I wanted to refresh the topic by asking here if anyone thinks that Asians may be aiming too high at this particular juncture. Sure, it would be cool to have an Asian equivalent to a George Clooney or Julia Roberts. But I just don't think that's possible right out the gate, hard pill as it may be to swallow.
I'm Korean American, and raised from a caucasian household. And while I am a film enthusiast, much of my knowledge in film covers the 1960's to present. I love actors and their performances, but my love is predicated on the performances of the actors rather than their cult of personality or prominence. I guess what I'm saying is that we don't even have our John Goodman, Toby Jones, or Laura Dern equivalents. Hollywood never seems to bother to pay attention to asian character actors, which I think should be the strategic nucleus in building around an asian George Clooney, for example.
I see alot of problems in how the industry operates. As an asian, I don't particularly care for the kung-fu genre. Not that I find it offensive, it just doesn't appeal to my sensibilities, much in the way that American action films don't appeal to me, unless there's a compelling subtext behind it, like say.... Saving Private Ryan or The Dark Knight. As a film enthusiast who would like to see more asian depictions, it's not important that asian characters be depicted as absolute saints, or the numero uno villain. I liked Ken Watanabe's role in Batman Begins. It was a brief role, but a memorable one where he did a serviceable job in his role as R;as al Ghul's decoy. Would more walk-in roles for Asian actors be a more palatable solution. Some of the most compelling performances have come from bit parts, such as Dick York's performance as the John Scopes archetype in Inherit the Wind. Is it right to assume that Asian actors are so preoccupied with being Spencer Tracey or Frederick March that they may overlook the value in a third or even fourth tier role, such as Dick York's. Maybe I'm being obtuse, but do many Asian actors and advocates take on a more go for broke attitude in yearning roles? I personally would rather see more Asians as bit players in independent films than as prominent players in status quo genre projects like Star Trek, Fast and Furious, or crime scene procedurals like CSI. Outside of theatre, indy productions seem to be the more promising venue for Asians to flex their creative muscles. I really would like to see asians branch out from the martial arts arena. It's just redundant at this point. There will never be another Bruce Lee. Let's try to move on and look for a more down to earth, even rough on the edges personality, rather than the streamlined perfection that Lee represents.
On a side note, having never watched Japanese or Korean films, can anyone tell me if they produce compelling films on par with American films like Network, American Beauty, Almost Famous, etc..? Based on my own perception, I always assume there's always going to be a martial arts fight scene in it, or bullet time gun fight sequences in it. The only Japanese film I ever saw was Letters of Iwo Jima, which was an American production, directed by Clint Eastwood. Everything in that was low key and modest, which I really liked, despite it being foreign language. How do Japanese and Korean film enthusiasts view their cinema? Do they appreciate low key affair productions, or do they gravitate to the low calorie quotient because of how deeply engrained into their pop culture it is.
