One Nite in Mongkok (2004) | Daniel Wu, Eric Nakamura, Martin Wong

Good evening everyone. Welcome to the Billy Wilder Theater, home of the public programs for the UCLA Film and Television Archive. My name is Paul Malcolm. I'm the senior public programmer for the archive. We'd like to thank all of the individuals and organizations that have helped make tonight's screening possible. All of the archive screenings in the water are free thanks to a gift from an anonymous donor. We are grateful to them for their support. This series and screening has been made possible with support from the INAI initiative at UCLA for globalizing Japanese humanities. Uh, and I want to thank Michael Emer at the Initiative for all his support of archive programming. I want to thank all our community partners for helping us to spread the word about this series. And finally, I want to thank uh Kathy Ackers and Kate Park for initiating the conversation about this series with an email way back in 2023. Thank you all for coming out to the closing night of our series celebrating the 30th anniversary of Giant Robot Magazine. This series was curated by Giant Robot founder Eric Nakamura and it has been a real honor and pleasure to work with him. It's also just been extraordinary to be in the theater over the last seven nights and celebrating something that had a really big impact on me, Giant Robot Magazine, but also seeing so many people like learning about what Giant Robot was and learning about what it is now through these screenings. We had a lot of people in the Q&A say I didn't know about Giant Robot before. And that has been really quite I think very powerful for me that people have been rediscovering or discovering their love of giant robot through this series which has been really great. But anyway, Eric is here with us. So let's give Eric a round of applause. He's in the back row right there. Thank you. So tonight we are absolutely thrilled to be closing out this amazing series with a screening of director ye uh of director Derek Yei's one night in Monkok from 2004. We are especially thrilled that its star, filmmaker, actor, and giant robot contributor Daniel Woo is here with us tonight. Daniel's in the seat right there. Thank you so much, Daniel. So, after the film, Daniel will join Eric and Giant Robot co-editor Martin Wong and myself on stage for a conversation. Please stick around for that. And now, please help me welcome to the stage Eric Nakamura. [Applause] >> Thanks, Paul. Uh, hey, thanks so much for coming out. Um, I'll be really brief. Uh, so, uh, Daniel Woo, amazing. Uh he's wrote for Giant Robot, which is crazy, right? He's wrote for Giant Robot for about 10 years. Tons of issues. You would think here he is, he's an actor, pretty well known, and but yet he always made time for us. And that's one of the coolest parts about Daniel is our friendship. Um through Giant Robots, uh I peaks and valleys, I guess, throughout the magazine's duration all the way to the current day, he's remained our friend, and that's al also amazing. So, um, this movie is going to be quite awesome. I think it's the 20th year. Is that correct? 20th anniversary of this movie and, uh, it's one of his hot ones. So, um, welcome to the stage, Daniel. >> Hey guys, uh, thanks for coming out. It, like they said, it's the 20th anniversary of this film. I think all of you were babies when this movie came out. So, this is a good opportunity for you guys to actually see this film on screen. I think it's a one of my favorite films that I've done out of like 70s something films. Um, but it also marked a very important part of my career where I took a big change and started working with Derek Gee and this was the first of six collaborations. Um, I've always cherished the relationship that I've had with Derek Gee uh to this day and it's very rare that you have an opportunity to work with someone so many times, but this was the beginning of that relationship. So, um, enjoy the movie and we'll be back later for the Q&A afterwards. [Applause] So, actor, producer, director Daniel Woo has appeared in over 60 films since he made his big screen debut in 1998, including Gen X Cops, New Police Story, The Demon Within, Protegé, Warcraft, and Tomb Raider. On television, he is best known for his roles in the hit AMC series Enter the Bad Lands, and the Disney series Americanborn Chinese. He won his gold he won a golden horse uh award for best supporting actor for a new police story. And in 2007, he won best new director at the Hong Kong Film Awards for his debut feature film, The Heavenly Kings. Please help me welcome to the stage Dan Yu Wu, Eric Nakamura, and Martin Wong. That was a heavy movie, right? >> You're doing fine there, right up until the very end. >> Yeah. Doing all right. >> All goes south, dude. I forgot it was a Christmas movie. >> Yes. Right. That's right. That's true. die hard. >> Yeah, >> I feel like maybe I should just let you three talk while and I'm just sort of up here, but you know, Daniel, um, thanks for being here. >> Of course. >> Also, opening night and of course in the documentary on Giant Robot, you shared your story about your relationship with the magazine, Eric and Martin, and what it meant to you. Would you mind sharing that story just a little bit like how you first came to how you first learned about Giant Robot and how you why you wanted to become so become a part of it? >> Sure. Uh, at the time I was still in school. I was studying architecture and I was doing a summer internship in an architecture office and I had to go to this uh location that was going to be a restaurant and go make measurements and then I was standing outside afterwards and there's a bookshop next door and I was looking in the window and I saw a bunch of Z at the bottom and I looked down and I saw giant robot with this sumo wrestler on it >> and I was like that was issue number one. >> Yeah, issue number one. It was issue number one and and I was like this is not a regular Zen. This is something different. um something about the giant robot and the sumo wrestler made me think this is specifically Asian. So I went into the store, bought the book and then just sat in my car and read it from cover to cover and was just completely shocked that there was something like this that