Asian Excellence Awards
Encyclopedia
The Asian Excellence Awards is an annual celebration of the outstanding achievements of Asians and Asian Americans in film, television, music, and the performing arts. The Asian Excellence Awards is the only nationally televised event celebrating significant Asian and Asian American achievements in entertainment and the arts. The 2008 Asian Excellence Awards, hosted by Carrie Ann Inaba
and Bobby Lee, were held at the UCLA Royce Hall
and nationally televised on E!
Entertainment on May 1, 2008. The show was also available on Comcast
On Demand throughout the month of May in honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
.
The 2008 Asian Excellence Awards were highlighted with live performances by America's Best Dance Crew
winners and runners up the Jabbawockeez
and Kaba Modern
and singer/actress Tia Carrere
. There were also special awards presentations to honorees Steve Chen
, the founder of YouTube
, and Olympic
Gold Medalist Kristi Yamaguchi
.
, the creator and one of the executive producers of the Asian Excellence Awards, is an actor, singer, producer and founder of the Asian theatrical group Second Generation, which produced the earlier version of the Asian Excellence Awards known as The Concert of Excellence.
star Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park
. The 2007 Asian Excellence Awards featured a presentation of The Lifetime Achievement Award that was presented to Chow Yun-fat
. Live comedy performances included Russell Peters
, Margaret Cho
and Dat Phan
. The 2007 show was the first to feature a viewer’s choice award, and the winner was Survivor
winner Yul Kwon
.
X.O. Honors, which included an award to AIDS researcher Dr. David Ho for the Inspiration Honor and to writer/director Quentin Tarantino
for the Bridge Honor. Live performances during the show included Fort Minor
, featuring Mike Shinoda
of Linkin Park
, the original cast of the Broadway musical Lennon and Cirque du Soleil
show KÀ
. Kelly Hu
and Bobby Lee were hosts of the show.
Both the 2006 and 2007 Asian Excellence Awards aired on AZN Television
.
Honorees
Viewer's Choice
Honorees
Viewer's Choice
Honorees
Carrie Ann Inaba
Carrie Ann Inaba is an American dancer, choreographer, actress, game show host, and singer.She started her career as a singer in Japan, but became best known for her dancing, first introducing herself to American audiences as one of the original Fly Girls on the sketch comedy series In Living Color...
and Bobby Lee, were held at the UCLA Royce Hall
Royce Hall
Royce Hall is a building on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles . Designed by the Los Angeles firm of Allison & Allison in the Italian Romanesque Revival style and completed in 1929, it is one of the four original buildings on UCLA's Westwood campus and has come to be the...
and nationally televised on E!
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
Entertainment on May 1, 2008. The show was also available on Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
On Demand throughout the month of May in honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month , officially proclaimed "Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month" by President Barack Obama, is a celebration of the culture, traditions, and history of Asians Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States...
.
The 2008 Asian Excellence Awards were highlighted with live performances by America's Best Dance Crew
America's Best Dance Crew
America's Best Dance Crew, often abbreviated as ABDC, is an American competitive dance reality television series that features street dance crews from the United States and around the world. It is produced by American Idol judge Randy Jackson and airs on MTV...
winners and runners up the Jabbawockeez
JabbaWockeeZ
Jabbawockeez is a Bay-Area-based Urban dance group formed initially by members Kevin " KB" Brewer, Phil "Swagger Boy" Tayag, & Joe "Punkee" Larot under the name "3 Muskee". They were the winners of season 1 of the show America's Best Dance Crew...
and Kaba Modern
Kaba Modern
Kaba Modern is a dance group originating from 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 Modern began as dancers that performed the hip-hop...
and singer/actress Tia Carrere
Tia Carrere
Tia Carrere is an American actress, model, voice artist, and singer, perhaps most widely known for her role as Cassandra Wong in the feature films Wayne's World and Wayne's World 2, Queen Tyr'ahnee in Duck Dodgers, and as Sydney Fox in the TV series Relic Hunter.-Early life:Carrere was born in...
