I Married a Storyteller

The true story of how I thought I married a cute artist but he ended up being a cute storyteller, instead

Today, my husband’s second animated feature as a director is out…

I saw K-Pop: Demon Hunters at a screening a couple days ago and holy shiiiiit it was amazing. You are probably thinking, “Sure, Jan. Your husband’s movie is amazing.” But it is. I wouldn't make an entire Substack post, using my precious writing time, to talk about it and risk my entire reputation as someone who creates Korean-centered media!*

*that reputation being in my own head

Chris started working on this movie five years ago, right after our son was born. Maggie Kang, his co-director and the OG creator of the film, conceived of the movie a couple years before—it was her dream to make a movie that reflected her Korean culture, creative passions, and pop culture influences. Chris was brought on to help on the heels of his writer/directorial feature debut, Wishdragon (also on Netflix, also a Sony Pictures Animation joint, also incredible).

When I first met Chris over twenty years ago, on our blogs no less, he was fresh out of art school at his first animation job doing character design for a movie called Monster House. He was, and is, an extremely talented artist. The first few years of our relationship are chronicled by the dozens and dozens of drawings he did of me.

He continued to work in animation while I figured out my life on a less straightforward path: Grad school, various publishing jobs, design work, then selling my first novel, becoming a freelancer, and finally a full-time author. Somewhere along the way, he went from concept artist to full-on writer/director.

He brainstorms with me with on every single book that I write (and the screenplays I’ve written). I value his opinion because he understands story and character with a clarity that infuriates inspires me. And when this project came along, I was like oh-ho-ho, someone will need my two-cents! Not really, this movie was in extremely capable hands and didn’t need me at all.

But K-pop is my jam, as evidenced by my own novel about a K-pop star. BTS (and my therapist) is the reason why I survived postpartum hell. I listened to K-pop in middle school and high school, when it was extremely uncool to anyone who wasn’t Korean. To see an animated movie with Korean culture centered, backed by the power of Sony (they made the Spider-Verse movies!)…well, it’s emotional to say the least.

And it’s OUT TODAY! On Netflix!

The humor will get you first—it’s so fucking funny. Then the music! What the hell! This music is SO GOOD. Chris is also a musician (I know, I know)…and I would maybe say he was and is a musician first, so he was intent on making the music stand out. They worked with so many talented folks, including veterans of musical theater, K pop royalty, and a composer of the highest caliber. You can tell. I can’t stop listening to the music and luckily you all can, too, now that the movie’s out.

But what makes this movie EXCELLENT is the story. Without the story, this would be a fun spectacle, no doubt. But the deeply real friendship between the three girls of Huntrix, the hot-villain romance, and the deep questions it asks about self-acceptance—they all add that extra special something that sets this apart from a lot of animated films. CINEMA!

I hope you all watch it. And! If you live in LA, SF, or NYC, you can catch it at the below theaters from Jan. 20 - 26! Tiny limited run but worth the trip because it’s really fucking cool on the big screen:

New York, NY - Quad Cinema
Los Angeles, CA - Laemmle Glendale - Glendale, CA
San Francisco, CA - Landmark Opera Plaza

Spouse gushing OVER! But what can I say? I will always be his number one fan.

The fashion substack girlies will want to know: The top is Faithful, the belt is Zara, the shorts are Apiece Apart, the earrings are Paloma Wool, and the bag is Nossi. Chris is in head-to-toe Sandro, ooh lala.

And a bonus for sticking with me to the end…based on the lilac/pink color palette of K POP, might I make the following frivolous recs:

DAVINES LOVE SMOOTHING CONDITIONER
The world’s best hair conditioner that smells so damn good. Been using this for years and years, now. (I have fine-ish hair so ignore the “for coarse or frizzy hair.”)

TEVAS OUTFLOW UNIVERSAL SANDAL
Behold, the first non-ugly water shoe for kids! Ok so this has no lavender but the grey and pastels will do. Got these for my son who spends the entire summer tromping through marshy grass or scrabbles over rocks in a creek and stubs his toes on the daily. They are GREAT. (Also it kills me to link to Bezos but it’s the only place selling this colorway!)

HEATH TALL TUMBLER IN DAWN
I am a heaux for Heath and I found out they have THIS NEW GLAZE? This tumbler is one of my faves, and now I may need to grab this color, too.

NOSSI MINI BAG
This is the bag I took to the K-Pop screening—made using bojagi, cloth used in traditional Korean wrapping. The collection is made by an independent LA designer named Ellen Lee and I am obsessed with this bag so much.

Until next week (YES NEXT WEEK! I AM DOING THIS WEEKLY HELP ME GOD),

x M A U X