existed and that I always felt like I was a kind of an outsider growing up. I wasn't necessarily the model minority Asian kid growing up. Um although I was very close to my heritage and I did kung fu and things like that. Um, I was also a skateboarder, was into punk rock music. So, I never really felt like I fit anywhere. And when I read this magazine, The Zen, I felt like it covered everything that I was interested in. And I was shocked. And so, I became a fan right away. And I think the following summer, I wrote a letter to Martin um, saying, "Hey, I'm a huge fan of the Zen. I see that you guys write about Hong Kong movies and kung fu. I practice kung fu. Maybe I could help contribute." And then it was a slow process. I eventually became pen pals with Martin and then we met in New York City one time to go see a show and then it wasn't until 1997 that I went to Hong Kong where I wrote my first piece. Martin asked me to write my first piece for the for giant robot and it was about the handover Hong Kong handover. Um and then that began the be that was the beginning of like a 10 year long as Eric said earlier a 10 year long um working relationship with these guys. >> Yeah. Maybe 13 or 14 years because that was 97. Right. >> That's true. Yeah. >> Right. Right. Right. All right. 97. So yeah, 13 years. Yeah. So a long time. And it was kind of a interesting thing because it was, you know, I was starting out as an actor in Hong Kong and kind of my career was rising and I was also still writing for a giant robot and I was kind of an insider writing about Hong Kong film. I would go to the Hong Kong film awards and write about what I saw there. And so it was um a really interesting thing to have this these parallel careers as a writer and as a as a as an actor and one where I could be just myself and one could be one where I was a celebrity actor you know. Um can you talk about I guess for those that maybe don't know can you talk about what that industry was like at that time? So 97 Hong Kong kind of had its peak in the late 80s and by 97 it was kind of rounding out and by peak I mean like they were doing like this is the period of like John Woo, Ringo Lamb and all those guys 300 films a year which is like crazy for a city of 7 million people at the time and so it was tremendous amount of volume but they were pretty much the entertainment center of all of Chinese speaking Asia at the time. uh Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong, uh mainland China, everywhere. Um and so by 97 it kind of run its course and so we had gone down from like 300 films a year to like maybe 40. Uh still a lot but a lot less than before. And so I kind of came in at the back end but there still a lot of like legends were still working, still directing and I kind of slipped in at that at that point uh in my career. Yeah, >> it's cool that you came up with a lot of other young actors then. Like you see Sam Lee. >> Yeah, Sam Lee became good friends with him. Um he started probably I think a little bit before me with Made in Hong Kong >> and then um uh let's see there Steven Fong um uh Nicholas Tingfong we all started the pretty much the same year. Yeah >> Chung is amazing in this film as well. Yes, she's she's a amazing actress. By by by the time we did this movie, she had already won some awards. She'd worked with Stephen Chow. She did some very big films and she was just an incredible actress. And she's one of these actresses that >> is just natural at it. You she I don't think she really has a process. >> Um I don't think she can really explain what she's doing. She just is the role. And with this role was interesting because she was not a Mandarin speaker, but she just learned it phonetically and just did it at the time. She now can speak fluent Mandarin, but at the time she wasn't fluent at it. And so oftentimes there was like, you know, a coach on set and she had to quickly learn and then could do it, but she could do it very quickly. Um, just very clever, very smart, uh, a naturally talented actress. >> You know, I was thinking a lot, well, a little bit about your career watching this film. I mean, the thing about this movie, there's a lot of fantastic set pieces in it, like action set pieces in it, but the thing that always sticks with me about this film is the the the network of like immigrants, people from the mainland who have come to Hong Kong that he he he comes there with this mission, but he discovers this whole network and community of people who are there trying to escape poverty, trying to make their >> That's what really strikes me. He's he's both a fish he's I mean, he's supposed to be this professional hitman, but he's also this fish out of water. And that's a really interesting dynamic. >> Yeah, it's it's I mean it's a multi-layered film. >> Um you know on the surface is kind of a noir Hong Kong action film, but it goes much deeper than that. And like just the characters and these characters who um you know at that time in the 90 80s and 90s a lot of people were sneaking into Hong Kong for a better life. Um it's not that way at all anymore, but at that time there's a lot of these illegal immigrants coming in that way. Um, and a lot of these characters reflect upon that. A lot of people in Hong Kong now came from that, you know, era where they where they, you know, came in by boat or they some swam in to Hong Kong. Um, and so it captures that side also captures the side of the police in a very grounded like cinema verite kind of way. >> Um, and it kind of captured the culture and the times of of Hong Kong at that time. Did it did that I mean >> and not oh sorry not to mention the location monk with the whole the whole character in the film I think is the place um that place is a very special place in Hong Kong and that it's densely densely populated and you can find anything you want there like shopping wise but illicit things as well all that is just piled on top of each other in this one small little area of the Koon side of Hong Kong >> I mean uh talking about the dynamics of the Hong Kong film industry so Derek Ye won best director and best screenplay for this film film at the Hong Kong Film Awards. But did but did but this film really stood out from the kind of action films were being made at that time? Does