Barry Baz and Hu Wang

I guess I can finally let everyone know about The Barry Baz show – the tv pilot I worked on last year. Barry Baz is a delusional sex crazed ladies man who set sail from Australia to make it out in Hollywood. I play the role of a documentary filmmaker that follows the main character Barry wherever he goes. The show’s concept is pretty cool because it is filmed from my (Hu Wang’s) point of view, but it’s interlaced with exaggerated flashback films of Barry Baz’s life in Australia, which Hu Wang edits into a reality type show.

Check out the trailer and please share with friends if you like it!

We’ll be at about 10,000 views in 5 days. Please help promote Barry Baz!

For more info check out the official site: www.barrybaz.com

lights camera action

In the past 3 days I got 3 auditions. I had an audition per day Wed, Thurs, and will be going to one today Friday. I also had an audition last Sat so that makes 4 in the past week! I’m glad that I feel more active progress. This is the area I have been trying to focus more on this past month… and its manifesting!! Of course, now I just need to actually book these gigs. haha! I’ll wait to hear back in the coming days/weeks to see how I did on these 3 auditions.

I also updated my demo reel which I posted in the post before this. It seems fitting that I have it in this post as well since I’m mainly discussing my entertainment endeavors.

Someone told me it was pretty epic.. and I said.. I hope it would be slightly epic since it’s everything I’ve done in the past 6 years or so compressed into 1 minute and 30 seconds. =P

I finally finished reading this acting book that I bought 7 months back. It was a great read. It taught me new things and reminded me of things that I knew. Acting is fascinating because it really lets you learn more about yourself, people in general, and human nature. I feel like the more I delve into acting, the more gates I am unlocking in myself.. freeing myself of limitations, judgments, and fears.

The audition I went to today (Thurs) was some “Unitled Project” which I thought was going to be some glorified extra role, but it ended up being a top secret project at Paramount Studios. I don’t even know what its about, but it would be sweet to land that.

Saturday I will be going back to do adr for Barry Baz pilot project. It was supposed to be done done final 2 weeks ago, but little things keep coming up and these guys want it perfect so I’ll be back one more time on Saturday. After that hopefully this thing will be signed and sealed. It has already been submitted to the LA Pilot Festival. This is the same festival that It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia got noticed.

its always sunny in philadelphia

Currently still planning on shooting a short in June and either episode 1 of a web series or just a trailer before I go to China. When I’m not auditioning or practicing I’m going to be doing a lot of writing.

Beijing Night

International Travel
In other news… I booked my flights to China, HK, and Taiwan… so it is OFFICIAL OFFICIAL. (When I say something twice you know it’s official) Here are my official but never permanent travel dates:

Aug 19 LAX -> PEK
Sep 09 PEK -> HKG
Sep 13 HKG -> TPE

Let me know if you will be in ASIA at this time! Even though I only booked flights for Beijing, HK, and Taipei, it doesn’t mean I won’t end up in Thailand, Vietnam, or anywhere else. Hoping to follow up with a few entertainment contacts while I’m in Asia. I am really looking forward to seeing a lot of good friends. I’ll also be training wushu and sanda in Beijing. It should be a really good trip.

The Beijing part of the trip will be covered, but for HK and Taipei, I’m still finding places to live. In Taiwan if anyone is renting a place, let me know!

Martial Arts
I’ve been going to the gym, tricking, doing wushu, or kickboxing at least once a day 7 days a week. I might be adding one or two more private lessons. I feel like it’s going to be awesome.

As far as competitions go, I got quite a few potentially lined up. I might be doing a ton of traveling in the next 2 months (next 4 months if you count all the flying to Asia).

June 12-13 – Tiger Claw KungFuMagazine BASKA tournament in San Jose
June 18-19 – AKA Grands in Kentucky
June 26-27 – Strikeforce Cung Le Fight (as media / to watch) in San Jose
July 09-10 – NASKA US Open – in Flordia
July 30-31 – NASKA US Capitol Classics – Marlyand
Aug 25-30 – Sport Accord Combat Games in Beijing

Looking for New Roommate
This part of my post refers to exactly that – I am looking for a new roommate available to move in starting June 1st. My old roommate is moving out in a week. Please spread the word if anyone needs a room in the Alhambra area. Lots of good Asian food in this area!

