Andrew Ahn Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Andrew Ahn has the fall of Quibi to thank for being the director of “Fire Island.”

Bowen Yang perform a cover of Britney Spears’ “Sometimes” in the Hulu film . In true romcom fashion, the actor gets to bear all his emotions during a pivotal musical moment.While speaking to ET, writer and star Joel Kim Booster and director Andrew Ahn break down the epic moment. “It’s my favorite scene in the movie, for sure,” Booster says.As Howie, Yang takes the stage three quarters of the way through Booster’s queer, modern adaptation of to sing an unexpected version of the 1999 hit song while his friends, Luke (Matt Rogers) and Keegan (Tomás Matos), provide backup and add a little choreography to the scene. The scene comes near the end of their trip to the gay mecca as the limits of Howie and Noah’s (Booster) friendship have been tested by their unexpected and complicated romantic feelings for Charlie (James Scully) and Will (Conrad Ricamora), respectively.  When it comes to the song selection, “it was Bowen’s choice,” Booster says, explaining that the scene itself “was always written into this script [and] that Bowen would sing karaoke in that moment.” He adds, “I asked Bowen for a list of songs he’d be comfortable singing and ‘Sometimes’ was sort of the top choice.

, a queer, modern adaptation of, was first announced, it marked the first time a major film was being written and directed by as well as starring openly gay Asian people. In this case, that’s director Andrew Ahn, writer and star Joel Kim Booster and Bowen Yang. Later, the Hulu movie made news again when it revealed that it had filled out all the supporting roles with LGBTQ actors, including Margaret Cho, Matt Rogers and Conrad Ricamora. “Joel and I felt very committed to casting queer actors for this,” Ahn tells ET.

Michael Appler On Wednesday evening in New York City — about 60 miles and a ferry ride away from its subject— “Fire Island,” Joel Kim Booster’s romantic comedy about a weekend spent in New York’s chosen queer haven, held its premiere at the SVA Theatre.On 23rd Street in Chelsea, guests including Alok Viad-Menon, Jackie Cox, Peppermint and John Cameron Mitchell, as well as stars Bowen Yang, Matt Rogers, Conrad Ricamora and James Scully assembled to celebrate the film as part of New York’s NewFest Pride. You could have lifted the premiere’s guest list from any summer weekend spent at the Pines, something to be celebrated for a new film distributed by a gatekeeper studio like Searchlight Pictures.

A year into the COVID pandemic, out director Andrew Ahn received the script for Joel Kim Booster’s “Fire Island” and knew almost immediately he needed to make it.

How do you write a queer romantic comedy? That is, not one where you merely gender flip a lead (“rom-com, but make it gay!”) but actually create a story that interrogates the very foundational tropes of the genre? If you’re Joel Kim Booster, you do so by adapting one of the most beloved Jane Austen novels of all time, the one whose recent big-screen adaptations have earned the likes of Keira Knightley and Renée Zellweger Oscar nominations.

Peter Debruge Chief Film CriticIt’s a gross oversimplification of Jane Austen’s gift to suggest that her novels reduce to heteronormative matchmaking exercises, though all six end with their heroines getting hitched. (Austen herself never wed.

NewFest, the New York film and media organizations has announced the full lineup for its second annual NewFest Pride event – a summer film series returning this year from June 2-6 in a hybrid format featuring a mix of exclusive in-person premieres/panels and virtual screenings. The announcement was made today by NewFest’s Executive Director David Hatkoff and Director of Programming Nick McCarthy.

Holiday getaways aren’t always easy.

Netflix announced today that Joel Kim Booster’s stand-up special Joel Kim Booster: Psychosexual will debut on the streamer on June 21st.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorSearchlight Pictures’ queer romantic comedy “Fire Island” will have its world premiere on June 2 during NewFest’s NewFest Pride series.“We are thrilled to kick off our annual Pride month event with the world premiere of Andrew Ahn’s ‘Fire Island,’” NewFest executive director David Hatkoff said in statement on Thursday morning. “This joyful film captures the sexy, romantic, celebratory energy of the iconic NY gay enclave, and we can’t wait to celebrate with the film’s cast and creative team with a blow-out, prideful event in the heart of NYC.”Set in Fire Island, New York’s popular gay getaway Pines neighborhood and inspired by Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice,” the film stars Joel Kim Booster and Bowen Yang as best friends who are determined to have the ultimate summer adventure.

The first trailer for Fire Island has just debuted online!

Wilson Chapman editorHulu has released the first trailer for the new queer rom-com “Fire Island,” starring Joel Kim Booster and “Saturday Night Live” star Bowen Yang.A modern take on the classic Jane Austen novel “Pride and Prejudice,” “Fire Island” focuses on two gay best friends, Noah (Booster) and Howie (Yang), who take a trip to the Pines, a hamlet on New York’s Fire Island that’s a hotspot for queer culture. Over the course of their vacation, they party with friends and develop flirtations with two other, significantly wealthier vacationers, Will (Conrad Ricamora) and Charlie (James Scully).

