WEBVTT - Jon M. Chu / "Crazy Rich Asians" 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:18.279 H m hm. You're listening to playback a Variety I 0:00:18.400 --> 0:00:22.480 Heart Radio podcast. I'm your host, Variety Awards Editor Chris Hapley. 0:00:23.200 --> 0:00:25.520 This week we have director John M. Chow here to 0:00:25.560 --> 0:00:28.480 talk about his new film, his historic new film, in Fact, 0:00:28.520 --> 0:00:31.600 Crazy Rich Asians. We talked about what the release of 0:00:31.640 --> 0:00:34.360 the first Hollywood film in twenty five years centered on 0:00:34.440 --> 0:00:37.600 the Asian American experience means, and a whole lot more. 0:00:38.280 --> 0:00:54.880 So Sit tight. This is playback, right, are you? Yeah? 0:00:54.880 --> 0:00:58.400 I'm pretty good. I like this recorded. Thank you. It's 0:00:58.440 --> 0:01:00.639 not mine, but I wish it was good. Might buy one. 0:01:01.400 --> 0:01:06.800 I've used it in the past. I've been traveling. Yes, 0:01:06.880 --> 0:01:10.080 where you get from? I just got back from Sam Francisco. 0:01:10.560 --> 0:01:14.200 We were in Seattle. I I don't I got married 0:01:14.240 --> 0:01:18.720 one week ago, so congratulations, thank you. In Napa oh 0:01:18.760 --> 0:01:21.880 so lovely. Yeah, I was really really nice. We saw 0:01:21.880 --> 0:01:23.600 it last night. Was the first time we were like 0:01:23.640 --> 0:01:28.360 together since the wedding. It's been spending my whole time here. 0:01:30.200 --> 0:01:31.880 It's got to be high pressure at a film, a 0:01:31.880 --> 0:01:33.759 wedding like what you film in this movie and then 0:01:33.760 --> 0:01:35.759 go off and happen completely. My mom was like, why 0:01:35.760 --> 0:01:37.520 did you give all your ideas away. I'm like, no, 0:01:37.720 --> 0:01:40.600 I got more ideas, don't learn. We had at just 0:01:40.720 --> 0:01:42.759 on our wedding, we had a forty piece vocal choir, 0:01:42.840 --> 0:01:47.400 all ages girls, ages eight to sixteen. They were beautiful. 0:01:47.440 --> 0:01:51.520 They wrote like they had this amazing so they did. Uh. Yeah. 0:01:53.760 --> 0:01:59.120 We had this amazing um African American singer from Hawaii 0:01:59.200 --> 0:02:01.760 that we met um when we were there, who was 0:02:01.840 --> 0:02:03.920 just performing, who was busting on the side of the street, 0:02:03.920 --> 0:02:06.600 and we loved his voice, so he did he wrote 0:02:06.600 --> 0:02:10.399 a song for us for our first song, um wed. Yeah, 0:02:10.440 --> 0:02:11.960 we did that. There's a lot of music. I thought 0:02:12.000 --> 0:02:13.840 it was a lot of fun. There must be. I mean, 0:02:13.840 --> 0:02:16.840 you're big dance fan. I've had all my friends and 0:02:16.960 --> 0:02:19.560 dancers and they did some great I could be a 0:02:19.600 --> 0:02:22.120 surprise performance for her. And then she did a surprise 0:02:22.160 --> 0:02:26.320 performance for me. Uh and she did the robot which 0:02:26.360 --> 0:02:28.720 was really fun. And she's super shy in that way, 0:02:28.919 --> 0:02:31.120 so for her to do that meant a lot awesome. 0:02:31.120 --> 0:02:38.120 It's fun. You get back there alright, check a couple more. O. 0:02:39.680 --> 0:02:42.200 This is like the slickest like it. Yeah, I really 0:02:42.240 --> 0:02:45.520 like this. She come into the studio and we've got uh, 0:02:45.520 --> 0:02:48.560 we've got an actual podcast studio and again variety up 0:02:48.560 --> 0:02:52.639 the street. Thank you, man, sweet, we're already going cool, 0:02:54.000 --> 0:02:57.919 all right, man in okay, everybody, I'm here with John M. Chew, 0:02:58.000 --> 0:03:01.120 the director of Crazy Rich Asian, which is about to 0:03:01.120 --> 0:03:02.640 make a whole lot of money. I'm gonna go ahead 0:03:02.639 --> 0:03:04.320 and put that out. Thank you, we hope, we hope. 0:03:04.440 --> 0:03:07.400 Thanks for doing my show. I really appreciate. Uh. This 0:03:07.480 --> 0:03:10.160 is a highly significant film and I'll get to