From a Successful Film Producer to President of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts & Sciences
Author: Fan Jiao
In 3 weeks, the 95th Academy Awards in 2023 will be held at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on March 12. There are many well-known actors and films including Chinese actors that are nominated for the award ceremony, but the most eye-catching is that in the 116-year history of Hollywood in the United States, the first Chinese Hollywood boss will host this grand event. [1]
Award-winning Film Producer
Janet Yang(杨燕子) served as the producer and executive producer of 26 films from 1984 to 2020. In addition, since the 1980s, she has obtained exclusive agency rights in North America for all films produced in the People’s Republic of China. She has worked closely with well-known Chinese directors and producers such as Zhang Yimou (张艺谋) and Chen Kaige (陈凯歌), making some Chinese films (“Red Sorghum”/红高梁, ” Raise the Red Lantern”/大红灯笼高高挂, “Farewell My Concubine”/霸王别姬, etc.) were successful in the United States.[2]
Film Advisor, Empire of the Sun
In 1985, Steven Spielberg hired her as the production consultant in China, responsible for liaising with the Chinese government at all levels, and led the China Unit for filming this largest and historically most significant blockbuster movie. She then moved into a production role at Universal, where she managed client accounts for Spielberg’s Amblin Pictures.[3]
Executive Producer, The Joy Luck Club
“Joy Luck Club” was based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Amy Tan, directed by Wang Ying in Hong Kong. With a budget of just $10.5 million, the film was a modest success at the box office, earning $32.9 million in the United States. Because of the film’s “cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance,” the Library of Congress in 2020 selected it to be permanently preserved in the National Film Registry.[4]
Producer, The People vs. Larry Flynt
In addition to being a great success at the box office, the film was well received by critics and the actors, Harrelson, Love , Norton and Forman were nominated for multiple honors and won some awards, including Best Actor at the 69th Academy Awards / Best Director by Harrison and Foreman. The latter won the Golden Globe Award for Best Director.[5]
Producer, The Weight of Water
This 2000 suspense thriller was based on Anita Shreve’s 1997 novel of the same name. The film was directed by the famous director Kathryn Bigelow, starring Elizabeth Hurley and Sean Penn.[6]
Executive Producer, Over the Moon
This 2020 computer-animated musical fantasy film directed by Glen Keane, screen played by Audrey Wells, Alice Wu and Jennifer Yee McDevitt. The film was produced by Pearl Studio and Netflix Animation, and animated by Sony Pictures Imageworks. It was voiced by many Asian actors, Cathy Ang, Phillipa Soo, Ken Jeong, John Cho, Ruthie Ann Miles, Margaret Cho and Sandra Oh.[7]
President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Born on July 13, 1956 in Queens, New York, Janet Yang attended Brown University to focus on China studies before earning an MBA from Columbia University.
On July 19, 2022, she was feasted at the Film Academy Museum, naming a pillar that bears her name. She was the first Asian-American woman to have such pillar in the museum.
On August 2, 2022, at the Hollywood Board meeting, she was elected as the President of the Hollywood Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This made her the first Asian-American President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences/Hollywood and the fourth woman to hold the position.[8]
Leadership in AAPI Communities
Besides being the President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the United States, she is also a Member of Committee of 100, Advisory Board Member of the Asia Society of Southern California, Advisory Board Member of the National Council on U.S.-China Relations and the Asian Pacific American Entertainment Alliance CAPE. She has taught production seminars at Sundance College and Independent projects. She has been involved in many artistic, community, and political organizations. She is also the co-founder of Gold House, a group of influential Asians in the entertainment, tech, lifestyle and business sectors. Previously she also received a presidential scholarship from Loyola Marymount University.
On May 3, 2020, she was a guest speaker at the Asia Society’s “Against Racism in the Age of COVID” forum, along with guests such as Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Rep. Ted Lieu.
References:
- Committee of 100, Prominent Hollywood Producer, Janet Yang, 杨燕子，last accessed 2/14/2023, https://www.committee100.org/member/janetyang/
- 奥斯卡主办方首迎华裔主席，杨燕子在中美电影史中扮演了什么角色？2022-08-05 10:46，搜狐，last accessed 2/14/2023, https://www.sohu.com/a/574379394_121118975
- IMDb/Janet Yang, last accessed 2/14/2023, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0946003/
- Joy Luck: A New Chllenge in Disney’s World, Elaine Dutka AUG. 31, 1993 12 AM PT, Los Angeles Times, last accessed 2/14/2023, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-08-31-ca-29859-story.html
- IMDb/Janet Yang, last accessed 2/14/2023, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117318/
- IMDb/Janet Yang, last accessed 2/14/2023, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0210382/
- Rotten Tomatoes, Over the Moon, last accessed 2/14/2023, https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/over_the_moon_2020
- Janet Yang Elected Montion Picture Academy President, Peter Hammond, August 2, 2022 4:00pm, DEADLINE, last accessed 2/14/2023, https://deadline.com/2022/08/janet-yang-elected-movie-academy-president-1235083748/
- Janet Yang website, last accessed 2/14/2023, https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/over_the_moon_2020
