From: "Saved by Windows Internet Explorer 7" Subject: Exclusive Interview: Director Dave Boyle And Actor Hiroshi Watanabe Talk WHITE ON RICE | Rama's Screen Date: Tue, 8 Dec 2009 20:06:36 -0800 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; type="text/html"; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0037_01CA7841.F21E7490" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.0.6000.16669 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0037_01CA7841.F21E7490 Content-Type: text/html; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://ramascreen.com/exclusive-interview-director-dave-boyle-and-actor-hiroshi-watanabe-talk-white-on-rice/ =EF=BB=BF
This past week I had the awesome opportunity to interview = writer/director=20 Dave Boyle and actor Hiroshi Watanabe = of the=20 upcoming indie romantic comedy WHITE ON RICE (check = out = the=20 trailer). A funny little story about Jimmy, a misguided 40 = year old=20 divorcee trying to navigate his way through a new life in America and = out of his=20 sister Aiko=E2=80=99s basement. The movie opens limited on September = 11th, 2009, go=20 watch it if it=E2=80=99s playing in a theater near you. Here is the = interview after this=20 jump=E2=80=A6
RS: First of = all, I=20 don=E2=80=99t know if you=E2=80=99ve guys been informed but I myself am = an Asian, an Indonesian=20 to be exact and I=E2=80=99d just like to say thank you for making a = movie with Asian=20 actors that=E2=80=99s not about martial art fighter
DB and HW: Thank you (laugh)
RS: So what=E2=80=99s fascinating about making = movies casting=20 Japanese stars?
DB: I=E2=80=99ve worked with=20 the actors. Hiroshi for example, I met him in Big Dreams Little = Tokyo=20 and I just thought he=E2=80=99d be perfect to have his own movie, be the = lead in it and=20 because of that, the movie took on sorta Japanese feel to it. A = comedy=20 about family so his relatives have to be Japanese too. For a background, = I=20 learned to speak Japanese when I was in missionary in Australia a few = years=20 back. Big Dreams Little Tokyo, it was meant to be a one-time = type of=20 thing, very loosely based on my experiences trying to learn Japanese in=20 Australia and then WHITE ON RICE sort of took on this Japanese American = feel to=20 it because of casting Hiroshi
RS: I read your statement on the press release and I = quote=20 =E2=80=9CI guess you could call WHITE ON RICE a work of a speculative = autobiography. At=20 the time I began writing the story, I had serious concerns about my = future. I=20 found myself daydreaming about a bleak future in which I was = unemployable,=20 incompetent, and totally dependent upon others for survival=E2=80=9D = When was that and=20 how similar was your situation with Jimmy? Did you sleep in the = janitor=E2=80=99s closet=20 like Jimmy did?
DB: I = didn=E2=80=99t stay in=20 the janitor=E2=80=99s closet (laugh) I lived in my = sister=E2=80=99s place for a long=20 time. It was pretty, within recent a few years . I think I got a little = bit of=20 Jimmy in me, very exaggerated but he=E2=80=99s sort of what I=E2=80=99m = worried I could be=20 perceived as
RS: I understand that Joel Clark is the co-writer, = how did=20 he get into the picture? What was the process?
DB: Actually, = I was=20 introduced to Joel and only met him once and then for the next six = months, he=20 and I collaborated via e-mail. We only met once before we started = working and=20 the collaboration was.. I=E2=80=99ve already gone through several = drafts of the=20 script by that point and he wrote a lot of the dialogue for the final = version. I=20 liked working that way. I know the story that I want to tell and if = I=E2=80=99m focused=20 on other things , I=E2=80=99ll let somebody to just worry about the = dialogue and write=20 the jokes.
RS: Hiroshi, career-wise, you=E2=80=99ve done quite = well in=20 Hollywood productions with The Last Samurai, Letters from = Iwo=20 Jima, what attracted you to WHITE ON RICE and how is Dave Boyle as = a=20 filmmaker to you as an actor?
HW: He writes = very=20 fast, very funny, I really enjoy working with Dave. I worked with him, = his first=20 production, in Big Dreams Little Tokyo, a very small part. He=20 remembered me and he called me and I know he writes very good stuff so I = decided=20 right away. And I=E2=80=99ve done drama and this is my first time to = play the leading=20 part in comedy. I really love comedy especially American sitcom so it = feels like=20 a sitcom and I had a really great time
RS: What was your favorite scene in the movie?
HW: Tak and = Aiko were=20 talking about Jimmy. Tak said this coffin would fit Jimmy=E2=80=99s = size, that scene was=20 really funny and really scary.
RS: This is the impression I got from WHITE ON RICE, = and=20 please correct me if I=E2=80=99m wrong all the characters are focusd on = something that=20 they don=E2=80=99t realize what they already got all along. Jimmy = didn=E2=80=99t notice the=20 banana girl, Tak didn=E2=80=99t realize the potential that his son = has
DB: They get=20 distracted, about not realizing what you have in front of=20 you
RS: So, WHITE ON RICE opens next week, September=20 11th
DB: It will = open in=20 L.A. and Orange County and the following we expand in San Francisco Bay = area.=20 We=E2=80=99ll just keep expanding as long as it can = go
RS: How do you hope the Asian American audiences = would=20 respond to WHITE ON RICE?
DB: We=E2=80=99ve already=20 screened the movie several dozen times at film festivals and the = response there=20 especially at the Asian American film festival like the San Francisco = Asian=20 American Film Festival, has been really really great. So I=E2=80=99m = hoping to keep that=20 tradition. We=E2=80=99re really working with a lot fo the film festivals = on doing our=20 grassroots marketing to make sure the audience is = aware
RS: What=E2=80=99s next for filmmaker Dave = Boyle?
