What kind of AA film do you want to see?

[Seraphfire]

So let me ask a different question, what kind of AA film do you want to see made and why?

Personally, I favor a romantic comedy because it would have broad reach and can directly address issues of underrepresentation.

[Martino]

Shakespeare with colour blind casting, or an entirely Asian American cast.

Can you imagine the casting possabilities for Titus Andonicus? Or Othello? I can think of a number of AA actors who have the necessary gravitas. BD Wong would make for a wonderful Iago (one of the most sought-after roles of the British stage). He's about the right age for the part too.

And Shakspeare is always good for layering in political meaning ...

[SunWuKong]

i'm taking "Asian American film" as something that's made by and for Asian Americans. the reverse question is probably easier to answer - what don't you like to see?

but what i do want to see is more of something like Chan Is Missing. more exploration of the immigrant experience, and not in a stereotypical way. a large segment of the Asian American population are immigrants, myself included. also, more of Asian Americans just being Asian American, and not Asian Americans doing the whole identity-crisis thing, passing it off as if that's what being Asian American means. this is something i thought Charlotte Sometimes did a good job of, even though i don't think i fully understood that film.

no more cultural-generational-clashes, please. no more rebel-against-traditions, please. let's move on.

[Chad]

id like to see a romantic thriller where some guy gets falsely accused of money laundering and has to flee the country and track down the real criminals in Canada but while he is a fugitive in Vancouver he meets the woman of his dreams and they hook up but he is disturbed by things she says in her sleep about her dead ex-husband and it turns out her dead ex is the real money launderer who died from a heart attack the previous year cuz he had a weakness for McRibs and cocaine. the guy and girl become committed to each other and the investigation is dropped and the two of them move to California and start a family but he is never sure if she actually killed her ex.

[Yeahman]

A martial artist avenging his father's murder with flashbacks to the old country where they lived in poverty and oppression while training. Thoroughout the film he struggles to overcome adversity in this unfarmiliar land which makes for some humorous scenes with this clueless but hardworking foreigner. In the end the tattooed Chinatown boss is taken down. The girl, if she's Asian, just has a supporting role as a sex object. If she's white, she thanks the hero and maybe gives him a peck on the cheek.

How's that?

OK seriously, I have no idea. What is uniquely Asian-American, avoids all of the above, yet is still interesting?

[rice cracker]

Chad, I think you need to write that movie.

[younggiftedandblack]

If I may chime in:

A bio pic of Yuri Kochiyama.

More historical pics of Asians in America beyond the Chinese built the railroads.

A pic about the topics you guys talk about up here. Being bi-racial, the different ethnicities that make up the AA community.

And another Harold and Kumar movie :biggrin:

[Seraphfire]

Well, I think to address underrepresentation, I think the film's characters should be based on contemporary Asian Americans in the context of living in America. As of 2005, 37% of the total Asian American population is U.S. born and another 14% are 1.5 Generation, so the majority of Asian Americans will be U.S.-raised. As you can guess, the U.S.-raised Asian Americans are demographically young.

Going back to the roots type of film isn't going to do much to change the image of Asian Americans. The immigrant experience has one issue I don't like in that Asian Americans are always being seen as "becoming American" and I would like to get away from that image.

I think U.S.-born Asian characters can highlight certain issues in contrasting why an U.S.-born Asian vs. a U.S.-born non-Asian has such a different experience in the U.S. There is no language handicap, no outright social handicap, etc.

No one in favor of a romance (besides Chad) and specifically a romantic comedy ala Four Weddings and a Funeral?

[rice cracker]

Summer horror blockbuster. Think about it, bunch of naked AA's doing the nasty, thus taking care of underrepresentation. Then they and of course a bunch of non-AA's get killed in interesting ways, thus taking care of my boredom. Climax with an AA hero and heroine, and everyone is happy.

And the world does not need any more romantic comedies. They are a plague and must be wiped out.

[Martino]

Summer horror blockbuster. Think about it, bunch of naked AA's doing the nasty, thus taking care of underrepresentation. Then they and of course a bunch of non-AA's get killed in interesting ways, thus taking care of my boredom. Climax with an AA hero and heroine, and everyone is happy.

