"It's hard to say," says Wang, "because I know other people who've made similar decisions and they have a lot of regret or they still feel like the person deserved to know" (People). And [my friend] was like, 'That's it.' In a Slate interview, director Lulu Wang revealed thatThe Farewell led to her own grandmother discovering she had cancer. No. Written and directed by the Chinese filmmaker, The Farewell casts rapper-turned-actress Awkwafina in her first leading role as Billi, a Chinese-American student playing a form of Wang herself. He goes, Hey, do you remember when we had that conversation here, and you said youd never feel this creatively satisfied again? And, yet, as much as Billi disagrees with her family's decision, she also feels an inexorable pull toward the country in which she was born. The Farewell: Directed by Lulu Wang. It will open in New York and Los Angeles on July 12. 'The Farewell' Makes the Asian American Immigrant Experience Feel Universal, also told IndieWire in a separate interview. She really became all our grandmas. Sharing her story first as an episode of the NPR podcast and radio show This American Life back in 2016, Wang realised the amount of internal conflict that she was struggling with as she tried to respect her familys wishes and process her own grief at the imminent loss of her Nai Nai was what made the story interesting. The filmcloses with an even more shocking title card: Six years after her diagnosis,Wangs real Nai Nai is still alive. Id also come to accept that it wasnt my decision; it was my familys decision. "They wanted it to be my big, fat Chinese wedding," says Wang of her Sundance smash The Farewell, starring Awkwafina. [34], Santa Barbara International Film Festival, "12 Cultural Easter Eggs in The Farewell, Explained", "Sundance Unveils Politics-Heavy Lineup Featuring Ocasio-Cortez Doc, Feinstein Drama", "Lulu Wang, the Director of 'The Farewell,' Explains That Surprise Ending", "10 Directors to Watch: Lulu Wang Shows Another Side of Awkwafina in 'The Farewell', "Awkwafina Leads 'The Farewell'; Marc Maron Brandishes 'Sword of Trust': Specialty Box Office Preview", "Lulu Wang's Grandmother Learned That She Has Cancer From The Farewell, Lulu Wang's Film About Not Telling Her Grandmother That She Has Cancer", "A24 Near WW Deal For Sundance Buzz Title 'The Farewell', "Sundance: Awkwafina Drama 'The Farewell' Lands at A24", "A24 Seeks Summer Box Office with Release Dates for 'The Farewell' and 'Last Black Man', "A Full Mandarin-Subtitled Version of 'The Farewell' is Coming to Theaters This Weekend", "Counterprogramming 'Crawl' & 'Stuber' Collateral Damage In Superhero Summer As 'Spider-Man' Climbs To $45M+ Update", "Hooray For 'Hollywood': Quentin Tarantino Sees His Biggest B.O. [19] It continued to expand in the following weeks, making $2.4 million from 426 theaters and then $2.2 million from 705 theaters. Wang maintained the secrecy on set and her great-aunt, who played herself in the film, didn't tell Wang's grandmother the details of the story. Ad Choices. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Her second and most recent . 2023 Cond Nast. Not just limiting as a filmmaker like limiting as a human being., When Wang first started pitching what would become The Farewell to producers, it was that type of film what the director calls My Big Fat Chinese Family Wedding that they expected to sign on for. Initially, I wanted her to play Nai Nai, the director admits. Casi Moss/Courtesy of Big Beach. And by the time we made the film, everyone was in China because they understood my perspective. Then shed she ask, But what about the family, whats the story? The Farewell is a bilingual film in English and Mandarin Chinese. In the beginning of Lulu Wang's film, she establishes the affectionate relationship between Billi Wang (Awkwafina) and her grandmother, who is usually called "Nai Nai" (Zhao Shuzhen).Although she has lived with her parents for more than 25 years in the U.S. since they left their hometown Changchun, China, Billi still remains close to her grandmother, and their mutual affection is apparent. She wasnt suspicious; everybody on the crew knew not to tell her. The Farewell (2019 film) - Wikipedia She resisted. In real life, Lulu Wang's cousin had recently married a Japanese woman. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. They wanted it to be my big, fat Chinese wedding, said Wang of the investors on both sides of the world. Lulu Wang's Grandmother Has Just Learned That 'The Farewell' Is About I was actually making a screwball romantic comedy when this happened to me, says Wang, referring to her debut feature, Posthumous (2014). But for me, going back and having agency allowed me to see the city as an adult. A few other ideas for potential sophomore projects started to take shape here and there. Excerpt from the Golden Globe Foreign-Language Film Symposium presented by the American Cinematheque and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association on Saturday, January 4, 2020 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. The Farewell became 2019's little indie movie that could, earning acclaim out of the gate at Sundance last January and going on to garner awards buzz for its phenomenal cast and, last night, a Golden Globe award for breakout starAwkwafina, who made history as the first Asian actress to win Best Actress at the Golden Globes. A script began to make the