If you’re a 90’s baby then you played a part in the huge mainstream wave of car movies that were released throughout the early 2000’s.
One of the first films to contribute to this was The Fast & The Furious. The film played a big part in the ongoing evolution of pop culture and highlighted a side of entertainment that not many people may have saw before. The release of The Fast and The Furious was one of few films during its time to effectively create an exciting and alluring attraction to modern car racing culture. The success of the now 9-going-on-10 film franchise culturally shifted the stigma around Asian Americans in film and entertainment, ultimately allowing it to turn in to the billion-dollar franchise that it is today and become one of the biggest car movies ever.
Justin Lin, the director of the Fast & Furious franchise, has managed to produce an entire film empire dedicated to portraying Asian culture on the big screen. Now, the director is taking on a new yet slightly different project.
Warrior follows the grueling journey of young Chinese warrior Ah Sahm, played by Andrew Koji who also starred in Lin’s Fast & Furious 6, who migrates from China to the Chinatown neighborhood in San Francisco, California. Once there, Ah Sahm is met with many obstacles, some more dangerous than others. Throughout the series, Ah Sahm faces an internal struggle between who he thinks he is, who everyone else thinks he is, and who he should be.
With Justin Lin as executive producer, the 10-episode series is set to premiere on Cinemax this week and is based on the 50-year-old writings of legendary martial artist and actor Bruce Lee. Along for the ride are Lee’s daughter Shannon Lee, who executive produced the series, and the series creator and writer Jonathan Tropper who some may know as the mind behind the popular Cinemax series Banshee.
We had the opportunity to sit down at the HBO offices for an open round table interview with the show’s executive producer Justin Lin, who details the complex history of Asian Americans in film and how it influenced his decision to be a part of Warrior.
The Knockturnal: What was it like shooting in Cape Town? What was specific about Cape Town that drew you there?
Justin Lin: I think when it comes to period pieces, the cost is a big element to consider. So, I wanted to make sure that we could really feel the scope of San Francisco. I traveled all over the world. I went to Eastern Europe, Louisiana, everywhere. As soon as I landed in Cape Town, it just felt like it was the right place because there was an infrastructure and an amazing crew. To me, to be able to hopefully build a home for the show, it really was a global search. When it came to this, there was definitely a financial aspect I had to consider. Very early on, I sat down with Jonathan and Shannon and said “Look, we can sit here and complain about the limitations or lets really embrace it. Let’s make this into the biggest independent film”. In many ways, that allowed us to build it right so that everybody from the cast to the P.A. is coming for the right reasons. They can read the script and if they like it, join us. If they don’t like it, it’s all good. So, that was the spirit of the show.
The Knockturnal: I read that you purposely sought out this project to develop. Could you detail why it was so important to you to make Warrior?
Justin Lin: When I immigrated [to America], I was 8 years old. I remember watching Kung-Fu and it confused me. Why is there a Caucasian man speaking in broken English? It kind of stayed with me and when I got a little older, I heard about the story of Bruce Lee pitching the idea and back in that time they didn’t feel like they could actually cast an Asian person to play an Asian role. I’ve always thought, as an Asian American, it was a travesty. Especially knowing that was Bruce Lee. So, one day I was working with Danielle an she had read it and she asked me is this true, and I said: “Actually, I don’t know”. But, I said “Oh, I could call Shannon Lee,” so I called her and she said it is true and she came over with the 8-page treatment that Bruce Lee typed and it just blew me away. I felt like there was an opportunity to correct a wrong and to really try to honor what he was trying to do because those 8 pages I read, though more than 40 years old, it was ahead of its time. I felt like it had a very post-modern take on it.
It was important because it was also, for me, watching westerns growing up you’re like “Wait, there’s Chinese Americans in the west but they’re always extras” and they have a story to tell. In history classes, you’re lucky to have two sentences about the Chinese American experience so I felt like it was important to build the show and hopefully have layers. If you want to engage on an entertainment level, hopefully, It’s there but we also worked really hard to make sure that all the other historical elements are all built in there.F
The Knockturnal: So, throughout your career, you’ve subverted perceptions of particularly Asian masculinity by saying “Hey, let’s show Asian men as men”. In Better Luck Tomorrow, for instance. Was the fact that this was about Asian American men who are criminals and tough, and I believe Jonathan and Shannon said these were not noble martial arts heroes. They swore they fought, they had problems. Was that also something that drew you to the project or was that something that just came up in the development process?
Justin Lin: Part of it was looking at what Bruce Lee created, the reason why he created it and the history of it. To not feel like we have to paint him as one way and to really try to present them as flawed human beings with ambitions and a sense of humor, I think the fact that we can be true to what we are trying to do to the characters and the things we are trying to explore is already a dream. So, it was never a conscious effort to paint them this way or that way. I’m not in to martial arts or anything, I love basketball that’s my thing. Even when I went to Fast & Furious to do the films, I remember when I first signed up that all the people the loved cars hated the franchise. I was like “Why do you hate the franchise?” and I found out why. So, if felt like my job was try to respect their passion and it was rebuilding that relationship with them. In many ways, I felt like that was the same case here. martial arts were something I enjoyed watching but it’s not my passion.
So, what I love about what Bruce Lee was trying to do was that this was show about establishment, structure, and even in the way Ah Sahm fights. In his way, being an American and having this American experience, he created a new philosophy through the actions of the environment and the people around him. In many ways, that’s the evolution of the character and how he fights. I wanted to make sure, with Jonathan, that was something we created. We wanted to honor that. So, everything fell in service of that.