all 0:03:10.200 --> 0:03:11.799 of that in just a moment, but before I do, 0:03:12.320 --> 0:03:14.120 let's just sort of set the table this This is 0:03:14.120 --> 0:03:18.280 based on Kevin Kuwan's book about a you know, young 0:03:18.400 --> 0:03:22.120 Asian American woman who it's kind of like meet the 0:03:22.160 --> 0:03:24.320 parents in Singapore. I guess let's just put it that way. 0:03:24.360 --> 0:03:27.440 We should probably cringe if you've ever I mean people 0:03:27.480 --> 0:03:29.520 put it that way, yeah, a little bit. It's a 0:03:29.720 --> 0:03:32.680 it's a very simple idea of an Asian American bringing 0:03:32.880 --> 0:03:35.120 being brought to a wedding in Singapore for a boyfriend. 0:03:35.200 --> 0:03:38.920 She doesn't realize he is from the wealthiest family of Singapore, 0:03:38.960 --> 0:03:42.160 so all his exes and socialites are after her. So 0:03:42.360 --> 0:03:44.160 it's a fun romp, but at the same time has 0:03:44.240 --> 0:03:46.440 like a strong message in the middle of it. So 0:03:46.720 --> 0:03:48.520 we'll tell me first, what was your first brush with 0:03:48.600 --> 0:03:53.160 this book. My I got an email from my sister saying, hey, 0:03:53.200 --> 0:03:54.880 you got to read this book. Then I got one 0:03:54.920 --> 0:03:58.240 from like my cousin, then my mother, who I didn't 0:03:58.240 --> 0:04:00.920 even know would read books. Though it was like exactly 0:04:01.040 --> 0:04:03.760 the movie uh and uh. And so I was shooting 0:04:03.760 --> 0:04:05.440 another movie at the time, and so I was like, yeah, 0:04:05.560 --> 0:04:07.080 I'll get to it. And I read it on over 0:04:07.080 --> 0:04:09.560 a weekend and I couldn't put it down. I loved it, 0:04:09.840 --> 0:04:11.200 but again, I didn't think of it as a movie 0:04:11.280 --> 0:04:12.840 yet because I just wasn't in that I was in 0:04:12.880 --> 0:04:14.600 the middle of a movie. It wasn't only a couple 0:04:14.600 --> 0:04:17.120 of years later that my sister emailed me again and 0:04:17.240 --> 0:04:19.359 was like, hey, why aren't you making this movie again? 0:04:19.480 --> 0:04:22.240 This seems like perfect for you. And I was like, oh, yeah, 0:04:22.320 --> 0:04:24.160 I forgot about that book. And so I reached out 0:04:24.160 --> 0:04:26.320 to my agent and he said, he's like, oh, Nina 0:04:26.400 --> 0:04:28.279 Jacobs was producing, and I'll send you the script. I 0:04:28.320 --> 0:04:30.760 read the script. I loved it, and I said I 0:04:30.800 --> 0:04:32.280 need to make this movie. And he said, how did 0:04:32.320 --> 0:04:34.159 you know they sent it to you on Friday? It's like, 0:04:34.200 --> 0:04:35.599 what are you talking about? He's like you you asked 0:04:35.640 --> 0:04:37.520 me the same day that they sent it to you 0:04:38.160 --> 0:04:40.440 to consider, and that was that's when I knew, like 0:04:40.920 --> 0:04:42.960 the universe is saying, I've got to make this movie. 0:04:43.440 --> 0:04:44.920 So you said when you first read it, you weren't 0:04:44.920 --> 0:04:46.400 thinking about it in terms of the movie. That kind 0:04:46.400 --> 0:04:48.400 of makes me wonder. So when you read books or 0:04:48.400 --> 0:04:51.760 anything in general, do you not see cinema? Oh no, 0:04:51.839 --> 0:04:54.159 of course no. I I read it for the medium 0:04:54.160 --> 0:04:56.520 that's in so I can enjoy it. Um, it's just 0:04:56.560 --> 0:04:59.640 when you're making a movie. Um, it's hard to think 0:04:59.680 --> 0:05:02.560 of their movies. Um I I and they're more of 0:05:02.720 --> 0:05:05.119 escapes to get my brain off of my own movie 0:05:05.160 --> 0:05:07.640 at the time, and so I was just literally in 0:05:07.720 --> 0:05:10.840 my head. But at the same time, I also probably 0:05:10.920 --> 0:05:12.680 was held back by the idea that a movie like 0:05:12.720 --> 0:05:15.640 this isn't an obvious thing for a studio at that time, 0:05:15.760 --> 0:05:19.200 especially uh so, uh so my own brain sort of 0:05:19.240 --> 