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  • ‘American Born Chinese’ Interview: Sydney Taylor and Ben Wang

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    Premiering on Disney+ beginning May 24th is the new series ‘American Born Chinese,’ which was created by writer and actor Kelvin Yu (‘Wonder Woman 1984’) from the graphic novel of the same name by Gene Luen Yang.

    What is the plot of ‘American Born Chinese’?

    ‘American Born Chinese’ tells the story of teenager Jin Wang (Ben Wang), a son of Chinese immigrants, who for the most part is a typical high school kid. He collects manga, tries to join the soccer team, and is on a journey dealing with his own identity as he tries to figure out who he is. One day, Wei-Chen (Jimmy Liu), an exchange student, arrives at Jin’s school. Unlike Jin, Wei-Chen didn’t grow up in America, is loud and open by nature, and doesn’t inhabit Jin’s self-doubt and insecurities. At times, this causes Jin to feel embarrassed being associated with Wei-Chen who’s very different.

    Wei-Chen is revealed to be the son of Sun Wukong (Daniel Wu), commonly known as the Monkey King, a legendary figure in Chinese literature. Wei-Chen had a dream that the mythical Fourth Scroll can stop an uprising against Heaven. The dream also told him that an ordinary teenager is destined to aid him in his search. So Wei-Chen stole his father’s magical staff and is now, disguised as a high-schooler, searching for the scroll in earthly California, convinced that Jin is the ordinary teenager from his prophetic dream.

    Who is in the cast of ‘American Born Chinese’?

    ‘American Born Chinese’ stars Ben Wang (‘Sex Appeal‘) as Jin Wang, Yeo Yann Yann (‘Havoc‘) as Christine Wang, Chin Han (‘Mortal Kombat‘) as Simon Wang, Oscar-winner Ke Huy Quan (‘The Goonies‘) as Jamie Yao, Jimmy Liu as Wei-Chen, Sydney Taylor as Amelia, Daniel Wu (‘Reminiscence‘) as Sun Wukong, Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh (‘Crazy Rich Asians‘) as Guanyin, Ronny Chieng (‘M3GAN‘) as Ji Gong, Rosalie Chiang (‘Turning Red‘) as Suzy Nakamura, James Hong (‘Big Trouble in Little China‘) as Jade Emperor, Jimmy O. Yang (‘80 for Brady‘) as Ao Guang, and Stephanie Hsu (‘Everything Everywhere All at Once‘) as Shiji Niangniang.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of sitting with Sydney Taylor and Ben Wang to talk about their work on ‘American Born Chinese,’ what the series means to Wang, how he’s similar to his character, Jin and Amelia’s relationship, her home life, and Jin’s friendship with Wei-Chen.

    Sydney Taylor and Ben Wang star in Disney+'s 'American Born Chinese.'
    (L to R) Sydney Taylor and Ben Wang star in Disney+’s ‘American Born Chinese.’

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with Taylor and Wang, Daniel Wu, Jimmy Liu, Yeo Yann Yann, Chin Han, and executive producers Gene Luen Yang and Melvin Mar.

    Moviefone: To begin with, Ben, what is it like for you to be on a series like this that features real representation?

    Ben Wang: I don’t know if I have the right words to describe how I feel. It is a bit overwhelming, but also this show, we’ve been sitting on it for a year. I’ve been pumped for everybody to see it. For like a year now, I’ve known how great it is and so I’m just really excited for everybody else to find out too. I’d never had a show like this when I was growing up and I know that it would’ve been really helpful for me to have a show like this. I’m really glad and grateful that I get to be a part of this project.

    MF: Ben, what are some of the things that you can relate to personally between your character and your real life?

    BW: All of the things, every single one of the things. When I read the script, when I read the graphic novel, it was like (Graphic novel author) Gene (Luen Yang) had spied on me while I was growing up and just drew frames from my exact life. Everything down to Jin’s aesthetic, his shirt and his terrible haircut is everything I had. I would walk on set and they’d be like, “Is that your costume or is that what you came here today in?” I’d have to tell them every time. So it was kind of incredible to see that degree of specific representation. It caught me off guard and then it made me really emotional because I had never seen that before.

