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[INTERVIEWS
> Greg Pak]
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01/23/04
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Interview
with Greg Pak, director/actor of "Robot
Stories"
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Filmmaker
Greg Pak
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| Writer and director Greg Pak was named by Filmmaker
Magazine as one of 25 Filmmakers to Watch in 2003. Pak's screenplay
"Rio Chino" won the 2002 IFP Market Pipedream Screenwriting
Award and a 2003 Rockefeller Media Arts Fellowship. Pak also
wrote the screenplay for "MVP," a feature film directed
by Harry Davis, which will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival
in January 2004. A graduate of Yale University, a Rhodes Scholar,
and an NYU Grad Film School alumn, Pak has directed a dozen
short films, including "Fighting Granpa," "Mouse,"
"Asian Pride Porn" and "All Amateur Ecstasy,"
all of which have won awards and screened at festivals around
the world. He runs the websites AsianAmericanFilm.com
and FilmHelp.com,
and is working on writing assignments for Marvel Comics and
Antidote Films. "Robot Stories" is his first feature
film.. |
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"Robot Stories" is science fiction
from the heart, starring Tamlyn Tomita ("The Joy Luck
Club," "Picture Bride"), Sab Shimono ("The
Big Hit," "Jackie Chan Adventures"), Wai Ching
Ho (Best Actress, Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival
and St. Louis International Film Festival), and Greg Pak in
four stories in which utterly human characters struggle to
connect in a world of robot babies and android office workers.
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| iR:
How did "Robot Stories" come about? Why did
you decide to make "Robot Stories" your first
feature among other projects/ideas you had or were working
on?? |
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| Over the years, I'd written five or six
screenplays, all of which I loved, but none of which I
had any real chance of getting produced as a first time
feature director -- because all of 'em required millions
to make. "Robot Stories" was the first screenplay
I wrote which I knew I could produce for the much smaller
chunk of change I could pull together from friends and
family. It also made sense to me emotionally -- the movie's
underlying themes of love and loss were deeply relevant
to me at the time we were making the film, so it all felt
just right. |
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| iR:
How do you see the genre of science fiction intersecting
with Asian American identity in "Robot Stories"?
Being the devil's advocate, would you say "Robot
Stories" is more of an Asian American film, more
of a science fiction film, vice versa or both? How do
you fuse or balance both genres or elements? |
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| Tamlyn
Tomita in "Robot Stories" |
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| I'll support any Asian American film, 'cause
I'm all 'bout that, but frankly, I get bored of message
movies, of movies which are too one-dimensionally about
exactly what they're about. I'm a big fan of subtext,
of movies which can be enjoyed and appreciated on multiple
levels. Someone once wrote that as a kid he read "Moby
Dick" as a sheer adventure story; years later he
read it as an existential meditation on human struggle
(or something like that). I loved the idea of casting
"Robot Stories" with a multiracial cast because
it meant the audience could have fun with the sci fi genre
engine while those who had eyes to see could glean the
deeper emotional stories and sociological subtext. |
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| To specifically answer the first part of
your question, I have my own ideas of how science fiction
and Asian American identity intersect in the movie --
particularly in "Machine Love," the third story
in the picture, in which I cast the robots with half-Asian
actors. But I'm always more intrigued to hear how audience
members interpret it all. My buddy Eric Byler, another
hapa filmmaker who made the great flick "Charlotte
Sometimes," told me that "Machine Love"
is the best filmic representation of the hapa experience
he's ever seen. Supercool. |
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| So is it more an Asian American movie or
a science fiction movie? I say it's both, sort of the
way I'm both Asian and American, right? Or the way I'm
both Asian American and a New Yorker and a filmmaker and
hapa and any other number of things. |
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| iR:
What was it like working with such Asian American film
icons like Tamlyn Tomita and Sab Shimono? |
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| Tamlyn and Sab were tremendous. They were
so receptive and inquisitive and giving as actors that
I never even had time to be nervous about working with
Asian American stars of such stature. I also felt a real
bond with both of them -- we went through a lot together.
