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frederator-studios · 6 years

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Meet Kate Tsang and Jennifer Cho Suhr, Creators of “Welcome to Doozy”

Kate and Jennifer are award-winning, multidimensional filmmakers who bonded over being the food table hoverers at networking events. Others may schmooze; Kate + Jen sandwich. Their passion for food - and for their friendship - shines through in their short “Welcome to Doozy,” our 6th GO! Cartoon. I sat down with these very impressive ladies to discuss the bureaucracy behind imaginary friends, the importance of representation, and karaoke tea-time.

Sooo, how’d you two meet? Kate: We met in film school at NYU, where we were in the same Masters program. Jen: Kate took classes in animation - but I have no animation background, and, sadly, can barely draw...

What brought you together as collaborators? Jen: We were paired in the same production group our first week of school, and became good friends. Kate: We’ve since collaborated on each other’s class exercises, thesis films, and various arty things.

Partners in movie-making! What brought you to Frederator as a team? Kate: I’ve always had an interest in animation. I love Adventure Time and Bee and PuppyCat. So when Natasha Allegri posted on her blog about GO! Cartoons, I told Jen we should ‘go’ for it. Jen: We had - still have! - the concept for a full series prepared, so we actually pitched the show bible first and then reverse-engineered that into the short.

How did “Doozy” change throughout your development process? Jen: A lot, actually. Lou is a Kitsune fox demon now - she started out as an eyeball with cowboy boots! But the concept was always 2 girlfriends, a la Broad City, having misadventures. Kate: A little origin story: Ex (who has always been a rabbit) recently retired from being an imaginary friend. The Bureau of Imaginary Friends handles the re-adjustment of retired IF’s back into the imaginary world. So this is the story of Ex re-assimilating: finding a roommate in Lou, getting a job, and developing a crush on her coworker Skeletim. Jen: Skeletim stayed really consistent since the pitch - Eric (Homan, our VP of Development) always really liked him. We joke that Eric only stuck with us because of Skeletim.

How much are Ex and Lou based on you two, and who’s who? Kate: It’s a bit of a mix… Jen: But I’d say I’m more Ex, almost by default - just because Kate is so much more like Lou. Kate: I AM the mischievous one. Jen: And I’m the more... straight-laced one? I guess that’s the way to put it. Although! Kate is the one who does martial arts, like Ex.

What themes recur in your work? Kate: There’s always hopefulness in mine. I’m interested in outsiders, and finding whimsy and humor, even when things look bleak. I enjoy working in mediums where I can create wonderment. Like right now: I’m learning magic! Jen: I care a lot about representation and grounding stories in the realities of human relationships. The feature film that I’m developing now is inspired by my relationship with my sister. And with “Doozy”: it’s very specific to Kate and my identities as Asian Americans. Kate: Like incorporating the bento box, and the influence of Japanese anime and manga, of which we’re both fans. We were definitely inspired by Hayao Miyazaki’s way with food.

❀ A happy lil side note: one of the most popular Youtube comments on the short reads ‘A lot of people won’t know what a bento is but thanks to you, now they do!’ ❀

Jen: And we were conscious of the fact that most buddy comedies are about male friendships. We wanted to show girls being silly together and represent female friendship as it really is. Kate: That’s why Broad City was such an inspiration and even a motivator for “Doozy”. We were like ‘Ok, people do want to watch this.’

I read recently that Broad City’s viewership is split almost evenly male/female - it’s actually something like 55/45, with more men watching than women. Kate: What? That’s awesome. Jen: It just goes to show that it all comes down to good comedy and strong characters. I’m actually about to have a baby boy which has made me think about the types of stories that I’ll read to him as he grows up. I’ve been thinking of some of my favorite YA books with female protagonists like Anne of Green Gables and A Wrinkle in Time… it’s important to me that he’s able to identify and empathize with female characters. The only reason that boys “wouldn’t be able to” as people say, is if they learn socially that they shouldn’t.

What are some cool things we’ll get to see if “Welcome to Doozy” gets a series? Jen: Well, let’s just say there are some nefarious happenings in Ex’s office…

Gasp! Not Mrs. Hugs! Kate: Nah, not Mrs. Hugs. She’s a true office drone, doesn’t know what’s really up. Jen: We’d also backtrack, to show how Ex and Lou came to be friends and roommates. Kate: And we’d get to introduce their pet popsicle, who lives in the freezer. Jen: And we’d get to see Lou working her job at a run-down mini golf course. She schemes and ~magics~ to keep it afloat. Kate: There’s an underlying mystery, and it’d be a lot of them screwing up while trying to investigate it.