    Sydney Taylor and Ben Wang star in Disney+'s 'American Born Chinese.'
    (L to R) Sydney Taylor and Ben Wang star in Disney+’s ‘American Born Chinese.’ Photo: Disney/Carlos Lopez-Calleja.

    Related Article: Stephanie Hsu and Ashley Park Discuss Universality of ‘Joy Ride’

    MF: Sydney, how would you describe Amelia and Jin’s relationship?

    Sydney Taylor: I think Amelia and Jin’s relationship, it’s very different from beginning to end. Because the story is told through Jin’s eyes, I think in the beginning it sort of starts like Amelia is this perfect being that has all of the things he wants. She’s this all-American girl, is popular and pretty, and this and that, and everyone likes her and all of these things. Then he sort of idolizes her to a certain extent at the start. So, then, as the story continues, we get to see that relationship sort of change and that he sees her as more of a person than this unattainable thing on a pedestal. She gets to be an actual person to him. So then as that changes, we get to see their relationship form a better connection with each other. They end with this really wonderful relationship, and friendship, and closeness.

    MF: Sydney, can you also talk about Amelia’s less than perfect home life?

    ST: Yes, that was largely accredited to the writers. It was written in such a good way because it’s told through his eyes, so we see her as very almost one-dimensional. It’s a really great reveal that she largely represents the universal experience of not feeling understood, not feeling like you get along with people, having issues with your parents, and having issues with yourself. I think she serves as a really good universal being.

    Ben Wang and Jimmy Liu star in Disney+'s 'American Born Chinese.'
    (L to R) Ben Wang and Jimmy Liu star in Disney+’s ‘American Born Chinese.’ Photo: Disney/Carlos Lopez-Calleja.

    MF: Finally, Ben, can you talk about Jin’s friendship with Wei-Chen?

    BW: It’s a complicated friendship. It’s a complicated friendship for many reasons. Wei-Chen is a monkey God and Jin is an awkward little boy from Earth. But more importantly, it’s complicated because they’re so different as people. Wei-Chen is this sort of hyper-confident kid who goes into any situation, guns blazing without a single shred of doubt in himself. Jin is like 99% doubt. So they have a lot to teach each other about. The progression of their twin arcs throughout the series is they sort of meet in the middle, right? Wei-Chen teaches Jin how to be more confident. What is a healthy amount of confidence? I almost want to say what is a healthy amount of pride to take in yourself, a healthy amount to believe in yourself? Jin teaches Wei-Chen that sometimes you have to slow down, sometimes you have to think, sometimes you have to work things through, and sometimes you have to think about other people, not just the thing you want. So for the two of them, it’s a story about their friendship and it’s a story about the two of them teaching each other how to be better people, and growing up together.

    ‘American Born Chinese' premieres on Disney+ beginning May 24th.
    ‘American Born Chinese’ premieres on Disney+ beginning May 24th.

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  • Director John Hamburg Talks Netflix’s ‘Me Time’

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    Premiering on Netflix beginning August 26th is the new comedy ‘Me Time’ from writer and director John Hamburg (‘Along Came Polly,’ ‘I Love You, Man’).

    The movie stars Kevin Hart (‘DC League of Super Pets’) as Sonny, a stay-at-home dad who finds himself with some “me time” for the first time in years while his wife (Regina Hall) and kids are away.

    He soon reconnects with his former best friend Huck (‘Father Stu’s Mark Wahlberg) for a wild weekend that nearly upends his life.

    In addition to Hart, Wahlberg and Hall, the movie also features Jimmy O. Yang (‘Easter Sunday’), John Amos (‘Coming 2 America’), and musician Seal.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking to writer/director John Hamburg about his work on ‘Me Time,’ making a “bromance,” working with Hart and Wahlberg, Seal’s concert for the crew, working with a mountain lion, and the possibility of a sequel.

    'Me Time' writer and director John Hamburg.
    ‘Me Time’ writer and director John Hamburg.

    Moviefone: To begin with, how did you come up with the idea for this movie?

    John Hamburg: One of our executive producers was telling me that he was alone without his family for the first time in a while. It’s a moment as simple as that that gets my mind going and thinking, “Oh, maybe that’s the premise for something.”

