Initially, I wanted her to play Nai Nai, the director admits. With Shuzhen Zhao, Awkwafina, X Mayo, Hong Lu. A few other ideas for potential sophomore projects started to take shape here and there. -This American Life, All of the doctors predicted that Lulu Wang's Nai Nai had three months left to live after the stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis in 2013. And so you just felt very torn. She wasnt suspicious; everybody on the crew knew not to tell her. 3 Is Yet Another Big Marvel Movie Misstep, Rachel Weisz Doubles Down in Dead Ringers, To Love Tupac Was to Fight With Tupac: Why Allen Hughes Needed to Make Dear Mama, Academy Slaps Down New Rules After Andrea Riseborough, Tom Cruise, Michelle Yeoh Controversies, Here's Where to Watch 'Scream 6' (and All the 'Scream' Movies) Online, Ryan Murphy Sets Sights on Menndez Brothers for 'Monster' Season 2, White House Plumbers Gives Watergate the Veep Treatment and Misses Big, Roy Wood Jr. Based on the real life . [My grandmother] actually just found out, Wang said. Billi admits that she wants to stay in Changchun to spend more time with Nai Nai, but Nai Nai declines, telling her that she needs to live her own life. This felt like a real-life screwball comedy, but as the situation unfolded what was really interesting was how emotional the whole experience had been for me, but also how undramatic it was from an external perspective. Let's get back to my interview with Lulu Wang. "I very much felt the way that Billi in the movie feels, which is that it's wrong to lie," Wang told People magazine. At the 77th Golden Globe Awards the film was nominated for two awards including Best Foreign Language Film, with Awkwafina winning for Best Actress Musical or Comedy. Lulu Wang's new film -- one of the best of the year -- is based on her own family's story, an "actual lie," as the opening suggests. Casi Moss/Courtesy of Big Beach. I remember sitting in New York in their studio, having a glass of whiskey and doing it in one take, she says. ", It's easy to summarize The Farewell as being about one young woman's internal culture clash, but there's a transcendence to the film easily summed up by the recurring image of the sparrow. In a Slate interview, director Lulu Wang revealed thatThe Farewell led to her own grandmother discovering she had cancer. "[6], Wang later created an episode titled What You Don't Know for This American Life in April, 2016 based on her family's story. In related news, Awkafina has just become the first Asian American actress to win a Golden Globe inthe Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy category for her role inThe Farewell. Lulu Wang's Grandmother Has Just Learned That 'The Farewell' Is About Her. 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. Awkwafina (left) with Lulu Wang in New York in June. During the conversation, her mother told her that she would not be permitted to tell her grandma the truth, no matter how much she thought it was the right thing to do. They entangled me in the lie and I entangled them in the movie, which is a continuation and complication of the lie., What happens when her grandmother wants to see The Farewell is the next big hurdle. You dont really have any agency. The Farewell thoughtfully explores that moment where grief and sadness collide with comedy . [12], The film had its premiere in the U.S. [16], The Farewell grossed $17.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $5.4 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $23.1 million,[2] against a production budget of $3 million. She . Wang told her shed send her some scenes. Her grandmother finally told him the truth in the hospital three days before he died. It's developed a lot more. And so thats why I made the film.. Wang, who was born in Beijing but emigrated to the United States with her parents when she was six, says that she had never heard of withholding a prognosis from a family member. The whole purpose of the lie was to bring joy, she adds. Her family threw a fake wedding for her cousin from Japan and her grandmother didn't know. Things that we don't see. "[The studios] wanted it all in English, or as a very broad comedy," she told the Seattle Times. Then shed she ask, But what about the family, whats the story? Lulu Wang's Nai Nai was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in 2013. But she was suffering a crisis of faith in the film industry she had worked so hard to be a part of. Aspiring Chinese-American writer Billi maintains a close relationship with Nai Nai (paternal grandmother) who lives in Changchun, China. [13][14] It was released in the United States on July 12, 2019. "While this process was unfolding, [Lulu Wang] was constantly reminding us, 'Dont leak this,'" Shuzhen said. -This American Life, Yes. Spend more than a few minutes in Wangs company, and you realize that she has zero interest in anything even close to pandering. And also the city's changed a lot. Its a tale of loss, a meditation on how to say goodbye, and an investigation into how different cultures handle illness and death. "I said something that she responded to which was: 'In China, I felt whole because I had my entire family and then I came to the U.S.,'" Wang says, "She was saying she's never felt whole in her life. "I imagine once the movie comes out, she will have to find some kind of way to still put up this front. She says she had many disheartening encounters with American and Chinese financiers who wanted to include a "prominent white character into the narrative, and punch up the nuanced drama to turn it into a broad comedy. And the review said, 'The film is based on Lulu Wong's real life. [20][21] The film expanded further to over 800 theaters in the next few weeks, $1.4 million from 861 theaters, $882,623 from 816 theaters and $841,414 from 891 theaters. Brunet, an acclaimed French filmmaker, says HBO Maxs adaptation doesnt accurately represent her 13-year relationship with accused murderer Michael Peterson. 