A fortune cookie is a crisp and sugary cookie wafer made from flour, sugar, vanilla, and sesame seed oil with a piece of paper inside, a "fortune", an aphorism, or a vague prophecy. The message inside may also include a Chinese phrase with translation and/or a list of lucky numbers used by some as lottery numbers. Fortune cookies are often served as a dessert in Chinese restaurants in the United States, Canada, Australia, and other countries, but they are not Chinese in origin. The exact origin of fortune cookies is unclear, though various immigrant groups in California claim to have popularized them in the early 20th century. They most likely originated from cookies made by Japanese immigrants to the United States in the late 19th or early 20th century. The Japanese version did not have the Chinese lucky numbers and were eaten with tea.
Jennifer 8. Lee is an American journalist who previously worked for The New York Times. She is also the co-founder and president of the literary studio Plympton, as well as a producer on The Search for General Tso, which premiered at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival.
General Tso's chicken is a sweet and spicy deep-fried chicken dish that is served in North American Chinese restaurants. The dish is named after Zuo Zongtang, formerly romanized "Tso Tsung-t'ang", a Qing dynasty statesman and military leader, although the dish has no recorded connection to Zuo nor is the dish known in Zuo's home province, Hunan.
Orange chicken is an American Chinese dish of fried chicken in a sweet orange-flavored chili sauce glaze.
Miguel Arteta is a Puerto Rican director of film and television, known for his independent film Chuck & Buck (2000), for which he received the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award, and for the films The Good Girl (2002) and Cedar Rapids (2011).
Eric Mendelsohn is an American film director and screenwriter.
Judith Therese Evans, known professionally as Judy Greer, is an American actress. She is primarily known as a character actress who has appeared in a wide variety of films. She rose to prominence for her supporting roles in the films Jawbreaker (1999), What Women Want (2000), 13 Going on 30 (2004), Elizabethtown (2005), 27 Dresses (2008), and Love & Other Drugs (2010).
Street Fight is a 2005 documentary film by Marshall Curry, chronicling the 2002 Newark mayoral election which pitted upstart Cory Booker against the incumbent Sharpe James for Mayor of Newark, New Jersey. Other credits include Rory Kennedy, Liz Garbus, Mary Manhardt, Marisa Karplus, and Adam Etline. Street Fight screened at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival and was later aired on the PBS series P.O.V. on July 5, 2005, and CBC Newsworld in Canada on May 7, 2006. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
Heather Rae is an American film and television producer and director. She has worked on documentary and narrative film projects, specializing in those with Native American themes, and is best known for Frozen River, Trudell and Tallulah.
Daniel Mulloy is a British artist and filmmaker.
Marshall Curry is an Oscar-winning American documentary director, producer, cinematographer and editor. His films include Street Fight, Racing Dreams, If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front, Point and Shoot, and A Night at the Garden. His first fiction film was the Academy Award-winning short film The Neighbors' Window (2019).
Ian Cheney is an American documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, and producer.
Curtis Cleland 'Curt' Ellis is an American filmmaker, social entrepreneur, and advocate for sustainable agriculture and healthy food. He serves as co-founder and Executive Director of the nonprofit organization FoodCorps. He shared a Peabody Award in 2008 for King Corn, which he co-produced and starred in, and in 2011 he won the 17th Annual Heinz Award with longtime collaborator Ian Cheney for their work in the sustainable food movement.
Jennifer Prediger is New York City–based actress, writer, and director known for the films Uncle Kent (2011), Red Flag (2012), and Apartment Troubles (2014)—her directorial debut with collaborator Jess Weixler. Prediger also played and wrote Ask Umbra, the "world's most trusted eco advice columnist," on Grist.org.
Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter is a 2014 American drama film co-written and directed by David Zellner. The film stars Rinko Kikuchi, Nobuyuki Katsube, Shirley Venard, David Zellner, Nathan Zellner, and Kanako Higashi. Alexander Payne and Kikuchi serve as executive producers.
Justin Kelly is an American film director, screenwriter and film editor. He came to prominence as director and writer of Sundance Film Festival 2015 select I Am Michael, starring James Franco and Zachary Quinto. He then wrote and directed King Cobra, which premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival starring Christian Slater and James Franco, followed by Sony Pictures 2018 release Welcome the Stranger starring Riley Keough and Caleb Landry Jones, and most recently JT LeRoy (2018) starring Kristen Stewart and Laura Dern.
Goodbye to All That is a 2014 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Angus MacLachlan in his directorial debut. It stars Paul Schneider and Melanie Lynskey. The film had its world premiere at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival, and was released theatrically in the United States on December 17, 2014.
Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon is a 2015 American documentary film directed by Douglas Tirola. The film is about National Lampoon magazine, and how the magazine and its empire of spin-offs changed the course of comedy and humor.
Democrats is a 2014 Danish documentary film directed by Camilla Nielsson about politics in Zimbabwe following the contentious 2008 election and the subsequent coalition effort to rewrite the country's constitution.
The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food is a 2008 non-fiction book by Jennifer 8. Lee, published by Hachette/Twelve. It discusses the significance of Chinese American cuisine.
