Mighty Warriors of Comedy

Mighty Warriors of Comedy is a rousing introduction to one of the most devastatingly funny comedy troupes of the past decade, the 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors (18MMW), an audacious Asian American sketch comedy troupe hailing from San Francisco, and now trying to break into TV and movies in LA.

Despite their name, the group is actually made up of nine members who have been performers and friends together for more than 15 years. Their individual voices combine together to create magic on stage, tackling socio-political issues with a hilarious combination of irreverence and seriousness. Since their premiere production, the Warriors have written and produced a dozen feature shows, performed numerous workshop productions and benefit one-night stands around the greater Bay Area, and toured nationally and internationally at colleges, universities, arts festivals and theatrical venues.

But most people in mainstream America have never heard of them. Why?

Is it simply because they haven't enjoyed break-out success past the confines of their San Francisco home, or their primarily Asian American fan base? Or is their brand of humor simply not accessible to an average American audience? Or could it be that the current Hollywood machine would never give an Asian American troupe the big break they need, to see if they could indeed cross over? Or, further yet, is it simply that Asian Americans simply aren't that funny?

Mighty Warriors of Comedy allows you to judge for yourself. The documentary not only provides an entertaining glimpse into the world of the Warriors, but also an eye opening exploration of why a troupe like the Warriors, no matter how funny, may never have the mainstream popularity they deserve. Utilizing a combination of personal interviews and live concert footage, the documentary traces the struggle that the fringe artist faces, and how that battle is complicated further by cultural identification.

This program is not currently scheduled for broadcast.

Filmmaker Profiles:

Resources

• 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors
• Might Warriors of Comedy

Mighty Warriors of Comedy: Crew & Credits

The 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors are:
Greg Watanabe
Harold S. Byun
Michael Chih Ming Hornbuckle
Pearl Wong
Peter J. Wong
Rania Ho
Rhoda Gravador
Todd Nakagawa
Valiant Chow
Victor Kao (sound design)

Interviewees:
Bobby Lee
Chao Tzu Lin
Charlie Chin
Charles Kim
Damona Resnick
Donnie Hornbuckle
Guy Torry
Herbert Siguenza
Ken Chung (Dr. Ken)
Lorraine Dong
Marlon Hom
Miiko Watanabe
Paul Kim (PK)
Percy Gravador
Scott Cobb
Steve Byrne
Tamlyn Tomita

Director
Sung H. Kim

Producers
Kibi Anderson
Sung H. Kim

Executive Producers
William Chan
Joshua Lee
William Lee
Sung H. Kim

Camera
Eric Ignacio
David Doko
Lushun Quon
Kahlil Davis
Sung H. Kim

Editor
Carla Gutierrez

Co-editor
Kaoru Kim

Music Composer
Douglas Hirai

Creative Advisor
Rachel Raney

Online Editor
Shirley Gutierrez

Re-recording Mix Engineer
Paul Zahnley, CAS
Disher Music and Sound

Legal
Darrell Thompson, Esq.

Technical Advisor
Tom Schott

Concert Footage:
Line Producer
Kibi Anderson

1st Asst. Director
Saleem Beasley

Director of Photography
Yasu Tanida

Camera Operators
David Doko
Eric Ignacio
Andrew Mueller
Jarrod Oswald
Scott McDonald

1st Asst. Camera
Mike Rizzi
Mikki Levi
Yvonne Chu

2nd Unit
Lushun Quon

Aerocrane Jib
Steve McDonagh

Scenic Artist
Wang Wei

Backdrop Designer
Grace Chen

Carpenter
Francois Chau

Lighting Board Operator
Valiant Chow

Sound Board Operator
Dennis Yen

Production Sound Mixer
Oliver Moss

Sound Assistants
Woody Stubblefield
Douglas Hirai
Ron Landry

Music Composer (18mmw)
Art Hirahara

Contrib. Composer (18mmw)
Dennis Yen

Promotions
Jennie Yee

Box Office
Kimberly Kajihara

Postcard Design
Christopher Komuro

Stills Photographer
Conrad Montgomery

Craft Services
Jamiah Adams

Production Assistants
Denise Doi
Nyra Marie Constant
Lushun Quon
Ife Thomas
Leah Aldridge

