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Taika Waititi has brought various projects to the screen over his career. From mockumentaries like What We Do In The Shadows to superhero epics like Thor: Ragnarok to his Oscar-winning film about Hitler as a boy’s imaginary friend in Jojo Rabbit, Waititi has covered the gamut in genres, tones, and creativity. His latest project is the adaptation of the National Book Award-winning novel Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu. With Yu on board to adapt his novel, a book that seemed impossible to translate to the screen has become a ten-episode series unlike any show I have seen before.

Interior Chinatown follows Willis Wu, played by Jimmy O. Yang, a waiter in a Chinese restaurant who wants more out of life than being a supporting player in his own story. When he witnesses a kidnapping, Willis is recruited by Detective Lana Lee (Chloe Bennet) to help solve the case and...

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Interior Chinatown is a surreal action comedy series created by Charles Yu. Based on the 2020 novel of the same name by Charles Yu, the Hulu series follows Willis Wu, a background character stuck in a police procedural called Black and White. He soon comes into the spotlight when he witnesses a crime and investigates his brother’s mysterious disappearance. Interior Chinatown stars Jimmy O. Yang, Ronny Chieng, Chloe Bennet, Sullivan Jones, Lisa Gilroy, Archie Kao, and Diana Lin. So, if you loved the surreal aspect, comedic story, and compelling characters in Interior Chinatown here are some similar shows you should check out next.

Russian Doll (Netflix) Credit – Netflix

Russian Doll is a mystery comedy-drama series created by Natasha Lyonne, Leslye Headland, and Amy Poehler. The Netflix series follows Nadia Vulvokov, a game developer who gets stuck in a...

In this week’s episode of Bingeworthy, our TV and streaming podcast host Mike DeAngelo gets stuck in the background while discussing “Interior Chinatown.” The Hulu series follows a waiter stuck in the background of a crime procedural show who dreams of being in the spotlight. The series stars Jimmy O. Yang, Ronny Chieng, Chloe Bennett, Lisa Gilroy, Sullivan Jones, Diana Lin, Tzi Ma and more.

Continue reading ‘Interior Chinatown’: Taika Waititi & Showrunner Charles Yu Discuss Their Surreal Comedy Series, Background Characters, ‘Star Wars’ & More [Bingeworthy Podcast] at The Playlist.

Charles Yu, the author of “Interior Chinatown” and showrunner of its Hulu TV adaptation, admitted he didn’t think his 2020 novel could be adapted to screen when he was first approached with the idea.

“Honestly, I did not really think that it would be adaptable, which is probably something I shouldn’t admit,” Yu told TheWrap. “But [Hulu] was interested … they approached me and acquired the rights of the book and I started to work on the script … It was really a big challenge, because I knew … what works well in the book won’t necessarily work in a TV show — It’s a completely different medium.”

As Yu adapted the novel — which centers on Chinatown restaurant worker Willis Wu (Jimmy O. Yang) who is stuck in the background of police procedural series — into a TV series, “Interior Chinatown” became even more meta. Yu, who has TV writing credits for a...

On a cop show, no one is supposed to be more compelling than the cops themselves. One rung below them is the crime victim, whose backstory has to be interesting enough for us to care that our heroes are trying to bring them justice, even posthumously. Still lower on the ladder are all the bit players, whose contributions to the cops’ investigation might seem insignificant, but collectively fill out the picture: the retail clerk who digs out a receipt that helps to establish a timeline; the barmaid who remembers the victim was harassed by a regular; the neighbor who heard upsetting sounds through the wall.

Comfortable though we may be with the rhythms of a detective procedural — which, after all, conform to an endlessly repeatable format — Interior Chinatown has questions. Which crime victims’ stories are selected to be told, and why? Who should tell them? And what happens when one...

Willis Wu (Jimmy O. Yang) wants to be more than the background character in someone else’s story. Working as a waiter at his uncle’s Chinatown restaurant, the Golden Palace, he spends his days throwing out trash bags and dreaming of being a protagonist. Unfortunately for him, he’s a mere bit-player in the world of “Black & White”, a rote police procedural about two cops who always save the day. Things start to change, however, when he witnesses what seems to be a kidnapping by a local crime gang. Now, alongside Detective Lana Lee (Chloe Bennet), the only cop who seems to care about this side of town, Willis is ready to be a hero. Or, at the very least, a supporting player with a few good lines.

Based on his novel of the same name, author Charles Yu brings to Hulu an adaptation of the satire that...

Plot: Based on Charles Yu’s award-winning book of the same name, the show follows the story of Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police procedural called Black & White. Relegated to the background, Willis goes through the motions of his on-screen job, waiting tables, dreaming about a world beyond Chinatown and aspiring to be the lead of his own story. When Willis inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime, he begins to unravel a criminal web in Chinatown, while discovering his own family’s buried history and what it feels like to be in the spotlight.