    Then I put that idea aside for a few years, and then was playing around with this Huck character, Mark Wahlberg’s character, in a different story entirely. Suddenly I was like, “Oh, well maybe I can marry the early idea of someone who’s alone without their family, but reconnects with this Huck character,” and the rest of the story grew from there.

    MF: How often does that happen that you’ll take something that is not working in one project, and apply it to another project?

    JH: It does happen because it’s all part of a world of comedy, awkwardness and characters that I traffic in, so it definitely does. Sometimes I’ll hear a story and years later, put that into a project. Or I’ll put a project aside because I can’t quite crack it or it’s not quite working, but I’ll take elements of that and put it into something that does come to fruition.

    MF: The movie is very much a “bromantic comedy,” can you talk about the deep friendship between Sonny and Huck?

    JH: I’ve worked in the bromance space before, and I guess it’s one of my themes. They say filmmakers, sometimes you just make the same movie over and over again. They just look a little different. But I just wanted to tap into the idea that when you make different choices in life, it can pull people apart and really, you’re not as far apart as you think you are. How does this friendship that has been put through the test come back together?

    Because I had experienced it in my own life, making choices to start a family and settle down in a way, and I had other family members and friends who have made an entirely different choice. Often, I’d think, “Oh, they’re doing something crazy right now, and I’m a little jealous.” But they might be like, “I’m jealous that John just gets to hang out at home and watch TV with his family.” So, it’s interesting. I was trying to tap into those dynamics in writing this relationship between Sonny and Huck.

    Kevin Hart as Sonny, director John Hamburg, and Mark Wahlberg as Huck on the set of 'Me Time.'
    (L to R) Kevin Hart as Sonny, director John Hamburg, and Mark Wahlberg as Huck on the set of ‘Me Time.’ Cr. Saeed Adyani/Netflix © 2022.

    MF: Can you talk about working with Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg, and their chemistry on and off screen?

    JH: Kevin and I had worked with each other before, but never when he was the global movie star that he is now. I worked a bit on the script of his movie ‘Night School,’ but I wasn’t the director. Kevin is the funniest human on the planet and also just a great person. He’s fun to work with, brings so much energy, and has so much creativity.

    Then Mark, I hadn’t known. We hadn’t worked together, so I didn’t know what he’d be like. He is, first of all, incredibly professional. He truly takes the craft of acting seriously. He knows the script cold, knows things that I’d cut from previous drafts and would bring them back in, and also just sneakily very funny. That combination is lethal. Then the two of them just got along incredibly well, which made my job as a director much easier.

    MF: Can you also talk about Sonny and Maya’s marriage and how Sonny’s own insecurities really put his marriage and his family at risk?

    JH: I was trying to write about a modern relationship. I observed so many of these where the wife was the breadwinner and had a big career, and the husband chose to stay at home, or maybe sometimes didn’t choose. Maybe it was like, “My wife is killing it, and someone’s got to take care of the kids.” So, I was aiming to write about that.

    Then, I had seen some men in my life who made that choice and were completely at peace with it, but that wouldn’t give me a comedy. I’d seen other people who made that choice, but clearly were a little bit insecure and not quite sure. They’re falling into old-school gender dynamics, and I was trying to approach that.

    Insecurity, to me, is one of the through lines in all of my comedies. A character who’s insecure is going to make a lot of bad choices. Thus, Kevin’s character is insecure, and he overcompensates. He does so many stupid things that come from that one thing, which is if he could just take a breath, relax and know he’s doing fine, everything would be fine. But of course, we wouldn’t have the movie ‘Me Time’ in that case.

    Mark Wahlberg as Huck, Regina Hall as Maya, Kevin Hart as Sonny in 'Me Time.'
    (L-R) Mark Wahlberg as Huck, Regina Hall as Maya, Kevin Hart as Sonny in ‘Me Time.’ Cr. Saeed Adyani/Netflix © 2022.

    MF: Mow did you get Seal to appear in the movie?