. There were also special awards presentations to honorees Steve Chen
Steve Chen (YouTube)
Steven Shih "Steve" Chen is a Chinese Taiwanese American and a co-founder and previous Chief Technology Officer of the popular video sharing website YouTube.- Early years and education :...
, the founder of YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, and Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
Gold Medalist Kristi Yamaguchi
Kristi Yamaguchi
Kristine Tsuya "Kristi" Yamaguchi-Hedican is an American figure skater. She is the 1992 Olympic Champion in ladies' singles. Yamaguchi also won two World Figure Skating Championships in 1991 and 1992 and a U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 1992. She won one junior world title in 1988 and two...
.
History
Welly YangWelly Yang
Wellington Yang is an Taiwanese American actor, playwright, and singer.-Biography:Yang was born in New York City. His parents emigrated from Taiwan in 1969. His mother returned to Taipei in 1991 to direct foreign affairs for the Democratic Progressive Party...
, the creator and one of the executive producers of the Asian Excellence Awards, is an actor, singer, producer and founder of the Asian theatrical group Second Generation, which produced the earlier version of the Asian Excellence Awards known as The Concert of Excellence.
2007
The 2007 Asian Excellence Awards was hosted by LostLost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
star Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park
Grace Park (actress)
Grace Park is an American-born Canadian actress. She gained recognition as Sharon Valerii on Battlestar Galactica, as well as Shannon Ng in the Canadian television series teen soap Edgemont...
. The 2007 Asian Excellence Awards featured a presentation of The Lifetime Achievement Award that was presented to Chow Yun-fat
Chow Yun-Fat
Chow Yun-fat, SBS is an actor from Hong Kong. He is best known in Asia for his collaboration with filmmaker John Woo in heroic bloodshed genre films A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard Boiled; and to the West for his role as Li Mu-bai in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...
. Live comedy performances included Russell Peters
Russell Peters
Russell Dominic Peters is an Indo-Canadian comedian, actor and disc jockey. He began performing in Toronto in 1989 and has been nominated for four Gemini Awards.-Early life :...
, Margaret Cho
Margaret Cho
Margaret Cho is an American comedian, fashion designer, actress, author, and recording artist. Cho is best known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially those pertaining to race and sexuality. She has also directed and appeared in music...
and Dat Phan
Dat Phan
Dat Phan , is a Vietnamese American stand-up comedian.-Early life:When he was a child, he, his mother, and nine of his siblings emigrated from South Vietnam to the United States. They suffered financial hardships throughout his childhood...
. The 2007 show was the first to feature a viewer’s choice award, and the winner was Survivor
Survivor (TV series)
Survivor is a reality television game show format produced in many countries throughout the world. In the show, contestants are isolated in the wilderness and compete for cash and other prizes. The show uses a system of progressive elimination, allowing the contestants to vote off other tribe...
winner Yul Kwon
Yul Kwon
Yul Kwon is a television host and former government official, lawyer, and management consultant based in Virginia. He first gained national recognition as the winner of the reality TV show Survivor: Cook Islands...
.
2006
The 2006 Asian Excellence Awards featured the Rémy MartinRémy Martin
Rémy Martin is a brand selling cognac , specialist of the Cognac Fine Champagne originally produced by Rémy Martin, a French winemaker, who founded the company in 1724...
X.O. Honors, which included an award to AIDS researcher Dr. David Ho for the Inspiration Honor and to writer/director Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
for the Bridge Honor. Live performances during the show included Fort Minor
Fort Minor
Fort Minor is a hip hop side-project of Mike Shinoda, who is better known as being a member of the American rock band Linkin Park. Shinoda's debut solo album as Fort Minor, The Rising Tied was released November 22, 2005.-History:...
, featuring Mike Shinoda
Mike Shinoda
Michael "Mike" Kenji Shinoda is an American musician, record producer, and artist. He is best known as the rapper, principal songwriter, keyboardist, vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Linkin Park, along with his co-frontman and lead singer Chester Bennington, and as a solo rapper in...
of Linkin Park
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...
