Fortune favors the bold, and boldness is certainly a key trait of Dante Basco‘s! One time leader of the Lost Boys and crown prince of the Fire Nation, Dante has a career spanning over two and a half decades. He is a Hollywood actor who has become a cult classic and pioneering figure in Asian American cinema. He was first introduced in Steven Spielberg’s fairytale movie Hook, as “Rufio,” aforementioned leader of the Lost Boys, quickly jumped to leading roles like New Line’s Take the Lead, opposite Antonio Banderas, and The Debut, which became the voice of a Filipino American generation. From breakdancing in the streets of San Francisco to starring in movies on the silver screen, Dante Basco has become one of the most recognizable faces in entertainment. I was lucky enough to score five minutes of his time before he was zoomed off to another interview at Emerald City Comic Con.
L: Hi! I’m Leia and since we have so little time, let’s get started!
DB: Hi, Leia! – Zuko voice- “I’m Dante and I’m talking with Leia!”
L: Haha, oh my God, you did the voice! Um, I was reading a recent interview of yours where you were talking about Asians having a place in film (Dante is Filipino American) and I’m noticing that Hollywood seems to be slowly getting the picture that people of color need to have a place in movies too –
DB: Definitely!!
L: – and I wanted to know if you have any projects you wanted to do.
DB: Well, there’s lots.I have a company called Kinetic Films that I’m partner of and we do Asian American/Pacific Islander films out of Hawaii, and we’ve done three so far that I’ve co-written some of, produced with my partner James Sereno, and with KevJumba we did Man Up. Me and Kev did Hang Loose together, we did Paradise Broke when it came out. Those are actually all out online. We’re actually funding a film right now for AJ Rafael called Red Roses! We are part of this movement…I created an Asian American arts collective in downtown LA where it’s all about curating, educating, and inspiring the next generation of content creators and it meets on the 8th of every month.You go to WeOwnThe8th.com and it’s about co-opting the 8th of the month for Asian media in America. I’m that generation now where I’m a “young veteran.”
L: What a bizarre sort of title!
DB: – laughs – The world has changed so it’s about getting into the conversation and really understanding that …Hollywood is recognizing that we need to be a part of the system but also we have to recognize that it’s also on us to create the content. It’s not like “oh, Hollywood needs to put us in their movies.” As much as that goes on, it’s still limited to their point of view of who we are as opposed to us as a community, whether it be Asian American, African American, Latino, going, “no, WE have to make content, WE have to be filmmakers.” It’s on us to represent us. It’s not on us to go and say you have to do this for us. That’s not how it works. How it works is we have to write and make the stories and it might start small. It might be a $10,000 project, maybe a $100,000 project. We’re not coming off the blocks making million dollar films and it’s okay! We have to create the stars and stories from our own experiences and not have the system dictate to us. You know what I’m saying?
L: Absolutely. It’s so important to find our point of views in media, especially for kids. I’m sure you get a lot of kids coming up to you and they’re probably ecstatic to see representation in you.
DB: It’s a LOT of kids!
L: My other question is with big franchises like Star Wars and Marvel, they’re putting more and more Asians into their films. How does that effect you as an actor?
DB: EXCITED! You know, it’s great. There’s so many great franchises that you grew up watching and you were in. Like, we all saw ourselves in them in our minds, but to see it actually happening on screen is just great. To be credited as a pioneer that helped usher in this wave of change is also cool. To be part of a franchise like…Avatar the Last Airbender, which is like a Star Wars for its own generation and being a pivotal piece of that, wow. It’s dream come true kind of stuff. I can’t wait to be a part of this future.
As much as I wanted to continue talking with Dante, his other obligations beckoned and I can successfully mark this interview off my bucket list.
Note: Interviews transcribed from audio are edited for clarity only.
Interview | Ashley Eckstein
The effects of a hard night’s worth of drinking is nothing like the hangover you get from leaving a convention as busy as Emerald City Comic Con. ECCC is huge and sprawling, taking up most of the Washington State Convention Center, with signs directing you every which way for SIX WHOLE LEVELS. I’m no green girl when it comes to huge conventions; hell, I’ve tackled San Diego Comic Con alone before! This is the first time I had ever attended ECCC, and I thought I knew what to expect out of another ReedPop owned convention.
NOPE!
This year’s entertainment guests included the likes of Norman Reedus, Dante Basco, Lana Parrilla, The Weasley twins, and more. The list of talent goes on and on, a list that seems beautifully endless and includes artists, authors, makeup designers, and prop makers. The artist alley was also incredibly packed with talent this year, ranging from a surprise signing with G. Willow Wilson to scores of indie creators I cheerfully met and purchased wares from.
Like usual, I planned out my days, from panels to interviews, and as I scrambled to familiarize myself with the convention center layout, I begrudgingly accepted the fact I would need to sacrifice a panel or two to make it to the aforementioned G. Willow Wilson signing. Even though I had to race through the TWO separate exhibition halls/artist alleys, I successfully got a few minutes to talk with the genius behind Kamala Khan.
Floating on cloud nine after such an encounter, I quickly checked my schedule and decided to check out the artist alley and hall I was in before scurrying off to a 3pm Vertigo panel about their upcoming projects. I normally do a quick lap around a room before gathering my courage to meet creators whose work I had enjoyed from afar and pushed into my regular customers’ hands. Then I made sure to visit friends, such as artist Megan Lara, and fellow Valkyries manning the Valkyrie table, before opening my wallet with reckless abandon. Purchases this day included “Oh Joy Sex Toy,” a pair of Hamilton inspired prints from artist Arielle Jovellanos, and one hell of a sexy Poe Dameron from Cara McGee before I queued up with fellow comic lovers for my first and only panel.
Speakers for the hour long panel included Kurt Busiek, who spoke about issue 41 of Astro City finally revealing how it got its name to Gail Simone describing some of the chills ahead in her horror comic, Clean Room. In all honesty, it was surprisingly underwhelming compared to earlier announcements from other publishers, such as DC’s new imprint Young Animal under musician and comic enthusiast Gerard Way.
Luckily, my panel wasn’t far from my first interview, but I got lost and ended up in the wrong artist alley! However, a kind young man dressed as Deadpool set me on the right path (thanks, Deadpool!) and I quickly found the booth I was meant to be at before getting distracted by Espionage Cosmetics gorgeous nail wraps. My Friday ended after WRAPping up an interview with the super cute artist, Camille d’Errico so I could get ready for a Wickedly Divine off-site party.
Saturday was my only other con day thanks to an early flight home on Sunday, so I stuffed it to the brim with meetings with creators to discuss upcoming Image Expo announced projects and a couple of interviews, including Faith Erin Hicks and Dante Basco. I’m stoked for several series from creators of color and women like, Graveyard Winnebago, Afar, VS, and Black Cloud. It’s an amazing time to pick up really good stories from diverse voices (need suggestions? ASK ME!).
My one panel of the day centered around a fantastic group of women in comic shops that I’m glad to be part of, the Valkyries. Discussion included how underestimated a group of 500 retailers with ordering power can be, and reasons why certain books mean so much to us. It was touching being among so many other female workers since I felt alone for so long working in my shop in Texas, but now I have this vast, wonderful network when I need help or suggestions! It was definitely one of my favorite convention moments.
I left the convention with a heavy heart and even heavier bags thanks to the rest of the exhibition hall.
Next year, I will attend with knowledge about Sea-Tac Airport security lines and with an additional day to explore the city if I can manage it! If you attended Emerald City Comic Con, what was your favorite part?
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