As a protégé of the Sundance screenwriter and filmmaker labs, Michael Kang has an eye for good flicks. The 37-year-old director of “West 32nd” (currently playing in Korea) and “The Motel” (available on DVD) shares the movies he can’t get through the holidays without.

 

1. “Scrooged” I can watch Bill Murray in anything, and the rest of the cast is pretty stellar, too.

2. “It Happened One Christmas” To this day, I still haven’t seen “It’s A Wonderful Life,” but I know that this remake starring Marlo Thomas is all I ever needed.

3. “Scrooge” (1970 Albert Finney version) Growing up I actually never knew about the original black-and-white versions. I always thought this one was the real deal. I still get giddy when I hear the song “I Like Life.”

4. “The Nightmare Before Christmas” Not technically a remake, but it was a revisionist version of “The Night Before Christmas” of sorts. Claymation is cool.

 

A Song For The Queen    

Music producer Paul Cho busts out the beats for queen of soul Aretha Franklin

 

Looks like hip-hop/R&B producer Paul Cho is getting some major R-E-S-P-E-C-T in the music industry. The New York native composed the beats to the feel-good track “What Y’all Came To Do,” an Aretha Franklin/John Legend collaboration on the new album “Jewels In The Crown: All Star Duets With The Queen.”

“It’s a trip,” says Cho, 30, about being part of Franklin’s project. “She’s a legend and she killed it. The day the album came out, I went to Target and bought a whole bunch.”  

Cho, who now lives in L.A., has previously worked with Legend, Nas and Consequence. 

 

 

Check out Paul’s other beats:

 

“So High” John Legend

“Refuge” John Legend

“Let There be Light” Nas

“Blowin’ My Phone Up” Consequence