Post-Production Support provided by Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC)

Music:
"Battle Without Honor Or Humanity #2"
Tomoyasu Hotei
Courtesy of Toshiba-EMI

"Clubdark 3"
Produced by J. Wells for On Top Productions
Courtesy of On Top Productions

"LA"
Written & Performed by Lijie
Courtesy of Lijie

AZN Television footage courtesy ofInternational Networks, LLC.

ImaginAsian TV footage courtesyof ImaginAsian TV.

Early AATC Photographs courtesy ofAsian-American Theater Company.

Archival footage courtesy of:
Los Angeles Public Library
Perlinger Archives

Breakfast at Tiffany's
Paramount Pictures

Sixteen Candles
Courtesy of Universal Studios Licensing LLLP

Hatest Grits filmed live at East West Players Theaterin Los Angeles, CA on April 1-2, 2005.

Asian Bird Flu Over the Cuckoo's Nest filmed live at the GTC Theater in Burbank, CA on Feb 8-10, 2006.

This film made possible with generous grants from:
Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) and Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC)

SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Eileen S. Kong, Victor Kao, Jennie Yee, Kimberly Kajihara, Bobby Lee, Mike Park, East-West Players Theater, Meg Mimamoto, Monica Todd, Cindy Oda, Jeff Liu, Abe Ferrer, Kennedy Kabasares, Janice Tanaka, Pamela Tom, Aurora Guerrero,FIND Project:Involve (formerly IFP West), Diana C. Weng, Lee Ann Kim, Donald Young, Sapana Sakya, Chi-hui Yang, Taro Goto, Tora Chung, Sera Linardi, West Liang, Seunghyun Yoo, Dennis Yen, Berton Chow, Tammy Ho, Darryl Chiang, Esq.,The College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University, Minami, Lew & Tamaki, LLC, Denise Ho, Stefanie Wong, Tamlyn Tomita, The Yee Family, Jimmy Lee, Hao Wu, Clifford Lo, Esq., Miya Osaki, Sean Lim, Michael Cheng, Cleo's Apartment, Bashir Saluddin, Diallo Riddle, Shenika Williams, Thomas Fraser, Cold Tofu, Aaron Takahashi, James Wong, Helen Ota, Robert Covarrubias, Steve Brady,Charles Kim, Ewan Chung, OPM, Lodestone Theater Ensemble, Philip W. Chung, Chil Kong, Corinne Chooey, Dom Magwili, Sachiko, Issac Ho, Phil Young, Randall Park, Nancy Lee, Guy Torry, Rex Navarrete, Mark Marking, Culture Clash, Herbert Siguenza, Soo Jin Hwang, Reuel Kim, HeeJoon Park, Elvin Lubrin, Royce Abalos, Sue Ellen McCann, Judy Holme Agnew, Wendy Levy, Lijie, Sharyl Hornbuckle, Ken Horkavy & Kitania Kavey (Secret Visions Productions), Paul Lawrence (Paul Lawrence Productions), Lane Nishikawa, Esau Caldwell, Rich Crook, Ruben Paul, Joey Guila, Ali Wong, Jane Kim, Annie Koh, Samantha Chanse, Gary Chou, Melissa Hung, Robynn Takayama, Jim Butterworth, Fred Von Lohmann, Gary Hardwick, Mia Riverton, Jeff Byrd, Elizabeth Stanley, Michael Donaldson, Goh Nakamura, Jorge Aguirre, Kaoru Kim

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Produced in Association with KQED Public Television

2006, Hatest Grits, LLC.