Bionic Woman

Will Yun Lee, who played Jae on Bionic Woman, recently hit the red carpet for the JC Penney Asian Excellence Awards at UCLA.  Will was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his work on the show, but he lost to Rex Lee of Entourage.  His companion for the evening was an unidentified blonde, and he wore his hair longer and shaggier than usual.

Other celebrities in attendance included Lindsay Price of Cashmere Mafia and Beverly Hills 90210, Steven Segal, Cheryl Burke and Karina Smirnoff from Dancing with the Stars, Bai Ling, Tia Carrer, Daisy Fuentes, Olympic Gold medalist and Dancing contestant Kristi Yamaguchi, Quentin Tarantino, and many others.

Will attended the 2007 Asian Excellence Awards as well, which were hosted by Grace Park from Battlestar Galactica and Daniel Dae Kim from Lost.

It has been a long journey for WatchingBionicWoman, and while the hours of labor I put into this blog are nothing compared to how hard the cast and crew worked on the show it was still a huge disappointment to read last week’s announcement from David Eick.  I will post my thoughts on the cancellation news soon, but in the interim be sure to check out the Top Ten Things That Hurt Bionic Woman list and check out the news as it arrives.

Molly Price’s new movie, The Life Before Her Eyes, will premiere April 18 in the United States.  Molly plays Uma Thurman’s mother in the film, which surrounds the secret life of Uma’s character as she comes to terms with her guilt about a violent incident in her past.  Evan Rachel Wood plays Uma’s character as a young girl and you can see a glimpse of Molly in the movie’s trailer, which is below.

Word is that David Eick is refreshingly candid on his DVD commentary during the first episode of Bionic Woman, stating the show was “the most difficult production ever.”

Katee Sackhoff hit the road during the writer’s strike, taking her Harley out for a spin around some wineries with her Battlestar Galactica costar Tricia Helfer (”Number Six”).

Miguel Ferrer is mentioned as a possible link in the new game “Six Degrees of David Duchovny,” which could be the new “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.”

Will Yun Lee apparently turned 37 this weekend … I never would have guessed he was a day over 30!  Happy Birthday Will, and may you land many great roles in the year to come.

Will Yun Lee shifts from playing Jaime Sommers’ trainer on Bionic Woman to playing a disturbed man in the film The Seed:

“SUNG (Will Yun Lee) is a homeless veteran losing his mind on the banks of the L.A. River. Pursued by unseen forces, fighting unseen foes, Sung is ostensibly ‘just another lunatic.’ But as his invisible war continues, under bridges and in tunnels, we are taken deeper and deeper into Sung’s nightmare and mind.

“Into a nightmare of conspiracy, cloaking and the government’s unseen war. Sung struggles to fight through what is visible to him, yet invisible to the world around him. Ordinarily, someone like this is perceived as “crazy.” Beyond what we can see, beyond what we don’t want to, lies…THE SEED.”

The Seed is the film directorial debut of Joe Hahn, the turntablist/disc jockey for the popular band, Linkin Park.  Hahn has extensive experience directing music videos, but The Seed is his first short film. 

The Seed was shot in four days, and features Will in full fight scene mode.  The shoot was almost two years ago, but since it was a side project and not the director’s first love it has taken awhile for the film to be released. 

The film originally premiered at the Pusan International Film Festival last fall, and will be available on ITunes on March 24, 2008.  According to Rolling Stone, Hahn had always planned for The Seed to have an online release.

More information about the short film can be found on the band’s web site, or on the movie’s MySpace page.  You can also check out the second of three available “making of” clips below.

Well if Ryan can’t seem to get enough of Kevin Rankin these days, I seem to be all about Will Yun Lee.  Earlier I posted a clip of a sexy Will flirting with Mariah Carey in her video "Boy," and here is a clip of a somber Will in the video for Lil John’s "Roll Call."  The lyrics for this song are definitely not radio-friendly, so if there are kids or preachers in the area do not push play.

