Still In The Game
KoreAm
Author: KoreAm
Posted: November 1st, 2007
Filed Under: Back Issues , November 2007
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AT-Finishing-Impact

By Corina Knoll and Brian Shin
Photographs by Eric Sueyoshi

Five years have passed since Justin Lin’s “Better Luck Tomorrow” made noise in the industry. Snatched up by MTV Films at Sundance, the 2002 flick about the double lives of honors students caught the eye of the likes of Roger Ebert — and created national dialogue due to its all-Asian American cast. Lin, who had maxed out credit cards for the venture, went on to direct the major studio films “Annapolis,” and “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.”

The Taiwanese American’s latest feature, however, is a return to his small-budget roots as well as his “Better Luck Tomorrow” family. Co-written with Josh Diamond, “Finishing the Game” follows the audition process of the search for Bruce Lee’s replacement so that 12 minutes of footage featuring the icon can be made into a movie. Screened at Sundance this year, it was released in theaters last month.

KoreAm caught up with Lin and actors Sung Kang and Roger Fan at media arts center Visual Communications (where much of the filming took place) in Los Angeles to get the scoop on what it was like to reunite with the cast and crew of their landmark film, the role of Asian Americans in Hollywood today, their martial arts skills (or lack of) and the intense professionalism of porn star Ron Jeremy.

KoreAm: You three have worked together since “Better Luck Tomorrow,” but this film was very much a return to your indie roots. What was this particular experience like?

Justin: I’ve had the pleasure of working with Roger and Sung in studio films, and we would have moments where we’re in Philly or Tokyo walking around and we’re like, “I can’t believe three years ago you were sleeping on my parents floor where we’re shooting and now we’re per diem.” It’s really a great journey when you can share with people you’re growing up with.

Coming out of film school and trying to prove yourself as a filmmaker, it got to a point where it had to be a credit card journey. And kind of by necessity, we met each other. Not having money was really tough but the great thing is people only come on for one reason, which is the project. Because at the end of the day, Asian American cinema is still kind of Third World. We still can’t make our movies on a level playing field with other independent films. We’re not even “low budget.” So to get everyone back together, it had to be something that everyone believed in. And now that we’re five years older, to be able to find that space and that time to spend together, it’s more of a privilege.

Roger: Just being able to work with Justin and Sung again, it really frames it very clearly that in order for Asian Americans to have a real legitimate cinema, there’s no other way than to do it ourselves. With Justin and Sung, I’m an integral part of something I feel is really meaningful. When I go back to Hollywood, I feel like a tool. A very specific tool in a very Oriental way.

Sung and I have been acting professionally for like 13 years. You start off and you have these ambitions to be like a Matt Damon or a Ben Affleck. And in your gut that’s how you feel — you feel like you have the ability to be even Tom Cruise, in terms of that desire. But you get your feet wet and see how the business works: Hollywood has a very specific vision for an Asian American guy. And if you continue down that path, you can have a career, especially if you look like what Hollywood wants an Asian American guy to look like. But is that really fulfilling? “Finishing The Game” talks about certain levels of denial — you find yourself sort of denying certain aspects of yourself to legitimize your existence.

KoreAm: Can you talk about your own auditioning experiences?

Sung: I’ve had situations like, “Show us your stuff,” and you say, “What are you talking about?” And they just assume that you know martial arts. But it’s a decision you have to make. Do you feed yourself or not? I think some people give actors beef if they take a stereotypical role, but if you need to provide for your kids and this is your source of income, what do you do? Either way, I don’t think it’s right or wrong.

Justin: Unfortunately, those are the opportunities when you’re talking the context of mainstream. The idea of colorblind casting doesn’t really exist. You have to go in there and really push for it and ask, “Why don’t we cast this African American, Latino or Asian American?” And they always say this, which bugs the sh-t out of me: “Think about that white kid in middle America Kansas. Is he gonna be able to relate with the Asian face?” And you’re like, “Dude, I’m Asian American, and I can relate to the white face!”

I realize it’s a multibillion-dollar business and it’s not their place to take chances or do charity work. They just want to keep making money. So organically, they just end up doing what they think works.

From “Better Luck Tomorrow,” I was able to get into a lot of rooms with people who greenlight projects. I would pitch them the general idea for “Finishing the Game” and every one of them loved it. At one point, I got an offer for like $12 million. I was so excited, finally we get to make an Asian American film and we got a big budget! But you keep talking and you realize, oh sh-t they keep referring to “Kung Fu Hustle,” “Shaolin Soccer” — they want to make it into a kung fu movie.

It’s up to us to broaden that. That’s what’s so great about independent cinema, not just in an Asian American context, but the fact that you can try things that the mainstream is not willing to do.

I know today that I am a better filmmaker than I was five years ago. I have more perspective, more choices. And anytime I have more choices, I feel like I’m growing. So I’m excited for the future.

KoreAm: Roger and Sung, do you feel like you have more choices now? It’s a little bit different when you’re on the other side of the camera.

Roger: As much as I’d like to say yes, I think the reality is probably more no. As an actor you only really become an asset when you become a star, in terms of a brand. Meaning if you say the words “Roger Fan,” it kind of embodies a feeling. And until you can get to that level in Hollywood, you’re kind of a liability.

