#also awkwafina takes me out of every movie. I’m like oh that’s not this character that’s just awkwafina.

[lunar-years]

I went to go see Little Mermaid with a friend who wanted to see it and unfortunately Disney has GOT to stop with these live actions. Also i like Lin Manuel Miranda and I’m glad he’s getting his Disney bag but I immediately clocked the two new songs as his even before the credits rolled…and neither one was a good song.

[randomingoftherandomness]

Hi, I’m sorry to bother you with this, but I was wondering about your distaste for S*a*g C*i. I’m not very familiar with the comics or the characters. Your post caught my attention because I try to be knowledgeable about the media I consume, especially coming from Marvel/Disney(being Jewish Rromani, I’ll never forgive them for what they did to Wanda). I tried googling information about it but couldn’t find much. I was just curious if your post had a deeper meaning or if it simply isn’t to your taste. Obviously feel free to ignore this if you don’t feel like getting into it or don’t want to answer.

Hi! First up, thanks for taking the chance to ask and being willing to listen. I appreciate that a lot.

I am going to preface this by saying that I am part of the Chinese diaspora. I have never read the comics in full but I have seen enough to formulate my own thoughts. All my opinions made here are my own and I’m not looking to debate or be persuaded or to shift my point of view. I have my mind about these things and you have yours. I do urge you to keep opening avenues of discussions as I should not be the only person being asked.

Also, heads up, I will block any sort of argumentative bs-ery.

SC is obviously made with the perspective of the Asian American lens in mind and I have seen it been pointed out that it isn’t meant to be ‘representative’ but let’s be real here. How many people in the tag have already been hyping it up as Asian rep and stuff? I’m just saying. I just want to say that the experiences of Asian Americans do not reflect those of the diaspora. Yes, we can relate to a certain extent, but to generalise and distill all experiences of all members of the diaspora into that of Asian Americans is unacceptable.

My issues with SC (not gonna bother with spelling the name out and we are going into the whys) are as follows:

I would recommend starting out by reading this article on cbr.com that goes a little further into detail on the history of the character

The tl;dr is this; SC started out as an insensitive East Asian stereotype character created to capitalise on the 1970s fervour for anything Kung Fu. Sure, Marvel has done their best to retcon some of the less stellar parts of his origins, but the funniest thing is (legend. big bro. uncle Tony) Tong Leung, a renown Hong Kong actor has been casted as The Mandarin while Simu Liu, a Canadian Chinese actor, was casted as SC. Make of that what you will.

Okay deadass I’m not saying Simu Liu won’t do a good job because at this point all we have to work on is a teaser trailer but I’m all saying that is, was Arthur Chen Feiyu not available or something?? Idk. He didn’t pick up the phone?? Did Marvel even ask?? This is nonsensical salt and I digress

Then there’s the name. What kinda hell name is S**** C**??? This is some Cho Chang level bullshit. Yeah, sure we can say, oh they just want to make sure the branding is right. Ok. This coming from the studio that amalgamated the characterisations of Ned Leeds and Ganke Lee. Sure, Jan.

Full disclosure, I did like some of the vibes given out by the teaser. There were some very wuxia and xianxia inspired shots and scenes and if I do watch, I’ll be very keen on these bits. Awkwafina already looks like she is set to be etched deep into my heart and Uncle Tony looks to be gearing up to kick this out of the park because goddamn he looks good in that armour. Haven’t seen Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh’s character, but I’m sure she will be kicking ass and taking names for sure too because I am very sure veterans like her and Uncle Tony will look good doing wire works. But this isn’t a movie about them, is it? It’s about SC and right now with this teaser trailer, nothing about SC makes me want to froth at the mouth to watch.

Yes, I am saying that that subway scene does not impress me. We live in a world with stunt teams from China can work on a peanut budget to make conversations flow in a fight scene. Do better.

Again, I am very aware that this teaser is to hype people up. I know. I am still waiting for the proper first trailer to drop. I have actually deliberately kept myself oblivious to the production of this movie so as to not give myself any sort of preconceived notions. When that first trailer drops, then I will formulate my thoughts again.

Okay, I know it’s a teaser but some of the cgi just looks... very uncanny valley? It looks unfinished, is what I am getting at here. For a mega conglomerate verging on industry monopoly, even a teaser trailer should look 1000% better than this. Every beat of this should be flawless. It should look on par with the trailer. People who follow will know that I won’t ever fault a product because of shitty cgi (re: Word of Honor) but when you are the people behind the Live Adaptation of Mulan (which I hate) and Raya and the Last Dragon (which I categorically DETEST because that shit is bullshit mishmash of SEA cultures with fucking made up words being painted as *representation* and that is some fucking bullshit and as someone from SEA I’m sorry Queen Kelly Marie Tran BUT NO) I will hold you to the fucking standards of the high heavens as the House of the Devil Mouse deserves. Do fucking better.