Review: Interior Chinatown is an interesting approach to telling a meta-fictional story. Rather than breaking the fourth wall or setting a story within a story, this series takes the approach of interconnecting characters often relegated to the background and showing how they can break free of their stereotypical and cliche constraints to...

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Hulu is ready with an entertainment-packed November this year. The upcoming month will see the return of some popular K-drama shows The Fiery Priest and also new original movies like Nutcrackers. Just like every month, Hulu is ready to overload you with great content. So, we’re here to tell you about the 10 new movies and TV shows coming to Hulu in November 2024.

Gangnam B-Side Season 1 (November 6)

Gangnam B-Side is an action mystery crime thriller drama series directed by Park Noo Ri from a screenplay by Jo Won Gyu. The Disney+ series is set in Gangnam, Seoul and it revolves around the disappearance of a young woman who had information about a series of disappearances. Now, a detective, an outlaw, and a Prosecutor all try to find her for their own reasons. Gangnam B-Side stars Jo Woo-jin, Ji Chang-wook,...

“Interior Chinatown” is a new live-action drama TV series based on the 2020 novel by Charles Yu, starring Jimmy O. Yang as ‘Willis Wu’, Chloe Bennet as ‘Detective Lana Lee’, Ronny Chieng as ‘Fatty Choi’, Sullivan Jones as ‘Miles Turner’, Lisa Gilroy as ‘Sarah Green’, Diana Lin as ‘Lily Wu’ and Archie Kao as ‘Uncle Wong’, streaming all 10 episodes, November 19, 2024 on Hulu:

“…background performer ‘Willis Wu’ waits on tables and occasionally works on the police procedural TV series “Black & White” as an on-camera extra.

‘But his life soon takes a turn, when he becomes witness to a crime.

“A female detective then enlists him in an investigation into a missing woman, mysterious incidents and criminal activities, while he re-discovers his own family’s buried history…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

Int. Your Screen – Now.

On Tuesday, Hulu released the trailer for the upcoming limited series “Interior Chinatown,” an imaginative, genre-bending comedy from creator Charles Yu and director Taika Waititi.

The series follows Willis Wu, a background character trapped “Groundhog Day”-style inside of a police procedural called “Black & White.” Relegated to the background, Willis goes through the motions of his on-screen job, waiting tables, dreaming about a world beyond Chinatown and aspiring to be the lead of his own story. When Willis inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime, he begins to unravel a criminal web in Chinatown, while discovering his own family’s buried history and what it feels like to be in the spotlight. In the trailer, he fights, he gets close to a beautiful detective named Lana Lee, and he gets generally kind of Charlie Kaufman-esque with it. It’s the kind of world where...

Hulu has unveiled the trailer for its new limited series “Interior Chinatown” from executive producers Charles Yu and Taika Waititi. Based on Yu’s novel of the same name, all 10 episodes will be available to stream Nov. 19.

According to the official synopsis, “the show follows the story of Willis Wu (Jimmy O. Yang), a background character trapped in a police procedural called ‘Black & White.’ Relegated to the background, Willis goes through the motions of his on-screen job, waiting tables, dreaming about a world beyond Chinatown and aspiring to be the lead of his own story. When Willis inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime, he begins to unravel a criminal web in Chinatown, while discovering his own family’s buried history and what it feels like to be in the spotlight.”

Cast members include Ronny Chieng, Chloe Bennet, Lisa Gilroy, Sullivan Jones, Archie Kao and Diana Lin.

Series creator...

"Guys like us don't become the heroes." "Then what are you training so hard for?" Hulu has revealed the official trailer for a fun crime comedy series called Interior Chinatown, inspired by the book of the same name. Arriving for streaming in November this fall. This plays like a bit of a spin on the Free Guy concept mixed with the Chinatown film. Based on Charles Yu's novel, the show follows the story of Willis Wu, who is a background character trapped in a police procedural called "Black & White". Stuck in the background, Willis goes through the motions of his on-screen job... But when Willis inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime, he begins to unravel a criminal web in Chinatown, while discovering his own family’s buried history and what it feels like to be in the spotlight. Featuring Jimmy O. Yang as Willis, Ronny Chieng, Chloe Bennet,...

Several best-selling books have inspired new and returning television series this year as well as box office magnets like It Ends With Us and later in the fall — Wicked. Still novel adaptations more are in the works, like the many romantic comedies of Emily Henry and a few more Colleen Hoover best-sellers.

