Destin Daniel Cretton 'Shang-Chi' Interview
Destin Daniel Cretton, director of Marvel's “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” sits down with CinemaBlend’s Law Sharma to discuss the film’s success, the support of the Asian community, his hopes for a sequel and more!
Transcript
00:00 You are a product of all who came before you,
00:03 the good and the bad.
00:04 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:07 I am an Asian-American kid originally from the Bay.
00:14 So the first thing I got to do is say thank you
00:17 for this movie, because it hit home more than I can express.
00:21 It literally felt like it reinvigorated the MCU for me.
00:25 So thank you for doing that.
00:26 Oh, that's awesome.
00:27 Thanks for saying.
00:29 Something that I really enjoyed throughout all
00:32 of the initial press was just all the conversation
00:35 that we were having about diversity.
00:37 And Simu said something really beautiful
00:39 about the authenticity of this movie,
00:42 feeling the way that it did because of the diversity
00:45 of your production team.
00:47 My question to you is, what was important to you
00:49 when it came to staffing?
00:50 And what's going to be important in your hopes
00:53 for staffing for the sequel?
00:55 I grew up in Hawaii.
00:57 So diversity is the norm.
00:59 The intermixing of cultures and ideas, to me,
01:06 is the most enriching way to live.
01:13 And when it comes to creating a film set,
01:17 it's the most enriching way to be creative.
01:24 And particularly with a story like this,
01:27 it was really important to surround ourselves
01:30 with obviously people who understand
01:35 the culture of the characters that we have
01:38 and understand the intricacies of those cultures,
01:42 of growing up as a Chinese-American living
01:47 in the Bay Area, of growing up in mainland China
01:51 versus Hong Kong, and also understanding
01:56 how vast China is and how many different cultures
02:02 there are just within that one country.
02:04 So we were really, I think, privileged
02:09 to have so many different people from all over the world
02:14 working on this movie who could personally
02:18 relate to each of these characters
02:21 and the specificity behind those characters.
02:25 And for me, that was one of the biggest parts
02:30 of this production, was having all of these voices on set
02:36 to say that food is not what you would have on the table.
02:41 That music is not correct.
02:46 If Wenwu is really from this area,
02:48 he wouldn't have that on the wall.
02:50 So having those types of conversations
02:53 was really important to this process.
02:56 You know, Tony Leung is a legend.
02:59 Michelle Yeoh is a legend.
03:00 If you can work with another legendary Hong Kong actor,
03:03 Asian actor to bring into this world,
03:06 is there anyone that you have in mind,
03:07 any kind of fan casts of your own
03:10 that you have in your head?
03:12 I mean, if we could ever get Jackie into a movie,
03:17 that would be a lifelong dream of mine.
03:21 That would be absolutely incredible.
03:23 Put it out into the universe.
03:24 Yeah, let's put it out.
03:26 Let's put it out there.
03:27 In the assembled documentary on Shang-Chi,
03:31 you had mentioned that if this film was where this story
03:34 stops, that you have failed.
03:36 And now you have the announcement of the sequel
03:38 and an ever-expanding deal here that
03:41 can open up new worlds.
03:42 My question to you is, how are you feeling now
03:45 about the successes of this film?
03:48 I feel very hopeful.
03:51 I feel like it is a very exciting time
03:55 to be a director, period, but to be a director of color
04:02 right now, it's exciting.
04:06 It's not perfect.
04:07 We've got a ton of work to do.
04:11 But I do feel like the temperature in Hollywood
04:17 is going in a direction where people understand at the top.
04:23 They understand that if we don't start
04:26 telling stories that represent the world around us
04:30 in all of its colors and differences,
04:33 that this industry will become irrelevant.
04:37 And so seeing that more and more people are waking up
04:42 to that reality is pretty exciting.
04:45 Absolutely.
04:46 There was-- there's no way to really describe
04:49 being in a theater full of Asian people openly weeping.
04:54 I feel like I was openly weeping through many viewings
04:57 of this in the theater.
04:58 And those themes really hit home for me.
05:01 And I'm not a Chinese-American, but there
05:03 was so much that I could connect to in my own life.
05:06 So amazing, amazing storytelling, in my opinion.
05:11 Thank you all.
05:11 Nice one, Helen.
05:17 What was the most surprising piece of feedback or experience
05:23 that you got from a fan that you were like, wow,
05:25 we really did something here?
05:27 There was one moment in one of our later test screenings
05:30 where we filmed--
05:32 or we screened the movie for a primarily all-white audience
05:36 in Florida.
05:37 And afterwards, there was a talkback.
05:41 We had no idea how this would connect with people
05:45 who had no idea about this culture, who
05:47 weren't used to seeing all Asian faces in one movie, who
05:50 aren't used to reading subtitles.
05:53 And there was one young man--
05:57 he was probably in his mid-30s--
06:00 he was tattooed up.
06:02 He was a pretty hard-looking dude.
06:06 He was ex-military.
06:08 And he was talking about the character, Shang-Chi,
06:13 and how much he related to him, and how much he related
06:18 to his personal journey, his relationship to his father,
06:23 and specifically how powerful it was for him.
06:27 And he actually got emotional when
06:29 he was talking about how powerful it was for him
06:31 to see a man who was clearly masculine, clearly strong,
06:37 but was learning to deal with his emotions, who was learning
06:41 to be vulnerable and open.
06:44 And to have somebody completely from a completely different
06:50 part of the world, a very different cultural upbringing,
06:54 connect to Shang-Chi on that level,
06:57 it was surprising.