    JH: So, I am a big Seal fan. I mean, he’s a great musician, and he has one of the great voices of all time. Kevin’s character was a singer-songwriter named Dr. Silk, and so it was like, “Who would this character have revered when he was coming up? Seal. That makes sense.”

    Seal is so iconic, and so larger than life. I mean physically he’s a very tall, extremely handsome man. So, Kevin’s character would love this guy and he would be one of his idols. Then also, it would be really fun to have Seal, this larger-than-life figure, in Kevin’s suburban backyard. That was the combination.

    Thankfully, we had a great conversation over the phone when he was on tour in England. I talked him through it, and he was down, and he was awesome. He was so great on the set. He was funny, and fun. When he was doing that concert, all the actors were just in awe. He stayed, and he did an acapella version of “Crazy” after the cameras stopped rolling just to entertain the crowd. It was one of my great days filming in my career.

    MF: In the film, Sonny and Huck go on several adventures including skydiving and fighting a mountain lion. What was the most challenging sequence to shoot?

    JH: Good question. The mountain lion was the most challenging because you have some real animals who don’t cooperate that well usually. You have a really hot, dusty location. A lot of it was CGI, and I hadn’t had a ton of experience doing this kind of sequence. So, I’m smart enough to know what I don’t know.

    I relied on experts to tell me, “I know Kevin is wrestling with a blue stuffed animal. But this is going to look real. Trust us.” You have to have faith, put all these components together and hope that at the end it’s going to look seamless to the audience, and all they’ll see is Kevin Hart running from a mountain lion.

    MF: Finally, can you see possibly revisiting these characters in the future and exploring their relationship further in a sequel?

    JH: I do have a couple of ideas. They were so much fun to work with, and I do love the dynamics of this cast and these characters. There’s a couple of ideas percolating. You got to be careful with spinoff sequels. You have a reason to tell the story. But I do have a couple of thoughts that feel organic to the next choices these characters would make.

    Mark Wahlberg as Huck, Kevin Hart as Sonny in 'Me Time.'
    (L-R) Mark Wahlberg as Huck, Kevin Hart as Sonny in ‘Me Time.’ Cr. Saeed Adyani/Netflix © 2022.
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  • ‘Space Force’ Season 2 Interviews

    Ben Schwartz from Netflix's 'Space Force' Season Two.
    Ben Schwartz from Netflix’s ‘Space Force’ Season Two.

    Premiering on Netflix February 18th is the second season of the popular comedy ‘Space Force.’ The series is a workplace comedy that revolves around a group of people tasked with establishing the sixth branch of the United States Armed Forces, the United States Space Force.

    The series stars Steve Carell (‘Despicable Me’) as General Mark R. Naird, the Space Force’s first Chief of Space Operations. The ensemble cast also includes John Malkovich (‘Con Air’), Ben Schwartz (‘The Afterparty’), Diana Silvers (‘Booksmart’), Tawny Newsome (‘Vacation Friends’), Noah Emmerich (‘Suspicion’), and Jimmy O. Yang (‘Crazy Rich Asians’).

    Moviefone recently had the opportunity to speak with actors Ben Schwartz, Jimmy O. Yang, Diana Silvers and Tawny Newsome about their work on ‘Space Force’ season two.

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    You can read the full transcript of our interview below, or watch all the interviews in the video played above.

    Moviefone: As season two begins, the US Space Force is really having to prove its worth. Ben, as the social media director and the publicist, what is Tony’s biggest challenge this season?

    Ben Schwartz: By the way, you’re exactly correct, that is what is happening. Tony’s biggest challenge is trying to spin this thing into something that looks positive. He has to spin this thing into showing that Space Force is worthwhile and keeping these people who work there is worthwhile.

    Somehow, now he is the underdog trying to keep the story of what’s happening as positive as possible, to give people hope that this thing could actually be wonderful for our country and things like that. So, there’s a lot more on his shoulders, but also failure is just a skip away. He is very aware that he may have to start looking for another job.

    MF: Jimmy, what is Chan dealing with personally and in the workplace this season?

    Jimmy O. Yang: I’m not sure of the Chan and Angela possibilities. Will they, or won’t they? Relationships can cause HR complaints, but you know, it’s happening. So, I think he’s a capable scientist. He approaches everything like science, like a math problem. So, he really has to learn how to grow as a human being with his interpersonal relationships.