The year 2024 has covered the range of historical fiction like Apple TV+’s Pachinko or FX’s Shōgun, young adult best-sellers like and John Green’s Turtles All the Way Down, science fiction with Apple TV+’s Dark Matter and Netflix’s The Three Body Problem and many more.

Still to arrive in 2024 are Hulu’s adaptation of Charles Yu’s Interior Chinatown and more.

Read on for more TV shows based on books coming out this year.

Rivals – Disney+ – Oct. 18

Alex Hassell as Rupert Campbell-Black

Rivals on Disney+ is based on the second book in Dame Jilly Cooper’s Rutshire Chronicles series.

Taika Waititi and Charles Yu brings us a new reluctant hero in the new action comedy series Interior Chinatown. Hulu has just sent over the trailer, which features Jimmy O. Yang, Ronny Chieng, Chloe Bennet, Lisa Gilroy, Sullivan Jones, Archie Kao, and Diana Lin. The limited series is executive produced by Taika Waititi (who also directed the pilot) and Charles Yu (creator and showrunner). The series premieres with all ten episodes on November 19, 2024.

The official synopsis reads,

“Based on Charles Yu’s award-winning book of the same name, the show follows the story of Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police procedural called ‘Black & White.’ Relegated to the background, Willis goes through the motions of his on-screen job, waiting tables, dreaming about a world beyond Chinatown and aspiring to be the lead of his own story. When Willis inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime, he begins to...

Jimmy O. Yang doesn’t code for Erlich Bachman no more.

On Tuesday, Hulu released the trailer for “Interior Chinatown,” its wild action-comedy series based on Charles Yu’s book of the same name. Yang, who plays a mild-mannered waiter, is about to get way in over his head.

But first, he exists in total mundanity.

“In Chinatown, nothing ever changes,” Willis Wu (Yang) says to open the trailer. “Nothing exciting ever happens to me or you or anyone we know.”

“I feel like I’m a background character in someone else’s story,” Wu continues.

Well, he’s definitely — and precisely — right about that last part.

“Interior Chinatown” follows Wu, a background character stuck in a police procedural called “Black & White.” This may sound weird, but the show has a definite “Wreck-It Ralph” vibe.

“Relegated to the background, Willis goes through the motions of his on-screen job, waiting tables,...

Hulu has debuted the trailer and key art for Interior Chinatown. The limited series is executive produced by Taika Waititi (who also directed the pilot) and creator and showrunner Charles Yu. All ten episodes of the series launch on November 19, 2024.

Based on Charles Yu’s award-winning book of the same name, the show follows the story of Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police procedural called “Black & White.”

Relegated to the background, Willis goes through the motions of his on-screen job, waiting tables, dreaming about a world beyond Chinatown, and aspiring to be the lead of his own story. When Willis inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime, he begins to unravel a criminal web in Chinatown while discovering his own family’s buried history and what it feels like to be in the spotlight.

The Interior Chinatown cast includes Jimmy O. Yang, Ronny Chieng, Chloe Bennet, Lisa Gilroy,...

“In Chinatown, nothing ever changes,” Jimmy O. Yang’s Willis Wu explains in the opening moments of the Interior Chinatown trailer.

Hulu has released the trailer and key art for the upcoming limited series, which features Taika Waititi as the pilot director and Charles Yu as the show’s creator and showrunner; the show is based on Yu’s 2020 novel. Ronny Chieng, Chloe Bennet, Lisa Gilroy, Sullivan Jones, Archie Kao and Diana Lin join Yang in the cast.

The show follows Willis, a background character trapped in a police procedural called Black & White, according to Hulu’s logline. The synopsis continues: “Relegated to the background, Willis goes through the motions of his on-screen job, waiting tables, dreaming about a world beyond Chinatown and aspiring to be the lead of his own story. When Willis inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime, he begins to unravel a criminal web in Chinatown,...

Jimmy O. Yang is stepping out of the background and into the action in “Interior Chinatown.”

In the trailer for “Interior Chinatown,” Yang’s Willis Wu laments that he lives a relatively simple life, feeling like a background character as he works at a restaurant in Chinatown, when in fact, he has unknowingly been relegated to the background of a police procedural titled “Black & White.”

“Nothing ever changes — nothing exciting ever happens to me or you or anyone we know,” Yang’s Willis tells to his coworker and friend, found in Ronny Chieng. “I feel like I’m a background character in someone else’s story.”

Just as soon as he can blink, Willis’ fate changes as he’s plunged into the action when he inadvertently witnesses a crime outside the restaurant.

Cue Chloe Bennet’s Detective Lana Lee, who, after being solely viewed on the TV by Willis and his cowowkers,...

Chloe Bennet’s mysterious government agent draws Jimmy O. Yang’s mild-mannered waiter into a mind-bending mystery, in the trailer for Hulu’s Interior Chinatown adaptation.

