Wednesday, May 13, 1998
One hundred percent Asian American
FILM: Indie director Koyanagi breaks down Hollywood’s
stereotypes
By Aimee Phan
Daily Bruin Staff
Finding an Asian American in a lead role for a movie can be like
playing "Where’s Waldo?". It’s just too damn hard to bother trying.
But in the new film, "hundred percent,"first-time director Eric
Koyanagi is upping the Asian visibility quotient with an all Asian
American lead cast. Set in Venice Beach, the indie film focuses on
three days in the lives of six very un-stereotypical Asian
Americans, ranging from a struggling actor to a dreadlocked Rasta
man wannabe.
Koyanagi says he specifically had a pan-Asian American cast in
mind when he was developing the script for "hundred percent," which
will open the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film and Video Festival
Thursday night at the Director’s Guild of America.
A USC film school graduate, Koyanagi had seen the rather limited
and stereotypical roles most Asian American actors were
encountering, especially the men, and wrote the script in an
attempt to portray both more realistic and quirky Asian
Americans.
"I wanted to write some Asian American male characters who were
different from what we’ve seen before, a little more human and more
flawed," Koyanagi says. "A little more American and fun. The
genesis was to have some fun with some Asian American male
characters and be able to laugh with them and share in their
adventures."
The film certainly does focus a little more on the male
characters, specifically three friends who open and close the movie
with a game of dominos on the beach. The fat of the movie is split
into three individual stories, with each of the guys paired off
with a wiser female counterpart. Dustin Nguyen ("21 Jumpstreet")
plays Isaac, a coffee bartender who falls for a mysterious,
nun-chuck carrying New Yorker (Tamlyn Tomita, "Joy Luck Club") who
brings both intrigue and danger into his life. Darion Basco ("The
Brady Bunch Movie") is Slim, the mellow Rasta man who loses the
prized lowrider car that he won from a gangsta. It’s his loudmouth,
sensible gal pal Casey (newcomer Keiko Agena) who eventually pulls
Slim out of his mess. Garrett Wang ("Star Trek: Voyager") is Troy,
an aspiring actor whose big break may force him to indulge in the
Asian stereotypes he despises and endanger his relationship with
loyal girlfriend, Cleveland (Lindsay Price, "Beverly Hills
90210").
Since most of the lead actors in the film were either already
friends or familiar with each other’s work, the atmosphere on the
set was relaxed and familial, something that everyone appreciated.
Tomita says that the common thread of all the actors – being Asian
American – brought on a feeling of mutual solidarity, thus
producing a better working environment.
"It makes it all the better because you can get over the awkward
period of getting acquainted with each other and learning to trust
each other," Tomita says. "It’s all a matter of getting a head
start on really getting together as a group and, ultimately, a
family."
Wang agrees. "You already feel a sense of camaraderie with
everybody else from day one so it makes the working environment
safer. You need to feel safe and secure in order to be able to let
go in your work."
It’s easy to understand how the actors could have a shared
interest in Wang’s storyline – an actor struggling to move away
from the stereotypes that Hollywood has about Asian Americans,
especially the men. Wang’s character endures infuriating casting
directors and other film executives’ prejudices about how an Asian
American character should act.
"I think a lot of actors of color will especially relate to some
of the problems my character goes through," Wang says. "I’ve
definitely had experiences which were very humiliating and
dehumanizing and, consequently, frustrating."
"It’s an advantage, and it’s a disadvantage," Tomita says on
being an Asian American actor in Hollywood. "When there’s a role
that calls specifically for an Asian or Asian American, there’s a
smaller pool of actors. But then when you go for a project that
doesn’t demand race specificity, the doors aren’t readily open to
ethnic actors as it should be."
But Tomita, Wang and Koyanagi are optimistic of the future of
Asian Americans in the film industry. Koyanagi points out that
there are more Asian Americans than ever working as actors, writers
and directors in Hollywood.
"I think in terms of quantity, there’s a lot of us out there,
but in terms of quality, our roles can get better," Koyanagi says.
"I think we’re riding the crest of it now, but it’s up to us to
push ourselves up that extra notch to maintain that longevity so
it’s not just a wave that crashes but (that) we’ll be around for a
while."
The cast and crew of "hundred percent" hope that their film will
open the audience and the industry’s eyes to the fact that Asian
Americans can and deserve to play more three-dimensional characters
and stories than they’ve been allowed to in the past.
But one of the biggest hurdles right now for the film is finding
a distributor to release the movie into theaters. Koyanagi says
there has been interest from both big and small distributors since
the movie’s screenings at various film festivals, but nothing is
definite yet.
"It’s frustrating (trying to find a distributor), but we’ve got
to stay patient," Koyanagi says. "But it’s like anything in this
town – until someone sticks their neck out and says this is great,
the bandwagon won’t start moving until somebody does that."
Adds Wang, "Whether or not we get a great distribution deal or
not, that’s what we hope for, but the bottom line is getting the
buzz out and getting people to go see the film. Because there’s so
much more out there that can be done."
FILM: "hundred percent" will open the Los Angeles Asian Pacific
Film and Video Festival Thursday night at the Director’s Guild of
America. For ticket and program information, call (213)
680-4462.