I'd like to change my suggestion from Shakespeare to naked AA's doing the nasty. I'm not sure what 'doing the nasty' actually means, but it sounds good.

[SunWuKong]

Well, I think to address underrepresentation, I think the film's characters should be based on contemporary Asian Americans in the context of living in America. As of 2005, 37% of the total Asian American population is U.S. born and another 14% are 1.5 Generation, so the majority of Asian Americans will be U.S.-raised. As you can guess, the U.S.-raised Asian Americans are demographically young.

Going back to the roots type of film isn't going to do much to change the image of Asian Americans. The immigrant experience has one issue I don't like in that Asian Americans are always being seen as "becoming American" and I would like to get away from that image.

I think U.S.-born Asian characters can highlight certain issues in contrasting why an U.S.-born Asian vs. a U.S.-born non-Asian has such a different experience in the U.S. There is no language handicap, no outright social handicap, etc.

No one in favor of a romance (besides Chad) and specifically a romantic comedy ala Four Weddings and a Funeral?

if we're talking about Asian American films made by Asian Americans, but for everybody else to watch, not just ourselves, then i can agree with your views here, and that some romance movies might be good.

Better Luck Tomorrow i thought was good for the white audience. but personally, i didn't care about watching a bunch of white-washed kids acting like they're not Asian.

[Martino]

if we're talking about Asian American films made by Asian Americans, but for everybody else to watch, not just ourselves, then i can agree with your views here, and that some romance movies might be good.

Is there an AA market for an AA film 'just' for AAs? Are you talking expensive feature length movies or are you talking a 10 or 20 minute short like Bo Soot? Either way, who's going to distribute it?

And if you're going to relegate meaningful AA cinema to the film festival circuit, who's going to see it?

[Chad]

Going back to the roots type of film isn't going to do much to change the image of Asian Americans. The immigrant experience has one issue I don't like in that Asian Americans are always being seen as "becoming American" and I would like to get away from that image.
I agree, it's overdone. We already been there and done that and it's time to move on. Along with more Asian American portrayals, I think there could be some more ambiguous type characters. Because in real life there are many people whose background is ambiguous. And I don't just mean mixed race people, there are overseas Chinese I meet once in a while who I can't place.. are they ABC or not? Usually it turns out they are not ABC but have lived in the US for a long time, long enough to make them seem vaguely American. I don't see many of these types of characters in films, usually it's either a real fobby guy with an obvious accent or a super whitewashed American guy.

Also I agree that Chan is Missing is a good example of an AA film and it's done in documentary style so it uses many non-actors who are too real for Hollywood. I can't believe that it was made so long ago (early 80's?) and hasn't inspired any similar work. I think pretty much everybody in the film is AA but it takes place in SF Chinatown so it's not like a bunch of whitewashed characters.

[LaiSteve66]

An Asian version of Menace to Society.

I remember talking to friends in high school about it and we all agreed it would be something we would want to watch.

[Napoleon Chynamite]

Better Luck Tomorrow was just a shitty movie in and of itself no matter how you look at it. Still better than Charlotte Sometimes, but that means nothing. You could've replaced all the characters in both movies with white or black or brown people and it wouldn't have mattered, you'd still be laughing at the absurdity and/or bored to death. Someone forgot to tell the directors that you need more than an AA cast to ensure that a movie doesn't suck...like for example, the actual movie not sucking would be nice.

I'm with Rice Cracker on the campy horror/slasher flick.

[Seraphfire]

Is it accurate to say there are 3 lines of thought about AA movies?


One is AA movies need to be about authentic AA experiences that many of us have shared. The "what it means to be AA" storyline.

Another is taking stories that could apply to any race/background and casting AAs. i.e. the whitewashed Asian portrayals cited above.

And lastly, a line of thought that an AA movie that shows a different portrayal of AAs in underrepresented roles but reflect the diversity of the AA community.