“Why do I keep getting cast as government agents?” Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. vet Bennet remarked at the summer TCA press tour, while promoting this series. “I have Ged from a parking lot in Santa Monica.”

More from TVLineTVLine Items: God of War's New Showrunner, Days of Our Lives Vet Returns and MoreYellowstone Season 5B Trailer Forges a New Alliance in Blood, Reveals a Devastating Betrayal and Takes [Spoiler] to...

Hulu has announced that Interior Chinatown will launch on the streaming service on Tuesday, November 19, 2024. All ten episodes of the series will be available on that day.

Based on Charles Yu’s award-winning book of the same name, the show follows the story of Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police procedural called “Black & White.”

Relegated to the background, Willis goes through the motions of his on-screen job, waiting tables and dreaming about a whole world beyond Chinatown.

When he inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime, Willis begins to unravel a criminal web in Chinatown, his family’s buried history, and what it feels like to be in the spotlight.

The Interior Chinatown cast includes Jimmy O. Yang, Ronny Chieng, Chloe Bennet, Lisa Gilroy, Sullivan Jones, Archie Kao, and Diana Lin.

Series creator Charles Yu serves as executive producer, along with Dan Lin and Lindsey Liberatore for Rideback; Jeff Skoll,...

Plex has a series of movies in coming to the free streaming service in May, including the moving film “The Farewell.” An extended Chinese-American family invents an excuse to visit a beloved grandmother in China, but doesn’t tell her she’s dying. Awkwafina, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin, and Zhao Shuzhen star. Awkwafina won a Golden Globe for her performance.

“The Farewell” trailer

Also coming next month is “Moonlight.” The Best Picture Oscar winner stars Trevante Rhodes, André Holland, Janelle Monáe, and Mahershala Ali. It tells the story of a young black man’s struggle to cope with his life and sexuality, from childhood to adulthood.

Watch Now $0+ / month plex.tv Coming in May: After Yang Arbitrage Arrival The Big Wedding The Blackcoat’s Daughter (starts 5/18 - ends 5/31) C’mon C’mon Cube Cube 2 Dedication The Farewell Filth (starts 5/5) Gloria Bell The Green Knight The Humans The Last Black Man...

Chris Pang has joined Hulu’s Interior Chinatown in a pivotal recurring role.

The casting marks a reunion with Interior Chinatown lead Jimmy O. Yang. The two were in Crazy Rich Asians together, where Yang’s Bernard threw Pang’s Colin a bachelor bacchanal aboard a cargo ship in international waters. This time around, Pang plays Older Brother, the charming and talented beloved sibling of protagonist Willis Wu (Yang) whose mysterious disappearance years ago tore the family apart. Now, Willis has an opportunity to investigate his brother’s case when Det. Lana Lee (Chloe Bennet) arrives in the neighborhood with new information.

Interior Chinatown is based on the National Book Award-winning novel of the same name from Charles Yu, who serves as showrunner and is an executive producer on the project alongside Rideback’s Dan Lin, Lindsey Liberatore and Elsie Choi, Participant’s Jeff Skoll, Miura Kite and Dive’s...

With a better awards season campaign, Lulu Wang’s sophomore feature “The Farewell” could have ended up with more than one Golden Globe award. The film premiered to stellar reviews at last year’s edition of Sundance, which are usually enough to create a significant buzz. The decision to ship it off to wide distribution in late summer / early autumn and in anglophone countries first, led to a decent box office success ($22 million against the budget of $3 million) for an indie film, but it affected the film’s chances for the awards.

“The Farewell” is screening at Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema

The plot follows Billie (played by Chinese-American rapper/actress Nora Lum better known as Awkwafina) and her coming to terms with the fact that her beloved grandmother Nai Nai (Zhao Shuzhen) is dying at the opposite end of the world. She is diagnosed with a terminal lung cancer,...

Exclusive: Lauren Tom (The Joy Luck Club) has joined the cast of Hulu’s Interior Chinatown from 20th Television and creator/executive producer Charles Yu, who wrote the 2020 bestseller of the same name.

Tom will recur as Betty, a successful real estate agent with a sharp suit and sharper tongue. When her assistant drags her out to look at an abandoned laundromat in Chinatown, Betty is clearly irritated, but her attitude changes when she sees her old friend (and new rival), Lily Wu.

Based on the National Book Award-winning book of the same name, Interior Chinatown follows the story of Willis Wu (Jimmy O. Yang), a background character trapped in a police procedural trying to find his way into the larger story–and along the way discovers secrets about the strange world he inhabits and his family’s buried history.

Tom’s credits include Andi Mack, Trollhunters and Goliath. She...