DB: I = haven=E2=80=99t decided=20 what film project I may do next. On this one, I=E2=80=99m learning so = much of how=20 distribution works. I=E2=80=99m doing some of the work myself but I have = a distribution=20 partner who=E2=80=99s a lot more experienced than I am to make sure it = gets into=20 theaters. And I think in the next 6 months of my life are going to be = occupied=20 with that. But I=E2=80=99m always on the lookout for a good story, = I=E2=80=99m always making=20 notes, hopefully next year I=E2=80=99ll have something ready to = go.
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I had high hopes for THE WOLFMAN, the anticipation = of seeing Oscar winning make up artist Rick = Baker’s latest work, the combination of talents that are = Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins and Hugo = Weaving. (Sorry Emily Blunt, you’re hot = but actinwise, you’re not as great as those three yet), not to = mention the = trailer was wicked! But alas,… Read the rest of this entry »
=0A= = =0A=Here comes the Men in Black with Josh = Brolin. Hero = Complex reported that one of the hardest working men in Hollywood = (Jonah Hex, True Grit, Cartel) is being considered for a role = in the Columbia Pictures franchise about a secret agency that handles = aliens in disguise living among us on this planet. A couple of months = ago, the studio hired Tropic Thunder = co-writer Etan Cohen to write MEN IN BLACK = 3 and now with Brolin coming in strong, the target release date = of 2011 is getting closer and closer to reality… Read the rest of this entry = »
=0A= =0A=I know I’ve been trying my best to promote = AVATAR that it seems like I was neglecting certain = movies along the way, but it was not my intention at all. It’s = just that if.. and I mean if. this James = Cameron-directed 3D epic ends up becoming the biggest movie of = the year, I’d like you to have as much info about it as possible = before it gets released next week’s Friday. But with this Final = IMAX theatrical poster, via IMpawards, maybe we can at least start saying = goodbye to seeing so many AVATAR things online. View = the whole image after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »
=0A= =0A=The red-band trailer for YOUTH IN REVOLT is online, = via Funnyordie. It’s more of an extended version = of the previous = trailer but with more NSFW lines. You can watch it using = the media player below and after that is a vibrant video of Cera and = Doubleday in California this weekend after a coast-to-coast five city = tour where they visited with enthusiastic fans of YOUTH IN = REVOLT at college campuses in Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, = Seattle and finally at U.C. Berkeley near San Francisco. This adaptation = opens January 8th, 2010 but you can catch the sneak preview on January = 2nd, so mark your calendar. Watch both videos after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »
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UP IN THE AIR flies high as one of the Best Pictures of the year. =
It’s funny, heartbreaking, and full of great memorable lines. =
Director Jason Reitman and scribe Sheldon Turner’s adapted =
screenplay hits all the right notes. It’s the movie that… =
Read the rest of this entry »
We’re almost at the end of 2009 and I figured, before I go on =
to share with you some more headlines, let us stop for a moment to think =
back and remember. Rama’s SCREEN has been around for almost 3 =
years now and I thank you for being such awesome readers but I’m =
sure you’ve spotted some things about this blog that you like the =
best or particularly don’t like at all. Do you have any =
suggestions on how Rama’s SCREEN can better itself? What do you =
think it lacks? What do you think needs improving and what do you think =
is worth keeping cause it works just fine? Think of this as a mini =
survey.
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Feel free to share your opinions in the comment section. Don’t =
worry about being nice, I can take criticism,.. just don’t drop =
F-bombs if you don’t have to, ok?
I thought the aerial combat in the 2006 movie Flyboys was = exhilarating. Sure some of them were special effects but they were fun = to watch, actually if the movie was just 2 hours of just that, = it’d be all right with me. Don’t know much about aviation or = planes but why can’t there be more movies about it?! Be careful = what you wish for because WAR BIRDS is happening… = Read the rest of this = entry »
=0A= =0A=Which villain will the friendly neighborhood go up against in = Sam Raimi’s fourth installment? = SPIDER-MAN 4 is going to start filming next year and yet the = world has not heard one official bit about who they’ve chosen to = be the next bad guy? Some say, Dylan Baker who plays = Dr. Curt Connors is going to turn into his alter ego The Lizard, many = female stars have been rumored to play Black Cat (Julia Stiles, = Rachel McAdams, Romola Garai, Anne Hathaway), but movieline has heard of another one, how about = John Malkovich as The Vulture?… Read the rest of this entry = »
=0A= =0A=Via comingsoon.net, Columbia Pictures has announced =
the release date for the Facebook biopic movie, THE SOCIAL =
NETWORK. It will it theaters nationwide on October 15th, 2010. =
Check out the spy photo showing Justin =
Timberlake as Sean Paker, Napster’s co-founder who became =
Facebook’s founding president
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Jesse Eisenberg plays Facebook’s creator, Mark =
Zuckerberg while Andrew Garfield will play Eduardo =
Saverin, the co-founder who fell out with Zuckerberg over money… =
Read the rest of this entry =
»
Another AVATAR Clip has hit the web via IGN. It’s = Michelle Rodriguez as pilot Trudy Chacon taking Jake = Sully, Dr. Grace and Norm as they see the breathtaking Pandora for the = first time. The sight leaves you in awe. Watch the clip after this = jump… Read the rest of this entry = »
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I want to see it when it gets to town.