An Interview with Jon Hill: Fox Sports Video Producer, Emmy Award Winner, and Pitt Alum

The following is a transcribed phone conversation between Thai-American film producer Jon Hill and Asian Studies Center Ambassador Anthony Gavazzi. To raise awareness about Screenshot: Asia, Pitt’s new Asian film festival, and its fundraising campaign, the ASC ambassadors are interviewing Pitt’s film alum of Asian-American backgrounds to learn about Pitt’s impact on their careers. For more, visit engage.pitt.edu/screenshotasia.

Tell me about yourself.

When I was a kid, I bounced around a lot. I was born in Virginia, then moved to Los Angeles, then Colorado, then back to Virginia, and then to Philadelphia when I was 4 or 5, and grew up in Philadelphia. I used to make films with my buddies for school reports. Instead of writing papers, I’d con my teachers into letting me make videos. I always wanted to move to L.A. because my family used to live there, and my dad always talked about how much he missed it. It kind of made sense – I loved films and loved L.A.

How did you end up at Pitt, and how did your time here prepare you for your career?

I was looking into schools, and my friend from high school went to Pitt. I went out to Pitt with him one summer and had the greatest time visiting, so I checked it out as a prospective student and loved it.

When I was at Pitt, I met John Paul Horstmann, who was basically the original trailblazer. He created the TV Station UPTV, which was called the Creation Station at the time, and then graduated immediately after, so I took over with Sam Cotler. I started a TV show with my dorm mates called Lothrop What What, kind of like a sketch comedy variety show, and it was one of the few shows that aired at the time. I used a video camera that my brother got me, and – you have to remember – this was back in 2002. There was no cell phones, YouTube, editing software. Digital editing with a computer was just starting.

But yeah, the show went really well, and we had a little cult following. It landed me onto Homecoming court. I’d say we had a really good time, and that’s kind of the genesis of my time at Pitt. Within the next year, we grew the TV station from about 10 of us to 100 members. I would definitely say the bulk of my experience in becoming a filmmaker came through UPTV and spending as much time as I was able to in the studio. My friend, Nate Cornett, and I also worked with Carl Kurlander on a mini-documentary about the Gene Kelly Awards, which aired on WQED, a local television station. I wouldn’t be here without Pitt.

What have you been working on since you’ve been in Los Angeles?

I’ve freelanced a ton and did everything, including shooting feature films with Nate Cornett, indie films, pilots, and documentaries. I’ve been at Fox Sports for the last four years.

Can you tell me a little bit about what you do there?

I’m a video producer at Fox Sports Digital, mostly directing stuff on our FS1 properties. I worked on the World Cup. I went to the Super Bowl last year, and I’m going to the Super Bowl again this year. I’ve been to the past three NBA All-Star Games. We actually won an Emmy last year, too.

Going back to your time at Pitt, did you explore your Thai-American identity at all, either at the University or in the city?

I don’t think I really went there to explore my Thai-American identity because I’ve always known my identity. My mom’s from Thailand, and I love Thailand. I’ve been there about seven times, and I just got married there last November. There isn’t a large Thai community in Pittsburgh at all. When I was young, I was just really focused on just making films and partying – I’m not ashamed to admit that. But looking back, I probably would’ve gone to more of the Asian Student Alliance (ASA) events and done some networking.

Did you have any professors that inspired you or helped you explore your identity?

Oh, yeah. One of my favorite professors was Keiko McDonald. She actually passed away a couple years after I graduated, but I took a samurai class and a Japanese literature and film class with her. She had such a big heart. She was hilarious, and she would make the class downright erupt with laughter. I really miss her. She was kind of my guiding light for Asian cinema at Pitt. I actually have a photo for your blog post of me with a fish that I caught, which is a tribute to her because she would always show us a photo of a fish she caught.

Do you think it’s appropriate for Pitt to have an Asian Film Festival?

Yes, and you should have as many festivals as you can. Also, Asian cinema’s huge. Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Hong Kong films are all big, and then if you throw in Bollywood, that’s huge. It’s bigger than Hollywood. Plus, you can also get a lot of Asian shows on Netflix. My wife’s Korean, and we watch a ton of Korean shows on there. Right now, we’re seeing the rise of shows like Terrace House, a Japanese show. I think back in my day people were like, “Oh, I’ll never watch a film with subtitles,” but luckily, I think that’s going away. Then, obviously, we have movies like Crazy Rich Asians, and you’ve got my buddies Randall Park and Ali Wong on Always Be My Maybe.

I’ve heard a lot about that movie. I need to check that out soon.

Yeah, that movie’s incredible. That’s one you’ve got to watch. Crazy Rich Asians was great, but it was very aspirational. What I loved about Always Be My Maybe is that it was like a slice of real life. A film like that – that doesn’t overemphasize the fact that the characters are Asian – shows that we’re just regular people that live next door.

What do you think about Asian and Asian-American representation in media?

I think it’s good for both our community and every other community. First of all, there really weren’t many Asian people for me to watch and look up to when I was a kid. My mom and I used to watch Martin Yan on Yan Can Cook, and I also had Bruce Lee, who was just badass. Now you’ve got a lot of people who are 2^nd generation Asian-Americans. It’s important for Asian kids to look up to these people and think, “Oh, I can make it.” That’s why the film festival’s such a great idea, too. Seeing small filmmakers is very inspiring. Anyone can watch a great movie from Korea, but at the end of the day, a college student’s going to think, “Okay. I’m not going to be able to make that.” When you watch a smaller film and think, “Okay, I can make that,” it’s even more inspiring.

What advice do you have for Pitt film studies students?