The video shows Will interrupting Lil John’s liaison with his lady in a motel, and having his minions pursue Lil John through the streets.  Lil John escapes, calls in reinforcements that include Ice Cube, and they head to the club where Will is ambushed by a swarm of Lil John’s friends and associates.  It is a menacing clip, and we do not get to see Will shirtless like we do when he is with Mariah, but it is worth a gander if you are a Will fan and interested in his past performances.

Wow, check out this forgotten bionic gem from from 2003.  Bionic Woman star Will Yun Lee, who plays Jae on the show, was featured in the video for Mariah Carey’s "Boy (I Need U)."  The song is not great, but Will looks wonderful … especially in the first thirty seconds, which feature several shots of his shirtless torso working out with a sword. 

Will was named one of People magazine’s "Sexiest Men Alive" this fall, and it is easy to see why from this video.  He gives Mariah a cute smile at about the minute mark, which is almost as sexy as his shirtless moments.

The video was shot in L.A. and Japan, and was directed by Joseph Kahn (who also directed Will in Torque).  Click here for more information on the shoot, which apparently ran into quite a bit of trouble in Japan due to crowds and eventually the crew had to lie and tell people it was a commercial for mayonnaise.

Hidden among the clips from Extra’s "America’s Most Eligible" series is an interview with Will Yun Lee, who plays Jaime Sommers’ fight trainer on Bionic Woman. 

Will appeared on the show in October as one of the segment’s featured single and successful profiles.  In his interview Will revealed he is a "butt man."  When pressed to be more specific, he admitted, "yeah, like, J-Lo Style."  Good to know!

Other qualities Will appreciates in a woman?  A laid back attitude and a good sense of humor.  Since he works out a lot he also appreciates someone who is in shape ("yeah, it’d be nice") but that is not necessarily a requirement for winning his affections.

Will was featured in People’s "Sexiest Man Alive" issue a few weeks ago, and appeared in the magazine’s "Fifty Most Beautiful People" issue in 2002.  He has had a good year so far, what with the magazine accolades and positive recognition he has received for his steady and sexy performance as Jae on Bionic Woman.  Best wishes to Will on his search for love, and here’s hoping we get to see more of Jae on our screens in 2008.

Will Yun Lee’s quietly sexy performance as Jae on Bionic Woman helped him nab a spot in People’s Sexiest Man Alive issue a few weeks ago, and now he is winning kudos for his performance on the show as well as his chizeled good looks.

Jon Caramanica of the Los Angeles Times has included Will on his list of “Gems of This TV Season,” an interesting read designed to celebrate the quality performances that are often overlooked by the conventional wisdom of the television press. Jon’s praises of Will’s performance include these words:

“As he was on FX’s Thief, Lee is a master of quietude here. Even his hand-to-hand combat training with Jaime Sommers (Michelle Ryan), the new Bionic Woman, is subdued and controlled. He’s shaken only when he comes face to face with previous model Sarah Corvus (Katee Sackhoff), who can reduce him to shivers whether in bed or when he’s forced to put a bullet in her.”

Well said, Jon, and congratulations to Will for this well-deserved recognition. While Isaiah Washington stole the headlines, Will Yun Lee often stole the scenes with his quietly convincing portrayal of a tough fighter battling his feelings of love for a woman he could not trust while working for a corporation and cause that had betrayed him many times before.

Will’s scenes with Katee Sackhoff’s Sarah Corvus were especially moving, and provided one of the most interesting story lines of the show. If Bionic Woman returns to the airwaves, hopefully the new episodes will contain more scenes of Will … and hopefully his lady love Sarah Corvus as well.