Business
Finishing up some ads, negotiated better merchant transaction rates, and set up my shipper account. Focus has been on the entertainment stuff this week. Sales have been steady and the business is much more cleaned up. Little minor to do for the business will be to clean up FAQ on the email response portion, add in “how do shoe sizes run” question and response, switch over to dedicated work email, test run new shipper account.

stapler gun

Hey guys, I’ve still been a little sick. Here is a quick update.

Martial Arts/Stunts
Haven’t been training much because I was sick the past week or so. I’m in a recovering mode and just got the sniffles. Hopefully it will be completely gone by the end of the week.

I helped coach at LA wushu today and I’ve still been staying active training my private lessons. Also got a new student starting next week so we will see how that goes. This sets me in line with my goal of having a max of 3-5 private lessons. I really enjoy teaching, but keeping it one on one – this way I really get to see someone’s skills develop and provide them direct attention and custom training. Meanwhile, it keeps me active without turning martial arts training into a full-time thing that prevents me from focusing on other areas of my life.

Sam called me the past week and mentioned helping her out on a crouching tiger hidden dragon fight set for 8711, but the scene required 2 girls instead of a guy so it fell through. However, I’m sure some other cool opportunities will arise. =)

Film
Finished shooting pick up scenes for Barry Baz (www.barrybaz.com). There’s nothing really on the site yet, so don’t get too excited. However, I am quite excited because it’s been about 6 months since I finished shooting the main stuff with them and they’ve been editing (with the editors from the same studio that edited the Bourne series) and cleaning it up so that it’s a masterpiece. It’s about an Australian that comes to America. He meets me and I am an award winning film maker of sorts.. but I can’t say much more… so let’s just say it’s a comedy and a whole lot more. Should be done within a month. I’ll post more details when it’s done.

Business
Tons going on over here. Continued working on wk mock ups. Created 2 versions that I like right now.. just trying to decide on a layout. Also got the martial arts complete site in progress. The layout is good just need to get the content up there and adjust the color scheme. I filed for the dba and am still waiting on the paper work.

Corporation’s taxes are due March 15, so I started cleaning up my finances. Feels good to really sit down and see everything from a numbers perspective and then watch how it’s grown over the years. I know this is something that I should actually be looking at quite often, but as a start up you worry about a million things and hardly want to deal with the number crunching. Anyways, it’s looking good for 09.. now just to stay on top of things for ’10.

Other
Major thing going on is that the front porch is finally getting remodeled and getting tile put in because the old material was starting to crack from the rain. Should be done by Sunday.

Also started doing a few fun raps/freestyles/covers if you hadn’t noticed on my previous posts.

Casual is Cool has our official youtube page which can be checked out at http://www.youtube.com/user/casualiscoolyo (SUBSCRIBE if you are cool)

Taipei 101 New Years Eve moments before the countdown

I would summarize 2009 as the year of taking the leap and the year of pushing limits. It was a year filled with incredible experiences.

wushu training with the beijing wushu team

The day I made the US Wushu A Team

First of all 2009 was incredible in that it topped 2008 which was already a great year. In 2009 I yet again took a leave of absence and traveled to China to train for the US national wushu team trials. I was reunited with great wushu friends, beijing food, and intense training with the beijing wushu team. I can’t believe that was just this year because so much has happened this year. I came back to the US and enacted revenge on my 2007 Team Trials results. This year I finally made the US wushu team. In 2009 I fulfilled my LIFELONG dream to be on the A team of the US wushu team. There were moments of stress, fear, anxiety, friendship, excitement, ambition, and joy in all the millions of seconds that led me up to receiving my official certificate placing me on the 1st seat of the 2009 US wushu team. This alone would have made 2009 a memorable year among memorable years.

