Director's mission is staying out of box
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
| |||
 |
|
||
|
|||
|
|
||
| |||
|
|
||
Wayne Wang, a pioneering Asian-American filmmaker, is happy about his past movies, including "Chan Is Missing," "Dim Sum" and "The Joy Luck Club" — films that eloquently celebrate his Chinese culture. But he is determined to sidestep stereotyping.
His latest, a romantic comedy adventure called "Last Holiday," starring Queen Latifah, is one of a series of Hollywood projects he's embraced in recent times to help him escape what he calls "boxes." He's always dodging the cubicles.
"Maybe people have forgotten that I did films like 'Chan Is Missing' and 'Dim Sum,' but I have been trying to get out of these boxes," said Wang, an early auteur in the indie film movement. "For a while, I was the 'ethnic woman director,' because I did 'The Joy Luck Club.' Then I did ' Smoke,' to get around that earlier box, and then I became the 'art house director.' Then I did 'Maid in Manhattan' (with Jennifer Lopez, playing opposite Ralph Fiennes) and coupled with 'Last Holiday,' I've become the 'ethnic-diva-in-a-romantic-comedy director.'
"I've spent much time running away from these labels. Which is why my wife (Hong Kong actress Cora Miao) and I love Honolulu. It's so mixed up here (ethnically speaking). But there are no boxes. I can't be labeled."
While Wang and Miao have previously added stardust to the Hawaii International Film Festival, this trip is strictly a vacation, he said: a getaway for rest, runs in the park, yoga.
Wang, who turned 57 on Jan. 12, interrupted his Halekulani holiday to answer Five Questions:
Q. How did you come to make "Last Holiday," and why did you do it?
A. Producers Larry (Laurence) Mark and Jack Rapke gave me a script. It was an interesting idea, and a remake of an earlier film that starred Alec Guiness as a cynical clerk. But when I first got the notion to do it, my father had died at age 87 while crossing the street. The irony is that he lived his life carefully, and for him to go that way, it was quite a lesson for me.
I had to go through my own journey the way the Georgia Byrd (Latifah) character does. The movie took us to Austria and (the Czech Republic), and I hate ski lifts because I once got stuck on one, and I had no other way to get to the snowy mountains to do some scenes. So I conquered my fears, doing what Georgia does in this film, of overcoming her own fears and seeking her dreams (when she learns she has but three weeks to live).
Life, sometimes, means taking little risks, experiencing some changes. It was hard work to film in snowy Austria; I got sick. But the hotel is real (the Grandhotel Pupp, in Carlsbad or Karlovy Vary) and we also filmed in New Orleans (where Georgia works in housewares in a department store, while dreaming of being a chef) a year before Hurricane Katrina, and it's always been a beautiful city — the heart of the South that suits the Georgia character.
Q. It's been 25 years since you made an imprint on film-goers and found your voice with "Chan Is Missing" and "Dim Sum." Is it easy for you to direct films of your choice in the wake of your early success?
A. After "Joy Luck Club," I had nothing more to say about Chinese-Americans. I was being labeled as a director of Chinese films. But I'm coming back to Asian characters with my next, called "A Gesture Life," a powerful book we've optioned by a talented Korean writer, Chang Rae Li. It deals with the "comfort woman" from the war era, and a Korean man adopted by the Japanese army who also adopts a Korean girl. It's about how he comes to terms about his life, when he's 70; I had to get financing, but we may be able finally to start this film this spring.
As an Asian-American director, I think it's easy to get support if you do an action-oriented kung-fu film. But something serious takes an effort, especially if you have characters and stories you really want to tell. "Memoirs of a Geisha" got made because of the popular book. In my mind, it's still hard to do a movie like "The Joy Luck Club."
Q. How difficult is it to get your own viewpoint, your imprint on your own script, compared to the Hollywood projects you've been directing?
A. I don't do a project thinking I'm going to put my personal stamp on it. When I do a Hollywood film, it's all about selling a product, so there are commercial purposes. I always want to make exciting, funny, watchable audience films, and in Hollywood projects, there are always producers and studios involved, sometimes with fights and battles. But if I can maintain my integrity, work is enjoyable and fun.
I happen to love "Last Holiday," and working with Queen Latifah. She was perfectly cast, not ever muddling, and she loved playing this woman who sought action and adventure after living a quiet life. The producers earlier wanted to do it as a faithful remake of a 1950s film. ... But inspired by the presence of somebody like Queen Latifah, who could be a church mouse living out her dreams, the project was specifically tailored to her, and she did bring a lot to the role. You go with the flow.
Q. What's your take on the debate over "Geisha" casting, that the title role should have been played by a Japanese actress?
A. That was a difficult decision. Being a geisha is such a specific art, and an aesthetic one. Somebody Japanese, properly trained, might have been better. But you can't always get the actors you want. For 'The Joy Luck Club,' we tried to get Chinese to portray the Chinese women. In my upcoming "Adjust Your Life," I think Takakura Ken (a Japanese actor, who was in "The Yakuza" and "Black Rain") would be perfect. The role is of a man born Korean but adopted to be Japanese, so I thought it could be played by a Japanese actor. The Korean comfort woman will be played by a Korean, who speaks Korean.
Q. Are you hoping to be part of the Hawai'i International Film Festival sometime soon?
A. Perhaps next year. Our new film will be out by then.
Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.
Correction: Director Wayne Wang is working on a film adaptation of the book "A Gesture Life," for which he said actor Ken Takakura would be well-suited. Takakura's film credits include "The Yakuza" and "Black Rain. " A previous version of this story gave incorrect information about the book title and Takakura's film credits.