    But it’s not just with Angela. It’s also his bromance with Tony, Ben Schwartz’s character, him being a mentee to John Malkovich’s character, almost mentoring this new intern, all while under the family umbrella of General Naird. It’s all very, very fun with very relatable human family dynamics and circumstances, even though it’s set in the very high stakes and grand scale of ‘Space Force.’

    MF: Tawny, does Captain Ali have a larger role this season than she did in the first season?

    Tawny Newsome: Yeah, for sure. You know, I think the writers did a great job of not ignoring the fact that she did this wild thing. She literally went to the moon. She was the first black woman on the moon. Then to just come back and kind of jump into everyday life is a big ask. So, she definitely has some tumult going on. I think we got to play with it in a really fun way.

    You know, (producer) Greg Daniels had asked me, do you have like something that you do? We need an outlet for her or whatever. I was like, well, I play the drums. Could she be drumming somewhere? He’s like, yes. So, the writers ran with that. Then when I got the scripts later, I was like, oh wait. So, she’s drumming in the middle of the night in an apartment complex. That’s a serial killer move, who does that? That’s truly insane to drum, even to drum in a house, in a regular neighborhood, or in an apartment. So, that told me a lot about where she’s at and the amount of F’s she was giving at that moment, which is less than zero.

    MF: Diana, your character has matured a lot between season one and season two. What happened to her between seasons that helped her to grow so much?

    Diana Silvers: I think especially at that age, everything is kind of life or death. Because your emotions are heightened, you’re hormonal and there’s just a lot going on. You truly are the center of everything that revolves around you. You are the center of your universe. I think in season one, Erin felt like she wasn’t. She felt like a side character in someone else’s life. I think when, that big event happened with her mom and General Naird, she actually sees that she does matter.

    She means something, and she is kind of like the center of not just her universe, but her family’s universe. I think it allowed for her to get grounded again and reground herself. So, going into Space Force and finding a parental figure in Mallory and having like two parents in a way again. Having a support system and being around other adults that genuinely care about her, she was able to explore her own identity and figure out what she wants for herself and where she wants to go with her life.

    ‘Space Force’ season two premieres February 18th on Netflix.

    (L to R) John Malkovich, Tawny Newsome, Lisa Kudrow, Steve Carell, Jimmy O. Yang, Ben Schwartz, and Diana Silvers in 'Space Force' Season Two. Photo Courtesy of Netflix.
    (L to R) John Malkovich, Tawny Newsome, Lisa Kudrow, Steve Carell, Jimmy O. Yang, Ben Schwartz, and Diana Silvers in ‘Space Force’ Season Two. Photo Courtesy of Netflix.
  • Watch Jimmy O. Yang & Alex Moffat in an exclusive clip from ‘The Opening Act’

    Watch Jimmy O. Yang & Alex Moffat in an exclusive clip from ‘The Opening Act’

    In this exclusive clip for ‘The Opening Act,’ aspiring stand-up Will Chu (Jimmy O. Yang) joins comic star Chris Palmer (Alex Moffat) for an appearance on a morning zoo-style radio show.

    The film is written and directed by Steve Byrne, and produced by Vince Vaughn and Peter Billingsly. It also features an impressive amount of comic co-stars including Cedric the Entertainer, Bill Burr, Ken Jeong, Neal Brennan, Debby Ryan, Jermaine Fowler, Whitney Cummings, and Iliza Shlesinger.

    Here’s the official synopsis for the film:

    Will Chu is stuck in a thankless job while trying to pursue his true passion in life, becoming a stand-up comedian. When he gets the opportunity he’s been waiting for, the emcee slot on the road opening for his hero Billy G., the realities of life on the stage come crashing in. Between relentless hecklers, drunk comedy groupies and hard-to-impress morning radio DJs, things get off to a rough start. Even if he can learn from his idols and overcome the challenges, he’ll have to prove he has what it takes to make his dream a reality.

    ‘The Opening Act’ will be in theaters, on digital and on demand on October 16.

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