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June 8, 2006
No Teriyaki in Lin's Fast and the Furious
Interesting back story on how director Justin Lin got to do The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift the way he wanted, via Hyphen editor Brian Lam, via Jeff Yang's Asian Pop column.
According to the column, Lin (pictured above on the set), who directed Better Luck Tomorrow, was tabbed to direct the third in The Fast and the Furious series of movies, but he told the studio he wanted to do it his way.
Here's some excerpts from the column:
Lin no interest in stamping out a cliched, teriyaki-style remake of films one and two -- or, for that matter, a nitro-burning turbocharged Lost in Translation."After I read the original script, they called me up and asked, 'What do you think?'" says Lin."And I said, 'I think it's offensive and dated, and I don't have any intention of doing it.' But Stacey [Snider], the head of the studio, said, 'Just tell us what you'd do differently.' So I said, 'To begin with, I'd get rid of all the gongs and temples and Buddhas and the visual gags about how the white guy is a foot taller than all the Asians.' And she said, 'OK, we'll make the kind of movie you want.' I was like, 'Uh, are you sure?'Lin's first request was that the role of the protagonist, an American juvie who's sent to live with his estranged dad in the Land of the Rising Tachometer, be rewritten to be played by an Asian American."They looked at me like I was stupid and said, 'There's nobody bankable,'" he remembers. "I said, 'OK, well, if you think so, I want you to open the search up globally, Asia, Europe, Australia, whatever, and if the best actor for the role turns out to be Asian, you gotta give it to him.' And it was pretty incredible -- they went ahead and did it."There's hope in Hollywood, maybe.
Posted by harry at June 8, 2006 9:18 PM
7 Comments
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But according to imdb.com, the lead actor ended up not being Asian!
True, but apparently Lucas Black is pretty good, better than Paul Walker (which isn't saying much but hey). And Sung Kang from Better Luck Tomorrow plays a mentor to the main character. Which in itself is probably perpetuating a stereotype (the kung fu master passing secrets to the white student), but maybe there's a twist to the story.
I have mixed feelings about this. I didn't see the other Fast and Furious movies, so maybe I'm not in the demographic. Maybe I'll check it out just to support Lin and Kang, and also that Tobin guy, who I thought was the best (as the clown) in BLT.
Why is the suggestion of an asian american lead in this kind of movie immediately shot down as not "bankable"? There are alot of racist assumptions behind that the assertion that an asian american is "not bankable".
After all, Lucas Black isn't a household name. If they really wanted "bankable" they would have insisted on Tom Cruise, Vin Diesel, Will Smith, or Keanu Reeves (part asian).
Or for an asian american, how about Mark Dacasos (http://imdb.com/name/nm0001092/)
or Jason Scott Lee
(http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0001462/)
Trusting Hollywood on being honest, sincere, or good-willed on racial issues is like trusting a Neo-con on mid-East foreign policy, global warming, and energy policy.
Plelotroph, see posting on Slanted Screen for some background on Hollywood.
Anyone seen this yet? Should I spend money on the theater, or wait til it comes out on DVD?
Lucas Black looks like an unfortunate love child of Dennis Quaid and Paul Walker, minus any of the talent that the combined duo might possess. His presence was as awkward as Leo Nam's hideous version of a Japanese American accent. I was disappointed in Lin for not properly directing his actors, a talent he proved to possess in BLT. But hey- if you like hot girls, short skirts, fast cars and a fun soundtrack- $11 doesn't seem too bad to support Lin and Kang. Word to the wise- when it seems like the film is trying to get serious, just cover your ears and force it to go on mute.