Raise your hand if you’re a nice guy!
In 2007, Wong Fu Productions released the short film “Just a Nice Guy” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrnK-qPARYI) to play on the phenomenon of being considered no more than “nice guy” and therefore undate-able. Since then, “nice guy/girl” and “nice is never out of style” T-shirts and more have become available for fans to order online at http://areyouaniceguy.com. Because Wong Fu’s short films and music videos are free to view online, these merchandise sales and appearances are the company’s source of income. Wong Fu also donates a portion of the proceeds to charity at the end of each month.
So who are these three nice guys?
Philip Wang, Wesley Chan, and Ted Fu started creating on videos while attending UC San Diego. Starting with small projects, the three originally did not intend to become filmmakers, but the buzz about their work encouraged them to continue. Today, their independent production company keeps growing. They make online media, run the above mentioned T-shirt brand, speak at college campuses, and often collaborate with up-and-coming artists. In 2006, they released a feature-length movie A Moment With You. Following the success of this film, they were on their way to making it into the big industry with Sleep Shift, but production came to a halt when producers would not carry on with an Asian lead.
Wong Fu’s distinct style of storytelling and use of creative media have caught the eye of a twenty-first century audience. The advent of Youtube has made video-sharing a breeze and popularized their work. Wong Fu has a following of millions from the US and across the globe. And the three each have over 10,000 fans following their updates on twitter. CNN describes this as composed of “young Asian-Americans who often can’t find accurate depictions of themselves in mainstream media.” Really, Wong Fu aims to show that Asians go through the same experiences as everyone else.
On the Wong Fu Productions Youtube channel, their most viewed web hits are music videos that they have made with Asian artists. Both “I Won’t Even Start” and “That Girl” by singer/songwriter David Choi have over 1 million views. Also with 1 million plus views, is the video “Dance Like Michael Jackson” by Far East Movement. Not only does Wong Fu promote Asians in the media through such music videos, they have also started a web series called FunEmployed with Youtube star Kevin Wu, aka KevJumba.
Since 2008, Wong Fu has also put on an annual International Secret Agents (ISA) concert with Far East Movement. Currently sponsored by J C Penny, ISA concerts seeks to showcase talented Asian-Americans. Acts range from singing, to urban dancing, to DJing. The ISA concerts of 2010 will be held in New York on August 28th and Los Angeles on September 5th. Tickets go on sale the end of this month. Stay tuned for more from Wong Fu!
The Wong Fu motto: If at the end of the day there’s someone out there who has a better day because of us, then we’ve succeeded.
Keep posting stuff like this i really like it