0:05:22.200 trapped me. Whenever you looked at the script and was like, Okay, 0:05:22.240 --> 0:05:24.080 I'm gonna make this. What were some of those visual 0:05:24.120 --> 0:05:26.680 ideas that started to bubble up? Um? I just love 0:05:26.760 --> 0:05:29.080 the idea of an Asian American going to Asia for 0:05:29.120 --> 0:05:30.719 the first time. I mean, they have a lot of 0:05:30.760 --> 0:05:33.400 characters in the book, but but Rachel Chew in particular, 0:05:33.440 --> 0:05:36.080 she's from Cupertino, which is where I'm from, where my 0:05:36.120 --> 0:05:38.520 family is from. Um, there's a lot of references for 0:05:38.560 --> 0:05:40.520 things that I recognized in my own life, and I 0:05:40.600 --> 0:05:42.919 knew that it was a really fun way. It's almost 0:05:42.960 --> 0:05:45.640 Alice in Wonderland type story of her going to this 0:05:45.720 --> 0:05:49.680 crazy place, uh and finding herself by going through this adventure. 0:05:49.720 --> 0:05:51.839 So I think that was what got me. The rich stuff. 0:05:51.839 --> 0:05:54.080 Of course, all the brand stuff was like fun, but 0:05:54.160 --> 0:05:57.119 I don't that doesn't necessarily communicate story to me. Um. 0:05:57.120 --> 0:06:00.320 It was really um knowing that in that world we 0:06:00.320 --> 0:06:02.640 could tell a great story. UM, and we could root 0:06:02.720 --> 0:06:05.800 for this love this couple. Uh, it was really what 0:06:05.839 --> 0:06:09.080 got me. Yeah, this is the first Hollywood film and 0:06:09.080 --> 0:06:12.080 twenty years to be centered on the Asian American experience, 0:06:12.600 --> 0:06:17.440 which you know, even at a time when like underrepresented 0:06:17.480 --> 0:06:20.479 communities are crushing these these kind of stats, that's still 0:06:20.480 --> 0:06:25.880 a staggering one. It's it's nuts, Um, it's been Um. 0:06:25.880 --> 0:06:28.599 It's crazy to think in eighteen that that that that 0:06:28.600 --> 0:06:31.520 that we're still here. Um. But here we are, so 0:06:31.600 --> 0:06:34.520 we've got to change things. And and you know who 0:06:34.560 --> 0:06:36.960 knows the reasons. I've been around for ten years. So 0:06:36.960 --> 0:06:39.200 I'm proud of the problem. And that's what I realized 0:06:39.240 --> 0:06:41.839 of reading the Twitter feed and reading all the stuff. 0:06:41.880 --> 0:06:45.760 I realized that, Um. I realized that if anything was 0:06:45.800 --> 0:06:48.320 going to change, UM, we had to do it on 0:06:48.360 --> 0:06:51.640 the ground. And I was here, and so, uh, that's 0:06:51.680 --> 0:06:54.280 that's that was just a literally a decision I had 0:06:54.320 --> 0:06:56.080 to make in my own life. And I was getting 0:06:56.080 --> 0:06:58.359 older and I realized what else am I contributing to 0:06:58.480 --> 0:07:00.960 the cinema, a medium that I love so much? Like 0:07:00.960 --> 0:07:04.039 what am I actually bringing new to this world? And 0:07:04.080 --> 0:07:06.599 I knew my specific story, um, and if it helped 0:07:06.600 --> 0:07:09.280 a couple of people was worth pursuing. I mean, that's 0:07:09.279 --> 0:07:10.840 great that you put it on your shoulders like that 0:07:10.880 --> 0:07:13.560 and say that that you're part of the problem. But nevertheless, 0:07:13.560 --> 0:07:16.800 like I mean, what's what was your experience like breaking 0:07:16.800 --> 0:07:20.960 your own barriers in this industry? I mean it's it was, 0:07:21.520 --> 0:07:23.480 I mean, like anything in this world, like you sort 0:07:23.480 --> 0:07:26.240 of My parents always taught me, you know, they came 0:07:26.240 --> 0:07:29.120 over from China Taiwan with not knowing a word of English, 0:07:29.200 --> 0:07:31.160 and they said people are going to treat you certain ways. 0:07:31.720 --> 0:07:35.880 Don't spend your energy, um thinking about it. You focused 0:07:35.920 --> 0:07:38.320 on your own journey, proved to them that you're better 0:07:38.680 --> 0:07:41.280 than what they think. So that's the way my philosophy 0:07:41.280 --> 0:07:44.440 always was. Um. Coming to Hollywood, I didn't want to 0:07:44.480 --> 0:07:47.280 be the Asian director. I wanted to be Steven Spielberg. 