US Wushu A Team

2 Gold Medalists with JBJ reppin USA

To add to the excitement, this was the year I would finally take the plunge. I took a leap of faith to pursue my passions by quitting my stable corporate job. Boy do I not regret that move. It was something I thought of doing for a long time, but when I did it everything seemed to fall into place. It allowed me to devote more physical and mental energy to training for the World Wushu Championships! All the competitors at the 10th World Wushu Championships were eager to fight for their right to take home a medal for their country. Therefore, I think every extra second I trained helped me win my title as a World Champion in straight sword. There will always be a time to work on a career or make money, but this was my moment to seize a World Champion title and I did it! Fortunately for me my parents were there as well to witness that moment. I can’t describe how unbelievable it is to be able to think back on that day- especially since wushu has been such a big part of my life. This World Wushu Championships completed the circle on my wushu career. I wanted no regrets and I left with none. I wanted to be satisfied with my performance on ALL my forms not just straight sword and I was very happy with my performances in chang quan and qiang shu as well.

Smashing pots on Deadliest Warrior

butterfinger fight commercial

Playing the part of a sailor

In front of the camera I got on my first national and international TV show.  I got the part as the Shaolin Expert and lead shaolin monk protagonist on Spike TV’s Deadliest Warrior. My episode caught quite some publicity with the shaolin fighting and my eye gouging with the emei piercers.  It even aired in Canada and the UK! Aside from this show I also did my first green screen project with the History Channel and worked on 2 projects with good buddies David and Al Brocca. Projects followed projects and I got to do photo shoots and ended up getting featured articles in Masters Magazine and Kung Fu Magazine!

tea in store

Nicole promoting Angels Tea

In business WushuKicks has successfully grown from a project in the back of my head to an incorporated business that brings in consistent sales every month. We also got our google checkout badge, increased page rank, and made sales to well known clients such as Cirque du Soleil. I got my real estate license and am a recognized real estate agent. I also partnered up with a few entrepreneurs this year and learned and worked on many other business ventures including clothing, pokerbling, angels tea, and nutritional supplements. Angels Tea signed contracts with 3 retail locations that now offer our delicious flavors.

TST in Hong Kong

Friends in Taiwan

Mucho thanks to Ivy for looking out for me in business and entertainment in Taiwan

Big Thanks to Sarah and her family for making my Taiwan Adventures possible!

After the plunge to become an entertainer and entrepreneur I flew from Toronto to SF and before I could get over the time difference of Toronto and SF, I flew to Taipei.  During my stay in Asia, I went to Hong Kong and Macau as well. I met Daniel Wu and Victy Wong a member of the Jackie Chan stunt team. Both are people that I respect and people that have worked with Jackie Chan. =) I am still in Taipei as I write this, but will be heading home in 2 days. In Taipei I was interviewed by Channel 10 News and also interviewed on a famous variety show hosted by Zhang Fei. The friends and bonds I made here will definitely be lifelong ones. I achieved most of my goals for this trip which included getting more familiar with the entertainment industry, learning more chinese, and deciding whether I could or would like to live in Asia for an extended period of time.

I’ve fulfilled many goals this year including an 8 year long wushu dream, being on national tv, and watching the fireworks light up from the 101 building in Taipei. I think 2010 is a very bright year. I am looking forward with anticipation and excitement. I got my years of corporate experience and am ready to embark on a unpaved path as an entrepreneur. I have no excuses now and have put myself in a sink or swim situation. I predict success, but either way I am following my motto.. of living a life without regrets. On one path, I am more safe and know the outcome (which I know I will not be satisfied with), on the other I forge my own destiny to achieve greatness in the things I am passionate about.. in which I know that even without success, the memories built from doing something I am passionate about will already be more valuable than the safe path. In any case all I am saying is that 2010 is the year for this passion and excitement. It’s not to say that some time in the future, I won’t want more stability and calm.. but 2010 will not be that year. =)

Sailor Boatman Alfred Hsing

Wushu
Gave Travis a call and went to check out an open gym at White Lotus with Eliver on Thurs. It was fun and I did some tricking. I learned some parkour and more flashy kicks like a nara bang and a wall flip.

Friday was Suzy’s send off at Nick’s apartment / streets of Alhambra. Dennis swung by and picked me up. It was good catching up and then we had a few drinks at Nicks place. David had his crazy Oregon games and we played ‘fugitive’ or I forget the name.. but some game where you chase down people like cops and robbers but over a 3-5 block radius. I was tired and buzzed, but it was a fun game.