9-11 happened on the second day of our shoot -- and Tamlyn
and Sab both flew to New York from LA less than two weeks
later to shoot their scenes. It was a strange, intense
time for all of us. |
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| Our entire cast was awesome. Several of our
crew members told us they'd never worked with actors as
nice as ours. I think a big part of it was that all of
the actors -- the Asian American actors in particular
-- cared deeply about the film and their characters. |
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| Actors of color seldom get the opportunity
to play multidimensional characters -- I'm really proud
of the fact that the film gave so many of 'em such a chance
to shine. In particular, I'm thrilled that Wai Ching Ho,
who plays a mother refusing to deal with the death of
her son in the second story, has won multiple acting awards
for her work in the film, including Best Actress nods
from the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival
and the St. Louis International Film Festival. |
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| iR:
Why did you cast yourself in one of the stories? What
was it like directing yourself? |
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| I've acted for years, primarily doing improv
comedy, and have always wanted to get my mug on film.
But I didn't want to cast myself in one of my own projects
until I felt totally confident in what I was doing as
a director and I found a role I could really nail. When
I was writing "Machine Love," the story of Archie,
an office worker android who learns that he, too, needs
love, I just always knew that role was mine. The time
was right and the role was right. And I was very lucky
to have great actors as scene partners, who really worked
with me to find the nuances of the character and the scenes,
and a great producer, Kim Ima, who's an actor herself
and could give me feedback on set. |
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| iR:
How was your journey in the festival circuit with "Robot
Stories"? How did the experience compare to that
of going to the festivals with your earlier shorts? |
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| I've made about a dozen shorts over the years
which have played in tons of festivals, which was outstanding
groundwork for the "Robot Stories" festival
run. But going to festivals with a feature is several
degrees more exciting and more harrowing than going with
a short. On the harrowing side, there's a whole new level
of strategizing about what festivals to play and how to
angle for distribution. And any mistakes feel so much
more fatal -- the stakes are so high it's almost unbearable
at times. On the exciting side, going to a festival with
a feature gets you so much more attention and action.
We've opened or closed about ten different festivals,
which is mind blowing, to be one of the most hyped films
at a festival. We've gotten great press and over 23 awards,
which is all tremendous. And just as the screw ups feel
more painful with a feature, the triumphs feel all the
more sweet. Every time we get another good festival placement
or review or award, I know it's going to help us in a
very concrete way to get the film booked into theaters
in front of paying audiences during our theatrical run. |
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| iR:
How did you arrive at the decision of self-distributing
"Robot Stories"? How are you feeling at the
moment? Who do you see is your target audience? What are
your expectations for the film's release? |
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| We had a couple of offers from theatrical
distributors, which were tremendously tempting, but in
the end they didn't make sense to us financially. Many
filmmakers who have had great success on the festival
circuit end up cutting deals for little or no advance
money and then never see another dime from their distributors
-- and they've signed the rights to their film away for
as long as 25 years. I have private investors I'm committed
to paying back -- I just couldn't bring myself to taking
such huge risks in signing the deals we were offered. |
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| Meanwhile, as we'd been playing festivals,
I'd been making a point of meeting independent arthouse
cinema managers and bookers -- and I knew there were at
least six theaters around the country that were prepared
to book the film directly from me for a theatrical run.
When the Cinema Village in New York City and the AFI Silver
in DC came on board, I felt it was time to pull the trigger
on a self-distributed theatrical run. |
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| I'm feeling great about things right now.
Our distribution partner Sasha Berman is doing a great
job getting us bookings and publicity and our awesome
interns are doing a great job getting our grass roots
efforts rolling. |
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| The film has three major target audiences.
First, second and third generation Asian Americans, from
the teenagers and college students who made "Better
Luck Tomorrow" a hit to the 20-, 30- and 40-something
Asian Americans who'll respond to the emotional compelling
heart of the film. Second, science fiction fans and scientists,
folks who love classic science fiction like the short
stories of Bradbury and Asimov and will respond to our
special brand of "science fiction from the heart."
Third, traditional arthouse audiences. I hadn't really
thought about this as a target audience at first, but
as we've gone to festivals, I've been amazed by how well
the film resonates with the older demographic of film
fans which regularly attend arthouse cinemas. These are
folks with a love of emotionally resonant storytelling
-- many, many white haired ladies and gentlemen have told
me how much the film has moved them. |
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| iR:
I know this is probably premature as you're swamped
with getting "Robot Stories" out... but what
other projects are you developing or have in the works?