I am not clairvoyant but I can already see how it is going to go when this movie doesn’t “do as well as expected” in Asia; you’ll hear people going on about how the Asian Asians don’t support these types of stories, how we don’t put effort into hyping movies and shows that push for representation. But can I ask whose representation are we talking about? I saw it with Crazy Rich Asians and Mulan, I saw it with Raya. Whose rep are we talking about? If someone out there, some little child sees themselves in these media products, sure, great! Empower these next generation for the push for a better hope. But whose rep are we pushing for? Because I definitely do not see myself in the Asian American lens of representation and I’m very sure I won’t ever and I know that I am not alone in this.

Hollywood needs to do better. To borrow the words of a friend, excusing mediocrity for ‘cultural appreciation’ is no good.

This rant has gotten long enough and I’m so sorry to everyone seeing this on your dash. I have a lot of salt today.

[the-end-of-art]

A singular organism around food

How The Farewell Director Lulu Wang Stayed True to Herself

A conversation with the writer-director about love, the lies we tell, and being faithful to your own story.

at GQ by Chris Gayomali

The first scene of The Farewell introduces Awkwafina as Billi, weaving her way through the streets of New York while on the phone with her grandmother in China, Nai Nai. Their conversation is warm, if mundane, but it’s cleverly punctuated with little white lies: Billi says yes, Nai Nai, she’s wearing a hat for the cold (she’s not). Nai Nai, meanwhile, unspools a few falsehoods of her own: she says she’s just at home when she’s actually at the hospital for a checkup. The back-and-forth makes for an elegant volley of disinformation; if love is kinetic, it’s best to keep things moving.

“It was really important to portray how close she is with her grandmother, even though they don't see each other that often and live on opposite ends of the globe,” says the film’s director, Lulu Wang. We’re sitting in a sunny room in A24’s Manhattan offices, talking about the film, her second-ever feature, and all the tangles that come from releasing something this autobiographical out into the world. “It's this unconditional love that Billi really only receives from her grandmother, because, I think, as an Asian-American and Asian immigrant, the love of our parents is not like what American kids talk about.”

The Farewell is based on actual events. Sort of. Nai Nai, the matriarch of the family, is at the hospital because she was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. The doctor tells her sister, Little Nai Nai, that she only has a few months to live, so the family makes the collective decision to not disclose the bad news to her, because the fear, as they understand it, is what will truly kill her. In response, the family hastily organizes a sham wedding for one of the cousins—a ruse of a family reunion—so that everyone can say their goodbyes to Nai Nai, who is none the wiser.

Wang originally told her story on This American Life in 2016, which led to her writing the script for The Farewell, and, eventually, to receiving rhapsodic reviews at Sundance and an acquisition from A24. Last month, GQ sat down with Wang to talk about the film, growing up as an immigrant in Miami, and more.

GQ: Did your family feel weird at all when they learned that you were making something this revealing?

Lulu Wang: I think they felt weird about what I was going to represent about each of them. It's not like they’re very secretive, but my mom, especially, is a very private person. She was like, "Go make a movie, but I don't want to be noticed and I don't want to be in the spotlight." I think she is superstitious and an anxious person, so when things are going really well, she can often be like "be careful!" instead of celebrating.

In what ways is she superstitious? Is she a ghost person who believes in spirits and all that?

She just believes when things are going too smoothly, you have to be careful, because energetically something will go wrong. She very much believes that if there's something you want very badly, and you have no control over getting it—like if you want to meet a partner in your life—that you need to ask the universe. You need to put it out to the universe and ask. She's not Christian. She's not religious in any one particular way. But she will say you have to make yourself humble and say, "I need to ask for this thing because I have no control.”

Where did you find the encouragement to make that leap and make something like this?

I think it was because I had done a feature previously [2014’s Posthumous]. That gave me the confidence to know that, one, I know I can make a movie. I can put together a film project. I can direct actors. I can run a set. Two, I think it proved to my parents that I can also do [all those things] because it provided a proof of concept, right?

My mother is one of these people, she's like, "I'm not an American parent"—they all believe their own kid is wonderful and everything. She’s like, "I'm a mother just like millions and millions of other mothers. What makes me think my kid is special?"

[Laughs] Oh, wow.

She'll also contradict herself! She’ll say, not that you’re special exactly, but that you're destined, or that “we came out here [to America], sacrificed for you, and so you need to make a good life.” When I made my first feature, it was really surprising for my parents to go, "You can make a film and were amazing! You put this together, and you have to keep going!" Having their support meant everything. It meant that I didn't have to try to constantly prove myself, and I could actually take the leap of faith and take risks in my storytelling.

I also felt like after doing This American Life, it was just such a pure, organic experience of storytelling where I said, "This happened to me." It was just purely about story and character. I recorded it here in New York at [their] office. I had a glass of whiskey in this secret bookshelf room. You pull this book down and you go in! I had a glass of whiskey and it was late at night, and it was just me and [producer] Neil Drumming. We sat down from an investigative perspective and were like, "Tell me more. Dig deeper," as opposed to, "How do we make this more entertaining? How do we sell it? How do we market it?" I recorded and we did basically one take of the whole story.

