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| Photo:
"Better Luck Tomorrow" actors Jason Tobin
and Roger Fan at the Sundance Movie Festival. |
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DENNIS:
Did you expect the kind of reaction that "Better Luck Tomorrow"
would get from Sundance?
ROGER:
When I grow old, probably one of the fondest memories I
will reflect upon is Sundance and the "Better Luck Tomorrow"
phenomenon. You have to know that in the beginning, BLT
appeared to be just a tiny little indie. The key word being
"appeared" and not the MTV Film that you hear of now. This
was not a "sexy" film to be on and it was not glamorous.
It was by far the most difficult shoot I have ever worked
on.
But, it was the most fun I have ever had on any film. I
truly feel lucky to have been part of "Better Luck Tomorrow". |
Going up to Sundance, I felt like we were part of a movement;
we were making history. I didn't know what to expect from Sundance
or the kind of reaction people would have when they saw the
film. We were all nervous but we were all there as a family:
50+ BLT'ers on the mountain! I did not expect that our film
would be so well received. I think why so many people gravitated
to our film versus many of the "name" films was that they could
sense that it was a birth of a new era of cinema from a "new"
community. That being Asian Americana with a fresh new director,
fresh new actors, a fresh new perspective, a fresh new way of
looking at things. I also think it was the first time that the
mainstream white community actually saw a film with Asian American
characters that were just being regular kids who are flawed,
insecure, trying to find their identities, prom, etc. And because
our film was just an American film, I think BLT was the first
movie these folks have ever seen where they could truly identify
with the characters on a personal level and hence, truly embrace
and love our film. No kung fu, no accents. Just American kids
being kids.
DENNIS:
Do you feel that "Better Luck Tomorrow" inspired Indie filmmakers?
ROGER:
I think our film inspired a lot of people because we were probably
the most indie film of the competition 16 as well. Many of the
16 films had stars, a great deal of financial backing, and studio
support. We had none of those things. We were by far the underdogs.
We had no money yet we were able to create a film that looked
like a multi-million dollar Hollywood picture. Overall, I think
the people at Sundance could really sense the love that we had
for each other and the sacrifice it took to make this film.
We were a warm and fun group to be around and I think people
wanted to take part in that special feeling that can be so easily
lost in Hollywood. Heck, Lance Bass from N'Sync was trying to
get into our BLT party, had we known he was in line, Parry and
I would have carried him in on our shoulders.
DENNIS:
What was your reaction about the Roger Ebert situation at Sundance?
ROGER:
At our third of five screenings, Roger Ebert stood up and championed
our film. This was in response to a liberal journalist stating
that Justin created a film that represented "his people" negatively.
My response was "Thank God for that liberal journalist!" Prior
to that screening, Justin, myself, and some cast member were
sitting at a restaurant killing time. Justin was looking pensive
and was quiet just drinking an ice tea and flipping a sugar
bag back and forth on his fingers. I asked him what was wrong
and he responded, "Roger, we need the sun, moon, earth, and
all the planets to align for us tonight. We need something special
to happen for our film and I just don't know what we can do."
I could not respond. I just looked at him and patted him on
the back. You have to know, that prior to our third screening,
people loved our film but studios just were not completely convinced
on buying it. But our prayers were answered. The journalist
asked his question, which sent the crowd into a World Wrestling
Entertainment frenzy. There was a true sense of danger and excitement
at our Q&A that just shot across town like wild fire. And the
fact that Ebert stood up and became our voice of reason, you
could not have asked for better PR. From then on, BLT became
the movie to see and the movie to part of.
DENNIS:
Are there any similarities between you and your BLT character
"Daric"?
ROGER:
There are tremendous similarities between me and my character
"Daric". I'm not going to spoil the movie for those of you
who have not seen it. Let's just say that Daric is controversial.
The reason being is my method of acting comes from within.
I do not see acting as "assuming" a character and mimicking.
I see acting as "what would Roger do if he was a...?" or
"what would Roger do if he was put into this situation.
I try to bring as much of myself into a part as possible
because bottom line, you can only be you. As
an actor, I think that's crucial. |
 |
| Photo:
Roger Fan and David Shierdan (Scary Movie) all tied
up in "Corky Romano". |
|
You have to be truly comfortable with your own soul and your
own skin in order to truly inhabit and bring to life a character
that someone has written. OK, I realize I'm getting a little
technical here. So yes, the reason why I truly related to my
character of Daric is that in many ways, like Daric, I was insecure
and searching to be cool in high school and at times, would
do anything to get that respect. My therapist would be proud
of my last sentence.