How would you place Harold and Kumar among these lines of thought? It's definitely not the first and isn't the second since the screenwriters were clever enough to write enough of the jokes/plot to make their ethnicity relevant to the storyline. So I think it's the third but I think the key to H&K being more successful was by tying their ethnicity to part of the story.

So take a horror movie, is there a reason to the story why the characters are AAs? Is part of how they survive due to being AA? Seems hard to tie them together. Maybe make the monster some Asian mythological creature?

For romantic comedy, some super smooth AA who gets any girl he wants is really a boring character no one will want to see. Audiences want to see people they can relate to. So better would be to mine the Internet for some of the hundreds of hilarious and sad failures and triumphs of AA dating and relationships.

Take an AA hero in a romantic comedy who gets rejected for his race/ethnicity for any of the millions of excuses we've read about on the Internet. Plus he faces family pressure, peer pressure, etc. So his ethnicity is an integral part of the storyline. Plenty of tension but the hero finally overcomes this and finally gets the girl.

Well, that why I thought a romantic comedy would be best but after reading these responses I am not sure I understand what in the world the community is looking for. Yes, we want balanced representation but how to get there isn't so clear.

[rice cracker]

For the horror movie, I have seen well done (for the genre) movies with heroes of many different ethnicities, religions, etc. The protagonist for Night of the Living Dead was famous for being the rare African American hero in the decade that film was made. I'm just saying that for horror movies, there's a history of "anything goes."

For making it an AA movie, I do like the idea of making the antagonist mythology based. You could do it very cliche, like something coming over from the old country, adapting to the new culture climate, getting pissed off about it and killing the shit out of everyong for it. Then the AA hero(ine) remembers something their immigrant grandmother taught them in a bedtime story, and that's how they get the means to defeat it.

For a slasher film, you could have a team of race based "bingo card" serial killers picking off hot co-eds in a sick contest until the AA heros figure out what's going on, figure out the clues, and fight back.

Er...I watch way too many pulp movies.

[kimpossible]

Assuming there isn't a generation gap issue with this reference I would love, love, LOVE to see an AA version of Robert Townsend's Hollywood Shuffle. The journey of one guy trying to find an entertainment career amidst a barrage of limiting roles, racism and stereotypes.

Among the Must Includes are:

1) The Asian 'acting camp' where non-Asians teach aspiring AA actors how to properly act out stereotypical roles to Hollywood's approval.

2) One of those crappy 'Chinatown' episodes of a well known television program where our broke, down on his luck protagonist has taken a depressingly stereotypical role, is constantly chastised by the director for not acting oriental enough, ending in his walk off the set.

I think Kung Phooey accomplished a lot of stereotype debunking with humor. I'd like to see more of that. I guess in a way that puts me on the more Harold & Kumar bandwagon.

[Seraphfire]

Assuming there isn't a generation gap issue with this reference I would love, love, LOVE to see an AA version of Robert Townsend's Hollywood Shuffle. The journey of one guy trying to find an entertainment career amidst a barrage of limiting roles, racism and stereotypes.

Among the Must Includes are:

1) The Asian 'acting camp' where non-Asians teach aspiring AA actors how to properly act out stereotypical roles to Hollywood's approval.

2) One of those crappy 'Chinatown' episodes of a well known television program where our broke, down on his luck protagonist has taken a depressingly stereotypical role, is constantly chastised by the director for not acting oriental enough, ending in his walk off the set.

I think Kung Phooey accomplished a lot of stereotype debunking with humor. I'd like to see more of that. I guess in a way that puts me on the more Harold & Kumar bandwagon.
Well, I actually planned in my romantic comedy to have an AAM and AAF aspiring actor/actress and contrast the treatment of AAMs vs. AAFs as a humorous but still serious social commentary. You can guess who will be more successful...

[kimpossible]

^Hey, I trust you on it. And I'd support you. I do try to see all the films of anyone who has made one and promotes it here. Even the romantic dramas, a.k.a. chick flicks. A genre that gags me.

[Seraphfire]

Hmmmm, can I ask you ladies what romantic comedies you did like (and those you hated) and why if you find the time? I'd appreciate it.