0:07:47.320 --> 0:07:48.680 I wanted to be Tim Burton. I wanted to be 0:07:48.720 --> 0:07:51.640 all these people I looked up to. And so you 0:07:51.680 --> 0:07:54.960 get self conscious about your own cultural identity um, and 0:07:55.040 --> 0:07:57.360 you feel like maybe it's something you're supposed to hide 0:07:57.400 --> 0:08:00.280 to mix in and UM. And I was in those 0:08:00.360 --> 0:08:02.720 rooms when they give you the stats of oh, there's 0:08:02.720 --> 0:08:04.680 not a lot of Asian actors. Oh, you can't cast 0:08:04.720 --> 0:08:06.280 someone like that because the rest of the world's not 0:08:06.320 --> 0:08:08.880 going to care. Um, and you don't and you and 0:08:09.080 --> 0:08:11.480 because you think the adults know what they're talking about, 0:08:11.520 --> 0:08:14.239 you don't say anything. It wasn't until I'm getting old, 0:08:14.760 --> 0:08:17.640 uh and having a baby that I realized and that 0:08:17.760 --> 0:08:20.040 I'm actually not lucky to be here. I earned my 0:08:20.160 --> 0:08:22.320 right to be here, and I should if I'm going 0:08:22.360 --> 0:08:24.800 to contribute anything to this is is stuff that I 0:08:24.800 --> 0:08:28.600 should that it is unique to my story. Um. So 0:08:29.200 --> 0:08:31.920 it's been a long journey, but it was more of 0:08:32.160 --> 0:08:36.640 again a sort of self worth, um journey for myself 0:08:37.080 --> 0:08:40.000 and knowing that as an artist you have to uh, 0:08:40.040 --> 0:08:41.480 you have to say something you have you got, you 0:08:41.480 --> 0:08:43.680 gotta go out there and it's fun to make fun movies, 0:08:44.120 --> 0:08:47.000 but at a certain point, um, for if you want 0:08:47.040 --> 0:08:49.840 to leave something for your kids to to stand on 0:08:49.920 --> 0:08:52.840 and to be proud of, you've got to put yourself 0:08:52.880 --> 0:08:56.360 out there too. A fascinating element of this too is 0:08:56.400 --> 0:09:00.120 just getting the industry to understand because I saw this film, 0:09:00.120 --> 0:09:01.959 I was like the only white guy it was. It 0:09:02.000 --> 0:09:05.480 was a fully Asian Asian American audience and they were 0:09:05.520 --> 0:09:07.880 clearly having the time of their lives. And it's the 0:09:07.960 --> 0:09:10.280 kind of excitement that we were feeling around like Black 0:09:10.280 --> 0:09:13.120 Panther earlier this year. And it comes a point where 0:09:13.120 --> 0:09:16.360 it's just like there's there's obviously a hungry demographic ready 0:09:16.400 --> 0:09:19.040 to buy the ship out of these movie tickets, to 0:09:19.880 --> 0:09:22.360 say the least, And so at what point is it 0:09:22.440 --> 0:09:24.400 just like, look, this is good business. Yeah, and that's 0:09:24.440 --> 0:09:26.720 what we're trying to prove, is like Black Panther proved 0:09:26.720 --> 0:09:29.320 there's a huge business for this, and I think also 0:09:29.960 --> 0:09:34.679 cinema depends on these kind of new ways, new perspectives. Um. 0:09:34.720 --> 0:09:36.280 You know, you can only tell the same story from 0:09:36.280 --> 0:09:38.320 the same perspective so many times. And now we're at 0:09:38.320 --> 0:09:40.680 a point where like, if we're going to have just 0:09:40.840 --> 0:09:44.720 superhero stories, that's fine, But like movies were always meant 0:09:44.760 --> 0:09:47.480 to be a place, um to see stories you couldn't 0:09:47.480 --> 0:09:49.400 experience in any other way. It was an event in 0:09:49.440 --> 0:09:51.800 itself to go see it on the big screen, to 0:09:51.800 --> 0:09:53.520 sit down in a dark room and say, tell us 0:09:53.520 --> 0:09:57.400 a story and um. And and with the access to 0:09:57.640 --> 0:10:00.720 people editing, to filmmakers, writers at our that are telling 0:10:00.760 --> 0:10:02.560 their stories in their own ways, to