On May 6, the cast of “Joy Ride” (Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu, Sabrina Wu) presented the “Joy Luck Club” cast (Ming-Na Wen, Tamlyn Tomita, Rosalind Chao, Lauren Tom, Lisa Lu, Kieu Chin) and executive producer Janet Yang with the inaugural Gold Generation Award at the second annual Gold Gala celebration in Los Angeles for the latter film’s 30th anniversary. This occasion was momentous as both casts came together to recognize and celebrate “The Joy Luck Club,” which has become a cultural touchstone for many within the AAPI community. This iconic moment was met with a standing ovation by the audience.
“Joy Ride,” directed by Adele Lim and written by Lim, Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao, follows four Asian American friends as they bond and discover the truth of what it means to know and love who you are, while they travel through Asia in search of one of their birth mothers. It premiered at SXSW in March and will be released in July.
Yang, who was executive producer of “The Joy Luck Club” and is currently president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, posted on Facebook, “What a night to remember at Saturday’s Gold Gala!! Could not be more proud to have co-founded GoldHouse and watch it grow into such a powerhouse.
“The standing ovation — from each of the 800-some people there — for the magnificent cast of ‘The Joy Luck Club’ was truly momentous and heart-stoppingly moving. And to be honored by the cast of the upcoming ‘Joy Ride’ was a poetic delight. Cannot wait for this one to burst onto the scene.
“The Gold Women’s Brunch the following day brought together so many amazing women that I just wanted to hang with forever. To have us all in a room together was next level.
“Heartfelt thanks to our community for showing up for one another. We did not exist as a community when ‘Joy Luck’ came out 30 years ago. And in the words of James Hong: Look at us now!”