Universal appeal: How Bao and Crazy Rich Asians are telling authentic Asian stories in Hollywood

Once Pixargreen-lit DomeeShi's short film Bao, the Chinese-Canadian animator knew she had to put her team in the kitchen with her mom.

She wanted everyone toget their hands into some sticky dough and learn the ins and outs of how her mom creates herperfectly pleated steamed buns.

"We really wanted those authentic details to ground the story and the film and to make it feel like this real Chinese mom's experience," Shi explained during a visit home to Toronto.

Making Bao: behind-the-scenes at Disney-Pixar

6 years ago

Duration 1:56

To help her Pixar team get a real sense of the story behind her food-infused tale Bao, Chinese-Canadian animator Domee Shi enlisted an expert: her mom.

Baoand the upcoming Crazy Rich Asiansare two new high-profile Hollywood vehicles, driven by creators of Asian heritage and showcasing culturally detailed, but universally appealing stories. They reflectthe growing tide of diversity washing over Hollywood today and, if successful, could help pave the way for more movies made by and starring people of Asian descent.

First up is Bao, hittingtheatres this weekend as Pixar's traditional animated short playing before TheIncredibles2. It's an eight-minute movie morselabout an empty-nester granted a second chance when one of her dumplings springsto life.

Along with her passion for food, Shi'sstatus as her mother's own "precious dumpling" inspired the homage to aging parents, Chinese culture and her multicultural hometown Toronto.

"I really wanted to just see my culture, these types of foods that I grew up with and these people that I was surrounded by, on the big screen."

Raised on Disney, Pixar and Studio Ghiblianimated films,Shi the first-ever female director of a Pixar short sought out collaborators of Asian heritage to get Bao's details just right.

It's "how you kind of bake in those details those culturally specific details authentically" versus simply sprinkling some colour in at the end, noted the Sheridan College graduate, whose work can also be seen inInside Out,The Incredibles 2 and the upcoming Toy Story 4.

Onscreen,behind-the-scenes

Asian representation onscreen and behind-the-scenes has also been key for Crazy Rich Asians, the anticipated romantic comedy adaptation of Kevin Kwan's 2013 bestseller introducing an unimaginably wealthy and positively outrageous Asian jet set.

Hollywood came calling early on, but Kwan waited. Indicative of the disappointing string of whitewashedcasting choices in recent years, one interested producer pitched making the book's American-born Chinese heroine Rachel Chu Caucasian thereby eliminating a core element of her character,story and struggle.

The Singapore-born, New York-based writer has shared this tale on book tours, with readers and reporters alike aghast at the suggestion.

Lack of representation was part of why Kwan started writing hisCrazy Rich trilogyin the first place.

"I felt that contemporary, modern Asia was so underrepresented in fiction, so it was always my dream to really kind of enlighten people," he said in 2017 while promoting the trilogy's finale,Rich People Problems, in Toronto.

Thankfully, Kwan met Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson, the producers who turned Suzanne Collins'Hunger Gamesnovels into a smash hit movieseries. They were "committed to being true to the story, true to the characters and really purposeful in their casting."

Crazy Rich Asians stars a galaxy of young Asian stars from around the globe and has also enlisted Asian talent for key creative roles, including director Jon M. Chu and screenwriter Adele Lim. The film "has become almost a symbol of hope for a whole new generation of creative people," Kwan said.

"Everyone wants to get this right. They want to make this amazing movie that will make everyone proud."

From #OscarsSoWhiteto the mythbusting, $1.3 billionUS success of Black Panther earlier this year, Hollywood is grappling with increasing diversity and inclusion within its ranks. It's an uphill battle.

For instance, after examining the top 100 Hollywood movies of 2017, the University of Southern California'sAnnenbergInclusionInitiative found just six were helmed by black directors andjust five by Asians.

Thishot topic permeating the industry has trickleddown to individuals questioning their own biases and how they work.

"When I was writing [earlier films], I imagined white characters and white stories I was creating what I was consuming, without even thinking about it," Filipino-Canadian filmmaker Martin Edralin admits.

Edralin, a writer-director who has sensitively explored unconventional topics in short films like Hole and Emma, doesn't believe filmmakers should restrict themselves to only reflecting their own cultureor gender. But having storytellers from different backgrounds can offer"a richness that someone from another perspective couldn't provide," he said in Toronto this week.

Freshly inspired, Edralin is currently developingtwo projects based on stories more closely linked to his heritage: one feature film centres on a Filipino immigrant caring for elderly parents. Another involves a mystery that endangers a nanny's long-awaited attempt to unite her family in Canada.

"All of this discussion around diversity and representation was a real wake-up call to reflect on my own experience and who I am," he said.

'An obligation to push the boundaries'

Being proactive about boosting representation in every project is one way filmmakers can make a difference, according to screenwriterChristina Hodson, whose upcomingTransformers spin-off Bumblebee will bethe first of the blockbuster series to be led by a female character.

"I grew up watching all of the big popcorn movies and they were always [starring] 40-something, handsome white men. I always wanted to see women. I always wanted to see mixed-race people," Hodson, who is of Taiwanese-British heritage, said in a recent interview from her Los Angeles office.

If you don't specify ethnicity... people will read that role and assume you're talking about Chris Pratt.- Christina Hodson, Bumblebee screenwriter

"As screenwriters, we not only have the opportunity, but we have an obligation to try to push the boundaries and try to change things."

To start, Hodson wants to see more writers from underrepresented communities hired and joining the writersguild.Furthermore, she wants to see writers get more specific about diversity in their scripts (versus writing unspecified characters) as a way to open the minds of their colleagues.

"There is a problem with the default white read," she explained. "If you don't specify ethnicity, if you don't even specify open ethnicity, people will read that role and assume you're talking about Chris Pratt."

'People need to start taking those risks'

6 years ago

Duration 0:34

Bumblebee screenwriter Christina Hodson on dispelling Hollywood assumptions about 'star power' and taking more risks in favour of inclusion and representation.

Alternately, another idea the BatgirlandBirds of Prey writer has been pondering iscreating "an addendum to scripts, listing opportunities for inclusion."

Identifying all the characters in a script that could be cast by actors of any ethnicity could help a wider range of people get hired something needed across all movie genres, she said.

"We haven't seen Asian male leads in a lot of Hollywood movies; often they're typecast into these stereotyped comedy or villain roles,"Hodson said.

"Let's see JohnChobeing handsome and saving the day. He's pretty handsome, and I believe he could save the day."