One thing I really liked about the movie is that you didn't attempt to over explain anything. There was a real confidence in what you were trying to do, and you didn't try to cater to anyone about trying to explain subtle cultural differences or anything like that. How early on in the writing process did you decide "I'm not going to try to explain all this stuff. I'm just going to let it live and be its own thing"?

Pretty early. It's not because I didn't try. People kept giving notes about stuff. I think that's one of the challenges when you're a woman or a person of color in the industry. When you're given so few opportunities, or you sense a lack of opportunity for yourself, in many ways when you finally are given an opportunity you can't say no. You're like, "I have to take it."

So when people give notes and things like that to you, you really want to be accommodating. I did try a lot of them, but ultimately, I would go down a path and just go, "This doesn't feel right. I actually don't know what I'm writing. I'm writing somebody else's idea. I'm not writing from a place that's emotional."

Do you have an example of those notes?

One note I got was that the mom was too mean throughout the movie.

[Laughs] I didn't see that at all.

Exactly. To me, I'm like, "I don't think she's mean. I just think that's who she is!" I think that if you're raised in a different way, you might see that as being mean because somebody speaks in a very honest, clear way. To me, even the arguing isn't being mean. It's just them working their thing out.

That's just communicating.

Exactly. [Laughs] They're just talking, what are you talking about?

There was also this desire to have a resolution of some kind, and have a little bit of a hug. Then the producer was like, "Okay. Maybe not a hug. That's cheesy. I get that. But maybe even just some kind of a nod that they understand each other?"

I was just like, "Tell you what, if you can make that happen in my real life, then I'll put in my movie." Then he laughed and was like, "touché, touché."

For Asians it’s such an intergenerational thing too. You will have a conversation and there is no resolution. You’ve got to keep it moving.

There were a lot of notes about the food, too. They were like, "The movie feels very repetitive because there's all these food scenes." I was like, "Exactly!"

They were like, "No, no, no. The audience is going to get tired of watching that, and you should make them go do something else." I was like, "Like what?" They were like, "Can they go take a walk through a park?" I was like, "Why would they do that?"

I saw food as a way to orient the family, to illustrate them as a singular organism around food. Everyone knows their role, and feeding someone is an act of love. 

Was that something you experienced in your household growing up?

Absolutely. I think that's something I had to learn: That different people have different love languages, and that for my family, maybe they weren't constantly like, "I love you, you're the best, you rock!" But there was always a home-cooked meal on the table every night no matter what was going on.

If I'd been traveling, I come home, my mom makes noodles.

What kind of noodles does she make you?

It depends what's in the fridge. If there's chicken soup then she'll make chicken noodle soup. But if there's not, then it'll just be a really simple egg and tomato with some scallions. Comfort noodles.

I think for the movie, what I was exploring with food was also that it's a source of tension, because it is an expression of love. For Grandma, who thinks that everybody's home for a celebration, her way to express love is to give you all of this food. Your way to express love is to eat it, and to eat a lot of it.

Even when you're full.

Food is this physical manifestation of the conflict, of love, and wanting to accept that love, but you’re grieving, so you can't accept that love. The constant pressure from that to eat, eat, eat is normally not a big deal, so it becomes a much bigger, dramatic set piece.

When you're grieving, one of the things that you lose is your appetite. It's not necessarily explicit in the movie, but one of the things Little Nai Nai told me about why they lie is that when a person finds out bad news, they stop eating. They stop sleeping. Yes, you could say they die of fear in this abstract way, but you can also say in a practical way, that if they stop eating and they stop exercising or leaving the house and then they stop sleeping, then the lack of sleep causes more depression. And so yes in a literal way, that news can kill them.

My Asian friends and I always joke about it. We're just like, "The love of our Asian mother, it's conditional." You don't understand that unless you have one. The grandma is different, right? In many ways, [Billi and Nai Nai’s] love exists in a time capsule separate from age, space, distance. It's just always like, "Have you eaten? Are you wearing [something warm]?" You're always a child. You humor each other, because you're not going to tell them and make them worry. It becomes this ritual of like, "I will tell you what you want to hear." It doesn't matter.

So you grew up in Florida—

In Miami, which is not really Florida.

What was your social life like growing up there?

Honestly, it was very strange, because I moved when I was six and was still learning English. But Miami is as much Cuban as it is "American." People were speaking Spanish as much as people were speaking English, and here I was trying to fit in.

As a kid, that's all you want to do. You kind of just want to go, "I want to forget the fact that I'm an immigrant. I don't want to be different." As the Chinese girl, you don't fit in with anybody. It wasn't a large Chinese-American population, so I didn't grow up having a community of Asian friends. Even when there were Asian people, we sort of existed on our own. There was no culture. There was no Asian-American culture the way that it is in San Francisco or L.A., where you can have a posse and you have a food culture. I didn't have that. It was sort of like mainstream America or my parents, who were watching Chinese movies.

And you studied music too, right? What instrument did you play?

Piano. Like in the movie. I was classically trained since the age of four. I went to art conservatory high school, so for a long time, my piano teachers were like, "You should be a pianist! You have what it takes if you would just work a little harder." I just didn't really want to practice seven hours a day in a room by myself. They were just constantly disappointed in me, because they were like, "But you have a gift and if you don't use it, you're wasting it." I was like, "Is it really a gift if it doesn't make me happy?"

