Japanese-American group outraged by film

In Japantoday.com, it reports a story yesterday that “a Japanese-American group on Monday demanded an apology over a film starring Jeremy Piven due to a scene satirically depicting the mob beating of an Asian-American man.

“The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, which opened in sixth place in the North American box office last Friday, is a comedy about a down-and-out used-car salesman played by Piven who tries to make it big with a Fourth of July sale.

“On the trailer seen on the movie’s official website, Piven’s character is seen shouting at an Asian American employee at the dealership: ‘Don’t get me started on Pearl Harbor. We are Americans and they are the enemy! Never again!’

“As the Asian-American—played by Korean American actor Ken Jeong—sheepishly joins in chanting ‘Never again!,’ an older white man says, ‘Let’s get him!’ and the employees beat him up.

“The Japanese-American Citizens League said Piven’s character also used the racial slur “Jap” in the movie and, acknowledging it was a hate crime, asked employees to say the Asian American was attacking them with a samurai sword.”