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. She was so full of joy. 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. To Wang, her story was nothing like that. just like Nai Nai taught her. This is articulated heartbreakingly in a scene where Billi breaks down after telling her mom she wants to stay in China and take care of her grandmother. I was like, OK, but you realize that means this will be 75 percent in Mandarin,' she recalls. The episode also gave her the high card and the courage to ask for everything she wanted. Participants include:Pedro Almodvar (PAIN AND GLORY), Bong Joon Ho (PARASITE), Ladj Ly (LES MISRABLES), Cline Sciamma (PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE) and Lulu Wang (THE FAREWELL). Yes, I did, Wang says, laughing. Weitz met with Wang. You just made it up for the movie.. "Six years after her diagnosis, Nai Nai is still with us," reads a caption at the . Brooklyn, US. Theres a second part to this anecdote, Wang points out with a smile, one that she swears is 100-percent authentic. It brought joy to all of us.. Theres a version of this movie in some alternate universe where the laughs are broad, your heartstrings are constantly under attack, everyone learns a life lesson, and youre left with the recognizable taste of saccharine in your mouth. Energetically, she wasnt going to fit in with everybody else. There's energy. All of the doctors predicted that Lulu Wang's Nai Nai had three months left to live after the stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis in 2013. It's true that doctors often break bad news to members of the family instead of the patients themselves. With A $21M Opening", "Keira Knightley in 'Official Secrets' and Molly Ivins Doc 'Raise Hell' Lead New Openers", "Awkwafina Proves She's More Than a Comedian in The Farewell", "Is The Farewell the olive branch the US-China culture war needs? "[32][33], Former United States President Barack Obama named The Farewell amongst his favorite films and television series of 2019 in an annual list released on December 29, 2019. But: What if the main character is the bride, she breaks up with her white boyfriend, they have to get married to keep this lie to Grandma going, and then guess who falls back in love, and., Its like, I see the film youre envisioning because that film already exists! Wang adds. Jian Yongbo, Kmamura Aio, Chen Han, Tzi Ma, Awkwafina, Li Ziang, Tzi Ma, Lu Hong and Zhao Shuzhen in. Lulu Wang's Nai Nai did join the Chinese Army at age 14 to escape an arranged marriage. The Farewell, Wangs dramedy about her experience, turns her misadventure into a funny, bittersweet story about a Chinese-American woman named Billi (Crazy Rich Asians Awkwafina) caught between maintaining a shiny, happy deception and the painful process of saying goodbye to a loved one. Then she made a movie about it' so it went through the entire history of our family, and my grandma read it. According to Wang no one understood the story she was pitching about her internal conflict over lying to her grandmother, with whom she is still very close. As much as The Farewell is about confronting loss, it's also distinctly about place. Opening Of All-Time With $40M+ As 'Lion King' Still Lords With $76M+ Sunday Update", "How Universal Is Reviving The R-Rated Comedy & Making 'Good Boys' Great At The B.O. In a way I guess we were all entangled. We couldnt tell her what the movie was about! Wang says. An old woman in China is talking on the phone with her granddaughter in New York, Billi. Shes like, Well just tell her that movies are fiction and none of it actually happened. 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. Hong became the de facto authority for her fellow performers on whether the interactions of the screen family felt like the real thing; she and Shuzhen began hanging out together off-set a lot and, according to Lulu, started calling each other sister. The director had made good on the promise to shoot The Farewell in her still-living grandmothers hometown of Chungchun, ensuring that a high level of authenticity would be built in to the story. Photo: courtesy of A24 Films. Ad Choices. The lie was her familys decision to withhold this information from her (a custom in China), even bringing Wangs cousins wedding forward by a year so theyd have an excuse to visit her en masse one last time without raising any suspicion. I dont know, she replied. In the film, the Chinese American woman played by Awkwafina, battles with her family to keep the secret. When it came time to cast her parents, Wang chose Chinese-Australian actress Diana Lin to play her fictional mother and Hong Kong-born Tzi Ma, a prolific character actor whos worked on everything from Rush Hour to Arrival, L.A. Law to Silicon Valley episodes, to play her dad. That was the most beautiful part of this. As for the fact that Nai Nai has outlived her initial diagnoses by more than five years, Wang toldThe New York Timesthather dad was like, See, we did the right thing! Right or wrong, its a wonderful feeling when that final title card comes up, and you see the real Nai Nai practicing her tai chi moves. Then she made a movie about it so it went through the entire history of our family, and my grandma read it. I was like, 'What?' . Based on the real life experiences of director Lulu Wang and starring Awkwafina, the film follows a family trying to hide a cancer diagnosis from their elderly matriarch. 