, the original cast of the Broadway musical Lennon and Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil , is a Canadian entertainment company, self-described as a "dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment." Based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy...
show KÀ
Ka
-Language:* Ka * Ka * Georgian language, ISO 639-1 code ka* A glyph in the Brahmic family of scripts-Media and entertainment:* Ka * Kà, a Cirque du Soleil show* Mister Mosquito, a video game, known in Japan as Ka...
. Kelly Hu
Kelly Hu
Kelly Ann Hu is an American actress and former fashion model. She was Miss Teen USA 1985 and Miss Hawaii USA 1993.-Early life:Hu was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, the daughter of Juanita, an engineering drafter for Honolulu, and Herbert Hu, a salesman and exotic bird breeder; the two divorced during...
and Bobby Lee were hosts of the show.
Both the 2006 and 2007 Asian Excellence Awards aired on AZN Television
AZN Television
AZN Television promoted itself as "the network for Asian America". It was run by International Networks, a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast Corporation. The channel’s programming targeted the fast-growing, young, affluent, English-speaking Asian American community...
.
Television
- Outstanding Television Actress
- Outstanding Television Actor
- Supporting Television Actress
- Supporting Television Actor
Film
- Outstanding Film Actress
- Outstanding Film Actor
- Supporting Film Actress
- Supporting Film Actorbibxbd hdcoa
- Outstanding Film
2008
- Outstanding Television Actress: Lindsay Price, Lipstick JungleLipstick Jungle (TV series)Lipstick Jungle is an American comedy-drama television series created by DeAnn Heline and Eileen Heisler for NBC Universal Television Studio . The hour-long series was based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Candace Bushnell, who also served as executive producer alongside...
- Outstanding Television Actor: B.D. WongB.D. WongBradley Darryl "BD" Wong is an American actor, best-known for his roles as Dr. George Huang on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as Father Ray Mukada on HBO's Oz, Henry Wu in the movie Jurassic Park, and for his starring role as Song Liling in the Broadway production of M...
, Law & Order: SVU - Supporting Television Actress: Sonja Sohn, The WireThe WIREthe WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
- Supporting Television Actor: Rex LeeRex LeeRex Lee is an American actor. He is best known for his role on the HBO original series, Entourage, as Lloyd Lee.-Early life:Lee was born in Warren, Ohio...
, EntourageEntourage (TV series)Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons... - Outstanding Film Actress: Sharon LealSharon LealSharon Leal is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in movies such as Dreamgirls, Why Did I Get Married?, Why Did I Get Married Too? and the televisions series Hellcats.-Personal life:...
, This ChristmasThis Christmas (film)This Christmas is a 2007 Christmas comedy-drama film produced by and distributed by Screen Gems. Written, produced and directed by Preston A. Whitmore II, it is a Christmastime story that centers around the Whitfield family, whose eldest son has come home for the first time in four years... - Outstanding Film Actor: Tony Leung, Lust, Caution
- Outstanding Film: Lust, Caution
Honorees
- Pioneer Award: Steve ChenSteve Chen (YouTube)Steven Shih "Steve" Chen is a Chinese Taiwanese American and a co-founder and previous Chief Technology Officer of the popular video sharing website YouTube.- Early years and education :...
, Co-Founder of YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos.... - Inspiration Award: Kristi YamaguchiKristi YamaguchiKristine Tsuya "Kristi" Yamaguchi-Hedican is an American figure skater. She is the 1992 Olympic Champion in ladies' singles. Yamaguchi also won two World Figure Skating Championships in 1991 and 1992 and a U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 1992. She won one junior world title in 1988 and two...
, Olympic figure skatingFigure skatingFigure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...
gold medalist
Viewer's Choice
- Favorite TV Personality: Cheryl BurkeCheryl BurkeCheryl Stephanie Burke is a professional dancer. She is best known for being one of the professional dancers on ABC's Dancing with the Stars, where she was the first woman to win the show and the first person to win twice ....