be able to 0:10:02.600 --> 0:10:05.800 bring that to cinema, to refresh cinema and not just 0:10:05.880 --> 0:10:10.760 be an old and antiquity UM, I think is vital 0:10:10.840 --> 0:10:13.720 for this business. Is actually a necessity. And I think 0:10:13.760 --> 0:10:16.120 studios are waking up to that idea and they just 0:10:16.200 --> 0:10:18.840 have to find the right stories and that people have. 0:10:19.200 --> 0:10:23.160 And on our side, young filmmakers, writers, old filmmakers who 0:10:23.160 --> 0:10:25.679 haven't had their stories told need to be writing and 0:10:25.720 --> 0:10:27.120 going out there and know that this is a new 0:10:27.200 --> 0:10:29.040 day and that all the walls that we have built 0:10:29.080 --> 0:10:33.120 for ourselves, um, don't have to exist anymore. And that's 0:10:33.160 --> 0:10:35.840 also goes for below the line. I should think, yeah, 0:10:35.880 --> 0:10:41.760 absolutely underrepresented voices across the spectrum, right uh. And it's 0:10:41.800 --> 0:10:44.600 important to have representation below the line, above the line, 0:10:44.640 --> 0:10:47.920 behind the camera, in front of the camera, because conversations 0:10:48.000 --> 0:10:52.160 of representation, um are where you get the result, the 0:10:52.200 --> 0:10:55.200 good results. I'm not I don't know everything. UM, I 0:10:55.240 --> 0:10:57.720 can't represent everything. But when I have a discussion with 0:10:57.760 --> 0:10:59.760 constants WU about a certain line in the movie that 0:10:59.800 --> 0:11:01.800 she feels is offensive and I feel like it's just 0:11:01.840 --> 0:11:04.560 a joke, we get to have a healthy discussion and 0:11:04.600 --> 0:11:07.360 guess what, we get to make a decision together on 0:11:07.400 --> 0:11:09.960 how we approach it, um, instead of just letting it 0:11:10.000 --> 0:11:12.560 slide by and letting an audience discover it and then 0:11:12.640 --> 0:11:15.160 having and then changing away. People think because of that, 0:11:15.280 --> 0:11:19.679 so uh, that conversation is becoming more and more apparent 0:11:19.760 --> 0:11:22.000 that is a necessity in movies. How do you think 0:11:22.040 --> 0:11:25.200 that translates to something on the ground action oriented? Speak 0:11:25.240 --> 0:11:27.679 for yourself, Like you know, just back in April, you 0:11:27.679 --> 0:11:29.360 said this is a movie, not a movie, It's a 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:32.720 movement not a movie. By the way April Warner Brothers 0:11:32.720 --> 0:11:35.240 has not been shy about showing that anybody clue that 0:11:35.280 --> 0:11:37.720 they think they've got something on their hands. But you know, 0:11:37.840 --> 0:11:39.800 just talk to me about that, like, is there anything 0:11:40.160 --> 0:11:44.280 any initiatives that you're very interested in or passionate about 0:11:44.280 --> 0:11:46.680 our ideas that you have as far as making this 0:11:46.760 --> 0:11:50.240 happen on the ground. Um, yeah, it's any way to 0:11:50.280 --> 0:11:54.319 help young filmmakers who are coming into the business. Um 0:11:54.440 --> 0:11:57.920 that I watched these YouTubers and they're so talented, Wong 0:11:58.120 --> 0:12:02.199 Food and Ryan he Got, and they're creating things, um, 0:12:02.200 --> 0:12:04.640 from the ground up without anybody. This is where I started. 0:12:04.679 --> 0:12:07.400 I loved making videos as a kid and and creating 0:12:07.400 --> 0:12:11.240 this is and um, there hasn't been a structure a 0:12:11.320 --> 0:12:13.600 system for them to then take their ideas and take 0:12:13.640 --> 0:12:15.840 it to the next level and bring it to the cinema. 0:12:15.920 --> 0:12:19.200 So I hope that whenever way I can help bring 0:12:19.200 --> 0:12:21.360 that or open that door, give them the opportunity, or 0:12:21.360 --> 0:12:24.319 make studio people see that there is an opportunity. There's 0:12:24.320 --> 0:12:27.120 an audience that is sitting there waiting for these things. 