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Warren Lam

@laminator

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Writer. Director. Filmmaker. Asian Spike Lee. Thanks for the compliment BlackList! Based in Santa Monica.

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My life manifestation ramble taken in Santa Monica, California by @laminator

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4 days ago

I completed my Moto Nostra project during the pandemic, had a few movie premieres and some distribution interest. I've been itching to get this out in the world. Last year I decided to use AI to make some connective tissues scenes. Now that I'm getting ready to talk to distibutors again I'm amazed at how timely my take on AI and its threat and issues -- is bullseyeish. And the best part is I used the algorhithm known as the Laminator5000 to come up with it. by @laminator

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14 days ago

Spent the past three days on this doc budget and wanted to send the vibes of heading back in a month and eating the real deal. This project took on a life of its own and proud of all that worked on it thus far. It’s a blessing to use our god given skills to make the world better for animals and rescuers. by @laminator

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a month ago

I'm so honored and proud to share this presentation video. We started this journey 20 years ago. Yeah for real y'all. Then we had a new reason to do this again in February 2026. It was not easy but it was the cause and message is worth it. I was blessed with amazing producers and talented very talentede crew. Rescue is hard work, even harder in a red state like Texas. Now we're moving onto to step two with more shoots, and getting this to networks, streamers, production companies, brands, and animal loving actors. Enjoy! by @laminator

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2 months ago

2 years ago I went to Chef Chu’s with my college fraternity brother. It was right when Wicked had come out, and I was in the Bay Area hanging out with my family for 2 months.
Even though I went to school 15 miles down the road, I had never been there. It was a nice catch up and I got a fortune cookie that said – “Courage comes through suffering.” Later when I listened to Jon Chu’s book, it turned out that courage was a big theme. When I went back to LA, I was inspired, ready to go make my Mou Yonger opus.

In LA, the Jon Chu serendipity train was lit - from uber rides with publicists who worked with Jon, to people who partied with his brother Larry.

While this biz is a grind, I did finish other projects and the success of first time filmmakers on Obsession and Backrooms was going to open up more doors. The fortune cookie played out, and it just happens courage was the theme of Jon’s book.

So I’ve been back in the Bay Area again for 2 weeks, and I went back Chef Chu’s to hang with my fraternity brother. We had a chance to catch up on life, and it was great to talk with the waiter, who had worked at the restaurant for 15 years. He spoke Canto, so he could read my shirt. He said, “No, you are useful” Jon’s brother Larry was there, and “Dai Lo”, Jon’s dad himself. I was inspired for the possibility of doing something at the restaurant to help my film.

Time will tell. So you read this far – now you’ll know the reason for this post: It was fortune cookie time. I had the waiter decide which ones we got. Amaze - amaze - amaze! Chris and I both got messages from the gods that we needed at this time in our lives. Uncanny - uncanny - uncanny!
I’m headed back to LA, with the same kind of winds of fate energy I felt 2 years ago. Let’s see where I end up. by @laminator

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3 months ago

Recently I was inspired to make a “Crazy Ones” version for the proof of concept. for my screenplay. In case you ain't old as hello, that's the famous Apple Ad, admired by many. I knew I was going to take it one step further, so here it is. The Mou Yongers was another way to say, “The Useless Ones.” This character uses it to motivate his bros to go on an adventure -- for justice. For Vincent.
The script started as a response to the rise in Asian hate during covid. Along the way it was accepted into prestigious screenplay contests, pitched and sent to actors, producers, and reps.
The Useless Ones spin on the famous ad was a fun exercise, I got to put on my former copywriter hat and tweak the the famous script to narrate my story. It also showcases a visual director style for some of the scenes, and I'm grateful for all the editing gigs through the years to hone that skil.
It seems like it takes forever, because it does. Slowly but surely doors are opening and ones that might seem closed -- are not – I just knocked too early. by @laminator

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3 months ago

Here's some post b-day fun. Two weeks ago I went to Texas to film my pain in da ass friend and her dog rescue efforts. The rascally dogs were digging their way out of the temporary horse barns. A silly ass conversation on the drive back to Austin spark the beginnings of this idea. We are onto something...... by @laminator

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3 months ago

This is US! years from now this will be hung at some association in Chinatown and the young jedis gotta bow and kiss my ass. Who looks the youngest??? That’s right! Moi!!!!! by @laminator

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3 months ago

Got together with some of the mou yongers. Pretty cool to see where our lives all went. It was a pre birthday thing. I need to digest this meat and how truly blessed my path is. It is unique to me, and shaped my creative POV. It’s the year of the fire horse and giddy up its fire. by @laminator

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3 months ago

I had to prep a new screener. Came across this shot -- So many cool things we did. Before AI, before algos and analytics. by @laminator

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3 months ago

I’ve been busting my bunions on a documentary about my friend Patricia, her dog rescue, and the severe pet-overpopulation crisis in Texas.
I joked that what she’s doing is batshit crazy—but with all the scrutiny and judgment she’s under, she didn’t get the full context.
So I shared Apple’s “The Crazy Ones” spot on her Facebook page.
She said it made her cry. She felt vindicated.
Patricia used to be my headhunter when I worked in advertising, back when I was dreaming up ambitious, unconventional campaigns. Crazy one shit. That same mentality followed me into entertainment. When I watch the spot again, I too. felt vindication. It’s not easy being a crazy one. The road is hard. A lot of people don’t get The Mou Yongers, my Asian hate crime opus. But more do, and little by little, it’s finding its way to the right ones—including some of the people featured in my four-minute proof of concept. I was inspired to cut this short “Crazy Ones” homage, and I got a little teary-eyed making it. I wrote my script because I wanted to change the world -- to have a little less hate in it. That is indeed crazy -- but we can do it. by @laminator

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3 months ago

This trip to Austin was cathartic, stressful, emotional, hot, and sweaty. So many new memories to stack on top of the old ones.
Throughout my life, I’ve been in Texas for different reasons. I was a copywriter in Dallas, and later a reality editor on some hit shows in Austin before the big tech boom.
This time, I came back to find a way to show the hardships and joys of dog rescue in a red state with different views on animals.
Our shoot day was such a contrast. In the morning, I woke up at the Antlers Inn, a hunting lodge-type inn owned by a lovely South Asian family I met 20 years ago. I slept with one eye open, worried about mosquitoes and whatever creepy, imaginative manifestation of a horror movie my mind could conjure. That’s what the room looked and felt like.
Then it was a wrap, and it was back to ATX, staying at a hip, trendy hotel with white sheets and a pool.
I had a chance to wander over to the Driskill to unwind and have a nice cold beer. Then it hit me: from the Zoom in March that got this project going, to the wrap on shooting before we get ready for post, so much momentum had happened—not just on this project, but on other important ones too.
The last time I was at the Driskill, I was celebrating Mou Yongers as a semifinalist at the Austin Film Festival in October. This time, I was back at the Driskill manifesting another return to AFF. First for Moto Nostra, my new cut with AI commentary, which I submitted by the May 20 deadline. And then for Mou Yongers, whose proximity to A-list actors, producers, and mentors now feels like the start of its journey to the screen—with AFF as the place to make a big splash with major announcements
Cheers, salud, or as they say in Texas: giddy-up. by @laminator

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3 months ago