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. It's a family drama centering on a young Chinese . Though much ofThe Farewellgrapples with mortality, the point of Wang's piece is not what happens to Nai Nai, even though it's nice to know there's a happy ending. Starring Awkwafina (Oceans 8, Crazy Rich Asians) as Billi, a young Chinese American woman wrestling with her familys request to keep her Nai Nai in the dark, The Farewell delivers an exquisitely nuanced, slyly funny exploration of the machinations of family life, one that transcends the absurd screwball elements the elaborate deceit, the hastily arranged marriage thrown up by the culture clash at the heart of the real story. Copyright 2023 HistoryvsHollywood.com, CTF Media. 15 years later, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Emma Stone, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Bill Hader, and more remember making their seminal teen comedy. [24], On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 97%, with an average rating of 8.5/10, based on 345 reviews. Meanwhile, Wang is currently working on a new film, an adaptation of the short story Children of the New World by Alexander Weinstein that takes place in the near future and, according to Wang, centers on questions of family and why we have children. And then I met a friend from college for dinner right after and I just started crying. Dramatic Competition section at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival[4] and was theatrically released in the United States on July 12, 2019, by A24. What was hard about the experience first time was that no-one seemed to take my side, says Wang. It brought joy to all of us.. But if I sort of compromised, and it didnt do well, and I left the industry, I would forever regret it.. And making this film brought joy to all of us." Last year, Wang headed to Changchun, China, and her grandmothers neighborhood to tell her story. It was, in her words, an oasis in the middle of all of the Hollywood nonsense. It was on the air within a month. Wang is writing the script now. When asked about her own grandmother, Wang revealed that she only recently found out about her cancer. 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. They wanted it to be my big, fat Chinese wedding, said Wang of the investors on both sides of the world. It's something that Wang wonders. The lightly fictionalized film finds Awkwafina's character Billi in the same situation, grappling with her own impending loss and frustration with the cultural practice of secrecy. I just knew her music videos, because my brother was a fan. He asked, You just did this amazing thing, so why are you upset? And I just said, I dont know if Im ever going to feel like this making films now. There was such a purity to it and I felt such power as a storyteller that I thought, maybe I should quit the film business and just work for these guys. Then the story aired, and everything changed. Wang was thinking about coincidences and strange out-of-body experiences when she incorporated the sparrow into the film, but a theme of connection was also on her mind: "The connection of these two countries that are across the world from each other, but that there is a connection even if its not physical," she says. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. 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. Scene Stealer: The True Lies of Elisabeth Finch, Part 2. I dont think shed done Oceans 8. The Farewell true story reveals that Awkwafina's character in the movie, Billi, is based on writer/director Lulu Wang herself. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. "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. She also shot the film largely in Mandarin Chinese. 10 Best Movies of Sundance 2019. It will open in New York and Los Angeles on July 12. Even as Im going through all of this shock and the sorrow, the grief and confusion, the writer-director says, recalling the visit years later, I had the feeling that: This is a movie. Shereturned to her hometown in China and even Nai Nais house! They were planning a celebration in China the next year, but it was decided the celebration would instead be in two weeks to ensure that Nai Nai was still alive. It is ironic that films only get made now if they exist in another medium, added Weitz. [17] It expanded to 35 theaters in its second weekend and earned $1.14 million,[18] then made $1.5 million from 135 theaters in its third. Is that the question? Filming there allowed her to spend a lot more time with her grandmother (NPR). As Shuzhen, who played Nai Nai in the film, also told IndieWire in a separate interview, the whole cast and crew had to take part in the family's lie, too. The Farewell is a bilingual film in English and Mandarin Chinese. Wang is much more sanguine now about the film industry too. All rights reserved. And the title of the movie isDon't Tell Herin Chinese. Once, when she met with Wang's real grandmother, they pretended that it was a personal visit, and although the real Nai Nai was told that Shuzhen would be playing her, she wasn't told that she'd be the main character. He just thought he was weird and got made fun of. It was 2016, and Lulu Wang was done with filmmaking. Wang explained to. Instead of toasting, Wang, who still desperately wanted to adapt her story for the big screen, burst into tears. The family got a second opinion, and then a third. The whole atmosphere of the trip, the wild way we were keeping this story up I wasnt sure how I was going to turn it into a film. She understood the cultural balancing act of being viewed as primarily Chinese in America and primarily American in China. It's a little astonishing that Wang was able to keep that secret from her grandmother, through the shooting ofThe Farewelland as the film garnered praise at film festivals and award shows. ', It turned out, however, that, like Wang, Lum had been partially raised by her Chinese grandmother. Breaks Down His Killer White House Correspondents Dinner Set, New Jeans, Rina Sawayama, Saweetie Among Gold House A100 Honorees, Newsmax Accuses Murdochs of Designing a New-World-Order Globalist Kill List Against Tucker Carlson, DeSantis' Disney Board Will Countersue the Mouse, 'Redfall' is a Decent Looter Shooter With an Identity Crisis. But there's a twist at the very end that comes in the form of a reveal after the breathtaking final shot, and Wang herself thinks it's worth keeping quiet about it. The Farewell (2019), apparently based on a real story, is a light-weight comedy that mainly explores the difference customs and values of China and the USA. Id also come to accept that it wasnt my decision; it was my familys decision. 