What sorta stuff do you guys like to do together - any wild adventures? Kate: Actually, yes. We try to take a road trip together every year. So far we’ve done the Badlands, the Southwest, the Midwest, the South and New Orleans. Jen: Admittedly, the Midwest was probably the most boring… not to knock where I’m from. But here’s a story: when we were in Nashville - the biggest music town - we quickly realized that karaoke is different there and that everyone getting onstage was a pro or semi-pro country singer. And then Kate got up - Kate: I didn’t know any better. Jen: And sang an Amy Winehouse/Mark Ronson cover amid all this country music. Truly the new kids in town. And the audience TOTALLY ate it up! They loved it. Kate: We karaoke together a lot. Sometimes we rent a room for just the two of us… during the middle of the day… one might call us enthusiasts.

What cartoons do you guys like? Jen: Well, Kate and I have wildly different tastes. But we both love Adventure Time and Rick and Morty. Kate: And we share 90s cartoons, like Dexter’s Lab, Daria, and Invader Zim - Jen: But Kate likes things like Ren & Stimpy - which is too grotesque for me…

What about your favorite Studio Ghibli film? Jen: Spirited Away. Kate: My Neighbor Totoro.

Last up: what are you working on now, and what’s your favorite thing you’ve made in the past? Kate: Favorite film I’ve made is “So You’ve Grown Attached” - “Doozy” inherited elements from it, like the imaginary friends, and the name ‘Ex’. Jen: I’m really focused on getting my feature financed right now, which we want to shoot this summer.

Oo-ooh! What’s it about, and who’s the star? Jen: The film is called You and Me Both and we have Constance Wu from Fresh Off the Boat as one of the stars (me = !!). It’s a drama with comedic notes about two sisters, one a struggling heroin addict, who take a road trip to find their birth mother. While it touches on some heavy topics like loss and addiction, it’s ultimately a love story between sisters… so if anyone is looking to finance a film, hit me up! As far as favorite work… I don’t know… Kate: What about “Saeng-Il”? (“Birthday” in Korean) Jen: Okay, “Saeng-Il” then.

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And Kate, what are you working on?

Kate: Eeeerrrrrr…. Jen: C’mon! Your feature! Kate: Okay, yeah, I’m working on a feature too. It’s a drama-comedy about a teen delinquent who teams up with a struggling party magician to battle her inner demons, strained home life, and avoid reform school. If anyone happens to know anyone who knows Catherine O’Hara - I’ve got a part for her.

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You heard it here first, folks. Let’s snag financing for “You and Me Both” and Catherine O’Hara as Kate’s lead.

Thanks for taking the time, Kate and Jen! Great chatting with you, and best of luck on all of your projects. Can’t wait to see ‘em on the big screen (and also, little screens).

- Cooper

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fredfilmsblog · 3 years

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FredFilms promises...

Creators first.

I've always believed that we owe you, our fans and now at FredFilms we all take it as gospel. We owe you our best work, of course. But beyond we examine everything about ourselves constantly, to assure ourselves and you that we’re trying to stay on the right track. To that end, whatever work I’ve done –whether it be in the music business, the network television business, and certainly, cartoons– has been done with making public promises that try and assure you that we’ll deliver.

To that end, I thought it would be good to print out a new set of our limited edition postcards to make the FredFilms promises completely clear. This one’s the first.

As throughout my entire cartoon career, and now at FredFilms, it’s been my mission to let exceptional creators do their thing. We’re not in the business of micro-managing our creative talent. Instead, we seek out and nurture creators who have a story they need to tell and give them as much room as possible to tell it.. We go to festivals, art schools, comedy clubs, and explore the dustiest corners of the internet to find folks we know we have to work with.

We believe there are new stories to be told.

We promise.

.....

It might seem extreme, but I thought it might be interesting to list all of the creators that have worked on my productions, starting in 1995 with What A Cartoon! at Hanna-Barbera and Cartoon Network in 1995. If you look at any of the 140 individual links (!) you’ll see that almost all of them have had estimable careers in cartoons or animation adjacent (comics, video games, VFX and the like). Some have created hit series with me, some without (sigh!) and some have become quite famous. One way or the other, they’ve all been amazing.

