The first pictures ofAmerican Born Chinese intrigue: a phenomenal chase in a mountainous and glowing nature fades away as the viewer lands in the middle of a shopping spree between a mother and her high school student son, Jin. This one, interpreted by the young Ben Wang (Chang Can Dunk), is thus the hero of the new Disney+ series who sees his life changed forever after meeting his new comrade Wei-Chen, a Taiwanese on a school trip to the United States, who is also a descendant of a mythological god… That the public has the heart well hung, the scenes of kung-fu which are linked over the episodes are memorable!
The family comedy is actually the adaptation of the graphic novel Americaan Born Chinesesigned by Gene Luen Yang in 2006. After some procrastination, the author finally decided to embark on the adventure for Disney+.
“I think each medium has its own strengths and people whose job it is to adapt have to understand that well, because what works in a comic book doesn’t necessarily work in the film format,” he explains. The one who is also one of the executive producers of the series believes that the visual languages between the original and the new version are certainly very different, but that the challenges have been met.
“The teamwork provided for the series is a dream come true,” says Melvin Mar, who is also co-executive producer. And to add: “I always say that all of this was possible because we had excellent raw material, which is Gene’s book, and then there was the incredible script and directors who were just as good. For him, the adaptation is brilliantly successful, because it goes beyond the simple transposition of comics to television. “The essence of the story is always palpable,” he says.
“Over the past two years, I have watched people having fun in front of and behind the camera, getting involved body and soul in this American Born Chinese “says Gene Luen Yang. From the show’s creator, Kelvin Yu, and his writers to the visual designers, he’s glad everyone put a bit of themselves into the show. “It really feels on screen! When I look at the end result of the series, I see everything behind it,” he says.
For example, he remembers the fight coordinator putting his heart into making “the fight be more than just a fight.” Speaking of which, actor Daniel Wu (The legend of the black scorpion), who plays the role of Sun Wukong, “the monkey king”, remembers an atmosphere worthy of the film sets of action films in Hong Kong, Taiwan or China. “Amazing kung fu scenes have been created and it’s just as impressive to play them as to be able to see them. This close friend of Jackie Chan reveals that advanced technologies were used for the occasion, such as cables and harnesses which were notably adopted by Cirque du Soleil. ” Actually, American Born Chinese is a perfect combination of what we do in Hong Kong and Western techniques,” he enthuses.
Michelle Yeoh, glowing
For his part, Melvin Mar is grateful to have been able to take part in the project. “I was lucky enough to attend several takes during filming and each time, I felt like I was part of my family”, he underlines. According to him, since everyone has made it a very personal matter, American Born Chinese is all the more universal. “You don’t have to be Asian or Chinese or American, because the story can be assimilated by everyone,” notes the co-producer.
The presence of Michelle Yeoh in the credits does not go unnoticed and contributes, in fact, to the universality of the series. “Michelle was convinced to join us by our director, Destin Daniel Cretton. It was before the success of the feature film EverythingEverywhere All at Oncebut she was already a global icon,” says Melvin Mar. With an Oscar now to the credit of the actress who is a main character, the reach ofAmerican Born Chinese can only be bigger.
“When times have moved on enough and changes are still afoot, and even there is still room for improvement, creative people like Gene Luen Yang, Kelvin Yu and Destin Daniel Cretton are more legitimate than ever to tell their stories. stories”, finally believes Melvin Mar.
Almost 18 years after the release of his graphic novel, which was set in the 1980s, Gene Luen Yang wanted to make changes to the initial narrative. “There have necessarily been impacts on the series, because the public debate concerning Asian Americans is no longer the same today”, he raises. Gene Luen Yang believes that personalities like Michelle Yeoh have something to do with it. “She fought tooth and nail to get where she is today and paved the way for audiences to view Asian Americans as three-dimensional human beings capable of being the protagonists of a fictional “, he continues.
And then the right team and, above all, the right time presented themselves to him. “For a very long time, Hollywood studios just weren’t interested in stories about Asian Americans. Our stories are now big enough and popular enough to bring to the screen, like with American Born Chinese concludes Gene Luen Yang.