernatural'' and '' Runaways''. Ishibashi has had roles in films such as '' Teenage Mutant N ...
,
Brandon Soo Hoo Brandon Soo Hoo (born November 2, 1995) is an American actor and martial artist known for playing Tran in the 2008 film ''Tropic Thunder'' and for his series regular role on the Cartoon Network sketch comedy series ''Incredible Crew''. Soo Hoo pl ...
,
Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...
,
Randall Park Randall may refer to the following: Places United States *Randall, California, former name of White Hall, California, an unincorporated community * Randall, Indiana, a former town *Randall, Iowa, a city *Randall, Kansas, a city * Randall, Minneso ...
, and
Ki Hong Lee Ki Hong Lee (born September 30, 1986) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Minho in the Maze Runner (film series), ''Maze Runner'' film series and Dong Nguyen in the Netflix sitcom ''Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt''. Early life an ...
. Funding for the film was crowd-sourced from Wong Fu's fans via Indiegogo, and the film's premiere release was held at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.


''Single By 30''

On August 24, 2016, Wong Fu Productions released its first studio-funded project '' Single by 30'', an 8-episode web series starring
Harry Shum Jr. Harry Shum Jr. (born April 28, 1982) is an American actor, dancer, choreographer, and singer. He is best known for his roles as Mike Chang on the Fox television series ''Glee'' (2009–15), Benson Kwan on the ABC television series ''Grey's Anato ...
and
Kina Grannis Kina Kasuya Grannis (born August 4, 1985) is an American guitarist, singer and YouTuber. Grannis was the winner of the 2008 Doritos Crash the Super Bowl contest, earning a recording contract with Interscope Records and having her music video ...
, on
YouTube Red YouTube Premium (formerly Music Key and YouTube Red) is a subscription service offered by the video platform YouTube. The service provides ad-free access to content across the service, as well as access to premium YouTube Originals programming ...
. Described by
NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
as an "old-fashioned romantic comedy", the series has been praised for its highly diverse cast as it reflected the diverse population of
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, where the series is set in. The series was not renewed for a second season.


''Just Another Nice Guy''

On August 9, 2017 Wong Fu Productions launched a mini series titled '' Just Another Nice Guy'' "Just Another Nice Guy" or "JANG" for short is a 3 episode web series and sequel to "Just A Nice Guy", which was released in 2007 and was one of the company's first videos. The series stars
Motoki Maxted Motoki (written: 元気, 昌樹, 誠記, 基輝, or モトキ in katakana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: * Motoki Imagawa (born 1980), Japanese footballer *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese judoka *, Jap ...
, Piper Curda,
Krista Marie Yu Krista Marie Yu (born October 25, 1988) is an American actress best known for her roles on television. She played the main role of Molly Park on the ABC family sitcom ''Dr. Ken''. In August 2018, it was announced that Yu would play the recurrin ...
, and Will Pacarro.


Yappie

"Yappie" is a five-episode video series on YouTube that addresses the modern Asian American experience and the model minority myth. Yappie is a slang term for "young Asian professional". The video series stars Phillip Wang and Janine Oda, whose relationship puts them face to face with racial and social problems. ''
Kim's Convenience ''Kim's Convenience'' is a Canadian television sitcom that aired on CBC Television from October 2016 to April 2021. It depicts the Korean Canadian Kim family that runs a convenience store in the Moss Park neighbourhood of Toronto: parents "App ...
'' star
Simu Liu Simu Liu ( ; ; born 19 April 1989) is a Canadian actor. He is known for portraying Shang-Chi in the 2021 Marvel Cinematic Universe film ''Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings''. He also played Jung Kim in the CBC Television sitcom '' Kim's ...
has a major supporting role. The series reflects Wong Fu Production's of bringing Asian American representation to the screen, while staying true to their mission of storytelling. The series is funded through the support of Patreon supporters, which is part of Wong Fu Production's new Wong Fu Forward goals to be a platform for artists and to create longer video series.