Sat and Sun I had private lessons. It’s pretty fun teaching people, especially when they are willing to learn and serious about training. I just need to get everyone in on a routine so that we get on a roll and that momentum from a good practice rolls over to larger improvements the following class. I want to keep my private lessons to a few people at the moment since I am preparing for Worlds and would rather focus on my own training aside from current 2-3 lessons. Everyone has been awesome! So basically my training on Sat and Sun consisted of warming up and demonstrating some kicks.

Film
It was the Last official shoot date for me on the documentary/pilot this Sunday. I dressed up as a sailor, a pirate, and other random outfits for a green screen shoot. It was so ridiculous I cant even talk about it all. In any case, it feels good that the first complete episode should be done filming by the end of the week. I will have to go back in to do some voiceovers and snap a few pick ups possibly.

Entrepreneurial
Tea- Spent all Sat really cleaning up and prepping the site. Went to Wells Fargo to open a merchant account.

Clothing- Really delayed. I havent heard back from our pattern maker and also my partner is launching a really big (and to be fair very exciting) food truck business so his attention is not on our clothing at the moment. I’m hoping that after all the launches and he has his staff hired to start serving the food that things will slightly calm down and we can regain some steam on this project… but I think things are just going to keep growing and building up on the food truck that I doubt things will slow down.

WushuKicks- Going to test the success of the Tea site and see if everything works smoothly there, then maybe I can transition WK to the same platform.

Misc
Car died on Thurs/Fri. It wouldnt even start when I tried to jump it.. so I assumed the starter needed to be replaced. I was quite bummed. I finally got it in to the shop and they determined it was actually just a really really beat battery with no charge capacity left in it… so I got a new battery and now the G starts up right away.

Aside from it being my LAST shoot date for the documentary project, it is also my LAST week at work. I had an exit interview today and will be cleaning out my desk and turning in my badge on Friday. I am very excited for what’s to come.

Some goals/thing to focus on after I quit will be:
Wushu training for World Games
Ninja Warrior Audition
Tea team, distribution, expansion
Completion of clothing product
3 Private Lessons a week
SAG Extra Work
Pasadena Real Estate
WushuKicks Site Revamp

Butterfinger Commercial Kung Fu Fight

Film
Sunday I had a filming double wammy. 8am I went to shoot a commercial for a butterfinger commercial contest. The theme is old school kung fu cinema so I fought a guy with a fu-manchu. I had a heavy hand in the choreo and it was a funny project to work on.
Check out an outtake from todays shoot.

Right after this shoot I went to shoot some more of the Borat style short. It was really funny. I won’t spoil it but lets just say we had a dog licking some mayonaise off of someone’s back. Also I am working with Larry Hankins on this project. He  has been on Friends, CSI, Martial Law, Home Alone, Seinfeld, Billy Madison and much more.

Wushu
Just competed in the Long Beach Intl tournament. I took first in both my events in the chinese martial arts division. I felt good that I competed because I proved to myself my endurance was still in top shape as I was able to go 5 rounds from 9am-7pm. I got to perform at the 2009 Masters Hall of Fame and received some good praise from many respected martial arts masters.

At the end of the tournament I was interviewed and asked to give my feedback on the tournament and also a little background on myself. I will post up a link when that is online.

Training wise- I was really sore from the competition, but managed to do some jogging and light kicking due to my private lesson class.

Tea
Should be in any time next week. Still need to update site.

Clothing
Now I need to get prototype3 made.

Beverage
Met up with my business partners last week and they really broke down the drink industry. This one requires more time and financial commitment so I have to figure out quickly where I want to go with this. I should get moving on a finalized label design.

Misc
Sherry and XJ got married this week!! I went to her “xi jiu” or wedding reception at a restaurant in Chinatown.

Sherry's Wedding Day

Congratulations Sherry and XJ!

Coincidentally I watched Wedding Crashers yesterday and that was SUCH a funny movie! I wonder if people actually do that in real life? =P