Robot Stories

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Now available on DVD and VHS from Kino

“Robot Stories and More Screenplays” paperback now available at Amazon.com

“…I’d take a chance on Greg Pak’s micro-budget indie Robot Stories, a valentine from the future. Broken into a quartet of subtle science-fiction fables, each is more Ray Bradbury than Keanu Reeves — and romantic in its own strange way: A sculptor becomes obsessed with the digitized memories of his wife; a worried couple tries to love an android baby; a mother reconstructs her dying son’s vintage robot-toy collection; and an android office-drone (played by Pak) falls in love. Somehow the cast (largely composed of underutilized Asian-American actors like Tamlyn Tomita) underplays the gizmos and hits the emotional beats dead-on, heating up a genre that so often looks stylish, but feels dead-cold.” – Logan Hill, Nerve.com

“Enthralling.” – Cincinnati CityBeat

“Extremely great.” – Harry Knowles, AintItCoolNews.com

“A tremendously powerful set of vignettes. Writer/director Greg Pak uses four stories about robots to create wonderfully human moments. The stories are quick and to the point. The visually compelling and well-acted stories do not exist in the same world; tied together by theme, each is its own stirring narrative. Robots as toys, robots as children, robots as office tools, and robots as deceased loved ones teach the humans around them various lessons without hammering the audience. Quiet subtlety abounds throughout these terrific shorts. Even the opening credits animation is a wonderfully self-contained story. Another must-see.” – Bobby Kirk, Playback St. Louis

2002, 85 minutes, color. Winner of over 30 awards, “Robot Stories” is science fiction from the heart, four stories in which utterly human characters struggle to connect in a world of robot babies, robot toys, android office workers, and digital immortality. John Petrakis of the Chicago Tribune calls the film “one of the most moving pieces I’ve seen all year” while Entertainment Insiders calls it a “genuinely stirring indie rarity”

Written and directed by Greg Pak; produced by Kim Ima and Karin Chien; starring Tamlyn Tomita, Sab Shimono, Wai Ching Ho, and Greg Pak.

#AsAmCreatorRollCall

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So a little over 24 hours ago, I posted this on the Twitter machine:

Since then, the tweet’s been viewed over 115,000 times and dozens if not hundreds of Asian American creators have used the #AsAmCreatorRollCall hashtag to tout their work. And hundreds more people have retweeted those tweets.

And my heart’s grown three sizes.

Fifteen years ago, when my producers and I were taking our Asian American sci fi feature film Robot Stories to film festivals, I remember a distributor telling us to our faces that it seemed weird to him that the film had all these Asian people speaking English without accents. I think we just stared at him in astonishment. He didn’t say it in a rude manner; he wasn’t trying to be offensive. He just totally didn’t get it. He didn’t get the film, and he didn’t get us. Even though he literally talking to real live Asian Americans, he didn’t seem to understand that Asian Americans exist or could tell stories that other people could relate to.

In the end, Robot Stories played in over 75 film festivals and won dozens of awards. We self distributed the film theatrically, and with the help of a bunch of incredible grassroots Asian American film festivals, Asian American cultural groups, sci fi fan clubs, college organizations, and indie film fests, we played across the country and ended up getting picked up by Kino for a DVD release.

A lot has changed in fifteen years. But Asian American creators can still face tremendous difficulties getting stories about Asian American characters out into the world. But as I learned with Robot Stories and a bunch of other contemporary Asian American films like The Debut and Better Luck Tomorrow, when folks come together, we can make amazing things happen for each other.

So last night I saw the great Daniel Dae Kim retweet the great Justin Chon on Twitter:

And shortly thereafter, I saw Reappropriate say some smart things about a recent list of 100 influential Asian Americans:

And I found myself thinking about how each of us is more powerful than we realize — particularly when we work together. And that one of the easiest things in the world to do is talk up the things we love so others can find out about them.

So big, big love to everyone who’s shared something using the #AsAmCreatorRollCall tag, and big, big love to everyone who’s retweeted anything someone’s posted using that hashtag. Folks are out there doing absolutely incredible work every day. Let’s all continue sharing in 2018, building that beautiful audience for everyone, and making the world we want to live in.

Please do check out the glorious projects and creators on display at #AsAmCreatorRollCall, and feel free to check out this very nice write up from Splinter News.