Impact

Short films released by Wong Fu Productions have received, cumulatively, millions of views, and the group has several thousand fans. According to Wang, the group's website received 5,000 daily hits in 2009. He expected the audience size to grow "as online video becomes part of everyday life for the up-and-coming generation of movie-watchers" but believed that movie theaters will not become obsolete.
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
digital media expert David Wertheimer also believed that "Wong Fu's use of new media to tell their community stories and build a business is the wave of the future." The group's success has allowed for growth in the popularity of Asian American comedians who promote themselves primarily through YouTube, such as
Kevin Wu Kevin Wu (born June 12, 1990) is an American former YouTuber best known under the username KevJumba. The ''San Francisco Chronicles Jeff Yang has noted that Wu is not a comedian in the conventional sense but that by "just talking eis, well, ...
(KevJumba),
Ryan Higa Ryan Higa (born June 6, 1990), also known as nigahiga ( ), is an American Internet personality. Best known for his comedy videos on YouTube, Higa began making YouTube videos in 2006 and was one of the most popular creators on the platform in it ...
(Nigahiga), Christine Gambito (HappySlip), and
David Choi David Choi (born March 22, 1986) is a South Korean-born American musician, YouTuber, and a member of parody K-pop group BgA based in Los Angeles. He has worked with companies such as Kellogg's, Starburst, the American Cancer Society, General ...
. Although grateful for the group's success and popularity, Wang said, "Some people who go to film school, they'll make something great but it's only seen by like, two hundred people ..It's kind of not fair." In a feature by
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
, newscaster
Ted Rowlands Edward Rowlands, Baron Rowlands (born 23 January 1940) is a Welsh politician, who served as a Labour Party (UK), Labour Party Member of Parliament for over thirty years, including a period as a junior minister in the 1960s and 1970s. Educatio ...
reported that Wong Fu's primary audience were "young Asian Americans who often can't find accurate depictions of themselves in mainstream media". Through its films, Wong Fu Productions hoped to break the different stereotypes of Asian Americans. Despite this goal, Wong Fu's films were inspired by the members' life experiences rather than racial experiences. The group also does not promote political messages through their works but, rather, raises "many APA issues that we feel would fit our brand and image." They are often considered role models for Asian Americans aspiring to enter the entertainment industry. In response to this, group member Ted Fu said, "We actually didn't set out to be the 'heroes' of Asian Americans. It just happened by accident. But now that we're given this huge responsibility, almost, I feel like it's our duty to take it seriously." Wong Fu presented "one of the most antipicated workshops" on sustaining an independent production company at the 2008 Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Students Association Midwest Conference. They were also the keynote speakers at the Intercollegiate Taiwanese American Students Association 2010 West Coast Conference, which was hosted at their alma mater, UC San Diego. In February 2012, Wang and Chan flew from Los Angeles to Malaysia for the first leg of their Southeast Asia Tour, meeting and greeting over 1000 fans, even to a point of having a live radio appearance on the radio station
HITZ fm HITZ FM is a privately owned and a commercial radio station in Accra, the capital of Ghana. The station is owned and run by the media group company Multimedia Group Limited. They are one of the top radio stations in Ghana who are well vested in ...
. In July 2012, Chan gave the
commencement speech A commencement speech or commencement address is a speech given to graduating students, generally at a university, although the term is also used for secondary education institutions and in similar institutions around the world. The commencement ...
at UC San Diego to the graduating class. In June 2016, Philip Wang gave the commencement speech at UCSD to its graduating class. In 2018, to continue creating content for their fans, Wong Fu created the
Patreon Patreon (, ) is a membership platform that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service. It helps creators and artists earn a monthly income by providing rewards and perks to their subscribers. Patreon charges a co ...
page, Wong Fu Forward where supporters can directly fund Wong Fu Productions. By joining Patreon, Wong Fu hopes to continue its mission in storytelling, creating longer video series for their supporters on YouTube and acting as a platform for artists. Fans sometimes refer to actors who have appeared in Wong Fu video as part of the "Wong Fu universe", a reference to the cinematic universe employed by
superhero films A superhero film (or superhero movie) is a film that focuses on the actions of superheroes. Superheroes are individuals who possess superhuman abilities and are dedicated to protecting the public. These films typically feature action, adventu ...
and how many of their alumni have gone on to star in superhero projects. Actors such as
Randall Park Randall may refer to the following: Places United States *Randall, California, former name of White Hall, California, an unincorporated community * Randall, Indiana, a former town *Randall, Iowa, a city *Randall, Kansas, a city * Randall, Minneso ...
(''
WandaVision ''WandaVision'' is an American television miniseries created by Jac Schaeffer for the streaming service Disney+, based on Marvel Comics featuring the characters Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch and Vision. It is the first television series in ...
''), Justin H. Min ( ''The Umbrella Academy''), Anna Akana ( ''Ant-Man''),
Brittany Ishibashi Brittany Mariko Ishibashi (born November 2, 1980) is a Japanese-American actress. She has had starring television roles on '' Political Animals'', '' Supernatural'' and '' Runaways''. Ishibashi has had roles in films such as '' Teenage Mutant N ...
( ''Runaways''), Victoria Park ( ''The Flash''), and
Simu Liu Simu Liu ( ; ; born 19 April 1989) is a Canadian actor. He is known for portraying Shang-Chi in the 2021 Marvel Cinematic Universe film ''Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings''. He also played Jung Kim in the CBC Television sitcom '' Kim's ...
(''
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ''Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings'' is a 2021 American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the character Shang-Chi. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 25th film ...
'') have all previously starred in Wong Fu films prior to their appearances on their respective superhero projects.


Notes


References


External links

* *
interview (2008)Philip Wang's
an
Wesley Chan's
commencement speeches at the ''
University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...
'' (14 minutes each) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wong Fu Productions American Internet celebrities Companies based in Los Angeles County, California Place of birth missing (living people) Entertainment companies established in 2006 Film production companies of the United States YouTube channels American companies established in 2006