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About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 2024)
U.S.A. Page 12 n THE ASIAN REPORTER January 1, 2024 South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun of Oscar-winning film Parasite is found dead By Hyung-Jin Kim The Associated Press S FUNNY FILIPINO. Comedian and actor Jo Koy has been tapped to host the Golden Globes, picked by producers for his “infectious energy and relatable humor.” Pictured is the comedian entertaining an audience at CinemaCon 2022 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on April 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File) Comedian Jo Koy is picked to host the Golden Globes as award season kicks off By Mark Kennedy The Associated Press N EW YORK — Comedian and actor Jo Koy has been tapped to host the Golden Globes, picked by producers for his “infectious energy and relatable humor.” Koy in 2022 saw his Easter Sunday become the first big studio movie with an all-Filipino ensemble. He has released five stand-up specials on Comedy Central and Netflix, including his most recent Netflix special, “Live From The Los Angeles Forum.” The Globes are recovering after scandal and several troubled years, including one without a broadcast. The show will take place on January 7 and will mark Koy’s first major award show hosting gig. “We are thrilled to have Jo host the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards and bring his infectious energy and relatable humor to kick off Hollywood’s award season,” said Helen Hoehne, Golden Globes president, in a statement. “We know Jo is bringing his A-game.” “I’ve stepped onto a lot of stages around the world in my career, but this one is going to be extra special. I’m so excited to be hosting the Golden Globes,” said Koy in a statement. “This is that moment where I get to make my Filipino family proud.” Greta Gerwig’s Barbie leads the Globes nominations with nine nods, including for best picture musical or comedy as well as acting nominations for Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling and three of its original songs. It is closely followed by its release date and meme companion, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which scored eight nominations, including for best picture drama and for actors Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr., and Emily Blunt. The Globes’ voting body has now grown to 300 members, following backlash after a 2021 report in the Los Angeles Times found there were zero Black members in the group that was then composed of only 87 foreign journalists. The 81st Golden Globes will be the first major broadcast of awards season, with a new home on CBS. The Globes had long been one of the highest-profile awards season broadcasts, second only to the Oscars. Before the pandemic, it was still pulling in around 19 million viewers. The show was touted as a boozy, A-list party whose hosts often took a more irreverent tone than their Academy counterparts. EOUL, South Korea — Lee Sun-kyun, a popular South Korean actor best known for his role in the Oscar-winning movie Parasite, was found dead in a car in Seoul on December 27, authorities said, after weeks of an intense police investigation into his alleged drug use. Police and emergency officers initially found Lee in what they believed was an unconscious state in the car parked on a street in northern Seoul. Emergency officers later confirmed he was dead, according to Seoul’s Seongbuk police station. Police had been searching for Lee, 48, after receiving a report that he was missing. They refused to provide further details including whether they had determined Lee killed himself. But South Korean media outlets including Yonhap news agency said Lee’s family earlier that Wednesday reported to police that he left home after leaving a message similar to a suicide note. Lee appeared in Parasite, which won Oscars for best picture and three other categories in 2020. The class satire was the first non-English- language film to win best picture in the then-92-year history of the Academy Awards, and was the first South Korean movie to win an Oscar. In the film, Lee played the head of a wealthy family. The film’s cast, including Lee, also won a Screen Actors Guild award for the best motion picture ensemble cast in 2020. He was nominated for best actor at the International Emmy Awards for his performance in the sci-fi thriller “Dr. Brain” last year, as well. Even before Parasite, Lee had been a popular actor in South Korea for a long time. He rose to stardom for his role in a hit TV drama series, “Coffee Prince” (2007), and gained main- TALENTED & TRAGIC. Lee Sun-kyun, a popular South Korean actor best known for his role in the Oscar-winning movie Parasite, poses during a photo call at the 66th Locarno International Film Festival in Locarno, Switzerland, in this August 10, 2013 file photo. Lee was found dead in a car in Seoul on December 27. (AP Photo/Keystone, Urs Flueeler) stream popularity with a series of hit sued. South Korea has strict anti-drug TV dramas such as “Behind The but has seen soaring White Tower” (2007), “Pasta” (2010), laws drug-related offenses in recent years. and “My Mister” (2018). Lee had been under a police Last month, the National Police investigation into allegations he used Agency said it had detained about illegal drugs at the residence of a bar 17,150 people over alleged illegal hostess. Lee insisted he was tricked drug manufacturing, smuggling, into taking the drugs and that he did sales, and use this year — a record not know what he was taking, number for a single year. according to Yonhap. But the South Korea has long had the investigation prompted extensive highest suicide rate among developed tabloid coverage and unconfirmed countries. It has also experienced a online rumors about not only his string of celebrity suicides involving alleged drug use but also his private K-pop stars, prominent politicians, life. Lee filed a suit against two and business executives. Experts say people including the hostess, alleging malicious and abusive online they blackmailed him. comments and severe cyberbullying When he was first summoned for were blamed for many of the celebrity questioning at a police station in suicides. Incheon, a city near Seoul, in late “Lee faced some allegations but October, he deeply bowed several they haven’t been formally verified. times and apologized to his fans and But the media has been assertively family. “I feel sorry to my family reporting about Lee’s private life … members who are enduring too and I think that’s something wrong,” difficult pains at this moment. I again said Kang Youn-gon, a media sincerely apologize to everyone,” he communication professor at Seoul’s said. Chung-Ang University. Incheon police said they would end Lee is survived by his actress wife their investigation of Lee’s drug use Jeon Hye-jin and two sons. allegations but would continue to Associated Press writers Jiwon Song and investigate the two people Lee had Juwon Park contributed to this report. Embezzlement of Oregon weekly newspaper’s funds forces layoffs, halts printing Continued from page 10 communities of strangers. And the result of that is that we fall into these partisan camps.” An average of 2.5 newspapers closed per week in the U.S. in 2023, according to researchers at Northwestern University. More than 200 counties have no local news outlet at all, they found, and more than half of all U.S. counties have either no local news source or only one remaining outlet, typically a weekly newspaper. Despite being officially unemployed, Eugene Weekly staff have continued to work without pay to help update GRASS-FED BEEF FOR SALE Call (503) 980-5900 for details GRASS-FED & GRASS-FINISHED BEEF Farm-raised in Newberg, Oregon Beef available as: q Quarter cow q Half cow q Whole cow Beef is processed by a Portland butcher. Pickup available in March at N.E. Sandy Blvd. location. the website and figure out next steps, said Todd Cooper, the paper’s art director. He described his colleagues as dedicated, creative, hardworking people. “This paper is definitely an integral part of the community, and we really want to bring it back and bounce back bigger and better if we can,” he said. The paper has launched a fundraising effort that included the creation of a GoFundMe page. Just one day after the paper announced its financial troubles — the GoFundMe had raised more than $11,000. Now that the former employee suspected of embezzlement has been fired, “we have a lot of hope that this paper is going to come back and be self-sustaining and go forward,” he said. “Hell, it’ll hopefully last another 40 years.”
