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Continued
from Page 1
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Photo Credit: Mark Yashihiro
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AC
(DENNIS): The
Christmas season is drawing near. Describe
the Christmas experience in the Wang family.
LINDA: When I was a kid, my father
would take us to his brother’s houses
out of state during every holiday season.
Each year would be a different household
hosting the event and all the families
would exchange gifts and would update
us on news about one and another, since
most of them lived extremely far away
from New York. So
to the members of my family it would
be considered as a short winter vacation
and I had lots of great memories from
it. We have always been a very closed
knitted family and I think the Christmas
and Thanksgiving celebrations were a
bridge that maintained it.
AC
(DENNIS): If
you had one distinct memory of Christmas in the past,
what would that be?
LINDA: It has to be the last time
spending Christmas with my Grandfather.
On Christmas Eve, this is what he whispered
in my ear: "One can have all
the success and money and yet one
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can't
buy happiness. So follow your heart, do what makes you happy
because life is short and none of us are forever young." Although
my grandfather was extremely ill at the time, he still managed
to have a positive spirit. I think it was much easier for me
to communicate with him because of all his grandchildren I
was the only grandchild who was fluent in Mandarin Chinese.
I just love listening to his life philosophy and the awful
wars he went through. He was close to 100 years old when he
passed away and he out lived all three of his wives. My grandfather
spent the last two years of his life at my parent's house in
New York and he will always be greatly missed.
AC
(DENNIS): Let’s now talk about Linda Wang, the model. I
wrote an article on runway modeling and the glass ceiling
that continues to exist. What kind of struggles have
you faced in the print model industry?
LINDA: This is a business where having the right
look and skill is essential, but often the lack of work
and opportunities can be extremely discouraging. That
is the major reason why I have always appreciated every
booking I get, regardless of how trivial the job can
be and treat it as gold. My own memories of personal
struggles as well as my discussions with other commercial
print models have prompted me to have a positive attitude.
Each struggle I surmount makes me a stronger and better
person. Every individual struggle and mistake is a great
learning experience for me.
AC
(DENNIS): I
recall looking at different publications such as Cosmopolitan,
and seeing thatout of the models featured in the ads and
editorial content, over a hundred were Caucasian, 12 were
black and three were of other ethnic backgrounds. No
Asian models whatsoever. As a model yourself, how does
that make you feel?
LINDA: It saddens me tremendously. I think over
all Asians in general definitely have the "buying
power." So all of us must take time or make time
to speak out and take proper action(s) regarding the
issues above so we all can move forward towards equality.
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AC
(DENNIS): Do you think it's really disturbing that
there is a facade promoted by talent agencies that
there is this "heavy-demand” for Asians in
print ads and TV commercials when there actually
isn't?
LINDA: I
don't know about this "heavy-demand" for Asian
talent, but I believe in recent years TV commercials
and the print market industry have improved tremendously
in terms of using more Asian types of characters as opposed
to 20 years ago. But it sure could be better.
AC
(DENNIS): I
was wondering if your brother gets a lot of requests
from friends..."Can you introduce me to your
sister?"
LINDA: (Laughter) My
brother is the "bright" and "attractive" one.
Trust me on this, that question is
definitely in reverse.
AC
(DENNIS): You
worked with the veteran actor Stacy Keach in this
movie. What was it like to work with him and
did it seem that he was more or less tolerable of
what occurred on this ship? |
Photo Credit: Proctor & Gamble |
LINDA: I remembered the very first night
when Stacy Keach came onboard the ship. Since
his room was next to mine, I heard loud banging noises
on the wall within that room all night long. The following
day, I was informed by the crewmembers that Stacy had
used his sneakers and killed over 20 Asian flying cockroaches
in his room that night. (Laughter) He had worked on other
film projects in the Philippines before so he was well
prepared for the trip. I greatly admired Stacy for his
professionalism and he was very down to earth with everyone.
He gave me a lot of valuable advice that prompted me
to make the decision on possibly relocating to California.
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