Greg Pak launches the Pakcast – first episode features Kim Ima, proprietor of the Treats Truck Stop

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Big news: I’ve started a video blog called the Pakcast that will provide periodic updates about my projects — along with interviews with interesting friends or collaborators. First up, “Robot Stories” producer Kim Ima, who just opened the Treats Truck Stop bakery and restaurant in Brooklyn! Check it out and spread it around:

“Robot Stories” makes io9’s list of “10 Science Fiction Films for People Who Think They Don’t Like Science Fiction”

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Charlie Jane Anders says some incredibly nice things about my film “Robot Stories” at io9. An excerpt:

…it’s one of the human, moving films we’ve seen in a long time. Your friends who love Sundance Channel indy films about small personal experiences will eat this movie up…. If at least some of the stories in this film don’t make you cry — and think about robots in a new way — then you’re dead inside.

Click here to read the whole thing.
Buy it today!

Massive Greg Pak interview at Newsarama’s “Writer’s Workshop”

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David Pepose has conducted what may be the longest interview ever of filmmaker and comics writer Greg Pak for his “Writer’s Workshop” column at Newsarama. Here’s an excerpt:

I should say this too, all this stuff I’m saying is stuff that I know, but that I have to struggle everyday to actually implement it, you know what I mean? [Laughs.] It’s an ongoing struggle to have the discipline to make these stories work the way they really should. To cut out the stuff that doesn’t belong, and to invest the stuff that should be there with real emotional truth rather than manufactured shortcuts, and to find the most dramatically compelling fashion to tell the story rather than just the easiest way to tell the story. These are ongoing challenges that I wrestle with every single day, trying to do the best I can and trying to figure out better ways to do it.

Click here to read the whole thing.

2010.04.17 – “Mister Green” and “Robot Stories” at C2E2 in Chicago

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Greg Pak will present his films “Mister Green” and “Robot Stories” at the Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo on April 17. Please visit c2e2.com for more information.

Robot Stories and Mister Green (With Greg Pak)
4/17/2010 E271A
11:15 AM – 1:30 PM
Before Greg Pak wrote Planet Hulk and World War Hulk, he was a filmmaker best-known for his award-winning independent Sci-Fi feature Robot Stories. Today, Pak screens Robot Stories and his brand new Sci-Fi project Mister Green, which io9.com calls “a bizarre, clever short film… horrifying as well as beautiful.” Q&A to follow the screening. A great opportunity for aspiring filmmakers, comic book creators, and Sci-Fi fans alike to discuss process, craft, and genre with a working indie filmmaker and comic book writer.

“Robot Stories” producer Karin Chien and star Tamlyn Tomita headline SFIAAFF filmmaking panel

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By Greg Pak
Two of my favorite people, “Robot Stories” and “Mister Green” producer Karin Chien and “Robot Stories” star Tamlyn Tomita, will be part of a workshop entitled “Up Close and Personal with the Asian American Film Industry” at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. Karin and Tamlyn are both incredibly sharp, funny, and totally committed to great independent filmmaking. Sounds like a great program — highly recommended! Here’s more from the SFIAAFF:

Karin Chien, producer of THE EXPLODING GIRL and SANTA MESA, received the Piaget Producers Award at this year’s Film Independent Spirit Award!! Here’s your chance to come hear her advice on how you could become an award-winning producer/ director of your own! Check out our workshop at SFIAFF this Saturday 1-3pm Get your tickets now, more info below.
Up Close And Personal with the Asian American Film Industry
Special Live Events (90 mins)
SAT 03/13 1:00pm,
VIZ Cinema, $8

Continue reading →

Real World News: Yotaro baby simulator!

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By Greg Pak
My feature film “Robot Stories” opens with a story called “My Robot Baby,” in which Tamlyn Tomita and James Saito have to take care of a robot baby before they’re allowed to adopt a real one. The world might be catching up. Via Designboom:

yotaro is an interactive robot that portrays a variety of facial expressions, movements and physiological characteristics all natural to babies. the device reacts to the user through a sophisticated emotion-control system that watches and senses what they are doing and provides an accompanying reaction. that baby can do a variety of things that make it much more sophisticated than the standard baby training dolls, like crying real tears on its 2-d face.

See the video below for more.