Raul Aguirre

Natasha Allegri

Robert Alvarez

Amy Anderson

Tex Avery

Ralph Bakshi

Joe Barbera

Damien Barchowsky

Charlie Bean

Jerry Beck

D.R. Beitzel

Mike Bell

Tim Biskup

Bob Boyle

Chris “Spike” Brandt

Eric Bryan

Michelle Bryan

David Burd

Bill Burnett

Breehn Burns

Jaime Diaz

Angelo diNallo

Kyle A. Carrozza

Elyse Castro

Tony Cervone

Alison Cowles

David Cowles

Rick Delcarmen

Jeff DeGrandis

Andrew Dickman

John R. Dilworth

Davis Doi

Greg Eagles

Jerry Eisenberg

Warren Ellis

Greg Emison

John Eng

Jun Falkenstein

David Feiss

Eddie Fitzgerald

John Fountain

Manny Galán

Dana Galin

James Giordano

Alan Goodman

Tom Gran

Mike Gray

Antoine Guilbaud

Bill Hanna

Meinert Hansen

Russ Harris

Butch Hartman

Andy Helm

Adam Henry

Bill Ho

Larry Huber

Gabe Janisz

George Johnson

Don Jurwich

Kang yo-kong

Ken Kessel

Jiwook Kim

Alex Kirwan

Kevin Kolde

Grant Kolton

Erik Knutson

Dahveed Kolodny-Nagy

Diane Kredensor

Harvey Kurtzman

Juris Lisovs

Seth MacFarlane

Steve Marmel

Miss Kelly Martin

Eugene Mattos

Craig McCracken

Jon McClenahan

John McIntyre

Harry McLaughlin

Dan Meth

Mike Milo

Zac Moncrief

Russell Mooney

Jesse Moynihan

Justin Moynihan

Adam Muto

Andre Nieves

Jeret Ochi

Joe Orrantia

Victor Ortado

Rory Panagotopulos

Paul Parducci

Van Partible

Lincoln Peirce

Jonni Phillips

Jason Plapp

Polygon Pictures

Bill Plympton

Carlos Ramos

Michael Rann

Russ Reiley

Christopher Reineman

Rob Renzetti

G. Brian Reynolds

John Reynolds

John Rice

Bill Riling

Mel Roach

Eric Robles

Mike Rosenthal

Jason Butler Rote

Jim Ryan

Fred Seibert

Seo jun-kyo

Don Shank

David Shute

Brent Sievers

Achiu So

Hamish Steele

Elizabeth Stonecypher

Jennifer Cho Suhr

Genndy Tartakovsky

Doug TenNapel

Aliki Theofilopoulos

Miles Thompson

Karl Toerge

Kate Tsang

Guy Vasilovich

Byron Vaughns

Joel Veitch

Pat Ventura

Anne Walker

Vincent Waller

Pendleton Ward

Dave Wasson

Mike Wellins

Melissa Wolfe

Martin Woolley

Jim Wyatt

Niki Yang

Carey Yost

.....

FredFilms Postcard Series 2.1

From the postcard back:

Congratulations! You are one of 75 people to receive this limited edition FredFilms postcard!

www.fredfilms.com

A FredFilms promise: Creators first.

FredFilms’ mission is to ‘put the right people in the room.’ By helping extraordinary creators we can produce innovative shows with enduring characters.

We know there a new stories to be told.

Executive producer: Fred Seibert

Series 2.1 [mailed out April 6, 2021]

#FredFilms postcards #Series 2 #2021 #postcards #postcard #promises

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diaryofanangryasianguy · 5 years

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05/19/19

What’s behind Constance Wu’s Fresh Off the Boat rant

Page Six reports the renewal of FOTB could cost Wu the role of an addict who goes in search with her estranged sister for their mother. The film, You and Me Both, is from writer-director Jennifer Cho Suhr.

“[Wu can] show that there are multiple faces to being an Asian American,” said William Yu, a creative strategist and screenwriter, told Page Six. “And for so long, this has not been reflected on camera, with Asian Americans being relegated to either the sidekick or emasculated buddy who doesn’t contribute to the narrative in any real way.”

#asian american #constance wu #film #news #television

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johnsimon · 6 years

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Yesterday, October 16th, Jane Rosenthal, Paula Weinstein, Tribeca, and CHANEL hosted the 4th annual Through Her Lens: The Tribeca Chanel Women’s Filmmaker Program kickoff luncheon at Locanda Verde in New York. They brought together a hundred women leaders in entertainment – actors, directors, writers, producers, casting directors and costume designers – to celebrate their filmmaking community and the ten emerging female filmmakers selected for the program.