Exclusive: Diana Lin and Archie Kao have been cast in series-regular roles on Interior Chinatown, a new series in the works for Hulu from 20th Television and creator/executive producer Charles Yu, who wrote the 2020 bestseller.

Related: 2022-23 Hulu Pilots & Series Orders

Tzi Ma also will recur in the drama that tells the story of Willis Wu (Jimmy O. Yang), a background character trapped in a police procedural who is trying to find his way into the larger story — and along the way discovers secrets about the strange world he inhabits and his family’s buried history. Along with Wang, they join previously announced cast Chloe Bennet and Ronny Chieng, as well as Sullivan Jones and Lisa Gilroy.

Lin will play Lily Wu, Willis’s mother who is both his biggest fan and sharpest critic. Her credits include The Farewell, Australia Day and the Australian TV show The Family Law.

Just ahead of its 27th festival, the annual Palm Springs International ShortFest announced its 2021 lineup that will showcase nearly 300 films from June 22 to 28.

“As we collectively move toward this next stage together, we feel a strong sense of gratitude to share the 2021 edition of ShortFest in person,” artistic director Lili Rodriguez said. “At the center of our plans has been a commitment to this great community of storytellers and moviegoers, and we’re excited to make our return to the silver screen a safe and enjoyable one.”

Out of the 5,500 submitted short films, the festival will have 32 world premieres, 13 international premieres, 46 North American premieres and 22 U.S. premieres. All in-theater screenings will take place at the Camelot Theatres at the Palm Springs Cultural Center.

“The entire programming team was blown away by the quality and quantity of amazing films made and submitted during these unprecedented times. We think this program...

AFI Fest on Friday announced the winners of its 2020 audience award and jury prizes. The winners include “76 Days,” a documentary about Wuhan, China’s response to the pandemic, and “Pillars,” a short that explores Black girlhood in today’s America.

The festival, now in its 34th year, attracted its largest audience ever with a mostly virtual program, which opened up the festival to an audience of residents of all 50 states. It screened 125 titles, over half of which were directed by women, 39 percent directed by people of color, and 17 percent directed by members of the LGBTQ community.

“With an audience of more than double from last year, we welcomed over 200 filmmakers and guests from around the world for Q&As and panels,” said Michael Lumpkin, director AFI Festivals. “This year’s festival was truly a celebration of film across the country with festival goers joining us online from all 50 states.

HBO on Wednesday announced the three finalists of the fourth annual Asian Pacific American Visionaries, a short film competition that showcases cinematic storytellers of Asian and Pacific Islander descent.

The finalists were selected from hundreds of submissions and were judged by a distinguished panel of HBO executives, industry leaders and fellow APA filmmakers. The three winning films exemplified this year’s competition theme: “Breaking Barriers.” Filmmakers Johnson Cheng (“Lonely Blue Night”), Thomas Percy Kim (“Si”), and Tiffany So (“Fine China”), will premiere their films during the virtual 2020 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, on September 25th at 5 p.m. Pt/8 p.m. Et via HBOVisionaries.com.

Below is a description of the finalists and their films:

Johnson Cheng (“Lonely Blue Night”) is a Chinese American filmmaker whose films have screened at over 100 international film festivals, including Tribeca, TIFF Kids, Atlanta, and Palm Springs (Best Student Film Award). He is a...

With a better awards season campaign, Lulu Wang’s sophomore feature “The Farewell” could have ended up with more than one Golden Globe award. The film premiered to stellar reviews at last year’s edition of Sundance, which are usually enough to create a significant buzz. The decision to ship it off to wide distribution in late summer / early autumn and in anglophone countries first, led to a decent box office success ($22 million against the budget of $3 million) for an indie film, but it affected the film’s chances for the awards. In 2020, “The Farewell” is available on video platforms and on BluRay.

The plot follows Billie (played by Chinese-American rapper/actress Nora Lum better known as Awkwafina) and her coming to terms with the fact that her beloved grandmother Nai Nai (Zhao Shuzhen) is dying at the opposite end of the world. She is diagnosed with a terminal lung cancer,...

Chicago – One of the hottest films from the first half 2019 festival season was an emotional story about family, and scored the Best Picture at the 2020 Film Independent Spirit Awards on February 8th. “The Farewell” is a breakout for both the lead actor Awkwafina (“Crazy Rich Asians”), Zhao Shuzhen (who won the Indie Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress) and their director Lulu Wang. Wang’s story of her grandmother became a universal spirit about our relative connections.

Awkwafina portrays Billi, a fictional realization of Lulu Wang’s screenplay, a Chinese American who grew up in Western culture and lives in New York City. But she does have one connection back in China, her beloved grandmother Nai Nai (Zhao Shuzhen). When her parents find out that Nai Nai has terminal cancer, the whole clan throws a fake wedding for her cousins to get together and visit her, and Billi goes along for the ride.