I have a body of work that I’m humbly proud of because of the people I’ve gotten to work with. But at the end of the day those are not necessarily the rules that Hollywood plays by. Your value really comes down to brand. Like if I had 5 million friends on Myspace and that really can convert to tangible dollars, they don’t really care what the color of my skin is.

There’s a lot of great things going on but in terms of the eyes of Hollywood there isn’t a lot of difference in terms of perceived value between me and the guy who just started last week.

But I can’t expect anyone to give me anything. At the end of the day you just have to keep going on your own.

Sung: After “Fast and the Furious,” I definitely made some relationships within Universal. So there are people that are rooting for me, and that’s pretty amazing. I’ve met casting directors that I would’ve never met. So I think from five years ago there is a progression, but in terms of jobs being offered left and right, I think it’s still early. But I’m optimistic because I think our careers have just begun. Thirteen years into it and for some odd reason I feel like this is my first year in the game. And life is long. Every five years that goes by I feel like I know less and less, and I’m very optimistic about five to 10 years from now. Because I was talking to Roger the other day and I don’t think I’ve even played a man-man yet. I’ve played an adolescent man and a guy who is just about to be a man, but I have yet to play a father or a young father.

Roger: Grandfather!

Sung: [Laughs] I’m very optimistic about where my career is gonna be 10, 20 years from now. And the thing that keeps me optimistic is that I have this family. [Gestures to Roger and Justin] I think if I were alone in this game I would feel like how am I gonna survive? But —

Roger: — I just realized how negative I was in my response. You know everything Sung says about the future, I concur. If we talk about the present and the past, that’s the reality. But the future? I concur.

Justin: To hear them both, there’s a reality to it. I’ll tell you this, when Sung, did “Fast and the Furious,” at our two test screenings, he tested unanimously as everyone’s favorite character. That’s rare, and “Han” is still one of the highest-rated characters in Universal history. Think back to someone like Brad Pitt in “Thelma and Louise.” His career just went “poof” from that little role. But here, Asian Americans don’t have the same opportunity.

The studios all know Asian Americans, we spend tons of money. Per capita we earn the most, and spend the most. But our spending patterns are exactly the same as Caucasians, so they don’t have to cater to us.

Roger: While the African American, Latino and Caucasian audiences demand to be served, Asian Americans don’t ask for it. They shop at Abercrombie and Fitch after it gets hit with a race discrimination lawsuit. They are there the day after it happens; they’re still there now! [Laughter]

KoreAm: Let’s talk about the film a little bit. In one scene, Sung and Roger are told to brawl as part of the audition, but end up only awkwardly circling each other. What would happen if you two were to square off in real life?

Sung: Same thing. [Laughter]

Roger: I would be afraid to ruin Sung’s hair.

Sung: I know for a fact that neither of us knows any martial arts. We’d just be holding each other rolling around on the ground. Or I would just be holding him.

Roger: It would be the worst fight in the history of humanity.

Sung: That’s such a Van-Damme/Steven Seagal question. [Laughter]

Roger: We’d pull each other’s hair, slap each other’s face.

KoreAm: Famed porn star Ron Jeremy has a cameo in the film. How did he come onboard?

Justin: It felt good to be in a place in my career where if I wanted Ron Jeremy [Pounds desk and laughs], I could get Ron Jeremy. Certain roles, when we wanted somebody we would just call and they would say, “Yeah, we wanna do it!” People are actually returning my calls now. The idea of Ron Jeremy fit creatively — he’s a big part of the ‘70s. He’s a really great guy to work with by the way. Very professional.

KoreAm: Justin, you actually have the rights to Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook’s “Oldboy.” Can you give us an update on the development of the film?

Justin: I’m probably not gonna make it. Universal had gotten it for me, and I loved the original. But I also knew enough that I wasn’t gonna proceed unless I had the right environment. Because it’s hard — it’s a dark movie dealing with serious issues. I’ve been actually sort of protective of it the last couple years. I have been fighting and trying to get the right people and the right space, but I haven’t been able to put it together.

KoreAm: Last question: Any stories about the vibe on set?

Roger: We did this in 19 days. It was really great just to be able to get together. Stylistically this movie is very different so everybody on set — even the cameraman, who is like a character — we had to all be in sync. And people were goofing off and stuff but knowing where we had to go that was very refreshing.

Sung: It was inspiring. Right here [Points to the lobby] there was a scene with the extras. That took about three days, and I was sitting there and these two college kids with long hair are standing next to me. At the end of the first day, they’re saying “Hey, great to meet you. We’re big fans of ‘Better Luck Tomorrow’ and it’s great to be here.” They actually came from Arizona. They took a bus all the way to L.A. because they read online we were looking for extras.

The next day I see them and ask, “Did you guys have a good time? Where are you staying?” And they say, “Oh, we slept on the bench on Hollywood Boulevard. We don’t really have a place to stay. We just wanted to be a part of this movie.” I’m like, “Why didn’t you say anything? You could have slept here!” They say, “That’s what being young is all about, and we’re never gonna forget this experience — that we got to share this with you.”

Just being able to be an extra meant so much to them. And I wonder if, 10 years from now, we’ll bump into each other. Maybe they’ll be out of film school as directors or whatnot. Those little things mean so much. And, you know, that’s the spirit of “Finishing the Game.”

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