, Dancing with the StarsDancing with the StarsDancing with the Stars is the name of several international television series based on the format of the British TV series Strictly Come Dancing, which is distributed by BBC Worldwide – the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the format has been licensed to over 35 countries... - Favorite Reality Star: JabbawockeezJabbaWockeeZJabbawockeez is a Bay-Area-based Urban dance group formed initially by members Kevin " KB" Brewer, Phil "Swagger Boy" Tayag, & Joe "Punkee" Larot under the name "3 Muskee". They were the winners of season 1 of the show America's Best Dance Crew...
, America's Best Dance CrewAmerica's Best Dance CrewAmerica's Best Dance Crew, often abbreviated as ABDC, is an American competitive dance reality television series that features street dance crews from the United States and around the world. It is produced by American Idol judge Randy Jackson and airs on MTV...
2007
- Outstanding Television Actress: Parminder NagraParminder NagraParminder Kaur Nagra is an English actress of Indian descent. She came to international prominence in 2002 after starring in Bend It Like Beckham. She starred as Dr. Neela Rasgotra in the Emmy Award-winning American medical drama series ER for six years until the series ended on 2 April 2009...
, ERER (TV series)ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television... - Outstanding Television Actor: Masi OkaMasi OkaMasayori "Masi" Oka is a Japanese-American actor and digital effects artist.He has performed in numerous feature films and TV series, most prominently as Hiro Nakamura in the NBC TV series Heroes from 2006 until its cancellation in May 2010. He resides in Los Angeles, California.-Early life:Oka...
, HeroesHeroes (TV series)Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the... - Supporting Television Actress: Mindy KalingMindy KalingVera Mindy Chokalingam , better known as Mindy Kaling, is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer who plays Kelly Kapoor on the NBC sitcom The Office. Kaling is also a co-executive producer and writer of several of the show's episodes.-Early life:Kaling was born Vera Chokalingam in...
, The Office - Supporting Television Actor: Rex LeeRex LeeRex Lee is an American actor. He is best known for his role on the HBO original series, Entourage, as Lloyd Lee.-Early life:Lee was born in Warren, Ohio...
, EntourageEntourage (TV series)Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons... - Outstanding Film Actress: Rinko KikuchiRinko Kikuchi, born , January 6, 1981, is a Japanese actress. Kikuchi is the first Japanese actress to be nominated for an Academy Award in 50 years. She is currently Japan's only living female Academy Award nominee in acting categories...
, Babel - Outstanding Film Actor: Kal PennKal PennKalpen Suresh Modi , best known by his stage name Kal Penn, is an American film and television actor, producer, and civil servant....
, The NamesakeThe NamesakeThe Namesake is the second book by author Jhumpa Lahiri. It was originally a novella published in The New Yorker and was later expanded to a full length novel. It explores many of the same emotional and cultural themes as her Pulitzer Prize-winning short story collection Interpreter of Maladies... - Supporting Film Actress: Maggie QMaggie QMargaret Denise Quigley , professionally known as Maggie Q, is an American-born actress and former fashion model. She currently stars as the titular character on the action-thriller TV series Nikita.-Early life:...
, Mission: Impossible IIIMission: Impossible IIIMission: Impossible III is a 2006 spy film, the third based on the spy-themed television series Mission: Impossible starring Tom Cruise who reprises his role of IMF agent Ethan Hunt.... - Supporting Film Actor: Dustin NguyenDustin NguyenDustin Nguyen is a Vietnamese-American actor, director, writer and martial artist. He is best known for his roles as Harry Truman Ioki on 21 Jump Street and as Johnny Loh on V.I.P.-Early life:...
, Little FishLittle Fish (film)Little Fish is a 2005 Australian film directed by Rowan Woods and written by Jacquelin Perske. It was filmed in and around Sydney, in Cabramatta and in Fairfield... - Outstanding Film: Letters from Iwo JimaLetters from Iwo Jimais a 2006 war film directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood, and starring Ken Watanabe and Kazunari Ninomiya. The film portrays the Battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers and is a companion piece to Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers, which depicts the same battle from the...