Beijing-born director Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell” is now scheduled to hit China on January 10, a full six months after its Us release and nearly two months after its originally announced China release date. This will place the film’s month-long theatrical run just ahead of the Oscars on February 10 and just after the Golden Globe Awards on January 5, where “The Farewell” has been nominated for best foreign language film and its star Awkwafina is in the running for best actress.

The movie was initially set to appear in Chinese cinemas on November 22, but was pulled just two days before, supposedly in the hopes of earning a better slot. It remains to be seen whether cuts were made by the censors, but at the moment it seems not to be the case, since its listed running time in China remains the same as the Us.

This year, a slew of...

A year ago, 76-year-old actor Zhao Shuzhen shot her first American movie, “The Farewell,” based on writer-director Lulu Wang’s very personal family story. In November, Shuzhen found herself making her first visit to the States, where she earned standing ovations from audiences and posed for pictures with stars like Robert Pattinson at parties. Then she landed a nomination for best supporting actress from the Independent Spirit Awards.

It’s easy to see why people have fallen for Shuzhen. In the film she plays the beloved Nai Nai (Chinese for “grandmother”) to Awkwafina’s American-raised Billi. When Nai Nai is diagnosed with cancer, her family decides not to tell her, instead throwing a wedding as an excuse to get the whole family together one last time.

During her visit to Los Angeles, Shuzhen spoke to Variety (via translator Eugene Suen) about the character and her favorite moments onscreen.

Shuzhen: “Initially,...

One of the breakout performances of 2019 comes from an actress who’s been in the business for more than 60 years. After starring in countless TV shows and movies in her native China, Zhao Shuzhen is poised to become a household name among indie filmgoers and awards voters with her supporting turn as a grandmother who doesn’t know she has cancer in Lulu Wang’s summer sleeper “The Farewell.”

“I’ve played women that are angry, very obsessive, mad women. I’ve played grandmothers who are very nice and warm and optimistic,” Shuzhen told IndieWire via a translator in a recent interview. That’s who she plays in “The Farewell,” a stand-in for director Wang’s own real-life grandmother — or Nai Nai, as they’re called in Chinese parlance — who, to this day, still doesn’t know she has cancer. Awkwafina leads the film as a version of Wang, seen...

This story about Awkwafina and “The Farewell” first appeared in the Race Begins issue of TheWrap’s Oscar magazine.

For Awkwafina, “The Farewell” was personal. The film follows a family that learns its matriarch has only a short while to live — but rather than break the news to her, they plan a big family wedding so they can all spend time together. It’s loosely based on a personal experience that director Lulu Wang first discussed on the “What You Don’t Know” episode of the radio series “This American Life.”

“It was a story that I felt very deeply connected to — I felt like it was the first story for me as an Asian-American girl that I saw that was genuinely something I could understand and something that really resonated,” said Awkwafina, whose real name is Nora Lum. “I was flabbergasted at how much I related to the material...

Watch the talented Awkwafina deliver a powerful performance in this summer’s tear-jerking story, The Farewell, arriving on Digital September 24 from A24, on Blu-ray (plus Digital) and DVD from Lionsgate and On Demand from A24 on November 12.

A heartfelt, moving film based on an actual lie comes home when The Farewell arrives on Digital October 29 from A24, and on Blu-ray (plus Digital) and DVD from Lionsgate and On Demand from A24 on November 12. Written and directed by Lulu Wang (Posthumous), based on her real-life experiences, the film is “extraordinary on every level”. Featuring an excellent ensemble cast, The Farewell stars Awkwafina, Tzi Ma, and Diana Lin. The special features include two featurettes, deleted scenes, and an audio commentary with writer-director Lulu Wang and cinematographer Anna Franquesa-Solano. The Farewell will be available on Blu-ray and DVD for the suggested retail price of $24.99 and $19.98, respectively.

After learning that her family’s beloved matriarch,...

Mark Harrison Sep 19, 2019

“Based On An Actual Lie”, The Farewell strikes a sensitive balance between farce and pathos. And its of one of the year’s best films

Secrets and lies form a huge part of The Farewell, the new film from writer-director Lulu Wang. In particular, it’s about the lies we tell the people we love to avoid hurting their feelings. For instance, Chinese-American writer Billi (Awkwafina) is avoiding telling her family that she hasn’t won a prestigious fellowship and she’s facing eviction from her New York apartment.

But when Billi discovers that her grandmother Nai Nai (Zhao Shuzhen) has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, she’s outraged by her family's choice: in keeping with longstanding cultural traditions, Nai Nai's adult children decide not to tell their beloved matriarch that she’s got about three weeks left to live.

