Today’s most notable creatives join Variety at Sundance for exclusive in-depth conversations across various entertainment mediums, presented by Audible.
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00:00They should be no longer than
00:0345 minutes
00:06Ceremony and the receptionist thing after that strong opinion, you know, this is gonna be the headline
00:12Oh
00:26So Andrew I wanted to start with you
00:29When did you first come across Ang Lee's the wedding banquet? And then why did you want to remake it? Yeah, I
00:37Remember when I was eight years old
00:39My mother saw the VHS for the wedding banquet at a video rental store and
00:46she was like, oh, this is that Asian film that white people are watching like we should see what it's about and
00:53Rented it not knowing that it was a gay film and we watched it at home and as like an eight-year-old nascent
01:00gay boy
01:01It was kind of mind-blowing and I realized that you know
01:05That was the first time I'd seen a gay character on screen and that was also, you know, a gay Asian character
01:12It really set up my life in many ways and it really made me who I am, you know as a person and as a filmmaker
01:21For all those reasons I didn't think I should make a remake, you know
01:26because it's it's so meaningful to me and to so many people and and
01:30you know, it really took a lot of
01:33Thinking about how times have changed since 1993 for queer people, you know
01:37Like now like we can get married and so I realized that there was
01:42A new version of the story that we could tell you know, we don't call it a remake. We call it a reimagining
01:51But you know for me that it's it's part of a legacy of you know
01:56that original film and and I I feel like we've made something that's
02:01You know
02:03special and feels modern and
02:05Stands on its own and I'm excited for people to see it
02:08And then in what ways did you want to modernize it?
02:12Like you said times have changed since the first one came out. How did you want to reflect that in this version?
02:17I think for me I I wanted to talk about how
02:22You know now that we can get married like should we do we want to you know?
02:27And I think as you know a millennial like there's this kind of burden of choice
02:32you know and that we have the option and and and then we kind of get
02:36Paralyzed in some ways and and that was something that I wanted to talk about
02:40I also wanted to talk about the next generation and you know this queer family
02:47wanting to have children, you know, and how do we go about that and now that we desire it the kind of
02:53Anxieties and hopes and you know fears that surround that very thorny
03:00Difficult question and so, you know, I think it shifts the kind of generational focus
03:06You know, it's really looking towards the future
03:09And then this is such a lovely cast
03:11I wanted to go around and just ask how the film landed on your radar if you had to audition and then just what?
03:18Spoke to you about your character and maybe Kelly if you want to start
03:24I
03:25Did have to audition a couple times. We met a couple times. We talked we chatted
03:31and
03:33After reading it. I sort of was I had a really weird experience where I read it
03:37I was like, I feel like this character is me without
03:40like realizing it like before it took place in Seattle it took place in Highland Park and
03:45I live in Highland Park and there were all these like really specific things about
03:49This character's experience and what it was like for her to come out and how her family reacted that I completely
03:57related to
03:58yes, so I think every once in a while you get those rare moments where it feels like
04:04Kismet or some like universal magic is happening. And it yeah, this one very much has felt like that
04:10Um, yeah, it was an offer for me a couple years ago at this point
04:15so Andrew reached out with the script and
04:18Just everything on just you know
04:20The the one little sheet that you get to look at about the project
04:23I was I thought it was so amazing that it was with Ang Lee's blessing
04:27I'm such a fan of his and I had never seen the film
04:31I was aware of it because you know, you launch into your favorite directors. I am DB's to see where they got started
04:36But when the when the offer came in I found the film before I read the script or about the same time and I loved that
04:43It really is a reimagining. There's pieces of all of the things we love about it in the original, but it is very modern now
04:50It's updated for Millennials and in each end's case Gen Z
04:56But it's I loved
04:59The film and I loved the story and I loved the story and I loved the story and I loved the story
05:04I
05:05Loved that James Seamus came back on who would pen the original to rewrite it with Andrew
05:11so it just felt like there was so much love behind it and
05:16Knowing how you know after seeing it and then just knowing how pivotal and essential the the original is
05:24It was an honor to do it this way and I love that it was done this way as a reimagining
05:29Like I've had friends who have watched it
05:31Like so art which character are you like, how do you fit into this?
05:35It's like well, I'm a little bit of this character a little bit of this one
05:39But everybody we're all a little bit of a split of everybody and we're all a little bit of Andrew
05:43We're all a little bit of an extension of Andrews lived experience and I told him this at our wrap party
05:49there was just something about this film I just
05:53Everything about it looked great to me
05:55Really excited to do something loving and light-hearted and based in chosen family
06:01And I told Andrew it just felt like such an easy. Yes. This was gonna be a quality of life project and
06:08Kind of silly. Can I tell about star brother?