- Outstanding Independent Film: Journey from the FallJourney from the FallJourney from the Fall is a 2006 independent film by writer/director/editor Ham Tran, about the Vietnamese reeducation camp and boat people experience following the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. This drama was released on March 23, 2007, by ImaginAsian to sold-out screenings...
- Outstanding Comedian: Margaret ChoMargaret ChoMargaret Cho is an American comedian, fashion designer, actress, author, and recording artist. Cho is best known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially those pertaining to race and sexuality. She has also directed and appeared in music...
Honorees
- Pioneer Award: Nobu MatsuhisaNobu MatsuhisaNobuyuki "Nobu" Matsuhisa is a celebrity chef and restaurateur known for his fusion cuisine blending traditional Japanese dishes with South American ingredients. His signature dish is black cod in miso.-Biography:Nobu was born in Saitama, Japan...
, restaurateur - Lifetime Achievement Award: Chow Yun-fatChow Yun-FatChow Yun-fat, SBS is an actor from Hong Kong. He is best known in Asia for his collaboration with filmmaker John Woo in heroic bloodshed genre films A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, and Hard Boiled; and to the West for his role as Li Mu-bai in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...
, actor - Visionary Award: Vivienne TamVivienne TamVivienne Tam is a fashion designer based in New York City. She was born in Guangzhou, China and moved to Hong Kong at the age of three. She attended Hong Kong Polytechnic University....
, fashion designer
Viewer's Choice
- Favorite Reality Star: Yul KwonYul KwonYul Kwon is a television host and former government official, lawyer, and management consultant based in Virginia. He first gained national recognition as the winner of the reality TV show Survivor: Cook Islands...
, SurvivorSurvivor (TV series)Survivor is a reality television game show format produced in many countries throughout the world. In the show, contestants are isolated in the wilderness and compete for cash and other prizes. The show uses a system of progressive elimination, allowing the contestants to vote off other tribe...
2006
- Outstanding Television Actress: Yunjin Kim, LostLost (TV series)Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
- Outstanding Television Actor: Daniel Dae Kim, LostLost (TV series)Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
- Outstanding Film Performance: Stephen ChowStephen ChowStephen Chow Sing-Chi is a Hong Kong actor, comedian, screenwriter, film director and producer.- Professional career :Stephen Chow began as a temporary actor for TVB. He entered TVB in early 1980s, and was trained there, although he had few opportunities to appear in films. Chow graduated from...
, Kung Fu HustleKung Fu HustleKung Fu Hustle is a 2004 action comedy film directed and produced by, and starring Stephen Chow. The other film producers were Chui Po-chu and Jeffrey Lau, while the screenplay was written by Huo Xin, Chan Man-keung, and Tsang Kan-cheung... - Outstanding Film: Kung Fu HustleKung Fu HustleKung Fu Hustle is a 2004 action comedy film directed and produced by, and starring Stephen Chow. The other film producers were Chui Po-chu and Jeffrey Lau, while the screenplay was written by Huo Xin, Chan Man-keung, and Tsang Kan-cheung...
Honorees
- Outstanding Live Performance: Linkin ParkLinkin ParkLinkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...
- Outstanding Stylemaker: Kimora Lee SimmonsKimora Lee SimmonsKimora Lee Simmons is an American fashion model, and former president and Creative Director for Phat Fashions.-Early life:...
, Baby PhatBaby PhatBaby Phat is an urban fashion line of clothing and other items for women and girls. Besides clothing, the brand also includes accessories for phones, jewelry, shoes and fragrances. It is the corporate "sibling" of the clothing brand Phat Farm created by Russell Simmons. Baby Phat uses a sleek cat... - Outstanding Newcomer: Lynn ChenLynn ChenLynn Chen is an American actress. Lynn Chen is best known for playing "Vivian Shing" in Sony Pictures Classic's feature film Saving Face, a role for which she won the "Outstanding Newcomer Award" at the 2006 Asian Excellence Awards.-Early life:...
, Saving Face