Instead they’re planning a big...

The FarewellWhen released over 25 years ago in 1993, Wayne Wang’s The Joy Luck Club was considered a triumph, the first film to realize the dream of Asian and Asian-American representation in Hollywood. Rather than predict a change in course, however, it remained an anomaly. Virtually no American films comparably invested in the sorts of cross-cultural divides chronicled in Wang’s saga of mother-daughter rifts and continuities saw the light of day, until last year’s romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians, and more significantly, Lulu Wang’s Sundance breakout, The Farewell. Not that world cinema lacked insights on the growing pains of the immigrant experience, and the East-West, tradition versus modernity conflicts that comprise the thematic meat of similarly charted family dramas. The United States saw a “70 percent increase in the population [of Asians] from 1980 to 1988,” according to a New York Times report, and Chinese immigrants made up a significant portion. The success...

Chicago – We all have those family stories that seem just so uniquely ours that it is hard to believe anyone could actually relate to them. Stories that, at the time, don’t seem like anyone else would even understand. Lulu Wang proves in “The Farewell” that all it takes is a little empathy, a skilled storyteller, and a group of talented people to bring any story to life.

Rating: 5.0/5.0

Based on a true story that is all “based on an actual lie,” Wang creates something that’s much less of an explanation and much more of an exploration. It all begins when Billi (Awkwafina)—meant to represent Wang herself—discovers that her grandmother, Aka Nai Nai (Shuzhen Zhao), has a terminal illness. As if that information weren’t distressing enough, Billi also finds out that her family plans to hide the diagnosis from Nai Nai, and let her live the...

It can often take a harrowing situation to encourage people to embark on a heartfelt celebration of their families, and learn to truly appreciate the relationships they have with their relatives. The powerful realization that everyone needs to cherish their family members is grippingly presented in the new comedy-drama, ‘The Farewell.’ The feature masterfully interweaves […]

The post Interview: Tzi Ma and Diana Lin Talk The Farewell (Exclusive) appeared first on Shockya.com.

Chicago – One of the hottest films from the first half 2019 festival season was an emotional story about family. “The Farewell” is a breakout for both the lead actor Awkwafina (“Crazy Rich Asians”) and her director Lulu Wang. Wang’s story of her grandmother became a universal spirit about our relative connections.

Awkwafina portrays Billi, a fictional realization of Lulu Wang’s screenplay, a Chinese American who grew up in Western culture and lives in New York City. But she does have one connection back in China, her beloved grandmother Nai Nai (Zhao Shuzhen). When her parents find out that Nai Nai has terminal cancer, the whole clan throws a fake wedding for her cousins to get together and visit her, and Billi goes along for the ride. Although she is uncomfortable with the white lie, the re-connection with her family changes her perspective.

Writer/Director Lulu Wang in Chicago for...

A24’s “The Farewell” had its four-screen opening this weekend and set a new mark for the highest per screen average of 2019, bringing some good news to an indie box office that has had very little to smile about his summer.

Premiering at Sundance in January, “The Farewell” arrived in Los Angeles and New York to critical acclaim, holding a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score with 90 reviews logged. The film grossed an estimated $351,330 this weekend for an average of $87,833, hitting that target despite power outages in Manhattan that forced the AMC Lincoln Square, one of the theaters screening “The Farewell,” to close early on Saturday night. The previous top average for the year was held by “Avengers: Endgame,” which had a $76,601 average from its record $357 million wide opening in April.

Also Read: Awkwafina Had Doubts About Her Dramatic Turn in 'The Farewell': 'I Never Thought I'd See a Script Like...

Death is a tricky thing in the West, even the very word comes under scrutiny. Some prefer “passed away” to “died” and celebration of life services are frequently held in lieu of funerals. A telling quote from Lulu Wang’s new film The Farewell encapsulates how different death is understood in the East: “Chinese people have a saying: When you get cancer, you die.”

The Farewell universalizes one’s life-long struggle with death. It’s done from the perspective of both cultures via Billi (Awkwafina), who’s parents Haiyan (Tzi Ma) and Jian (Diana Lin) immigrated from China to New York City and assimilated to western values. When Billi’s told about her grandmother’s terminal cancer diagnosis she’s asked to keep it a secret. Her struggle to understand why the lie is told, much less keeping it, personifies the tension of Western individualism and Eastern communality to simultaneously sad and hilarious results.