Practicing piano is such an isolating experience, too. You're alone and solely focused on the mistakes.

Completely. You're doing concerts. You're constantly performing. For me, it was like, I love music. Now coming back to it, I love playing the piano and I'm glad that I know it because it's a form of expression for me now. But at the time, it was not. It was about, "Here's a piece of sheet music. This is how you're supposed to play it. There's a right way and there's a wrong way, and by the way, don't fuck up!" [Laughs.]

My mother always wanted to play an instrument. Her parents never gave her that. Then it got to a point where I'd been playing for 18 years, and to give it up would make me feel guilty. But my parents also knew that realistically, I wasn't going to become a concert pianist. Whenever I would want to quit I would get this massive guilt trip over it. Like: "Everything we did to get you those lessons and we had no money! And we still took you to this church every single day so that you could play, and we spent a huge amount of our savings to buy you a piano. It was the first large purchase that we got, was this piano for you!"

On one hand, you're really appreciative, but on the other hand you're like, "I didn't ask for that, and now you're putting that on me, and I can't pursue other things because I'm tied to this piano." It's like that scene in The Piano where even though she loves the piano, you cut it off because it's a burden. I felt like, in some ways, when it's a burden it makes you sink. It doesn't make you fly.

Was going into writing a response to that in some ways for you?

No. My mother was a writer in Beijing. She was the editor of The Beijing Literary Gazette, which was like a New Yorker. She was a cultural editor and wrote criticism of literature and movies, so I always wrote. I grew up in a household that really encouraged reading and writing. My mother loves philosophy and is constantly reading philosophy and talking to me about different philosophers and different ways of life. You wouldn't expect this Chinese-American housewife to just constantly quote Nietzsche, but she does.

How old were you when you got into film?

I was in college. It was my senior year of school.

That’s a pretty late start.

Yeah. For my parents, it wasn't in their realm of reality for me to be a filmmaker, because who was doing it who was Asian-American?

They didn't drop you off at Blockbuster on Friday afternoons or anything like that.

Right. We would just watch what was on TV. Or my parents love Sound of Music.

Sound of Music was so big in our house growing up too.

Yeah? I wonder why that is. Fiddler on the Roof was a big one, too. My mother loves that movie so much. But I didn't grow up watching art house films. When I was in college I took a film elective, Film 101, and I shot on Super 8. That's when I fell in love with filmmaking. I loved finding the rhythm of an edit, and how much an edit can change everything. I edited on an Elmo so I was physically getting film print and cutting and taping.

The physicality of that experience of seeing frame by frame, and working with my friends made me fall in love with it. Then after that I took World Cinema. I took Feminist Film Theory. Then I started to go, "Oh, my God. There's so much here."

When I was making [The Farewell] I was like, "Yeah. I don't care about the genre, but really, I'm trying to explore the inner sense of dread that I had the entire time." From the outside it may look like a happy go lucky Asian family eating a meal, but on the inside, it felt like I was in a horror film, because at any moment something bad could happen. So I was like, actually, why don't I look at horror films as a reference?

Oh yeah?

I said to my DP: "These scenes where we're really rooted in Billy's perspective, let's reference horror film techniques," because horror film is all about being able to visualize the things that you can't see. Creating atmosphere. Creating tone. Through using the camera and things like that, you can really feel the tension. There's a monster in the room that you don't see, but you know it’s there because it's been set up. The lie is the monster.

So for you, it was the process first before any specific filmmakers as points of inspiration?

Yeah. I think that's always been the case for me. I don't like the sense of worship that we have in our culture, of putting people or art on a pedestal. For me, I've always fallen in love with the process before any kind of icon or representation of something. It's also the way that I learn the best. It’s not reading about things in books and being told, "This is how chemistry works." For me, it was always like, "Show me." The physical experience of it makes me remember.

I work with a lot of writers, and sometimes I feel like the people who are most creative are the ones who didn’t go to J-school, or didn’t have a writer they worshipped. They aren't trying to adhere to these older value systems, so they come at it from this original place.

It's completely important to understand history and to study the craft and the art and what's come before you. But at the same time, because I learned all of that later in life, I discovered it through process first. I was able to kind of go, "This is what I'm trying to do. Who else is doing that? Let me see. Oh. You? Okay. I'll take a little bit of that, and I'll take a little bit of this."

In some ways, people who worship, it almost feels like, "Are you in love with a lifestyle? With an image? With an idea?" You're in love with the idea of something. You love Tarantino. Well, what do you love about Tarantino? Yes, the films, but what else? It's this idea of what he represents in the culture. Because we don't have that kind of representation for people like us. When you don't have a lot of archetypes and a lot of representation, you also don't have a lot of rules. And so you don't even have to break rules, because there are no rules.

