LEFT?TO?RIGHT: Bruce Lee wannabes line up to do a can-can before their final audition for the “Game of Death.” Left to right: Daric Loo, McCaleb Burnett, Jimmy Lin and George Huang. • B-movie star Breeze Loo (Roger Fan) delivers one of his almost famous moves. • Raja Moore (Mousa Kraish) stands among other actors awaiting their call at the audition of the Bruce Lee film “Game of Death.”
Five years have passed since Justin Lin’s “Better Luck Tomorrow” made noise in the industry. Snatched up by MTV Films at Sundance, the 2002 flick about the double lives of honors students caught the eye of the likes of Roger Ebert — and created national dialogue due to its all-Asian American cast. Lin, who had maxed out credit cards for the venture, went on to direct the major studio films “Annapolis,” and “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.”
The Taiwanese American’s latest feature, however, is a return to his small-budget roots as well as his “Better Luck Tomorrow” family. Co-written with Josh Diamond, “Finishing the Game” follows the audition process of the search for Bruce Lee’s replacement so that 12 minutes of footage featuring the icon can be made into a movie. Screened at Sundance this year, it was released in theaters last month.
KoreAm caught up with Lin and actors Sung Kang and Roger Fan at media arts center Visual Communications (where much of the filming took place) in Los Angeles to get the scoop on what it was like to reunite with the cast and crew of their landmark film, the role of Asian Americans in Hollywood today, their martial arts skills (or lack of) and the intense professionalism of porn star Ron Jeremy.
KoreAm: You three have worked together since “Better Luck Tomorrow,” but this film was very much a return to your indie roots. What was this particular experience like?
Justin: I’ve had the pleasure of working with Roger and Sung in studio films, and we would have moments where we’re in Philly or Tokyo walking around and we’re like, “I can’t believe three years ago you were sleeping on my parents floor where we’re shooting and now we’re per diem.” It’s really a great journey when you can share with people you’re growing up with.
Coming out of film school and trying to prove yourself as a filmmaker, it got to a point where it had to be a credit card journey. And kind of by necessity, we met each other. Not having money was really tough but the great thing is people only come on for one reason, which is the project. Because at the end of the day, Asian American cinema is still kind of Third World. We still can’t make our movies on a level playing field with other independent films. We’re not even “low budget.” So to get everyone back together, it had to be something that everyone believed in. And now that we’re five years older, to be able to find that space and that time to spend together, it’s more of a privilege.
Roger: Just being able to work with Justin and Sung again, it really frames it very clearly that in order for Asian Americans to have a real legitimate cinema, there’s no other way than to do it ourselves. With Justin and Sung, I’m an integral part of something I feel is really meaningful. When I go back to Hollywood, I feel like a tool. A very specific tool in a very Oriental way.