rounds. The film follows a Chinese American family who, upon learning their grandmother has only a short while left to live, decide not to tell her and schedule a family gathering before she dies. It's something that Wang wonders. [13] In January 2019, A24 acquired worldwide distribution rights to the film for $7 million, over Netflix, Amazon Studios, and Fox Searchlight Pictures. And the title of the movie is Dont Tell Her in Chinese. Sitting on the floor, Billi shares the isolation she felt when her parents left the rest of their family to move to America. Within two weeks, with the help of another production company, Big Beach, The Farewell was financed and Wang was busy banging out a script. Nai Nai does have a limp in real life, but it wasn't from being shot, which Lulu admits is fiction. It was 2016, and Lulu Wang was done with filmmaking. ", Wang hadn't been to Changchun since she was 6 years old, and when she returned to film The Farewell, she found her relationship with her surroundings evolve beyond her childhood nostalgia. Then Lum sent back a tape. The Farewell true story reveals that Awkwafina's character in the movie, Billi, is based on writer/director Lulu Wang herself. "They were originally going to shoot in Nai Nai's real apartment and then eventually realized that would be too much. Is this evidence that there's some truth to the line in the film, "People dont die of the cancer, they die of the fear"? Hed seen her movie, loved her voice, was interested in working with her on something. -This American Life, Yes. When my grandmother was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, she was given three months to live. Lulu Wang on good lies and immigrant family ties in 'The Farewell' So making this film became part of the lie. 'The Farewell' Breakout Zhao Shuzhen Anchors Lulu Wang's Memoir Film The film ends with the revelation that Wang's real-life grandmother, who was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer in 2013, is still alive and still unaware of her diagnosis. Its a tale of loss, a meditation on how to say goodbye, and an investigation into how different cultures handle illness and death. At the end of the film, Billi returns to New York. Based on Wang's own experiences,The Farewelltells the story of a Chinese family who decides not to tell their grandmother that she has Stage 4 lung cancer, and the Chinese-American granddaughter (Golden Globe winner Awkwafina) who struggles with this decision. The experience allowed Wang to prove to herself that she had the chops, initiative, and know-how to make a movie if she wanted to. Last year, Wang headed to Changchun, China, and her grandmothers neighborhood to tell her story. Is the Grandmother From 'The Farewell' Really Still Alive? He just thought he was weird and got made fun of. The film shoot offered her an extended period of time with her grandmother, time in her neighborhood, where Wang would often find herself running up to her Nai Nais apartment to use the restroom, returning with armloads of snacks for the crew. You can't tell me the title. She also shot the film largely in Mandarin Chinese. So I can hang out with you?' Well send you our daily roundup of all our favorite stories from across the site, from travel to food to shopping to entertainment. 2023 Rolling Stone, LLC. Like Wang herself had been, Billi is a struggling artist living in New York. Its so meta, said Wang with a laugh. But look, it says in the newspaper it's calledDon't Tell Her, and that's why you didn't tell me, because I am the 'her' of the 'don't tell her.'" And so she said to little Nai Nai, her sister, who plays herself in the movie, she said, 'I just thought that you were really daft, because you went and shot a movie, you went to the premiere in New York, and you come back and you can't tell me anything about it. just like Nai Nai taught her. However, Wang's father believes that he knew he was dying. Born in Taiwan, Joan moved to the UK at an early age. Producer Chris Weitz (About a Boy), who along with his brother, Paul, runs Depth of Field, the production company behind such films as Nick and Norahs Infinite Playlist and A Single Man, was driving down the 10 freeway in Los Angeles with his wife, actress Mercedes Martinez, when the two happened upon Wangs story. And so thats why I made the film.. THE FAREWELL director Lulu Wang tells the harrowing tale about how she kept the content of her film about her grandmother a secret from her grandmother while shooting it right under her nose in her grandmothers neighborhood in China. Journey deeper into the true story behind The Farewell by watching an interview with writer/director Lulu Wang, whose family's story provided the basis for the movie. And then I met a friend from college for dinner right after and I just started crying. But theres a line in the movie that people dont die of the cancer, they die of the fear. By making that movie, Im bringing people, were cooking, were eating together. It's a family drama centering on a young Chinese . 