(https://www.gq.com/story/lulu-wang-the-farewell-interview)

Other great interviews:

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/07/lulu-wang-director-farewell-welcomes-your-tears/593806/

https://www.vox.com/2019/7/16/20687739/lulu-wang-farewell-interview-identity

https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/michael-phillips/ct-ent-lulu-wang-farewell-interview-0721-20190719-crfv36av7fglfafxvs3ec77sgu-story.html

https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/07/237713/the-farewell-director-lulu-wang-interview

[x-enter]

Ken Jeong opens up about his career path from the medical field into comedy acting, his recent roles, and representation in Hollywood

Comedian, actor, and former physician Ken Jeong spoke with Business Insider last week about his partnership with Heineken 0.0, the company's non-alcoholic beer, for National First Responders Day. 

Jeong is known for his comedic roles in movies like "The Hangover," "Pineapple Express," and "Knocked Up." He also recently starred in the blockbuster movie "Crazy Rich Asians," the first major Hollywood movie with an all-Asian cast in 25 years.

Ken Jeong has become a recognizable face in Hollywood over the past decade — with a long list of roles in comedies like "The Hangover" and "Knocked Up," to a recent Netflix stand-up special and a role in the blockbuster film "Crazy Rich Asians." 

What is less known about Jeong is how he actually transitioned into acting from studying and practicing medicine, and began following his passion by doing stand-up while in medical school. 

Jeong's recent roles in "Crazy Rich Asians" and the ABC sitcom "Fresh Off the Boat" feature all-Asian or majority-Asian casts, and have been credited with redefining the way Asian characters and actors are portrayed in Hollywood. 

Business Insider sat down with Jeong to talk about his transition from being a doctor to a Hollywood actor, his recent roles and representation in Hollywood, his family, and how he's choosing to honor those in the medical field by partnering with Heineken for National First Responders Day.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. 

Isabella Paoletto: Can you talk a little bit about your partnership with Heineken, your role, and why you decided to do it?

Ken Jeong: Yes, I am celebrating First Responders Day, and I used to be a physician, and as a medical professional I know first-hand the importance of first responders. They are the most valuable team [and] part of the healthcare team because if I'm admitting a patient into a hospital, they're the ones taking in the patient to the ER, giving me information, you know, "28 year old male with shortness of breath, pain, coughing," and they're giving me all the necessary tools for me to make the diagnosis — and at the same time they're saving that patient's life. They've stabilized that patient. 

So to me, they have to assess and they have to save, and they never get the credit they deserve. And for me that that's why this cause is near and dear to my heart, because they deserve the most recognition of all of us, and I can't think of a better way to partner up with Heineken 0.0 and just honestly for National First Responders Day, alcohol-free beer, so right call when you're on call.

Paoletto: So, my grandpa actually used to be a doctor and said that he would drink non-alcoholic beer when he was on call. Did you often drink non-alcoholic beer, or have colleagues who did when they were on call?

Jeong: I definitely had colleagues that did, and I think it's a very, very healthy way to decompress when you're on call and you can't drink alcohol, and that's so cool that your grandfather did that. Our campaign represents really your grandfather and what he does —  it's like when you're on call, you want to decompress, but you want to do it, obviously, in a way that that makes sense as the right call when you're on call.

Paoletto: I wanted to talk a little bit about your transition from the medical field into acting. Why did you decide to make that career change?

Jeong: I always had a passion for performing, so even when I was in college. I was pre-med. Yeah, a lot of people don't know this, but I was doing a lot of theater as well and I had gotten bitten by the acting bug in college. I never did any acting in high school or anything like that. I didn't know I even had it in me to perform. So, I was definitely a late bloomer, and I didn't know where I was going to go with this. All I knew was I just had a deep, deep love of performing. I felt like I had an aptitude for it, but more importantly, I had a passion for it.

I had a very complicated life, you know, or at least in my head I did, where I was in medicine, on a medical track, and it was a very, very heavy time because I basically had two loves and two passions and how to reconcile that? The only advice I could give is just don't ever think about the end result. Doesn't matter. There is probably a parallel universe out there where a guy like me is a physician and maybe just doing some stand-up comedy on the side. I was incredibly happy doing that, you know.

Paoletto: I know your wife is also a physician. How does she feel about you working with Heineken for National First Responders Day?

Jeong: Oh yeah, no, I run everything by my wife and she was definitely very much in favor for it, and she saw the campaign and everybody in that like campaign ad, they're all real life first responders. And I surprised these first responders, they didn't know it was me.

So, it was a really cool experience. So to me, my wife's been very supportive of it, and I even showed her the end product as well. We're partners, you know, I could not do this without her. She again is another unsung hero.

Paoletto: You also have two daughters, around 12 years old. Have they seen any of your work? Are there any roles of yours that they hate or love?

Jeong: It's so funny, they love "Community." They love every episode of "Community," and they don't like my character, like when they see my character, it's like they want to fast forward it, and even my daughters actually ask me, "Am I insulting you if you're not my favorite 'Community' character or if we watch episodes that don't feature you?," you know?

I think you bring up a good point, though, if you're a child of an entertainer. Yeah, I know I probably won't make them laugh as much because they're just annoyed by me anyway, so I think you know, familiarity breeds contempt. You know, that's something I heartily accepted. Yeah, that's just part of the deal.