06:12So the other thing where I just shrieked and lost my mind was Bowen was already attached and I love Fire Island
06:19I love these two's collaboration, but it's um, you know with my mom's blessing to share this
06:24I'm a I'm a rainbow baby as they say she was expecting a child before me and
06:29He he
06:30Long she was far enough long. She knew that she was having a boy and
06:34He didn't make it. She lost him and within a few months. She got pregnant with me
06:39So me and my older brother never would have been on this earth together
06:43It's like he hadn't chosen to to exit and go be a little star for a little longer
06:49and I always grew up with this sense of like a brother that was just kind of watching me or hanging out with me and
06:55I got a feel for who he was and I would describe that to my mom when I was little it's like oh, yeah
07:00My brother helped me out here. It's like my brother would think that was funny these little things here and there and then
07:06Bowen joins the cast of Saturday Night Live and we're sitting there watching you and my mom is watching you and like
07:11The first time we're seeing you she goes. Oh my god. That's my son
07:16Just had this feel, you know
07:18Just this maybe she and I
07:19Creating this narrative of who this person was who this special person was to both of us that we never met
07:25But we love so much and then
07:27Somehow is Bowen Yang
07:29Like we do
07:31It's just sweet. So they got to meet on set. That was like if for nothing else
07:36I want to give my mom the gift of getting to meet Bowen
07:39Best days of my life
07:42Yeah, yeah, just sweet we vibe yeah feels like I'm knowing you forever star siblings
07:51Bowen I want to ask you the same question, but also
07:54There's much praise for your ad-lib lines and wicked I was curious
07:58Did you do any improv in this movie? Were you able to I think we all did a lot of improv?
08:02And I think a lot of it made it. I think
08:05it's
08:07The way that Andrew kind of works is I feel like it's a true collaboration and
08:13Yeah, I don't know. I think everybody puts their their imprint on these characters and I don't know
08:19there's always there's always like
08:22You know a little
08:25Telemeric segment I'm getting so scientific. There's a little telemeric segment. We're like you just well
08:30at the end and then you make it your own and it's like I think I think we all like everybody and
08:36everybody here got to do that and
08:38yeah, and the way it came to me was we were shooting Fire Island and then I think we got dinner one night and
08:43Andrew was telling people about I
08:45think
08:47Multiple drafts drafts had been written that at that point with James about this reimagining at the wedding banquet
08:52I just something stirred in me. I was like, oh that sounds incredible. Like that's such a bit
08:56that's such a resonant movie with me and
09:00Yeah, just very grateful that I got to do it
09:05Yeah, this movie came to me, okay
09:08this was my
09:11Second English audition. The first was pachinko which pachinko 2 which was YG was in and
09:18Yeah, I couldn't get in there. But anyway, luckily
09:21this job I got this job and I had to audition but I was really like excited to
09:30Act in English, right and
09:33it didn't take long to to get the
09:37main cast and and
09:40After I got this movie I moved in to Vancouver about in a two weeks in two weeks
09:46So I was the last person to be cast. I heard is it right? Yeah, and
09:52Yeah, I was so curious about that. Did Andrew know me by this audition or before before this audition?
10:00so I came to Andrew and asked directly like
10:03Do you knew me because of this audition or before the audition and Andrew told me that it was before so that was
10:11such a surprise to me that
10:14He saw my other films to know me. So I was so lucky that I choose the latest film
10:22And yeah, that was it. I had to audition. Yeah, the shoot was
10:27Kichan's first time in North America. Yeah, right. Yeah, it's the first film in America and also the
10:34Before the Vancouver is the first English
10:38But yeah
10:41Before I was just staying in Korea
10:48And it was really actually adorable to see how much
10:52You were just surprised how much Korean culture is in Vancouver, right a couple of times you said like it feels like you were home
10:58There are so many Koreans in Vancouver, right? Like we went inside all
11:03As a cast we went and saw an all-korean choir perform Mamma Mia
11:17From James
11:22Once I read the script I said, hey, I'm in but then I had to
11:28convince Andrew I think
11:35No, we we got on the zoom and we just chatted for almost an hour it's like we chatted really long after I
11:44finished I
11:45Was like we never talked about the part
11:49I think this is not right
11:52You know, he will not think that I'm a serious actress like I I don't talk about the project itself
11:59Like I don't talk about the character
12:02And this is not right. So I wrote him an email
12:06Right. Yeah, I wrote him an email. He said oh, no
12:11I really
12:13Wanted to do this film
12:15because
12:16When only first made the film when he first graduated from NYU he
12:24His student film got him an LA agent and so we met I think it's his LA agent
12:31House, it was a really nice big house with a big pool. I was fresh off the boat from China
12:38I was just I just sort of
12:41arrived in LA and
12:43We got to meet and we were gonna work together
12:46but I'll never put the money together until like 10 years later and
12:52So I didn't get to play the part. And so this is like a great
12:57Closure for me like I'm doing wedding banquet
13:02Yeah, we we had a good time all these kids and why
13:08I
13:10Just love lovely people lovely people just really
13:17Really like a family like a chosen family and it's a story about chosen family
13:25Yeah, and to round it out
13:28Usually you want to say about how you being attached to the movie. Oh
13:33Pardon how you were asked to be in the film. Oh
13:39Okay
13:41Difference between kitchen and me. I didn't get the chance to the audition front of Andrew
13:48Maybe he knew me
13:51Hey, he asked me to play the role for actually
13:55means mother
13:57Then he found out
13:59Him much younger than what I expected. So I told him I'll be the grandmother for him
14:06So I sacrificed for him
14:13I know my age
14:15Maybe of course revolves around a wedding. So just generally speaking any hot takes about weddings favorite parts least favorite parts
14:24About this particular wedding. No, no, no wedding. Anyway, I mean culture a wedding. Oh my gosh
14:37Yeah
14:42You know, okay when I got married I told my husband we we met and then we got married very quickly and I'm I
14:49I'm still no longer one for ceremony. I said, oh, you know, I save all the trouble, you know
14:56Let's just elope, you know, let's just just go to somewhere. Wonderful
15:02Is it all my my parents probably not gonna like that
15:06So we had a wedding like in in the friend's backyard
15:10So I'm not like a big wedding person
15:14I mean my big weddings are like in this film as well. Not my wedding, but my daughter's wedding
15:23My wedding's like in the Last Emperor. So I'm not
15:27I myself was like just let's just forget about it
15:34They should be no longer than
15:3845 minutes
15:44Strong opinion, you know, this is gonna be the headline
15:46But
15:54To bring it back to the movie, I think like it does a great job of like kind of like
15:58Calling out not calling out but just like examining these interesting arbitrary conventions
16:03and then there's like there's a fun contrast at the end and I mean weddings but then but then you realize it loops back around of
16:10Being beautiful because you're like there's a reason why these conventions are in place. It's because it's culturally meaningful
16:15I found myself tearing up at the wedding. Yeah, I mean it's
16:20genuinely is a moving thing and
16:22To be in to be a part of this Korean wedding as well. And that's every there's symbolism in everything. There's just
16:30Beautiful tradition one of my favorite things, you know, we're talking about the kismet why Jay went to high school with the woman
16:45I
16:48Think it's really special that we got to yeah, you know show her work her life's work on film
16:54Yeah, I'll say like the Korean wedding
16:57You know
16:57I see how weddings bring people together and and my brother when he got married had a you know
17:03Traditional ceremony and and it brought him closer to our parents and it you know
17:10Brought him closer to his Korean culture and and as a gay person. I wondered
17:15If I would ever have that, you know, like could I ever participate in that?
17:18And so, you know in making this movie, I kind of selfishly like through my own Korean wedding
17:26Which is why when you know the first day we shot that sequence, you know
17:30Everybody came down the stairs wearing the hanboks and I lost it. I just started weeping and
17:38Can I say something about that scene? Of course because in real life we just did once we do once
17:45But he takes so many takes over and over
17:51Maybe 30 times or so
17:55I was exhausted
17:57In real life we just do it once
17:59We just step down and then
18:01And do some ceremony things
18:03And then do it
18:05Up and down
18:07Up and down
18:09Up and down
18:11I was going to kill him
18:16It was also YJ's birthday that day
18:19Oh maybe yes
18:21And then one of his friends
18:23He introduced Andrew
18:25And I text him
18:27Douglas, you should mention to him
18:29Too many takes
18:31Stop it
18:33I've learned
18:35I'm not young anymore
18:37Because of Andrew's lot of takes
18:39I never saw my friends
18:41Or neither me
18:43Knew the Korean
18:45Traditional wedding actually worked
18:47But because of Andrew's lot of takes
18:49I mastered it
18:51I know how it goes
18:53Yeah when you really do get married
18:55You know what to do
18:57Yeah never
18:59Don't marry a pregnant girl
19:03Is that a spoiler alert?
19:05Is that a spoiler alert?
19:07Is that a spoiler?
19:09Yeah
19:11Well there's no better ending than that
19:13Thank you guys so much for being here
19:15It was great talking to you guys
19:17Thank you