Koji Steven Sakai
@ksakaiKoji Steven Sakai has written four feature films that have been produced, Haunted Highway (2006), The People I’ve Slept With (2009), Monster & Me (2012), and #1 Serial Killer (2012). He also served as a producer on The People I’ve Slept With and #1 Serial Killer. His feature length screenplay, Romeo, Juliet & Rosaline, was optioned by Amazon Studios. Koji’s debut novel, Romeo & Juliet Vs. Zombies, was released by Luthando Coeur, the fantasy imprint of Zharmae Publishing Press in February of 2015.
Updated March 2015
Stories from This Author
Craig Ishii, Japanese American Citizens League Pacific
Dec. 16, 2010 • Koji Steven Sakai
Craig Ishii is the Regional Director with the Japanese American Citizens League Pacific Southwest District (JACL Pacific Southwest District). Craig is a 2007 graduate of UCLA, majoring in history and economics. He was an active member of the Nikkei Student Union (NSU) at UCLA where he was involved in a variety of cultural, political, and community issues. During his junior and senior years, he served as Internal Vice President and the Board President of the NSU. The mission of the …
NIKKEI SPIRIT
Nov. 11, 2010 • Koji Steven Sakai
I remember as a child knowing that I didn’t look “American” and because of that sometimes I didn’t feel “American” either. As a person of color living in the United States, these truths are self-evident, even if no one has ever said it to my face. And a part of me always felt like I was Japanese who just happened to live in America. That’s why I was so excited about going to Japan the first time with my family …
The People I've Slept With: The Movie
April 15, 2010 • Koji Steven Sakai
When Quentin Lee (director/producer), Stanley Yung (producer), Karin Anna Cheung (the star), and I (writer/producer) met the first time, we knew right away that we wanted to make an Asian American date movie where an Asian American male and an Asian American female actually fall in love. The People I’ve Slept With is what came from that first meeting. The People I’ve Slept With is a sexy romantic comedy about a promiscuous young woman (Karin Anna Cheung of Better Luck …
What Would You Do?
May 7, 2009 • Koji Steven Sakai
I am a coward. It’s easy to fight racism when it’s in the abstract, but it’s so much harder to do it when it smacks you in the face. I was smacked and didn’t do anything. Actually, I just ran away. Okay, let me explain. I recently had a phone meeting with a person who wanted to represent my writing. It was the opportunity that I had been waiting for for a long time. It was going to be my …
We All Look Alike
April 2, 2009 • Koji Steven Sakai
Do all Asians look alike? Where does such a stereotype come from? I’ve recently spent a lot of time studying other Asian folks—especially Japanese people—to see if there are any similarities between them and me. Personally, I think I look pretty damn unique—and handsome. My mother always tells me so at least! The other day I decided to look into this. A quick Google search brought me to a lot of sites. My favorite was a Yahoo Answers webpage where …
Embarrassment
Feb. 27, 2009 • Koji Steven Sakai
I admit that I cringe whenever I see or hear of an Asian American or Japanese American doing something stupid, embarrassing, or downright immoral and unlawful. I always feel as though it reflects badly on myself. Like when that crazy Asian American kid shot up his college in Virginia. Or that Japanese American guy that was involved in the Barry Bonds homerun baseball lawsuit. Or even something smaller, the bad Asian driver or the Japanese tourist taking photos of everything. …
Names & Inaugurations
Jan. 20, 2009 • Koji Steven Sakai
Names have power. Names convey a message about who you are, where you come from, and has at times in our history meant that you were either on our side or “theirs.” My name is Koji Steven Sakai, what does that say about me? Like a lot of kids, I dreamed of one day becoming President and ruling the country and all my minions with an iron fist. But I wasn’t a stupid kid. I knew my foreign sounding first …
I Think My Grandfather Was a Spy
July 10, 2008 • Koji Steven Sakai
I think my nisei grandfather was a spy for Japan during the Second World War. I know that’s a loaded thing to say in the Japanese American community, but the more I find out, the more certain I become of it. Let me start from the beginning... Over the last few years I have been doing research on my family. Specifically, what happened to us during WWII. It started when I requested my grandfather’s papers from the National Archives. My …
I’m a Racist
May 23, 2008 • Koji Steven Sakai
A couple of weekends ago I found out I was a racist. Not the white pillow case over my head kind but something quieter, more insidious. It’s made me rethink my own racial sensitivity and question the times where I’ve felt racially offended. But let me start from the beginning... I was walking home with my dog when an African American man started talking to me. He was nice and when he turned onto my street I asked him if …
An Asian American President?
March 12, 2008 • Koji Steven Sakai
This year’s presidential election is exciting because for the first time in our history, a woman or a person of color has a real shot of being President of the United States. I didn’t think it would happen in my lifetime. All of this excitement has got me thinking: Could an Asian American ever become president? The cynical (smart money) answer is no. I think to the vast majority of people in the United States, Asian Americans are still martial …
