Who's your biggest fan?
I am my own biggest fan. All the time I have this acknowledgement that I am the only one who gets me throughout my entire universe of mind, which is not a fully true statement, of course, because sometimes we simply realize that we don’t understand ourselves as we have thought all the time. It’s a reaction of mine to the outside world’s perception of me and my work.
I have some weird or uncommon streaks in my creativity, and they are usually going away from the mainstream standards. So, I am more appreciated by fewer audience. It’s much like myself as being a person who’s not appealing to everyone, rather, a group of bosom friends.
What brings you inspiration the most?
When I close tight my eyes (not in sleep) and place myself in a meditative state (not meditation in the sense of Chan), I incur some best inspirations in my head. This psychodelia not only relaxes my body so that it can float, but also anchors my boat of ideas so that I can settle down where I am supposed to be to exceed cliché or whatever would be anti-creative.
In terms of “the most”, it’s hard for me to provide an immediate answer, but generally speaking, I can get powerful inspirations by a flower by the roadside, a sad or sentimental song, or an underprivileged immigrant facing language barriers. More of matters or persons in that vein. I am inclined to side with the lesser-fortunate whether it be of societal, economic, political, or even artistic status. For example, I have been enjoying YouTubers uploading so many unknown to lesser-known albums by so many unheard of or lesser-known musicians who certainly deserve better status.
Which actor or director would you like to work with?
First of all, I would like to work with myself as a director for a screenplay I write. Once a big studio in Taiwan offered to buy my screenplay for a director, whom they did not let me know, or perhaps they had not hired anyone yet, nevertheless, it was a good temptation for me as an establishing director, but I ended up not selling my screenplay without me directing it. Not surprisingly, the deal wasn’t made. I think I am the type of writer/director, all the more so now after four decades in the profession.
Actor-wise, I have been working with many of the top talents who were celebrities in Taiwan or Hong Kong, so I have this background to work with heavy-weights. As for “Signed, Baba”, I plan to use more non-actors or lesser-known ones, not excluding one or two international stars as long as my budget allows.
Have you ever seen a film that was better than the book?
I can hardly think of any. In fact, in recent decades, I am a strong critic of the “book to film” concept and practice which has lasted as long as people can remember. I think that cinema should no longer rely on literature since it has existed for over one hundred years. Having said that, the real problem lies with the content creators who, for whatever reason, adopt adaptations as a taking-it-for-granted tool. Lots of well-known, successful, and imitable directors take this path repetitively as it seems an obsession, or even worse, they are not as original, creative as they present themselves. I do not need to name them because their names and their list of work can easily tell anyone concerning that what I say is proved. I don’t mind an emerging director using an adapted screenplay, or even an established one using adaptation once or twice; however, if one established director keeps using the same formula without being able to write their own scripts, or without a mind to write the script which later they will direct, and then having other screenwriters’ work in place as the solution for their creativity, I must deny their glorious titles such as master director, auteur director, or even award-winning director. I truly doubt that this taken-for-granted practice will continue to benefit cinema art at large to become truly an independent art form.
What's the movie that taught you the most?
It's a question, and its variations, you get asked a lot being a director. I honestly don’t have a convenient answer to “the most”. I can say that I have learned a lot from a lot of excellent movies, even bad ones, produced by lots of different cultures. I like international, or foreign films, not just Chinese-speaking or English-speaking counterparts.
Recently, a Facebook friend inquired of my interest in making a film in his country, India. His passion was obvious, and his rationale was that it’s much more affordable to make films there today. He got so far as to telling me to meet and talk with Aamir Khan, one of the biggest movie star in today’s India movie scene, with whom he had a direct connection, about a film project. I almost wanted to give it a try because I thought that would be an opportunity to craft my directorial skills through working with Indian filmmakers in India. By telling this tale, I mean to say that even though there’s no “the most” for me, I can learn and absorb lessons from more than “the most”.
About your artistic career, have you ever had the desire to quit everything?
A few times. The most significant one was during the period before and after my permanent departure from Taiwan. While I still had some days there, I told my respectful senior director, Hsing Lee, of “Execution in Autumn” fame, that I had to resign from his then several active projects in which I was on the production team for the sake of the soon-to-be-due USA immigration visa. From that point on, I knew I was not going to filmmaking anymore since I had chosen a new direction for my later life. After my settlement in my adopted country thanks to my older sister and her family, I kept reminding myself of no need to rekindle the cinema love because things all had changed around me. So I quit cinema for good, and somehow, I felt content, or even relieved (you know how filmmaking can be a pain), and I started finding a way for my future. Not long after, I started a non-profit organization, Memory Community, (being non-profit was my brother-in-law’s great advice) to film seniors for their memorable life story.
So you see, I turned around some roundabouts only to return to filmmaking. But this time is different, I do the filmmaking independently. That makes me feel free and gives me joy.