Hollywood Movie Stars Mainly Asian Actors

 

It has been 25 years since a major Hollywood movie company has released² an English-language film with mostly Asian actors.

The last was Wayne Wang’s film “The Joy Luck Club,” which was released in 1993.

Now, many people in Hollywood are excited about a romantic comedy called “Crazy Rich Asians.” The film is based on Kevin Kwan’s best-selling book about a Chinese-American woman who gets a culture shock when she meets her boyfriend’s family in Singapore.

Longtime producer Nina Jacobson said that when she and her business partner Brad Simpson read Kwan’s script³, they knew it had to be a movie.

Jacobson said, “It was so specific that it became really universal: Anybody who has ever faced in-laws who felt that they were not worthy⁴ of their beloved⁵.”

However, Jacobson and Simpson believed the film would likely never survive the film studio development process. They decided⁶ to have a plan, a script and a budget to sell together before going to the big studios to create the film.

John Penotti of Ivanhoe Pictures agreed to help them and Warner Bros. agreed to partner with them and release¹ the film.

Hollywood has been wrong to avoid films that closely⁷ examine the world of different ethnicities, Simpson said. She added that successful films like “Black Panther” show people really like these kinds of films.

Jon M. Chu is the director of “Crazy Rich Asians.” He heard about the new book from his family. He knew why. His last name is the same as that of the main character, Rachel Chu. Also, both are from Cupertino, California. His family is even mentioned in the book.

I think a lot of Asian-Americans go through the same journey, Chu said. He said that he feels both American and Chinese.

“I remember going to Asia for the first time and there’s a very specific emotion that you feel that’s like, ‘Oh, this feels like home but it’s not my home and these people don’t see me as being part of this,’” he said.

Having known Jacobson and Simpson for years, he knew they would “protect” the film and do it the right way. He wants people who see the movie to see an unbelievable world of wealth and tradition.

Chu asked Malaysian-born screenwriter Adele Lim to give the script an Asian “feel.” Then, company officials looked in Canada, New York, Los Angeles, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, London, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia for the right actors. Candidates⁸ had to be English-speaking and have the right accents.

Constance Wu was chosen to play the lead, Rachel. They found Henry Golding, a popular TV host to play Rachel’s boyfriend, Nick. He had the right English accent to play the London-schooled wealthy young man.

International actress Michelle Yeoh was chosen to be his disapproving⁹ mother, Eleanor.

Some people – especially on the internet – said the actors did not have the “right” ethnicities to match the ones written in the book.

However, Chu said that having a film with an Asian-American lead is important. A USC Study found that 44 of the top 100 films from 2016 did not have Asian-American speaking characters.

Wu said he has never played the main character in a movie since he finished drama school. He added that parts for Asian-Americans are not going to be complex until they get to play main characters.

Actress Michelle Yeoh was different from the rest of the actors, Chu said. She had acted in majority Asian films so she did not understand why the film was so important to the Asian-Americans and it shocked her.

Jacobson said making the film created a “joyful sense of purpose that we all shared.”

Wu also is a strong supporter of Asian representation¹⁰ on social media. He said the film is important because it shows the difference between the Asian experience and the Asian-American experience.

The film is expected to open on August 17. However, the film trailer already has been released and an early showing of the movie received good comments.

Chu said that if the film is successful, Hollywood will make more stories about Asian-Americans.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

romantic – adj. involving love between two people

script – n. the written form of a play, movie, television show

specific – adj. special or particular

in-laws – n. the parents of one’s husband or wife

beloved – n. the person one loves

studio – n. the company that produces a film

character – n. a player in a film

journey – n. a trip or adventure

accent – n. the style of word pronunciation

1 release   

vt.发布，发表，发行；释放，放开

参考例句：

• After my examination I had a feeling of release.考完试后我有如释重负之感。
• This medicine will give you release from pain.这药吃后会解除你的疼痛。

2 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

3 script   

n.剧本，广播稿；文字体系；笔迹，手迹

参考例句：

• It's easy to identify his script.他的笔迹容易辨认。
• The script is massaged into final form.这篇稿子经过修改已定稿。

4 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

5 beloved   

adj./n.受爱戴的，敬爱的；爱人，被心爱的人

参考例句：

• She longs for the early return of her beloved.她盼着心上人早日归来。
• She is Tom's beloved wife.她是汤姆的爱妻。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 closely   

adv.紧密地；严密地，密切地

参考例句：

• We shall follow closely the development of the situation.我们将密切注意形势的发展。
• The two companies are closely tied up with each other.这两家公司之间有密切联系。

8 candidates   

n.报考者( candidate的名词复数 )；申请求职者；攻读学位者；最后命运或结局如何已显然可见者

参考例句：

• Employers must consider all candidates impartially and without bias. 雇主必须公平而毫无成见地考虑所有求职者。
• one of the leading candidates for the presidency 总统职位的主要候选人之一

9 disapproving   

adj.不满的，反对的v.不赞成( disapprove的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Mother gave me a disapproving look. 母亲的眼神告诉我她是不赞成的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her father threw a disapproving glance at her. 她父亲不满地瞥了她一眼。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 representation   

n.表现某人（或某事物）的东西，图画，雕塑

参考例句：

• The painting is a representation of a storm at sea.这幅画描绘的是海上的暴风雨。
• All parties won representation in the national assembly.所有政党在国民大会中都赢得了代表资格。