07:00 But it was also the hope that we all
07:03 had for this character and this world,
07:07 that it's not only for our community,
07:12 but it's also to show people not from our community,
07:16 that we all have so many things in common.
07:20 And that's one of the big hopes that I hope people
07:24 connect to on this movie.
07:26 Yeah, absolutely.
07:27 I mean, y'all made Shang-Chi a household name,
07:29 which as a comic fan is mind-blowing to me, right?
07:33 And so well-deserved.
07:34 And now, congratulations, a sequel is coming.
07:37 An MCU Disney+ series is in the works.
07:42 I know you can't talk about story or anything.
07:44 Things are probably very early.
07:46 But if there's an Agents of Atlas, or a Xiaoling
07:50 in the Ten Rings, or maybe a Morris standalone animated
07:54 movie, I would like to know what's your bias.
07:57 What would you hope to tell?
07:58 What stories do you want to tell in this world?
08:01 I mean, that's a tricky question,
08:03 because my hope could be a reality.
08:05 [LAUGHTER]
08:08 It's hard for me to answer.
08:10 But I do love all of those ideas, I will say.
08:14 Cool, cool.
08:15 If you need an Agent of Atlas, I'm around.
08:19 OK.
08:19 You've got a--
08:20 Bye.
08:21 Shang.
08:22 Shang.
08:23 Shang.
08:23 Shang.
08:24 S-H-A-N-G, Shang.
08:26 Now, I want to talk about Gold House and Gold Open.
08:30 We give an incredible spotlight of what our community is
08:33 capable of in terms of support.
08:35 As a filmmaker, what does it mean to you
08:37 to have such a force like that behind you, backing your vision
08:41 and cheering on your win?
08:43 It's pretty incredible and historic
08:46 what Gold House has been doing.
08:48 And I do think it's the first time in history
08:54 that Asian-Americans have been united in this way.
09:01 And I mean, it makes sense why it's been difficult,
09:06 because it is such a vast array of cultures
09:10 that are under the umbrella of this term, Asian-American.
09:14 But what I love is going to these events
09:18 and seeing Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino all mixing
09:24 together and, yes, seeing that we do not
09:29 come from different cultures.
09:30 We actually do look differently.
09:34 But we also have all of so many similarities.
09:37 And that's kind of the heart of the Asian-American experience
09:42 is what we wanted to capture in our movie.
09:45 We wanted to capture the heart of the family dynamics,
09:49 of the respect for our elders, the respect for legacy
09:53 and history, but also explore the real Asian experience
10:00 of learning how to simultaneously respect
10:03 your parents and what came before you,
10:06 but learn how to move forward in a way that is also
10:11 respectful to yourself.
10:13 And those are the themes that we really connected to.
10:16 And I feel so excited to have a community
10:22 that Gold House has put together to champion movies like this.
10:27 I love that.
10:28 Now, I know that you had said previously
10:31 that you wanted to make a superhero film for your son
10:35 to look up to.
10:35 And you actually welcomed another child
10:38 during the production of this movie.
10:39 Congratulations on your growing family.
10:42 What are you most excited about, Shang-Chi,
10:46 to share with your kids once the time comes
10:50 to show them this film?
10:52 I think there's something really powerful
10:55 not only about seeing characters who are up
11:00 on a big screen like this, who are in a big movie,
11:05 and characters who look like you,
11:07 who have a similar cultural background as you.
11:13 But on top of that, to have a character like Shang-Chi,
11:16 who is not only a superhero because he is a good fighter
11:23 or good at being very powerful, but he's also a superhero
11:30 because he is learning how to be vulnerable.
11:33 And he's learning how to deal with the pain in his life.
11:39 And those are the things that I hope my son, when he's old
11:45 enough to watch this PG-13 movie,
11:47 will be able to take those things
11:51 and apply them to his journey.
11:54 It must be kind of a surreal feeling
11:57 to know that people all over the world
11:59 now can take home your movie and watch it whenever they want.
12:03 I'm wondering, since we're promoting the home
12:06 entertainment release, is there any special feature
12:09 that you're most excited for the world to see?
12:12 I love special features on DVDs because I grew up--
12:18 when DVDs were first coming out, that
12:20 was when I was just getting into filmmaking.
12:23 So being able to get a sneak peek into the process
12:26 and how things are made, I would eat it up.
12:30 And on these extra features, you'll
12:36 get to see the actors interacting in a way
12:39 that you don't see quite so much in the movie
12:43 because you see them out of character, the rapport
12:46 that we had.
12:47 And that's the experience that I have when I watch the movies,
12:50 remembering how much fun it was to shoot this scene, even
12:54 the serious scenes.
12:55 I'm like, oh, I remember when something crazy happened
13:00 and everybody broke out in laughter.
13:02 And you get to see a glimpse of that in the extra features.
13:06 Absolutely.
13:07 I love the gag reel.
13:08 It's so-- it just brings me so much joy
13:11 to see everyone smiling and dance--
13:13 everyone's dancing, which is all great.
13:14 Yeah, I know.
13:16 Including Michelle Yeoh, who, like, I think most people just
13:20 assume she's always this stoic, elegant queen.
13:24 But she is such a silly, fun person on set.
13:28 I love to hear that because Michelle Yeoh is, like,
13:30 you know, an Asian icon.
13:33 One of my bucket list goals in life
13:35 is to find an excuse to have a meal with her one day.
13:37 So I love hearing stuff like that.
13:40 Yeah, that would be a great meal.
13:42 Thank you for everything, from short term 12 to now Shang-Chi.
13:45 You are just an incredible storyteller.
13:48 And it's an honor to sit down with you, man.
13:50 Thanks a lot.
13:52 (upbeat music)