A celebration of the 30th anniversary of the film "The Karate Kid" was held in the Tateuchi Democracy Forum at the Japanese American National Museum on September 9, 2014.

A panel discussion and Q&A was presented following a screening of the film with Ralph Macchio (Daniel), director John Avildsen, Aly Morita (Pat Morita's daughter), William Zabka (Johnny), and Martin Kove (Kreese), moderated by Jared Cowan. Darryl Vidal, who created the "Crane Kick," also participated.

0:00 - Introductions
3:19 - Would Daniel and Johnny have been friends after the end of the movie?
4:59 - John getting involved in project
6:29 - Ralph Macchio in "Outsiders," auditioning for "The Karate Kid"
8:30 - Move from East Coast to Los Angeles
9:41 - Auditioning actors
10:55 - Ralph’s screen test with Pat Morita
12:29 - Pat as father figure/mentor to Ralph
14:58 - Aly Morita on her father
19:49 - Billy on Pat Morita
22:14 - Did anyone know karate prior to filming?
22:45 - Martin Kove on his character Kreese
25:35 - Johnny and Kreese’s relationship
27:50 - Ralph on set dynamics, fight training
29:38 - Elisabeth Shue
32:04 - Significance of "The Valley"
35:19 - Drunken Mr. Miyagi scene
39:31 - Aly on internment camp connection
41:48 - Ralph giving award to Pat
43:14 - Filming tournament scenes
45:11 - "You’re the Best Around"
45:57 - Ending the film
49:00 - Pat’s Oscar nomination
50:28 - Fan reactions
52:51 - Darryl Vidal on creating the Crane Kick

AUDIENCE Q+A
56:20 - Creating an iconic character for Asian Americans
58:36 - '47 Ford yellow convertible
1:00:44 - Japanese American reaction
1:01:56 - Acting lessons from film
1:05:51 - Freddy and Cobra Kai
1:11:07 - Concluding remarks
1:12:03 - Miyagi’s uniform


Japanese American National Museum
100 N Central Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90012
http://janm.org