During the luncheon, Jane Rosenthal, Executive Chair of Tribeca Enterprises and Paula Weinstein, EVP of Tribeca Enterprises spoke about the importance of women storytellers coming together and building a community of both established and emerging filmmakers alike. Jane Rosenthal said, “We’re not waiting for the rest of the world to catch up with us; we’re leading and . . . we’re persisting.”

Jane Rosenthal, Robin Roberts

The three-day workshop from October 16-18 aims to balance industry support, artistic development and funding for new and emerging U.S-based female writers and directors of short-form narrative films. At the end of the program, each of the five projects will be pitched by the filmmakers to a jury of industry experts. One filmmaker will be awarded full financing to produce her short film, along with the support of Tribeca Studios to make the project. The four other projects will each be awarded grant funds to continue the development of their films.

Program mentors and participants included director Kathryn Bigelow, actor/director/producer Courteney Cox, writer/director Debra Granik, cinematographer Rachel Morrison, producer Christine Vachon, writer Jenny Lumet, producer Effie T. Brown, writer/director Stella Meghie, writer/director/executive producer Veena Sud, costume designer Stacey Battat, Tribeca Film Institute’s Amy Hobby and more.

Jennifer Suhr, Carolyn Mao, Shruti Ganguly, Laramie Dennis, Kylah Benes-Trapp, Francesca Mirabella, Suha Araj, Maryam Keshavarz, Gabriella Moses, Jenna Cedicci

Adepero Oduye, Uzo Aduba, Samira Wiley, Alysia Reiner

Other notables spotted at the Luncheon were actors Katie Holmes, Zosia Mamet, DeWanda Wise, Melissa Leo, Uzo Aduba, Samira Wiley, Piper Perabo, Adepero Oduye, Alysia Reiner, Hailey Gates, Sophie Auster, Julia Goldani Telles, Ekaterina Samsonov, Ella Hunt, directors Mira Nair, Gillian Robespierre, Hannah Fidell, Mary Harron, Sophie Barthes, Shari Springer Berman, Naomi Foner, Mary Lambert, Tanya Wexler, Laurie Simmons; casting directors Alexa Fogel, Avy Kaufman; producers Deborra-Lee Jackman, Donna Gigliotti,Paula Wagner, Caroline Baron, Molly Conners, Celia Costas, Lucy Donnelly, Anne Harrison, Anne Hubbell, Caroline Kaplan, Pamela Koffler, Susan Lewis, Lydia Pilcher, Meryl Poster, Celine Rattray, Frida Torresblanco, Wendy Finerman; DP Ellen Kuras, writers Jill Kargman, Ann Leary, Kelly Marcel, Leslie Dixon; editor Sabine Hoffman; Robin Roberts, and more.

The selected filmmakers for the program: Francesca Mirabella and Kylah Benes-Trapp, Laramie Dennis with producer Jenna Cedicci; Suha Araj with producer Maryam Keshavarz, Gabriella Moses with producer Shruti Ganguly, and Jennifer Cho Suhr with producer Carolyn Mao.

Check out more photos from the Through Her Lens Luncheon in our gallery.

Katie Holmes, Courteney Cox, (WEARING CHANEL)

DeWanda Wise, Adepero Oduye

Derek Blasberg, Deborra Lee Furness

Adepero Oduye, Uzo Aduba, Samira Wiley, Alysia Reiner

Jane Rosenthal, Robin Roberts

Jennifer Suhr, Carolyn Mao, Shruti Ganguly, Laramie Dennis, Kylah Benes-Trapp, Francesca Mirabella, Suha Araj, Maryam Keshavarz, Gabriella Moses, Jenna Cedicci

Katie Holmes, Courteney Cox, (WEARING CHANEL)

Paula Weinstein

Uzo Aduba, Samira Wiley

Jane Rosenthal, Robin Roberts

DeWanda Wise

Photos: BFA

Through Her Lens: Inside The @Tribeca Chanel Women's Filmmaker Program 4th Annual Luncheon #ThroughHerLens #WhatsYourStory Yesterday, October 16th, Jane Rosenthal, Paula Weinstein, Tribeca, and CHANEL hosted the 4th annual Through Her Lens: The Tribeca Chanel Women's Filmmaker Program kickoff luncheon at Locanda Verde in New York.

#Chanel #Jane Rosenthal #Locanda Verde #Paula Weinstein #Through Her Lens #Tribeca

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