Awkwafina traverses two cultures in Lulu Wang’s Sundance ’19 hit The Farewell, which A24 opens in New York and Los Angeles this weekend. While the Specialty circuit was mostly on pause over the holiday weekend last week, the second weekend of July is seeing a notable group of indie/limited releases making its way to theaters. Filmmaker Lynn Shelton went straight comedy with Sword Of Trust starring Marc Maron, opening in New York ahead of other cities along with VOD the following week. Jesse Eisenberg, meanwhile, stars in The Art of Self-Defense by Riley Stearns. The Bleecker Street release will target audiences that skew younger than the company’s usual fare. National Geographic is launching doc Sea Of Shadows, also a Sundance premiere, in select locations, while Uncork’d Entertainment is opening writer-director Frederick Cipoletti’s Desolate with Will Brittain, Callan Mulvey and Tyson Ritter day and date with a multi-city theatrical bow.

Writer and director Lulu Wang’s forthcoming film The Farewell has been buzzy since it premiered at Sundance. It sold to A24 after its positive ovation at the fest and since has made its rounds, gaining more and more momentum as it ramps up for its July 12 release. The film’s star Awkwafina is getting shine for her lead performance and Wang has staked her claim in Hollywood showing that she can helm a film as good as any white man.

The film is billed as a story based on a lie — and is based on Wang’s real life (her great aunt Lu Hong actually appears in the film). Chinese-born, U.S.-raised Billi (Awkwafina) learns that her Nai Nai (her grandma played by Zhao Shuzhen) in China only has weeks to live. Her father (Tzi Ma), mother (Diana Lin) and entire family knows, but they have decided not to tell her.

Writer-director Lulu Wang draws on her own life to create the story of a Chinese family who come together to celebrate a wedding that’s closer to a funeral. Awkwafina, the rapper-comic and laugh-delivering dynamo of Crazy Rich Asians and Ocean’s 8, dials down to give a sublime and finely textured performance as Billi, a New Yorker who returns home to China to see her grandmother Nai Nai (the hilarious, heartbreaking and altogether wonderful Shuzhen Zhao). The elderly woman has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. The catch is that...

Ever since the Sundance Film Festival, buzz has been building for The Farewell. Poised to be one of the fest’s potential awards season players, the heartfelt drama is opening this week and should begin accruing a number of new fans. Those at Sundance did not overhype this one, as it’s a tremendously good movie, one that will undoubtedly make you smile. Not quite the tearjerker you might be expecting, it’s still deeply emotional, yet handled so well it never seems even a little bit manipulative. It’s one of the better films of 2019 so far could certainly end up on Oscar’s radar. For Billi (Awkwafina), her grandmother Nai Nai (Shuzhen Zhao) is a huge figure in her life, even if the former is living in New York City, while the latter is in China. They talk often on the phone, exhibiting a close relationship. While visiting...

In The Farewell, Awkwafina plays Billi, an Asian American who heads to China after learning her grandmother (Shuzhen Zhao) is dying of cancer. The catch is the grandmother’s entire family is reuniting under the guise of an impending wedding, as they believe that disclosing the information would only make her final days stressful. Directed by [...]

The post Tzi Ma And Diana Lin Talk Rehearsal Process Behind Critically Acclaimed ‘The Farewell’ appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.

One of the biggest breakthrough performances of the year comes in an unexpected package; the Sundance Film Festival favorite “The Farewell” introduces audiences to 75-year-old Chinese actress Zhao Shuzhen in her dazzling American film debut. “I’m so lucky,” Shuzhen says via translator in an interview with Variety. It’s a word she uses frequently, and precisely the word filmmaker Lulu Wang uses when talking about finding the actress who embodies her grandmother on screen.

Wang opens the movie, which opens in New York and Los Angeles this week, by telling us it is “based on a true lie.” In a 2016 episode of “This American Life” titled “In Defense of Ignorance,” Wang detailed the lengths her family went through to obscure the truth from her real-life grandmother after she was diagnosed with cancer and given only weeks to live. Believing her final days should be spent in blissful ignorance – and...

The Farewell A24 Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net linked from Rotten Tomatoes by: Harvey Karten Director: Lulu Wang Screenwriter: Lulu Wang Cast: Awkwafina, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin, Zhao Shuzhen, Lu Hong, Jiang Yongbo, Chen Han, Aoi Mizuhara Screened at: Park Ave., NYC, 6/19/19 Opens: July 12, 2019 A childhood friend of mine had a father […]

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This year’s event hosted 12 features transferred from the Utah-based festival.

Lulu Wang’s family drama The Farewell picked up the audience favourite award at Sundance London on Sunday, June 2.

The film had its European premiere at the event, and was one of 12 features which launched at Sundance Film Festival in January to transfer to the London offshoot.

It centres on Billi, a Chinese-American woman who returns to China when her grandmother is given a terminal diagnosis, about which her family keeps her in the dark.

Awkwafina leads the cast, which also includes Tzi Ma, Diana Lin, Zhao Shuzhen, Lu Hong,...