I would just say, look, it’s really simple: make a plan and just work towards that. Whatever you wanna do, if you make a plan, the universe will get out of the way for you. If you ask any successful person how they made it, they’ll say they wanted something and took little steps towards that goal. If you wanna be a filmmaker, just start making films. First, you make a film, and it’s usually terrible. Then, you make another film that’s a little less terrible, and you work your way up. There’s no magic to it.

Thanks for your time, Jon.  I really appreciate it.

Thanks for having me, Anthony. Also, I have a short film that I think you guys would like. It’s a video I did with my mom and my buddy, Brett. It’s cute, and I think it’ll be appropriate for the Asian Studies Center.

[Embedded video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S5-2bVT0do&t=10s ]

Five Frightening Facts about Godzilla (Gojira)

By Zane Kodama, Screenshot: Asia staff member

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to Screenshot: Asia’s event for the screening of “Gojira (Godzilla) Uncensored!” this October. Whether you were able to attend or not, here are some facts you might not have known about the King of Monsters.

1. The name’s origin is the combination of the Japanese names for two animals.

Anyone familiar with Godzilla’s Japanese roots should know the original spelling is Gojira (ゴジラ), but few might know of its actual source. According to Dr. William Tsutsui, Godzilla fanatic and expert, it is a portmanteau of 鯨 (kujira) and ゴリラ (gorira), which makes the monster a “whale-ape.” There is even a legend that before the film, it was actually the nickname of an unfortunate Tōhō employee.

2. We don’t know if Gojira is a boy or a girl (or neither).

Due to the nature of the Japanese language, it is not specified in the original film if Gojira is male or female. Gojira does have a son though, the cutely named Minilla (ミニラ). In 2008, Gojira and their son even appeared in a public service announcement video for the National Fatherhood Institute.

3. The Gojira movie series is a record setting franchise.

As you can read about in Godzilla on My Mind, there have been A LOT of Godzilla movies made over the years, admittedly of varying qualities. Even after Dr. Tsutsui’s book was published in 2004, there have been more movies released in both in Japan and America. Notably, the 2014 Shin-Godzilla (シン・ゴジラ) took some inspiration from notable tragic events in Japan, such as the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident and 2011 the Tōhoku earthquake. Altogether, there are now a total of 35 official films, earning recognition from the Guinness World Records for being the longest continuous franchise of all time.

4. Gojira has several familiar enemies.

Being the front of such a big franchise, Gojira has naturally fought many different adversaries. These include franchise regulars, such as the three-headed King Ghidora (キングギドラ) and giant insect Mothra (モスラ) to crossovers with other icons, including King Kong. One that might surprise modern audiences is that Gojira once even took on the Marvel’s Avengers in a comic series.

5. You can meet Gojira in real life!

Are you such a fan that you would want to meet Gojira in real life? Well, lucky for you, if you go to Japan, you can! Maybe not Gojira in true form, but there is a notable statue of Gojira’s head poking out from the Hotel Gracery Shinjuku in the Shinjuku ward of Tokyo.

Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) Event: VSA Goes…Phở Night

By Jenn Nguyen, Asian Studies Center Communications & Media Intern

On the first Saturday this past October, the Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) hosted one of its first events of the fall semester, VSA Goes…Phở Night. Phở is a well-known Vietnamese noodle soup that is either chicken broth-based or beef-broth based. It is always served hot with rice vermicelli noodles and toppings, such as white onions, cilantro, mint leaves, and bean sprouts. Some people like to add hoisin sauce or sriracha sauce to their broth as well.

VSA members met one another and members of the umbrella organization, the Asian Students Alliance (ASA), in Towers Lobby. From Towers Lobby, people left in groups to ride the Port Authority bus to Squirrel Hill, which nests a Vietnamese restaurant called Tân Lac Viên on Murray Avenue. Students filled the entire second floor of the restaurant and ordered over 50 bowls of phở and other Vietnamese dishes. My roommate, who is a member of ASA, attended the event with me. We both ordered large bowls of phở bò (beef pho) with thin slices of beef flank and beef meatballs. I had a great time at the event and spent a lot of time talking to members of VSA and ASA who I barely knew at the time.

So far, my first year in VSA and ASA has been extremely rewarding and welcoming. All of the members, old and new, are so kind and love sharing aspects of their culture with one another. It’s always warming to see members of other organizations under ASA, such as the Korean Student Association (KSA) and Filipino Student Association (FSA), attend other organizations’ events too.

Lecture Overview: Subnational Hydropolitics: Conflict, Cooperation, and Institution-Building in Shared River Basins with Dr. Scott Moore

By Qinnuo (Emma) Li, Asian Studies Center International Associate

This past September, the Asian Studies Center welcomed Dr. Scott Moore to the University of Pittsburgh as a special guest. His lecture, named after his latest book Subnational Hydropolitics: Conflict, Cooperation, and Institution-Building in Shared River Basins, explored one of the most popular issues that almost every country has to address in the 21st century – the political right to territories of water and the consequences behind strategies taken by superpowers in the international world, such as the United States, China, and India.

Dr. Moore’s lecture began with detailed picture of a global map that showed trends of water shortage in states, provinces, and countries. He expressed how international conflicts concerning water tend to be a well-researched, but subnational conflicts concerning this natural resource, in reality, are much more common. Not only are these regional conflicts more common, but these disputes have significant economic and environmental costs too.

To explain his research to an audience most likely unaware about the topic, Dr. Moore mentioned several in-depth case studies that involved conflict and cooperation. For example, he talked about how China deals with the water pollution, flooding, and allocation in the Yellow River. As a comparison, he talked about India’s response to a similar problem. At the end of the lecture, Dr. Moore shared his conclusions about his research – the growth in subnational water conflict is a result of both identity politics and political decentralization. Dr. Scott Moore’s lecture was very eye-opening. It revealed a lot about domestic and international politics from an often neglected lens and taught me a lot about a topic I was previously unaware about.