DENNIS:
I know there have been discussions about "Better Luck Tomorrow"
from within the Asian American community. Many in support but
there are some out there that feel the movie makes Asian Americans
look bad. Does this tick you off?
ROGER:
Does our movie make Asian Americans look bad? Does this tick
me off? Hmmm... a very interesting question. No, it does not
tick me off. But, I think this demands that we look closer to
why certain people might feel this way. My suspicion is that
the individuals who are focusing in on this issue that the film
makes Asian Americans look bad are perhaps falling into their
own trap of the "model minority myth" yet they are not aware
of it. I find this alarming because basically what certain Asian
American folks are saying is that Asian Americans must be seen
in a certain light and that any form of portrayal of them outside
of this "expectation" in the media is not correct and should
not be supported. I also find this to be ironic because these
individuals are actually partially responsible of the continual
perpetuation of certain "Asian Stereotypes" of being good, hard-working,
society-assimilating, don't rock the boat people; the very stereotypes
that they are trying to shed and put behind them. I think this
paragraph may incite some controversy. I am not trying to put
anyone down or say that my opinion is any better than anyone
else's. This is just my opinion. This is from a person who deals
with race issues every day because the very nature of his work
and whether or not he is employed is determined greatly by his
ethnic makeup and the perceptions the mainstream decision-makers
have of that ethnicity.
 |
| Photo:
The "Better Luck Tomorrow" guys take a break.
Photo from L-R: Sung Kang, Parry Shen, Justin Lin,
Jason Tobin and Roger Fan. |
|
DENNIS:
So, in a way it was a blessing for Roger Ebert to support
this film. To show that that even for Asian Americans, reality
should be portrayed accurately - the good and the bad.
ROGER:
The very reason why Roger Ebert stood up and championed
our film is that there is this double standard that people
put on films yet they are not aware of it. There are many
films out there that are violent, controversial, amoral,
etc. Films like "The Godfather". Al
Pachino plays an Italian-American war hero who becomes an
outright monster, killing people on a whim and ultimately
lying to his wife about the true honorable nature of his
character. |
"The
Godfather" wins academy awards. It is a fine film that is considered
by almost everyone a masterpiece. If you really look at the
film, "The Godfather" makes Caucasians, more specifically Italian
Americans look really bad. But, to quote Roger Ebert, "No one
would ever tell a bunch of white film makers that they are representing
their people negatively. And Asian Americans have the same right
to tell the stories they want to tell and play the roles they
want to play and they do not have to "represent" their people!"
I don't want people to misunderstand Roger Ebert. What he was
saying is actually quite virtuous. Basically, why is it that
White filmmakers can make films that are happy, sad, funny,
moving, or violent and people will take them as just pure entertainment?
And then, all of a sudden an Asian American filmmaker comes
along and makes a film and it's judged by a completely different
set of criteria and standards? Because Justin Lin is Asian American
he has to "represent" his people in a manner that will please
everyone? The merits of Martin Scorcesse, Steven Spielberg,
etc. are not judged upon their representation of their people;
they are judged upon whether or not they can make a good movie.
Why should the criteria be any different for Justin and other
Asian American filmmakers? The sole responsibility of Justin
Lin as a filmmaker and as an artist is to make the best damn
movie he can possibly make and stay as true to the story that
he and his writers created. Justin Lin and other future Asian
American filmmakers should be evaluated very simply. Can he
or she make a good movie and whether or not you liked it?
DENNIS:
Any behind the scenes antics or anything interesting happen
during the filming of "Better Luck Tomorrow"?
ROGER:
There is a scene where Jason puts a gun at the front of his
underwear. Well, seeming how it was a heavy gun, it kept falling
out. So Jason asked if I could use an industrial baby pin and
pin the back of his underwear so that his gun could be supported
in the front. Anyway, I spent many minutes trying to pinch the
back of his underwear, all the while, getting a front row seat
view of his ass. For those of you who are curious, Jason Tobin
has what appears to be a solid, fine rump that many would find
more than suitable.
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