0:12:27.679 --> 0:12:30.240 That's what I hope that comes out of this UM. 0:12:30.320 --> 0:12:33.280 And again, not just Asian people of all of all 0:12:33.400 --> 0:12:35.719 walks of life, of anybody who has a story that 0:12:35.800 --> 0:12:39.520 we have not heard before, UM, that is unique to 0:12:39.600 --> 0:12:43.440 a world or a place, um, of all ethnicities. I 0:12:43.440 --> 0:12:47.320 think it is so exciting because cinema needs it. And 0:12:47.320 --> 0:12:49.440 then let me also just ask you, uh, you know 0:12:49.480 --> 0:12:52.080 that comments about having a conversation with constants about something 0:12:52.120 --> 0:12:54.880 she might find offensive. That's interesting the movie has or 0:12:54.960 --> 0:12:57.560 maybe the book itself. I don't know if it's just 0:12:57.640 --> 0:13:00.040 the movie, but there's been criticism about a lack of 0:13:00.080 --> 0:13:04.200 like South or Southeast Asian representation in the film. I mean, 0:13:04.200 --> 0:13:07.000 how did you respond to that? Um, one, It's a 0:13:07.040 --> 0:13:10.200 great conversation to have. What a pleasure to have it 0:13:10.400 --> 0:13:13.760 that we can actually have a conversation of um when 0:13:13.800 --> 0:13:17.960 you have a character and a cast full of Asian actors. Um. 0:13:18.000 --> 0:13:20.600 You know, this is a very specific book. Again, what's 0:13:20.600 --> 0:13:23.920 a shame is that one movie is expected to represent 0:13:24.040 --> 0:13:27.400 every single culture in the Asian and that, to me, 0:13:27.440 --> 0:13:30.840 that's an unreal realistic idea. And and we're basing it 0:13:30.840 --> 0:13:33.839 off a book that has very specific character with very 0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:37.679 specific backgrounds and ideas. So to shove in a character 0:13:37.720 --> 0:13:39.440 that has nothing to do with what the book was 0:13:39.480 --> 0:13:42.600 actually uh talking about well one we don't even have 0:13:42.600 --> 0:13:46.120 the room for it to Uh, this is one story 0:13:46.400 --> 0:13:48.960 and and and that's why I call it it's bigger 0:13:48.960 --> 0:13:51.280 than this movie. That the movement is what we're trying 0:13:51.320 --> 0:13:53.320 to point to. I think Bruce lee'say is, you know, 0:13:53.400 --> 0:13:55.560 if I'm pointing to the moon, don't focus on my finger, 0:13:55.559 --> 0:13:57.680 because you'll miss the beauty and elegance of the of 0:13:57.720 --> 0:14:00.960 the moon itself. Um. We are we are human beings 0:14:01.600 --> 0:14:04.000 making movies to tell stories, to pass on a message, 0:14:04.000 --> 0:14:06.520 a truthful message, we hope, And but we can't be 0:14:06.600 --> 0:14:10.400 the only ones. Truth comes in so many different perspectives 0:14:10.400 --> 0:14:13.040 and ways, and we need those other people to speak up. 0:14:13.080 --> 0:14:16.839 So hopefully this cracks that door a little bit, um 0:14:16.880 --> 0:14:19.760 because through that, through those cracks, comes the light. Yeah. 0:14:19.800 --> 0:14:22.200 And really that just speaks to the underrepresentation for years, 0:14:22.240 --> 0:14:23.840 it has gone on in the hunger that exists as 0:14:23.880 --> 0:14:27.720 a result that when finally something cracks through, everyone's looking 0:14:27.720 --> 0:14:30.760 forward to represent them as well. So I just need more, exactly, 0:14:30.760 --> 0:14:32.400 we just need more and then and and and I 0:14:32.440 --> 0:14:34.520 don't blame anybody for that. I don't blame it for 0:14:34.520 --> 0:14:39.040 the pressure. Uh, that's just where we are? You mentioned Spielberg, 0:14:39.080 --> 0:14:41.800 Tim Burton. I want to circle back, just your inspirations 0:14:41.840 --> 0:14:43.560 coming up and you went to film school right yeah, 0:14:43.560 --> 0:14:46.320 I went to USC right down the street. Thank you, 0:14:46.360 --> 0:14:50.840 thank you did for grad school? Okay? Get I Um, yeah, 0:14:50.880 --> 0:14:53.480 I loved it there. Um didn't have any connections in 0:14:53.520 --> 0:14:55.440 the business. Did a lot of short films. I got 0:14:55.440 --> 0:14:57.800 a film I got a little little attention of five 0:14:57.800 --> 0:15:01.120 minutes short there called Silent Beats, still online. And then 0:15:01.160 --> 0:15:04.000 I did another store with a musical. Um that got 0:15:04.120 --> 0:15:07.000 UM Steven Spielberg's attention, and that got me into the business. 