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SPECIAL FEATURE INDIE FILMS COMMENTARY INTERVIEWS RESOURCES BUSINESS INFO MEDIA INFO
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It's OK to be Wrong and/or It's OK to be Hwang Presentations of idiosyncratic history pageants with a sense of humor and musicality A Creative Soul, Successful Playwright, Screenwriter and Librettist with All the Work He can Handle
NEW PROJECTS
US ASIANS:
You've lamented that recently you have not had the time to complete a play since Golden Child, has this provided a greater thirst to be in an environment where the playwright and actors have a greater control over what the viewing audience will receive?
US ASIANS: You've expressed that to fulfill your desire (as a writer and playwright) to project your vision onto film while having a full range of creative expression at your disposal, as you have in the theater world - the ability to direct is a prerequisite. Could you share the reasons why such difficulties exist? What is the status of the movie project that you were projected to direct? DAVID HENRY HWANG: It's rather difficult to get financing entities to produce a film by a first-time director with no previous experience, and I haven't felt inclined to pay for it myself. The project I was once slated to direct turned into "Golden Gate."
US ASIANS:
With the purpose of your recent travels to Shanghai China to discover the great creativity that appears to be emanating from that part of the world (Note: They are building a "theater district" that is patterned after New York's Broadway), what treasures and/or inspirations did you discover?
DAVID HENRY HWANG: I'm still in an "information-gathering" phase with regard to my China travels. But I'm feeling amazing creativity happening there, as well as a desire to collaborate with like-minded artists from the West. US ASIANS: Will you be working with Jackie Chan and/or Andy Lau's film companies designed to support upcoming filmmakers such as the recent movie "Rice Rhapsody" that premiered at the Los Angeles' "Visual Communication" / Asian American Film Festival? DAVID HENRY HWANG: So far, I'm not involved in any projects with this group.
DAVID HENRY HWANG:
I think films
from Asia are already being afforded the same attention and acclaim
that European "art films" received in the mid-20th century.
DAVID HENRY HWANG: Well, pieces such as "The Godfather," "Goodfellas," and "The Sopranos" have made their characters feel completely human and three-dimensional and, arguably, have also reinforced the stereotype of Italians as Mafiosi. At the moment, I actually don't think the Chinese gangster stereotype is particularly prevalent in our culture.
BROADWAY PROJECT - "YELLOW FACE"
US ASIANS:
Your new play that will open on Broadway, what aspect(s) of the Asian American community did you explore?
DAVID HENRY HWANG: "Yellow Face" is a semi-fictional "stage documentary" combining real facts and quotes with completely made-up elements. It ostensibly covers the events of my own life in the context of the APA community between the late-80's and the present. US ASIANS: When will it open on Broadway and who is attached to the project? DAVID HENRY HWANG: It will premiere Off-Broadway in a co-production between the Public Theater and East-West Players in the 2006-07 season. At the moment, no other talent is officially attached.
US ASIANS:
What is the current status of the new Disney musical (Tarzan) that is headed for Broadway that you have been working on for two years with Phil Collins the music and Bob Crowley providing an environmental set?
DAVID HENRY HWANG: We are currently in rehearsals, with first preview on Broadway scheduled for March 24th, and opening on May 10th. For more info on the program's status, click HERE.
US ASIANS: Could you share what attracted you to work with Howard Shore? (Tarzan, M. Butterfly) DAVID HENRY HWANG: Howard is not involved with TARZAN. He was brought in to score the "M. Butterfly" movie by David Cronenberg, who has been David Cronenberg's composer since their college days together.
DAVID CRONENBERG'S OPERA "THE FLY"
US ASIANS:
Could you share what the latest development on your participation with David Cronenberg's elaborate new opera (remake of "The Fly") scheduled to be completed and premiered in 2007 at the Los Angeles Opera?
DAVID HENRY HWANG: I've finished a first draft of the libretto, Howard's written maybe the first 20 minutes of the music. US ASIANS: Since it has been rumored that it will use his 1986 remake as source material and not the original Vincent Price film, what creative directions will your creative input pursue? DAVID HENRY HWANG: I'm basically trying to create a stage equivalent to the tone and special effects of the movie.
DAVID HENRY HWANG:
I don't know
US ASIANS:
Were you part of the project when Maverick bought the rights when it was intended for a stage production?
DAVID HENRY HWANG: I might make a few comments here and there, but don't usually interfere too much with the composer's work in an opera. US ASIANS: Since horror and musical theater have a traditional tricky relationship (Phantom of the Opera, Jekyll and Hyde, Carrie: The Musical and Little Shop of Horrors), what do you feel is important to creatively incorporate within the production to provide the best creative and commercial possibilities - or does one even seriously consider these factors while in the process? DAVID HENRY HWANG: I think on stage, the horror needs to be more metaphorical and symbolic, leaving things to the audience's imagination, as opposed to film, which is more literal.
Answering the questions of discerning the differences between authenticity
and stereotypes has been
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