Paoletto: How has the transition to fame been for your family?

Jeong: Well, they can't make eye contact ever, especially in private, you know that. [laughs]. And I have a Fortress of Solitude that I built in the house that's just for me. But other than that, I think my wife has done the most amazing job of just kind of, and I'm on board with this too, that we tell our kids, "Look, I have an odd job, and the job is just slightly different but the principles of life is the same."

Let's say I was still practicing medicine full-time, to me how we are trying to raise our children, raise a family, it's exactly the same. We just, we want them to pursue what they want to do. We want them to be disciplined at what they do, we want them to excel in school, but we also want them to follow their passions, whether it be in academics or in the arts or in athletics, whatever it is. 

I think my legacy as a parent is encouraging my kids to think outside of the box. My whole livelihood is thinking outside the box and not doing something that's typical, and I want my family, I want my kids to embrace their uniqueness, even if it's something no one else does, or no one else thinks you can do.

Paoletto: So, your Netflix standup recently came out and you've been in many great comedies, you know, "The Hangover" and "Pineapple Express." Do you plan on continuing to focus on comedy, or do you see yourself transitioning out of comedy into different types of roles?

Jeong: That's a great question. I would love to do — again I don't think of the end product like, "Oh, I have to do a period piece, or I have to do a drama" — but I would love to do a period piece, and I would love to do a drama. 

I always just try to find a way to maximize whatever opportunity I have before me, but I also, I don't want to limit myself to those things that I haven't done. There might be some things similar to what I've done before that I can find some unique form of joy. So to me, I just want to find a way to just maximize the joy of whatever scenario. Like I never thought in a million years I would do a show like "The Masked Singer," to do a panel show, that's never been in the cards for me, and it's the best decision I ever made. You know, it's my mom's favorite show in Korea because it's based on the Korean show with the same name, and I'm having the most fun, ever, like I'm thoroughly enjoying every second of it. 

What I'm learning as I get older, it's just you know, man, it's just nothing wrong with going with the flow and finding enjoyment and opportunity and happiness there because you'll get it, and you'll get happiness in the most unexpected places.

Paoletto: You've also recently starred in "Crazy Rich Asians" and you've been in "Fresh Off the Boat," which have both done a lot to redefine previous stereotypes of Asian characters in Hollywood. In your personal experience, do you see more representation in the industry? Do you see the roles changing and becoming more diverse for people of color?

Jeong: Well, I think first of all, "Fresh Off the Boat" is one of the most important shows on television for Asian-Americans, and if it wasn't for that show, I wouldn't have my own sitcom, "Dr. Ken," that was on for two years. I created that show, and that was my big mission was to have more representation. 

And then "Crazy Rich Asians," man, that just to me, that may be the most important movie I've ever done because it wasn't about me — it was about my kids' future. It was about, really, the future of Asian Americans in entertainment. And because of that film, you have Awkwafina just crushing it right now. You have Gemma Chan, Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Ronny Chieng, and now even outside the "Crazy Rich Asians" circle, you have Ali Wong, who I think for my money is the best Asian-American comic right now, and she did a movie with one of my best friends, Randall park, for Netflix, "Always Be My Maybe." 

There's more representation than ever, but we still have a long ways to go. I mean, also Bowen Yang of "SNL." He's the first Chinese American cast member. He's a dear friend, and he's my favorite member of "SNL." He's just crushing it right now. He's just so funny, and I I watch the show because of him. So the representation, it is getting better. We still have a long ways to go, but it's getting better and better, and it's exciting.

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NOW WATCH: How to choose between IMAX, 3D, and Dolby Cinema at the movie theater

source https://www.businessinsider.com/ken-jeong-interview-career-path-representation-in-hollywood

[readingraebow]

Crazy Rich Asians Section Two

Part One: Chapter Thirteen - Part Two: Chapter Four

1. What did the private investigator find out about Rachel’s family? So the rumor mill believed Rachel to be part of a Chu family that's in plastic manufacturing but the private investigator discovered that this isn't so. And Eleanor was literally mad that Rachel was "parading around, pretending to be part of this family" when Rachel literally never said that??? (Literally everything Philip said in this conversation was actual gold; I was laughing so hard.) Anyway, the investigator at first though that Rachel is American born Chinese but then discovered that she was actually born on mainland China and her mother immigrated to America when she was 6 months old. Just the two of them. So now Eleanor is mad that Rachel is not only a product of divorce but is also descended from peasants. So. That's a great first impression. (Though also, Philip: didn't we all come from Mainland China? What's the big deal. Me: EXACTLY.)

2. What side of Colin’s personality is Nick able to see, since they are so close? The façade that Colin puts on for other people is that he's a carefree party boy. But he's been friends with Nick since childhood and Nick knows that he has an anxiety disorder and suffers from crippling depression. Nick is one of the only people, if not the only person, who ever sees this side of Colin. It's like he saves up all of his misery to unload on Nick when he sees it. And while this would damage the friendship for most people, Nick is used to know and knows how to ~bring him out of his severe lows. Which is probably why they've been such good friends for so long.