0:15:07.200 --> 0:15:09.520 Um really so so when you were coming up, when 0:15:09.520 --> 0:15:11.000 you were a kid and you were interested in movies, 0:15:11.040 --> 0:15:15.600 like what what drew your eye? Um? I loved the 0:15:15.680 --> 0:15:20.200 event of going to the theater. I remember when Batman 0:15:20.760 --> 0:15:23.440 was coming out and you got the soundtrack, and you 0:15:23.560 --> 0:15:25.840 got the toys, and you got the happy Meal, and 0:15:25.840 --> 0:15:28.120 you went to the theater and it was like for 0:15:28.240 --> 0:15:30.480 three days straight you went to the movie there to 0:15:30.520 --> 0:15:33.200 watch it over and over again, and then you got 0:15:33.280 --> 0:15:35.760 to go home and create your own stories and you 0:15:35.840 --> 0:15:38.040 listen to the music and you dancer. And there's to 0:15:38.160 --> 0:15:41.760 me that that event that changed my life. It made 0:15:41.800 --> 0:15:46.240 me so excited about stories and made me feel powerful 0:15:46.280 --> 0:15:49.240 in a weird way. Um. I remember going to see 0:15:49.280 --> 0:15:52.680 Joy Luck Club. My dad dragged us into a minivan 0:15:52.760 --> 0:15:56.120 on a Sunday morning, the earliest showing UH and then 0:15:56.160 --> 0:15:59.040 we laughed and we cried. I was young too, and 0:15:59.080 --> 0:16:00.720 to be able to then go to dim Sum for 0:16:00.720 --> 0:16:03.240 four hours and talk about, Oh, that's just like what 0:16:03.320 --> 0:16:05.720 Auntie says, that's what like just like what our uncle says. 0:16:05.760 --> 0:16:08.520 Like all those things, UH stays with you for a 0:16:08.560 --> 0:16:10.920 long time. So movies have always been a big part 0:16:10.960 --> 0:16:15.640 of our family. And knowing that the power of movies. Also, 0:16:15.680 --> 0:16:18.840 when I edited stuff by myself at first VHS t VHS, 0:16:18.920 --> 0:16:21.640 it gave me a voice something that I felt like, Oh, 0:16:21.680 --> 0:16:23.600 this is this is what I can do. I wasn't 0:16:23.600 --> 0:16:25.840 the best musician, but I played a lot of music. 0:16:25.920 --> 0:16:27.520 I wasn't the best dancer, but I loved to be 0:16:27.560 --> 0:16:29.880 around dancers. I wasn't the best film or but I 0:16:29.920 --> 0:16:31.920 love to shoot stuff. And but when I edited all 0:16:31.920 --> 0:16:34.040 together I had I could I could see how they 0:16:34.040 --> 0:16:38.520 all connected, and that gave me a tool to actually speak. Yeah, 0:16:38.760 --> 0:16:41.040 I'm glad you mentioned Batman. I felt the same way, honestly, 0:16:41.120 --> 0:16:43.360 Like I always call that my secle Be Demel moment 0:16:43.440 --> 0:16:47.880 when suddenly movies were like a huge marketing machine and 0:16:47.920 --> 0:16:50.800 like it was like it was everywhere, Like you couldn't 0:16:50.800 --> 0:16:55.960 have escaped the logo. You felt like it was just 0:16:56.000 --> 0:16:58.600 like and there's movies that were shut in Manhattan. I 0:16:58.640 --> 0:17:01.160 think one of the front of the third movies that 0:17:01.200 --> 0:17:03.960 Big Batman posters in the middle of time School. It's 0:17:04.160 --> 0:17:08.040 so awesome and and and and to say that the 0:17:08.160 --> 0:17:12.560 marketing is part of the storytelling itself, that it's not 0:17:12.680 --> 0:17:15.560 just a cynical just to get to get your money, 0:17:15.640 --> 0:17:18.320 like that was part of the events. Is to us 0:17:18.359 --> 0:17:20.600 to dress up and and hang out with your friends 0:17:20.600 --> 0:17:22.920 and talk about and dream about it. I think that 0:17:22.920 --> 0:17:25.199 that's the power of movies. I think Warner Brothers like 0:17:25.240 --> 0:17:28.240 this podcast even more now. I didn't even think about 0:17:28.280 --> 0:17:32.040 that was a Warner Brothers thing. Um. I wanted to 0:17:32.080 --> 0:17:33.920 ask you something sort of out of the blue here, 0:17:34.080 --> 0:17:36.560 giving your work on the Bieber films and the Step 0:17:36.600 --> 0:17:40.240 Up franchise, Like I'm always thinking about the concert film 0:17:40.280 --> 0:17:43.760 as a construct, as a thing and just room to innovate. 