Chinese Connection

Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau (劉德華) hit the nail on the head when he said Hollywood has no respect for Chinese filmmaking.

From the Associated Press:

The star of the hit Hong Kong crime thriller "Infernal Affairs" said he won't settle for two-bit roles or stereotypical characters who only excel in kung fu, so he has no plans to follow some of his contemporaries who have moved to Hollywood.

[ ... ]

Asked whether he envisions any changes in Hollywood's attitudes toward Chinese, Lau voiced strong doubts.

"Not in my generation," he said. "Look at how long it took for blacks."

Lau said he's been approached with Hollywood scripts but "nothing has moved me yet". Lau said he turned down a role as a cross-dressing Chinese opera diva in the Hollywood love story "M. Butterfly" because filmmakers wouldn't entertain his suggestion to delete a scene.

"They said, 'You're nobody. Don't bargain with us,'" Lau said.

Hollywood thinks selling Jet Li (李連杰) involves teaming him up with the flavour-of-the-month rapper/actor and blasting hip-hop throughout the movie. Have they never seen Once Upon A Time In China or Hero?

Why is Jackie Chan (成龍) always the buffoon? Why does Chow Yun-fat (周潤發) get stuck doing crap like Bulletproof Monk?

I dare anyone to watch a Hollywood film with Asian actors and not have their existence rationalised. They can never just be there; instead they're stereotyped: martial arts master, sage, lackey, dragon lady, computer expert, tradition slave, math prodigy, submissive female, the "FOB", systems analyst, Chinatown gangster, chef, forensics expert ...

Hollywood is stuck in the 1930s.

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