10 Best Movies of Sundance 2019. Yes. A Chinese family discovers their grandmother has only a short while left to live and decide to keep her in the dark, scheduling a wedding to gather before she dies. Based on the real life . I heard this extraordinary true story, this beautiful complete story. This is sort of true. That was they wanted out of this, she admits. However, the true story behind The Farewell revealed that Lulu Wang's grandma was still alive when the movie was releasedin 2019. Lulu Wang's "The Farewell" may have premiered at the Sundance Film Festival almost 10 months ago and arrived in theaters in the U.S. this past summer, but one of its breakout stars somehow . With Shuzhen Zhao, Awkwafina, X Mayo, Hong Lu. And her friend saw a review of it and was so proud of her, one of her longest friends, and sent it to her.. When Nai Nai visited the set, everyone still had to continue the lie; Wang told theTimes that Nai Nai thought that the movie was loosely based on our family, with everybody coming back to China for a wedding., Wangfinished the movie and premiered it at the Sundance Film Festival to enormous acclaim. [12], The film had its premiere in the U.S. Why Lulu Wang keeps her film a secret | Inquirer Entertainment I knew I had to make this film for me and anyone else who may be understood me, she said. The lie wasnt her grandmas illness: in 2013, her Chinese grandmother, or Nai Nai, really was diagnosed with cancer and given three months to live. I don't envy Wang in finally having that conversation to her grandmother about the diagnosis, but at least she could finally see the movie that is getting her granddaughter so much acclaim. It is ironic that films only get made now if they exist in another medium, added Weitz. She knew it was about the family that was obvious. The family got a second opinion, and then a third. The Farewell (2019) - IMDb You cant tell me what its about. "[The studios] wanted it all in English, or as a very broad comedy," she told the Seattle Times. I was really driven by how conflicted I was between, you know, the value system and what I felt was very wronglying to my grandmabut also the love that I also felt, Wang said. It was awkward to keep the secret when the grandmother visited the filming, a block from her home. And her friend saw a review of it and was so proud of her, one of her longest friends, and sent it to her. Her family threw a fake wedding for her cousin from Japan and her grandmother didnt know. Scene Stealer: The True Lies of Elisabeth Finch, Part 2. She couldnt do that, so we decided to have her play herself. Films take so long to make. It was a little nerve-racking having her so close to the production, she admits. A very broad, ethnic comedy.. In The Farewell, Billi (Awkwafina, left) returns to China to spend time with her grandmother who doesn't know she is dying thanks to an . Billi assures her parents that she will not reveal the cancer diagnosis to Nai Nai. [9][10] Filming also took place in New York. But as Beyer would soon realize, Finchs past wasnt what she claimedand Beyers own difficult history was up for the taking. ", Writer/Director Lulu Wang says that the character Billi (played by Crazy Rich Asians' Awkwafina) is only semi-autobiographical. It added a good aspect to this story. We got distribution in China. The whole purpose of the lie was to bring joy, she adds. After the praise and success of Crazy Rich Asians and Ocean's 8 last year, Awkwafina . In an interview with Vox, Wang was asked whether her grandmother will see the film. Wang's great-aunt, Lu Hong, connects by phone in the wee hours of the morning from Changchun, where she lives in the same building three floors above her sister, Wang's grandmother. [28] Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair wrote, "Wang movingly tells not just a story about the negotiations of familial love, but also of the immigrant experience, of revisiting one's homeland to, in some senses, say goodbye to it. Filming there allowed her to spend a lot more time with her grandmother (NPR). Lulu Wang's Nai Nai did join the Chinese Army at age 14 to escape an arranged marriage. But at the same time, when I talked to her like we might shoot in a neighboring town she was like, 'What the hell, you're going to come back in town and shoot a movie and not even do it here? Filmmaker, alumna Lulu Wang '05 will discuss "The Farewell" at virtual event March 25. 'The Farewell's' Lulu Wang and Awkwafina want you to cry, then call The website's critics' consensus reads: "The Farewell deftly captures complicated family dynamics with a poignant, well-acted drama that marries cultural specificity with universally relatable themes. The result was a segment on an episode of the long-running radio series titled In Defense of Ignorance that debuted in April 2016. [My grandmother] actually just found out, Wang said. "[31] Hong Kong playwright Jingan Young commented on the film's depiction of the differences between western and Chinese family values, claiming that "the familys decision to tell a 'good lie' is a metaphor for the collective delusion of living under the Chinese Communist party. Brunet, an acclaimed French filmmaker, says HBO Maxs adaptation doesnt accurately represent her 13-year relationship with accused murderer Michael Peterson. Why would they?, Did constructing another lie to make the movie she told her Nai Nai the film was about her family, but for obvious reasons wasnt specific on the details make it feel as if she was going through the same process again? "Whether or not we will keep the secret is up in the air, because we want to show her the movie," the director recently told IndieWire. When they suggested her, the first thought I had was, Guys, I thought we were on the same page here.
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