Sexy man and Bionic Woman star Will Yun Lee hit the red carpet Sunday for an advance screening of the critically-acclaimed film The Kite Runner in West Hollywood. Sunday’s event was hosted by The Afghanistan World Foundation and presenters included Natalie Cole. The film will enjoy its official premiere tonight at the Egyptian Theater, although it has already been seen by many critics who have given it high praise or pondered the possibility of the film being among this year’s Best Picture nominations come Academy Awards season.

The Kite Runner has also gotten international attention for its plot, which follows two young boys from different parts of society who strike up an unlikely friendship due to their love of kites. The film features controversial scenes of cultural conflict, religious corruption and sexual crimes that may stir up tensions in Afghanistan, and as a result there are fears that the premiere may place the children who star in the film in danger. As a result they were moved out of the country over the weekend, thanks to the combined efforts of many different groups including “consultants” hired by executives at Paramount.

“Months of spadework by at least 20 studio executives, relief workers, diplomats and even a former C.I.A. counterterrorism operative culminated last week when the boys, who were in the midst of final exams, obtained visas and boarded a plane for the United Arab Emirates,” the New York Times reported yesterday.

The Kite Runner is based on a book by the same name that is believed to be the first novel by an author from Afghanistan that was published in English. Written by Khaled Hosseini, it is a tale of betrayal, guilt, and redemption that has become one of the most talked about books of the decade.

It’s time for that highly anticipated fall tradition, and I am not talking about Thanksgiving.  I am talking about the eye candy feast that is People’s Sexiest Man Alive issue.  This year’s edition features Matt Damon wearing the crown, and a special section devoted to the highly toned and often shirtless men of Dancing with the Stars. 

And amidst the gushing tributes to the perfect hair of Grey’s Anatomy’s Patrick Dempsey and a surprising nod to Rainn Wilson of The Office is a nod to Bionic Woman’s Will Yun Lee.

Will’s intense and memorable performance as the lovelorn Jae on Bionic Woman is one of the quietly lovely parts of the show.   In each episode that he is featured, Will is a point of stability on the rickety roller coaster that is Bionic Woman.  In a show that can be uneven in spite of its great potential, Will makes Jae a sexy and stable part of the Berkut Group.

His hotel love scene with Sarah Corvus is probably his most memorable scene, and it is to the detriment of the show that we have not seen more of their relationship.  Will’s character Jae killed Sarah in the opening moments of the premiere episode in one of the most tortured professions of love in television history, so their first meeting in five years is much more dramatic than your typical old lovers reunion.  Will and Katee Sackhoff brought a human face and a sensuality to a scene that could have been a farce under other circumstances.

So congratulations Will on your well deserved honor.  It is worth noting that this is not the first time Will’s chiseled jaw has been honored by People, as the actor was included in the magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People issue in 2002.

Here’s an interesting video interview with Will Yun Lee.  Will plays Jae Kim on BW and has been assigned to teach Jaime Sommers what it means to be a bionic woman and how to integrate her biological traits with her newly programmed bionics.

I like his character Kim, however, learning that he is friends with Washington makes me like him just a little less.

Bionic Woman has won praise for casting Will Yun Lee from folks who want to see more Asian Americans on TV, particularly after episode two’s sexy scenes between his character and the blonde Sarah Corvus played by Katee Sackhoff.

Defamer slams Isaiah Washington for boasting that he was more popular than Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton combined. Perhaps Isaiah will run for President in 2012?

Roco at Bionic-Blog has found a music montage set to Breathe Me, the song that was playing while Jaime cried in the bathtub during the pilot.

Click here to watch Lucy Kate Hale talk about the love/hate relationship Jaime and Becca have and how she hopes it will mature as the season progresses.

The second episode of Bionic Woman got mixed reviews. If you missed it you can catch up with a detailed recap here.

Prefer to read about Bionic Woman in Spanish? Check out Bitacora Bionica!

Bionic Woman, Spanish, Isaiah Washington, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Breathe Me, Jaime Sommers, Sarah Corvus, Katee Sackhoff, Will Yun Lee