{"id":127628,"date":"2025-07-10T15:06:39","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T19:06:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/?p=127628"},"modified":"2025-07-10T15:01:51","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T19:01:51","slug":"ekc-pr-client-michael-naizus-film-bound-for-glory-starring-janel-parrish-named-finalist-in-gold-houses-aapi-renaissance-rally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/ekc-pr-client-michael-naizus-film-bound-for-glory-starring-janel-parrish-named-finalist-in-gold-houses-aapi-renaissance-rally\/","title":{"rendered":"EKC PR Client Michael Naizu’s Film ‘Bound For Glory,’ Starring Janel Parrish, Named Finalist in Gold House’s AAPI Renaissance Rally"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES, Calif., July 10, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Janel Parrish (“Pretty Little Liars,”\u00a0“To All the Boys I\u2019ve Loved Before”) will star in the feature adaptation of\u00a0“Bound For Glory<\/a>,” an emotionally resonant indie drama from rising AAPI filmmaker\u00a0Michael Naizu, EKC PR announced today.<\/p>\n

\"Bound
Image caption: “Bound For Glory,” an upcoming indie feature from EKC PR client Michael Naizu, starring Janel Parrish and named a finalist in the Gold House AAPI Renaissance Rally.<\/em><\/p>\n

After its short-film version was licensed to JoySauce, a platform for Asian-American storytelling, the project is now green-lit and begins production this September in Los Angeles and Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

Naizu (\u201cChristmas Is Canceled,\u201d\u00a0\u201cHacks\u201d) makes his directorial feature debut and co-directs with his brother\u00a0John Wilcox, who shot and edited the original short. Their aim: a grounded, artfully shot film about creative survival, cultural identity, and reinvention in modern Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Named a\u00a0Finalist\u00a0in the\u00a0Gold House AAPI Renaissance Rally\u00a0with Seed&Spark,\u00a0\u201cBound For Glory\u201d\u00a0stands out in the push to amplify nuanced, character-driven Asian-American stories rarely explored by Hollywood.<\/p>\n

Produced by PinkHouse Productions, the film blends the soul of\u00a0\u201cSwingers,\u201d\u00a0\u201cGood Will Hunting,\u201d and\u00a0\u201cPerfect Days.\u201d At its core lies a semi-autobiographical tale of a struggling artist forced to choose between compromising his voice for success or risking everything to tell the story that might save him. It’s part love letter, part breakup note to Hollywood.<\/p>\n

Charlie Waddell\u00a0is Executive Producer.\u00a0Michael Naizu, Derik Young, and Redd Coltrane\u00a0produce, with MLB analyst\u00a0Sean Casey\u00a0and\u00a0Katy & Julia Wu\u00a0as co-producers. The film is financed entirely outside the traditional studio system.<\/p>\n

Parrish brings her signature wit and authenticity to\u00a0Ariella Graves, a woman forging her own path beyond her father\u2019s shadow.\u00a0Bound For Glory\u00a0promises to be one of the year\u2019s most emotionally honest and timely indies.<\/p>\n

Janel Parrish: \u201cSo happy to be working with Michael Naizu again, this time to tell his beautiful and compelling story. It means so much to collaborate with AAPI storytellers and help bring narratives to life that reflect who we are and why representation matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Naizu: \u201cThis is a story I\u2019ve wanted to tell my whole life\u2014deeply personal, rooted in my search for identity and purpose in a cut-throat industry. Making it now with my brother John, best friend Derik, and Janel Parrish brings everything full circle. With\u00a0Bound For Glory\u00a0backed by trailblazer Gold House, I can\u2019t wait to roll cameras and bring this story to life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Naizu is repped by Luber Roklin Entertainment. Janel Parrish is repped by Innovative Artists and Authentic Management.<\/p>\n

Learn more: https:\/\/seedandspark.com\/fund\/bound-for-glory-1#story<\/a><\/p>\n

Media Contact:<\/strong>
\nEileen Koch
\nEKC PR<\/a>
\n310-441-1000
\neileen@ekcpr.com
\nhttps:\/\/www.eileenkoch.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES, Calif., July 10, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Janel Parrish (“Pretty Little Liars,” “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”) will star in the feature adaptation of “Bound For Glory,” an emotionally resonant indie drama from rising AAPI filmmaker Michael Naizu, EKC PR announced today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10084,"featured_media":127627,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,11,67,1,37,187,346],"tags":[20391,8085],"class_list":["post-127628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-california-news","category-advertising-marketing-news","category-awards-and-honors-news","category-business-news","category-entertainment-news","category-los-angeles-news","category-movie-filmmaking-news","tag-filmmaker-michael-naizu","tag-indie-film","has-post-title","has-post-date","no-post-category","no-post-tag","no-post-comment","has-post-author"],"acf":[],"views":3252,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10084"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127628"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127628\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":127634,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127628\/revisions\/127634"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}