0:17:44.240 --> 0:17:46.159 What do you think about that like, where can we 0:17:46.160 --> 0:17:48.840 go with concert cinema? Absolutely? I mean I was not 0:17:48.960 --> 0:17:53.639 even a huge concert cinema fan when I started with Justin. 0:17:54.119 --> 0:17:57.440 I told them from the beginning, like, I don't want 0:17:57.440 --> 0:17:59.360 to just do a concert movie because I don't really 0:17:59.359 --> 0:18:02.040 even know who just and Bieber is at the time. Um, 0:18:02.080 --> 0:18:04.800 I was like, But what I found interesting was when 0:18:04.800 --> 0:18:07.159 he posted his first video, I could go back and 0:18:07.200 --> 0:18:10.000 there was a digital fingerprint of his mom writing test 0:18:10.040 --> 0:18:12.880 test test that his neighbor or his grandma being like, oh, 0:18:12.920 --> 0:18:15.399 this is cute, and then his his grandma's neighbor being like, 0:18:15.680 --> 0:18:17.320 oh should I can I send this to my friends? 0:18:17.320 --> 0:18:19.200 And then you just see it. You literally watch him 0:18:19.200 --> 0:18:21.560 grow and change, and I thought there was a really 0:18:21.600 --> 0:18:25.879 interesting piece of evidence that we had to experience his 0:18:26.000 --> 0:18:28.480 growth in real time as it happened, and not to 0:18:28.560 --> 0:18:30.919 make it just about a concert, but to tell his 0:18:31.040 --> 0:18:33.399 story of how he became who he was, which was 0:18:33.560 --> 0:18:36.679 the first time ever was the audience chose him to 0:18:36.720 --> 0:18:39.760 be their start, not some corporation, and that the music, 0:18:39.840 --> 0:18:42.280 even though maybe it was packaged sort of pop music, 0:18:42.920 --> 0:18:46.040 re contextualized, can tell a beautiful story of of this 0:18:46.119 --> 0:18:49.520 growth from from a boy to a star um and 0:18:49.600 --> 0:18:52.399 his family around him, both blood and not. UM. So 0:18:52.480 --> 0:18:55.680 I loved that idea of going into that movie. UM 0:18:55.760 --> 0:18:58.960 and I think music is such a beautiful way to 0:18:59.000 --> 0:19:03.080 tell story and so um anyway to innovate. And and 0:19:03.240 --> 0:19:05.560 there's one thing where you just go to experience a concert, 0:19:05.560 --> 0:19:08.640 there's another thing of communicating to anyone who's watching that movie, 0:19:08.640 --> 0:19:11.119 whether they're a fan of that artist or not, that 0:19:11.240 --> 0:19:13.640 this is how it makes you feel. This is what 0:19:13.680 --> 0:19:16.320 you think about when you hear this song. This is 0:19:16.400 --> 0:19:19.320 what the story that this artist is giving you when 0:19:19.359 --> 0:19:21.800 you hear this. I think that's that's has a lot 0:19:21.840 --> 0:19:24.399 of room to innovate in the concert movies, for sure. 0:19:24.440 --> 0:19:26.639 Are you you think you're gonna get back into that? 0:19:26.880 --> 0:19:29.280 I would love to do more, for sure. Sure. Listen 0:19:29.359 --> 0:19:32.679 up bands. Uh and I also wanted to talk about 0:19:32.720 --> 0:19:36.040 the Thai Cave rescue, the big herrowing event we've just 0:19:36.680 --> 0:19:39.639 kind of witnessed. You're planning to to work on something 0:19:39.920 --> 0:19:42.359 based on that, So what do you talk to me 0:19:42.359 --> 0:19:44.800 about that? What? What story obviously beyond the obvious do 0:19:44.840 --> 0:19:47.280 you want to tell their? Yeah, well, we're very early stages. 0:19:47.640 --> 0:19:50.240