Filmmaker Wayne Wang looks on during an interview in Hong Kong in March 2008. (AP)
Hong Kong-born director Wayne Wang was named after his father’s favorite actor, John Wayne.
He knows his way around Hollywood and mainstream Hollywood films. He directed Jennifer Lopez in “Maid in Manhattan” and Queen Latifah in “The Last Holiday.”
But Wayne Wang made his name spanning cultures in “Chan Is Missing” and “The Joy Luck Club.” Now he’s back, in indie-director mode, with new takes on the Chinese and Chinese-American experience.
This hour, On Point: Wayne Wang on his latest films, “A Thousand Years of Good Prayers and “The Princess of Nebraska.”
You can join the conversation. Have you followed the work of Wayne Wang? Do you go for his big studio productions? Or his indie instincts? Share your thoughts.
-Tom Ashbrook
Guests:
Wayne Wang joins us from San Francisco. He’s directed eighteen films, from “Chan is Missing” and “The Joy Luck Club,” from Amy Tan’s novel, to “Smoke” by Paul Auster and the J-Lo hit “Maid in Manhattan.” His latest pair of films, “A Thousand Years of Good Prayers” and “The Princess of Nebraska,” are out this fall — “Prayers” to the art house circuit and “The Princess of Nebraska” to a YouTube debut.
And from Oakland, California, we’re joined by author Yiyun Li. “A Thousand Years of Good Prayers” and “The Princess of Nebraska” were adapted from her 2006 short story collection, “A Thousand Years of Good Prayers,” which won the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award and the PEN/Hemingway Award. She’s a professor of creative writing at Mills College.
You can watch “The Princess of Nebraska” here courtesy of the YouTube Screening Room:
And you can watch the trailer for “A Thousand Years of Good Prayers” here:
This is a fantastic show. Beautifully orchestrated Tom and it was a joy for me to listen to. You teased out all the complexity in a way that was fascinating.
Posted by Richard, on October 27th, 2008 at 11:55 AMThis was a nice segment of On Point. Thanks Wbur and On Point for promoting the arts.
Posted by Joe B., on October 27th, 2008 at 5:57 PMI really enjoyed the discussion as a Chinese American living in both worlds. The discussion provided a revealing glimpse of the importance of “art” in bringing about real change by bridging cultures and embracing our common humanity.
Posted by Gene, on October 27th, 2008 at 9:33 PM