3. Why is Colin on edge about his wedding? Because it's going to be ~the social event of the year. Colin is pretty much tired of being super famous and basically Singaporean royalty. He doesn't want to have every single detail of his life planned out for him. And he's already tired of what an affair the wedding will be, and it hasn't even happened yet. He said he's considered just kidnapping his fiancée and eloping in Nevada. But he knows what a ~scandal that will cause. So basically Nick is the only thing helping him get through the wedding, well, that and the fact that he actually wants to marry his fiancée. Which is shocking since the rest of his family sees the whole thing as more of a business transaction.

4. How has Astrid decided she will deal with her husband cheating on her? Basically she's decided to ignore the problem and hope that it goes away. She thinks that this is just a fling and Michael will eventually get bored and move on. Plus, she's basing her relationship on the relationships of others, particularly those in her family, and thinks it's normal for husbands to have affairs/have a mistress?? Well, that's what she keeps telling herself anyway. She keeps telling herself that others have to endure so much more. But you can tell it bothers her by the way she's trying to ~convince herself that it's just a phase. And she probably won't be able to just grin and bear it, the longer it goes on. Especially now that she knows about the affair and is clearly seeing all the signs.

5. Have you ever been cheated on? How did you handle it? I haven't. At least, not that I know about. But I've only had two relationships, one only for a month. So. I can't really answer this (thankfully).

6. Where does Oliver say he thought he saw Michael? Why did he think this and what changed his mind? He says he was in Hong Kong before he came back to Singapore and he says he saw a guy who looked just like Michael with a little boy. At first he thought it was Michael and Cassian but then the boy turned around it and wasn't Cassian so he thought he must not have been him. So Astrid started asking him discreet questions to figure out when he was there and it was at the same time Michael was away on a supposed "business trip" in China. She thinks that it would've been easy for Michael to take the train to Hong Kong while he was there. But who was the little boy?

7. Who does Jacqueline call at the end of this section and why? She calls her daughter, Amanda, who wasn't going to be able to make it to the wedding. She basically demands that she cancel her plans and actually show up. And then Oliver materializes out of the woodwork after she hangs up, saying that it's too late for Amanda to win Nick (which is clearly Jacqueline's intention) since he's clearly in love with Rachel. He says Jacqueline lost her chance to join the family which, well, she isn't too happy to hear.

  Section Two Reading Journal

Okay so. I loved this section!!! I love that they’re in Singapore now since everything in Singapore fascinates me to no end! So ahhhh all the good stuff in starting!!! *grabs a bowl of popcorn because we’re going to be here a while*

Also. I LOVE PEIK LIN!!!! (Also still dying about her bursting in on her parents and being like gUESS WHAT THE HOUSE IS HUGE.) But. It seems like her character is different from the movie? I don’t remember her being ~quite so rich in the movie (or at least not so upfront about it?) Did I miss that??? And let’s talk about how the description of her in the book is pretty much Awkwafina to a tee. And. Yet. She has that blonde bob in the movie? Okay.

But, anyway, everything else was fascinating. Oh and I looove Oliver! So. Enjoyed this section SO MUCH. And, honestly, I’m enjoying this book a ton!!! I CAN’T WAIT TO READ MORE!!!!

(Also that part describing all the food at the party definitely made me hungry and I totally ordered Chinese. SO GOING TO EAT THAT NOW <33)

[archandbillwiseguys]

Movie Reviews: “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Juliet, Naked”

Crazy Rich Asians

Arch: I really, really liked this romantic comedy. The cast is so beautiful, and it doesn’t take long for you to realize, “Oh, my goodness – every face is Asian!”

Bill: That was refreshing, but I’m afraid I’m going to be in the minority on this one. I know Crazy Rich Asians is getting raves everywhere, and I found the main characters appealing. But I pretty much detested everyone else in the movie. I mean, I HATED them!  

Arch: The cast was just so, so appealing, though.

Bill: I don’t disagree with you on that – the stars are beautiful to look at — every one of them — and there’s not a weak performance in the lot.

Arch: I especially liked the young woman who played the funny girlfriend, Awkwafina. She gets all the wisecrack lines. And she named herself after a bottled water. She’s the Melissa McCarthy of the movie.

Bill: I thought she was very funny. And she was a revelation to me, because now I think one of my granddaughters has styled herself after Awkwafina.

Arch: She could do worse. I think she’s going to be a big star. This was her breakthrough. The movie is really just a nice, old-fashioned rom-com.  A beautiful American-Chinese woman meets a handsome man from Singapore in New York, and he invites her to his best friend’s wedding in Singapore — and that’s when she discovers that he’s one of the wealthiest bachelors in the world.

Bill: Right – she’s a professor at NYU and he’s, well, it’s not clear if he does anything other than stand there, look handsome, and take his shirt off whenever possible. It should be noted here that the couple, played by Constance Wu and Henry Golding, are breathtakingly beautiful. Like, world-class beautiful.

Arch: Of course, in the age of the Internet there’s no way she wouldn’t know this guy is loaded and from a big wealthy family.  

Bill: Well, she’s a college professor. She’s too smart to use Twitter.