Having made "Robot Stories" as your first feature,
how do you see the shape or genre of your next feature
and/or upcoming works? |
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| The film had a limited theatrical run --
San Francisco, Berkeley, San Jose, Toronto, Los Angeles,
New Orleans, Chicago and New York. It aired on the Sundance
Channel and has just been released on DVD by Vanguard
Cinema whose efforts got it into many of the larger "main
stream" retail outlets. We had incredible reviews in the
New York Times, Variety, Los Angeles Times and Premiere
among others. It has been an independent filmmakers dream
and the main reason is because my producer Amy Sommer
works so hard and has gotten us involved with such good
partners. I feel a great kinship with producers and distributors
who refuse to take "no" for an answer Ð this attitude
reminds me of my investigative self!! |
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| iR:
What is the current or upcoming project you are working
on? |
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| My next film will hopefully be my long term
dream project, "Rio Chino," a straight up Western
set in California 1869 which features a Chinese gunslinger
and a Mexican heroine. I've been working on the project
for ten years -- now my "Robot Stories" co-producer
Karin Chien is producing, and we've racked up a few screenplay
awards, attached a few co-production companies, and are
raising money even as we speak. The success we've been
having with "Robot Stories" has been hugely
helpful in getting "Rio Chino" taken seriously
-- now it's all about getting the dollars. Wish us luck! |
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| iR:
This is truly corny... but what advice would you give
to aspiring filmmakers, especially Asian American filmmakers
who are planning to make films or make their first features? |
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| Hey, nothing corny about asking for advice.
In fact, that might be my first bit of advice -- ask for
help! There's no way I could have done anything I've done
without huge amounts of of advice and help from fellow
filmmakers. None of us are the first to do what we're
doing -- learning from the mistakes and successes of others
can help make the process go much more smoothly. |
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| Second, I'd recommend writing projects you
can produce on your own with the resources you can finagle
right now. A few years ago Chris Chan Lee, who directed
"Yellow," one of the first well known Asian
American features, gave me this advice, and I took it
to heart. It's great to write those ten, twenty or hundred
million dollar screenplays -- you might sell one and make
it big. But if you want to make a career as a director,
write something low budget which you can actually finance.
That's what Chris did with "Yellow," Justin
Lin did with "Better Luck Tomorrow," Eric Byler
did with "Charlotte Sometimes," and I did with
"Robot Stories." |
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| Second, I'd recommend casting your film exactly
the way you want -- which I hope means with Asian American
actors. If you're making a low budget movie, you're not
going to make your film any more marketable by changing
all your leads' names from "Nguyen" and "Chung"
to "Smith" and "White." Go with your
heart, cast your peeps, make a great movie, and it'll
get into festivals and make its way in the world. When
it comes to festivals, I think well-made Asian American
films with Asian American actors actually have an advantage
over similarly well-made films starring unknown white
actors -- an Asian American film will stand out a bit
from the crowd, which some programmers will notice. Also,
if you've ever sat around and groused about the lack of
Asian representation in American media, now's the time
for you to take a stand. Because frankly, the main stumbling
block for mainstream financing of Asian American feature
filmmaking today is the lack of stars. Movies get financed
on the basis of who's in them. And we don't yet have enough
Asian American movie stars whom financiers recognize.
And the only way folks become stars is by being in great
movies. So we have to make movies and make some stars
so we can get financing for our next movies. |
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| Third, I'd recommend really making sure your
screenplay is ready before you shoot. Get tons of feedback.
Do readings. Find a collaborator, if necessary. But listen
to that little voice inside. And don't shoot until you're
really, really ready. 'Cause it's so much easier and cheaper
to change something on the page rather than on the set,
or worse, yet, in post production, when all your sets
and actors and crew members have scattered to the four
winds. |
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| Fourth, hang in there. Now that sure sounds
corny, but it's true. There are plenty of people who could
make a great film. But very few have the stamina to keep
working, despite all the drawbacks and rejection. If you
can stay alive, just keep making films, no matter how
small, keep writing and learning and getting better and
hustling, then there's hope. |
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| Finally (and shamelessly), come see "Robot
Stories" when it comes to your town! 'Cause if
"Robot Stories" does well, other Asian American
films, like the ones you're making, will have a better
chance of doing well. Seriously, I'm sure we're having
an easier time getting bookings in some cities because
"Better Luck Tomorrow" and "Charlotte
Sometimes" did well there last year -- hopefully
with "Robot Stories" and, later in 2004, Bertha
Pan's "Face," we can keep the Asian American
theatrical film fervor going and really nail home the
idea that there's an audience out there for the films
we're making. .jpg) |
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For "Robot Storie" theatrical
release dates, check out the official website:
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| For everything about Greg and his other films: |
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