Sasha Urban editorWith a little more than two months to go until the release of “Fire Island,” a rom-com that Joel Kim Booster wrote as a gay adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice,” prospective fans are asking, “Where’s the trailer?” Although Booster says he’s asking the same question, he hinted at what audiences can expect from the film, trailer notwithstanding.Speaking to Variety at the premiere of “The Lost City” at the Regency Village Theatre on March 21, where Booster accompanied his friend and “Fire Island” co-star Bowen Yang onto the carpet, Booster said he expects people to see Yang as a “legitimate powerhouse actor” after watching the film.“I’m really excited for people to see Bowen, specifically, because I think everybody’s used to seeing Bowen do things like [‘The Lost City’] or ‘SNL,’” Booster said. “But Bowen really goes to some difficult places in the movie.” Directed by Andrew Ahn, the film stars Booster and Yang as two best friends on a weeklong summer vacation on Fire Island, the mecca of gay summer getaways.

Searchlight Pictures on Friday dated three movies that will stream exclusively this summer as Hulu Originals: Andrew Ahn’s rom-com Fire Island, the Emma Thompson-starring Sundance pic Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, and Quinn Shephard’s Not Okay starring Zoey Deutch. All three had already been targeted to bow on the streamer.

Angelique Jackson Searchlight Pictures has set summer release dates for “Fire Island,” “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” and “Not Okay.”All three films will stream exclusively as Hulu Originals in the U.S. with “Fire Island” and “Not Okay” streaming internationally on Disney Plus as Star Originals.

Hulu has debuted the first photos from the upcoming movie Fire Island, a new rom-com written by and starring Joel Kim Booster.

The Sundance Institute has set Marissa Chibás (72), Walé Oyéjidé, Esq. (Chiaroscuro), Glenn Kaino (Fox & Stork), Mamoudou N’Diaye (Freelancers), Gabby Rivera (Juliet Takes a Breath), Nuhash Hamuyun (Moving Bangladesh), Tania Taiwo (Pharmacopeia), Andre Muir and Jake Hutton (The Predicament), Tommy Pico and Tazbah Rose Chavez (Sometimes), A.K. Espada (This Is Our Home) and Ramzi I. Bashour (Tomahawk Springs) as the participants for its tenth annual, two-day Screenwriters Intensive, taking place virtually through tomorrow.

EXCLUSIVE: Conrad Ricamora (The Resident), James Scully (You), Matt Rogers (Search Party), Tomas Matos (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Torian Miller (Goliath), and Nick Adams (Shrill) have joined the cast of Fire Island, the Searchlight Pictures title from director Andrew Ahn (Spa Night, Driveways), which has now entered production.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterIt’s surely not her first time, but Margaret Cho is headed to “Fire Island.”The Emmy-nominated actor and comedian has joined the cast of the upcoming Searchlight Studios film opposite Joel Kim Booster and Bowen Yang.

Bowen Yang and Joel Kim Booster are teaming up for their first feature film together. The two actors will star in “Fire Island”, written by Booster and helmed by “Spa Night” director Andrew Ahn. From Searchlight Pictures and produced by JAX Media, the comedy will exclusively debut on Hulu in the U.S.

Bowen Yang and Joel Kim Booster are teaming up for their first feature film together. The two actors will star in, written by Booster and helmed by director Andrew Ahn.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterBowen Yang and Joel Kim Booster are set to star in “Fire Island,” a romantic comedy from “Spa Night” director Andrew Ahn.Described as a modern day take on Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice,” the film will center on two best friends embarking on a weeklong vacation to Fire Island — the historic gay escape off the southern shore of Long Island — with the help of cheap rosé and a cadre of eclectic friends.The project is set up at Searchlight, and will release

Pride, from Vice Studios and Killer Films, makes the universal personal by presenting its multifaceted story of the queer rights movement in six distinct episodes, by six different queer filmmakers.It’s actually seven directors total, as indie standouts Tom Kalin (Swoon), Andrew Ahn (Spa Night), Cheryl Dunye (Watermelon Woman), Yance Ford (Strong Island), and relative newcomers Ro Haber, and the team of Anthony Caronna and Alex Smith each bring a unique vision to chronicling the queer history

“Pride” is a six-part documentary series chronicling the 60-year struggle for LGBTQ civil rights in America.

coronavirus pandemic — and a lot of good films. They have arrived by streaming service, cable television, on-demand, drive-in and even Instagram.

Hollywood and fans alike were heartbroken when longtime actor Brian Dennehy died in April at the age of 81. He was an everyman with an edge, allowing him to seamlessly appear in everything from Sylvester Stallone’s to with Chris Farley as well as TV’s,, and the award-winning adaptation. One of his final performances,, is no different.

Following her breakout success in, which earned her a 2018 Golden Globe nomination, and her captivating role as Lady Trieu on HBO’s , Hong Chau takes the lead in. The film kicks off a big year for the actress, who also stars in, which marks her second lead role, director Kenneth Branagh’s sci-fi epic,, and the second season of Amazon’s .