Arch: So, she meets the guy’s mother — who’s played by the great Michelle Yeoh from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I was expecting a riff from Monster-In-Law, that film where Jane Fonda played the mother-in-law from Hell. But what happens is a lot more complex and subtle than that.

Bill: She’s wonderful, and I also liked the subplot about the guy’s sister, who’s dealing with some marital problems and befriends the American girlfriend. That relationship was very sweet.

Arch: So, what’s your problem?

Bill: Well, it’s another one of those movies where the filmmakers lecture us that money isn’t everything — but then every scene pounds home the message that it’s almost everything. The whole film wallows in the obscene excesses of its super-rich characters, these useless people who just seem to be loitering through life, sometimes literally throwing money away. I just can’t enjoy watching that – especially when almost no one in the movie seems to come around to developing any meaningful values. Even the grandmother character, who at first seems to have her head on straight, turns out to be a slave to wealth and status.

Arch: It’s true I didn’t like the way her character made a U-turn that made no real sense.

Bill: I felt like I was watching a grownup version of Richie Rich or Scrooge McDuck. I was expecting the people to dive into a swimming pool filled with gold coins.  For a while it looks like the heroine is going to turn her back on that empty lifestyle, but the “happy ending” entails her finally being embraced by all these truly awful people. I kind of take back what I said about hating all these characters. I really spent most of the movie feeling badly for them. They all seemed so shallow and their lives so empty. I liked the leading couple too much to see them settle for that.

Arch: Well, anyone who has been married and had any kind of dealings with a difficult family, or who comes from one, knows that this couple has a rocky road ahead.

Bill: That’s why there’s gonna be a sequel.

Arch: Well, of course.

Bill:  And they’ll call it My Big Fat Singaporean Wedding.

Arch: The only real criticism I have of this movie is that it’s maybe 15 minutes too long. Still, I think it’s more than just a fun romantic comedy in an exotic setting, filled with beautiful people. There is also a rather deep lesson in the movie about class and how the American way of “do your own thing” is not necessarily a universal sentiment — and is not appreciated in older, more established cultures.

Bill: That’s true – I did feel that I was getting a glimpse into a culture I had never even considered before. I tend to think of Asian culture as trying to catch up to the West, but that’s of course ridiculous on its face. The movie does a nice job of illuminating the point where East and West come to loggerheads: the collective versus rugged individualism.

Juliet, Naked

Bill: This is a movie we both loved.

Arch:  It’s pretty much a perfect romantic comedy. Rose Byrne and Chris O’Dowd play a British couple whose romance has fizzled, and he’s putting all his passion into an online fan site for a washed-up rock star, played by Ethan Hawke. Through a complex series of events, the woman meets up with the object of her boyfriend’s affection, and as they say, sparks begin to fly.

Bill: Besides being very funny, and hitting all the right notes for a rom-com, the film explores many different levels of relationships. There’s the couple, of course, and then there’s the initial online flirtation between the girlfriend and the rock star. But there’s also this really interesting link between the boyfriend and the rock star: First the super fan is awestruck, and then disillusionment sets in.

Arch: It’s a classic lesson of “be careful what you wish for” when it comes to meeting people you admire. But what impressed me most was how, beneath the comic premise, the film explores just how broken each of these characters are. She’s desperate for a meaningful life of some sort, but she’s stuck with this cold fish guy and she works in a dinky little local museum. The boyfriend teaches at a local college, but he has these misguided delusions of grandeur. And the rock star is totally burned out, living basically in a garage behind his ex-wife’s house.  Normally a movie like this would just be a pat love story and the two would get together. But instead it goes to this deeper level of broken lives. There’s a wistfulness to the movie that I really loved.

Bill: Even the end hits a melancholy note. It’s a happy ending, to be sure, but we’re not sure how it’s ultimately going to work out for everyone.

Arch: They left it up in the air, which is good. That’s the way the world is.

Bill: It’s just a very smart film. Every character is appealing, even the Chris O’Dowd character, whose failures mostly come from fumbling, rather than bad intentions. He’s a guy who has put all his emotional eggs absolutely in the wrong basket.

Arch: The film is just delightful. It could have been a retread of You’ve Got Mail, which had Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan meeting “cute” in much the same way, online.

Bill: Still, it’s been 20 years or so and filmmakers have not yet found a compelling way to shoot people chatting online. It’s still a wide shot of someone at their laptop, or on their phone, with a voiceover saying what’s being written.

Arch: There have been many miles of film released showing people typing.

Bill: It’s like in the 1930s, when every film had to show a spinning newspaper montage.

Arch: Ah, the classic newspaper montage! Frank Capra invented that. Brilliant. I guess there’s nothing ever totally new, but I think Juliet, Naked, has a wonderful original quality to it that puts it above the rest.

Bill: Too bad it’s coming out at the same time as Crazy Rich Asians, because I’m afraid it’s going to get lost.

Arch: Yes, it looks like Crazy Rich Asians is this year’s must-see end-of-summer comedy.

Bill: I wish it were Juliet, Naked, because I think it’s a better movie.

Arch: Yeah, I think so, too.