As much as I loved the witty and clever humor in Four Weddings and a Funeral I don't think I can write the jokes as well so I'll probably go for more outlandish humor ala There's Something About Mary. Which of course is more appealing to guys.

[rice cracker]

I hate movies like, Notting Hill and the Meg Ryan ouvre. Those scenarios don't happen to anybody and nobody talks like that.

Farelly humor is really marketable. If it's going to be unbelievable, go all the way.

[kimpossible]

I'll probably go for more outlandish humor ala There's Something About Mary. Which of course is more appealing to guys.

eh... that is more my style.

dislikes? anything jane austen-ish is zzzZZZZZZzzzzzZZZZ....

You should keep in mind that rice cracker and I adore schlocky horror movies, and dare I say -- campiness. Dare I, cracker?

[Chad]

i havent really seen any romantic comedies that i enjoyed so if there are any that stand out in your mind as particularly good could you recommend them?
i guess i cant relate very well to romantic comedies cuz the romance in my own life is anything but funny. its intense and dramatic and sometimes blood is shed.

[eos]

^heh...just like my life....

anyway, romantic comedies....i can't remember the last one that i saw, i wanted to watch the break-up but never got around to it. i don't think the rocoms of today match the ones made in the 30s and 40s. those are the ones that i've been watching lately.
i stay away from chick flicks because i've seen so many terrible terrible ones and they make girls look psycho or desperate all the time.

[didu]

sex, lots of sex. :biggrin:

Just kidding, I'd like to see some movies about the ordinary lives of asian people living in western countries and see what inspires their lives and how they overcome the difficulties they face.

[rice cracker]

You should keep in mind that rice cracker and I adore schlocky horror movies, and dare I say -- campiness. Dare I, cracker?

Heh, we dare walk where no women will. It ain't love unless you're rescuing us from a chainsaw-wielding maniac.

[TB4000]

You haven't seen Cry Wolf, featuring that one chick Kristy Wu as one of the rare asian american actresses in a horror movie? It wasn't a good movie, but she basically potrayed the typical sarcastic smart ass female character that's all tough, but gets freaked out when the killer is after her.

[Seraphfire]

Here is a list I compiled:

Writer: Richard Curtis
(I like Richard Curtis movies because they usually have a large ensemble cast and the humor is witty.)
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Notting Hill
Love Actually
Bridget Jones' Diary (watch the 1st one, 2nd was bad I heard.)

By Other Writers:
50 First Dates (cute ending)
When Harry Met Sally
While You Were Sleeping
Pretty Woman (Cinderella story)

"Extreme" Humor:
There's Something About Mary
American Pie 1 & 2

Ethnic Romantic Comedy:
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (aka how to use Greek ethnic stereotypes for humor)
Moonstruck (everyone loves ethnic Italians in movies)
Fools Rush In (white dude meets girl with large Mexican family)

Yes, I understand that in many romantic comedies the women is portrayed as someone totally crazy. So let me ask, how did you like the portrayals of the heroine in:

Four Weddings and a Funeral
50 First Dates
Pretty Woman
There's Something About Mary

I think both hero and heroine have to be portrayed with some quirkiness but that their inner qualities will eventually show through and be triumphant.

Personally, I was never into the movies where the heroine is a nutcase like Runaway Bride, My Best Friend's Wedding. Sometimes the storyline get enhanced by it because the hero falls for her and accepts her quirks. But usually as a man I get turned off and if I don't see the heroine as relationship material the movie tends to go downhill.

I liked the heroines in Pretty Woman and 50 First Dates. They all had their share of problems but they weren't really personality problems. That's the way I would cast the women in major roles my romantic comedy. Having nutcase women in minor roles is useful IMHO because it serves to contrast the other women and make the audience root more for the hero to fall for/win the heart of those women.

Since this is an AA film, I am sure you will agree I have plenty of material on the Internet to portray some nutcase AF(s) to be the nemesis/detractors of the AM hero(es). :biggrin:

In the same vein, we could have some "Angry Asian Men" too. LOL