The Knockturnal: In regards to Asian American representation, when Bruce Lee created the treatment it was years ago and things have changed. What are the things that Bruce had in that treatment that was kept and didn’t need to change, and what were the things you did have to adapt and morph for current audiences?
Justin Lin: I’d like to say that a lot has change but the truth is not a lot has changed, unfortunately. The things that I’m proud of is that at least I was able to work with Shannon and find Jonathan, and we were able to build it the right way. The changes I felt like we did to it were more of genre evolutions. There are certain elements in there that I felt like “Yes, it’s been more than 40 years and if we did it exactly that way, people have done it before”. So, it was trying to figure out how do we subvert that and build off of that. When it came to building the show, it has evolved and the fact that we are able to have an Asian portray an Asian (laughs). Part of it, also, is that it’s still business. For people to fight for this opportunity and have the show come to life is great, but hopefully, this show will open doors whether its deemed successful or not. What I’m most proud of is that we’re able to share the part of American History and try to elevate the genre but also create these opportunities for this very talented and amazing cast.
The Knockturnal: Speaking of representation, with the lack of Asian representation not just in film but in most forms of entertainment in general, what was the casting process like?
Justin Lin: It was a fork in the road for us. Very early on, I wanted to make sure I didn’t take this opportunity for granted. I’m in a place in my career where I didn’t have to make the show. So, it was very clear to me. I wanted to make sure Shannon understood that, and with Jonathan even, that I rather not make the show. I rather make sure everything that we did, we did it right. When it came to casting, I felt like in the beginning it was painted by numbers a little bit and this is not to fault anybody but anybody reading the script would be like “Oh, these characters would have to do a lot of fighting.” So, a lot of things were presented as “this martial artist wants to act,” and to me, that was backwards. To everybody’s credit we just kept pushing and it became this global search. When we talk about opportunities, that’s all you can ask for. Andrew, who is from the U.K., we flew him over to L.A. and he came in and he not only earned it but he took it. That, to me as a filmmaker, is those are the greatest moments. To be able to be a part of something where you’re saying “Here’s the opportunity. Who’s going to come and take it?”. I felt like for every role, we did that. We created the opportunity. I’ve always felt like the talent was there and there was a lack of opportunity, and for us to be able to at least create it this time was very precious to me.
The Knockturnal: So, this show is about the tong wars and what’s interesting is the tong wars and the fear of the tongs was actually what helped justify the [Chinese] Exclusion Act. There was also shortage of movies vilifying the Chinese. I know you said you didn’t necessarily have an agenda going in but was there a certain amount of trying to take back the narrative of the tongs or give a little more? Because you must’ve been aware of these things when you were making the show.
Justin Lin: I’m a human being. I think there’s certain narratives when it comes to representation. There are things that I obviously favor but at the same time, the sense of empowerment and being able to be in this position and be free to not even have a point of view for a face and let these characters go is something you don’t get a lot. As a filmmaker, we live or die by our point of view but to be able to have Jonathan come in and say “You know what? Let’s do a run and let’s see where these characters take us”. It was special in that way and obviously, after that, we had our point of view. But, that phase was very precious to me in this process.
The Knockturnal: You mentioned earlier that it wasn’t a passion project but it became a passion project. So, how important was it to nail every detail?
Justin Lin: It’s interesting because I feel like it’s important to always empower as we move forward, and whoever comes on and joins, hopefully, they’re joining us for the right reasons. By doing that, it was actually very helpful. There were times when we would look at certain people to come in and join and once we said what we were about, we knew very quickly if it was going to be a good fit. For a lot of this stuff, the detail is in the discourse. Having the right conversation, to me, was precious but at the same time, I want the actors to own their characters. So, I think that is the spirit of this because as we grow we get to know each other and we’re going to play to people’s strengths. It’s a dance that, if you start off right, can take you to places that we didn’t even think of when we started and that’s part of the magic of this.
The Knockturnal: What was the process of pitching and getting this project to this point, and have those obstacles changed?
Justin Lin: Everything is always fluid in this business. Millions of dollars are being poured in and you have to fight. There were other partners but HBO/Cinemax became the best partner because there was an understanding that this is a team. That’s not always the case. You have to be careful because this is where commerce and art collide. You don’t want to get into a place where you’re like “Oh, what if we do this?” and then three decisions down the road you’re like “Oh my God, this is not even the show we wanted to make.” So, I think that I’ve been very fortunate because, coming from the Indie world, I was privy to making sure we built a certain process. Even on the [Shaolin] Temple movies, there are certain things that I expect and If it’s not that then I don’t need to do it. Just because you can make a show, doesn’t mean you get to make it the right way. For us to be sitting here in this room, I’m very proud of Jonathan and Shannon and Kerry at Cinemax. It was very clear early on what the expectations were and we were going to build the show a certain way and we got to do it, for better or worse. That’s all you can ask for as a filmmaker and that’s very much in line with how I do things.
If you’re a fan of Bruce Lee or action-packed shows, or maybe you just appreciate the cultural aspect of Asian entertainment, then you’ll definitely love Warrior. The series premieres on Cinemax on Friday, April 5th at 10 P.M. ET. To find out more about Warrior, click here. Watch the trailer below:
