Can you talk more about that?
And so denying that part of yourself is almost like chopping off one of your arms.
It really became integral to my point of view and such a huge part of making this movie.
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Did you interview your father for the movie?
He showed me around the entire country and he told me stories that I’d never heard before.
And he told me about the factory that he worked in and then we went to the factory.
It needs to be period, it needs to be rundown, it needs to look grimy and dangerous.
And then we went to the middle of nowhere.
We took a train down there, and it was perfect.
And so we ended up shooting at the same factory that my dad worked in.
Did your own life or your dad’s story seep into writing that episode?
Yeah, so thatMaster of Noneepisode was one of the first ones we ever wrote.
Essentially we were banging our heads against the wall, and we’re trying to write season 1.
So he had to do that.
That dance scene with young Pin-Jui was so good, it had such Wong Kar-wai vibes.
And then Tzi-Ma comes in as older Pin-Jui and he’s powerful in a different way.
It’s some of my favorite stuff in the movie.
And that, in some ways, is even more difficult.
So I was just incredibly pleased with our cast.
Yes, it’s incredibly exciting.
It’s incredible in some ways, a crazy thing to make a run at do.
But I am so thrilled that we are at this place.
And then literally an Asian movie that is completely subtitled winsevery Oscar in the world.
And I called Netflix the next day and said, “Look this isn’t necessarily a niche movie.
People will read subtitles if you give them a movie with relatable themes and stories and characters.”
And if anything, this movie has a little bit fewer subtitles.
There’s some English in it and it’s actually an American story.
So, yeah, it’s been incredibly gratifying.
It’s the ratio of all films ever made, in my opinion.
So we got a lot of catching up to do.
So I was grateful to see that it wasn’t the case.
Yeah, not a concern.
And that’s gotta be a first.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a trailer like that before.
Do you categorize the film in your mind as an Asian American story, a Taiwanese story, etc?
Yeah, I feel like it is quintessentially Asian American.
But I do see this as an American story.
I see it as a bridge between Asia and America.
And obviously, those are influences on this movie.
That movie doesn’t exist and it didn’t really exist until now.
In terms of genre, I guess it is a little bit of a leap.
I guess I never thought of it that way.
So yeah, I’m really happy that it turned out in the way that it did.
Tigertailwill debut on Netflix this Friday, April 10.