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. Then a funny thing happened. Rather than revealing the news directly to Wang's 80-year-old grandmother, doctors instead told her grandmother's sister (Wang's Great-Aunt Hong Lu) the news, who passed it along to the family. No broad comedy! They just want to put me in this box, andunless I can do this kind of storytelling, its not worth it for me to do all that.. Chinese or American audiences? Both of the encounters stick out in her mind, Wang says, because those were the only ones where each of the producers respectively said, We want to help you tell your story the way you want to tell it.. That was the added bonus, to get to spend time with her." Advertise with us (Opens in new window) "[11], Director Lulu Wang says that she kept the secret from her grandmother during and after film production. It's that this familyare are linked across continents; their intangible bonds expressed perfectly in that final visual. #ggforeignfilms #goldenglobesStill haven't subscribed to Golden Globes on YouTube? And she kept asking us, Why do you want me in your movie? When my grandmother was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, she was given three months to live. You cant tell me the title. And the review said, The film is based on Lulu Wongs real life. "It went into this whole conversation where I was like, 'Yeah, [in China] I had my grandma and then my other grandma and uncles. Filmmaker, alumna Lulu Wang '05 will discuss "The Farewell" at virtual event March 25. Starring Awkwafina as a struggling writer in New York and based on a "true lie" from Wang's life, the film tells the story of a Chinese-American family that, upon learning their grandmother has cancer, decides not to tell her and instead stages a mock . Wang first told the story on an April 2016 episode of This American Life, which piqued the interest of various producers, allowing her to make the movie. Sign up here for our daily Thrillist email and subscribe here for our YouTube channel to get your fix of the best in food/drink/fun. I do think that when you hear Chinese family drama-comedy, you immediately get a sense of what that is supposed to be, she says. Then Lum sent back a tape. Every time I finish a film, its kind of depressing because you're kind of at the end but kind of at the beginning again, and youre just excited but also unsure, she said. Yes. 2023 Rolling Stone, LLC. Awkwafina, was asking to audition. Hed seen her movie, loved her voice, was interested in working with her on something. [9][10] Filming also took place in New York. "Whenever Im there with my family, I basically revert to a childlike state. They had all their friends over talking about literature and movies and culture and drinking and smoking, and Im a kid and I would wake up in the middle of the night and they would be like, 'come join us,' and there was just a sense of community and family and friends, and it all made sense. Her 2014 directorial debut, Posthumous, explores what happens when a struggling artist (Jack Huston), who learns that his work is more valuable after his "death," concocts a shady scheme to reap the rewards of his "posthumous" success. It also helped get her parents off her back regarding her decision to give up being a concert pianist or going to law school in favor of a life behind the camera. "There's a spiritual connection or energetic -- spiritual maybe sounds too whoop-dee-doo. ", 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. I knew right away I wanted to do it as a movie, says Wang, over the phone from her home in Los Angeles ahead of the films Scottish premiere at this years Glasgow Youth Film Festival. The lie has allowed me to spend so much time with my grandmother in China, shooting a movieall kinds of scenarios that I never dreamed possible, said Wang, who has made peace with her familys orchestrated deception. And her friend saw a review of it and was so proud of her, one of her longest friends, and sent it to her. There is, however, a further bizarre twist to the story. ", "Gotham Awards: 'Marriage Story,' 'The Farewell,' 'Uncut Gems' Lead Nominations", "Lulu Wang's 'The Farewell' wins Sundance London 2019 audience award", "#RomaFF14 | "Santa subito" di Alessandro Piva vince il "Premio del Pubblico BNL", "NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW ANNOUNCES 2019 AWARD WINNERS", "Artios Awards: 'Hustlers,' 'Knives Out,' 'Rocketman' Among Casting Society Film Nominees", "The 3rd Annual Hollywood Critics Association Awards Nominations", "The 2019 Detroit Film Critics Society Awards Nominations", "2019 San Diego Film Critics Society's Award Nominations", "2019 Atlanta Film Festival Award Winners", "This year's Seminci Golden Spike is bound for Mongolia", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Farewell_(2019_film)&oldid=1149341986, Lu Hong (playing herself) as Little Nai Nai, Billi's grandmother's younger sister, This page was last edited on 11 April 2023, at 16:34.