"Asian Americans can be whatever they want to be!"
Six years ago, famed movie critic Roger Ebert stood up during the screening of Better Luck Tomorrow at the Sundance Film Festival and passionately defended the decision to cast and portray Asians in a non-stereotypical manner.
Ebert's words were echoed yesterday evening by actors Roger Fan and Sung Kang in a discussion of Asian Americans in Hollywood, hosted by the Asian Pacific Student Coalition and the Pan-Asian American Community House in Huntsman Hall.
Fan and Kang, along with producer Julie Asato, showed an exclusive documentary about the making of Better Luck Tomorrow, which featured Ebert's comments. Additionally, they previewed their new movie, Finishing the Game .
Better Luck Tomorrow follows a group of Asian American high schoolers and the double lives they lead as model students and criminals. Despite backlash from some in the Asian American community, the film became a cult hit and was purchased by MTV Films, opening Hollywood executives' eyes to the potential of the Asian American market.
Film studios "see things in a very specific way - they see stereotypes. There is no agenda to be exclusionary or racist, but they are not in the business to take risks." Kang said.
Fan added that, until the strong debut of Better Luck Tomorrow, there had been no economic incentives for Hollywood to finance films heavily featuring Asian Americans.
And now, six years later, its cast and crew are hoping to give them another with Finishing the Game, a satirical comedy of Hollywood's scramble to find the next Bruce Lee.
"This is homecoming in a way," Fan said. "When we were [at Penn] six years ago, we were blown away by the support of the Penn students who traveled to New York to see the premiere."
The actors emphasized the importance of students having their voices heard with their ticket stubs. If there is enough student interest, APSC and PAACH are looking into holding another trip to New York to see the premiere of Finishing the Game.
Wharton sophomore Brian Chisaid, "It was really interesting to meet Asian American actors who actually play cool, hip people."
College sophomore David Liangwas glad that the actors "spoke the truth," agreeing that more Asians should be represented in the media.
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