this seem like a kind of a departure or something really different for you? Is that what drew you to the project? >> Yeah, I mean it was a big departure for me because I had done some kind of uh kind of more commercial uh action films, but a lot of people were pushing me to do romantic comedies, which I hate. So, I didn't really like doing that kind of stuff. Um, and and I really was wanting to do something darker and more gritty like this and just nobody was asking me to do this kind of things. So Derek took a chance on me. And I remember when we first met, I'm like, why? Why do you want me to play this character? There's so many other actors that could play this better than me, I think. And he's like, well, no, I I think you have some potential, and I think you can give this a shot. Plus, you can speak better Mandarin than most Hong Kong actors at the time. So So So I was like, okay. I'll give it a shot. It was a lot of pressure. I remember being really really nervous about it. Um, making the whole thing. Uh, you know, I was very young. I was a new actor. I was still learning the craft, but then I was finally doing something that I really, really wanted to do. And, and then it became this, like I said earlier, this long relationship with me and Derek over six films um, over time. And it was, you know, I really have to thank him for allowing me to take that turn in my career. And I just then after that it was like 10 or 15 years of really dark stuff. Um and then um now it was only until like maybe past 10 years that I've kind of switched to just doing some things that are slightly different and less dark and sad at the end. >> Yeah. But this one there's actually not a lot of fighting or guns or even car chases. Like it's mostly character stuff. >> Yeah. >> You know, >> it's a character ensemble cast with a with playing with tension. Yeah, it's like the whole movie is about this tension, this 24 hours in Hong Kong. Um, and I think that was what was really appealing to me about it. It was such an interesting story. And also that this killer wasn't like the Chowing Fat, the killer killer, you know, where he's in a white suit looking really cool with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. It wasn't that. He's he's a country bumpkin who was hired to to do this job for really cheap and then be expendable. Um, and that's actually more realistic than than not. Um, those kind of cases do happen. did happen in Hong Kong and they were done by people like that and not like professional killers that were really cool, you know. Um um and also this this story is actually based on a true instance where the a group of police officers were looking for uh a guy who' murdered somebody and they it and what happened at the end where he shows up in the 7-Eleven, they happen to be having a midnight snack right next to the 7-Eleven. that is true >> and they end up catching the guy at that moment. But then the rest obviously the rest of the story is not as fictionalized but he based it off that one moment >> because that's so crazy. You think that was the fictional part because they've been looking for him the whole movie just bump into the street. >> I think Derek saw that news clip and was like this is really interesting and so he created this whole story backstory behind it. >> How do you go from uh like visiting Hong Kong right in 97 and then like actually acting but then learning how to act? like how do you actually get into all that? >> Man, that was okay. So, the acting started, you know, as I said earlier, I was an architect and I knew I wasn't going to get into the profession because um the job I did so many internships and the job was disappointing to me because school was very creative, but the job wasn't as creative and I just wanted to be in something that was creatively exciting and so I was taking time off. 97 was I graduated that year and Hong Kong was going back to mainland China and so I wanted to be part of that to see witness a historical moment and then I was going to bum around Asia for two or three months and then come back and figure out what I was going to do and I thought about like you know going into graphic design maybe even set design things like that um and then at my last month there I thought it was going to be my m last month I had run out of money I was going to go back I was in a bar and someone saw me and came up to me and asked me if I wanted to do a TV commercial. And so I did this TV commercial and then uh I was able to get some money and keep traveling. And then a month later, the director of my first film, Yanfan, um of Bishon, uh he saw that commercial and then called me in for an interview. And then an hour after an hour talk, he's like, "Okay, I want you to be the lead in my film." And I go, "What are you talking about?" I'm like, I'd studied some international film courses in in college as part of my major, and I knew making films is not just funding games. It's like it's a serious art form. And I was like, I don't want to screw up this project for you. This is your dream. I don't want to be the one that screws it all up for you. So, I actually turned him down. Um because not only did I not know how to act, I didn't speak Cantonese, you know. And so, it was a lot of pressure. And so, I said, I can't I can't take that pressure. And so, I turned it down. And he kept calling me for probably like two or three weeks. And the end of it, I was like, and I actually spoke to my mom. Um I'd actually gotten a job offer from a very famous Japanese architect that I I really liked. Uh but the conditions were terrible. It was like uh work starts at 10:00 a.m. until 10 p.m. and then we break for dinner and then we come back until work is done and then you will live in the office. There's like a studio bedroom up in the office and I think the pay was like $500 a month and I was like, "Ah, this is exactly what I'm trying to get away from, right?" And so, but then I also had this script offer and I called my mom and I was like, "What should I do? I have these two great opportunities." Um, and she's like, "Well, you can always fall back on the architecture, >> but whenever you're going to be offered a movie, just try it, you know." And that's kind of not what most Chinese parents you'd expect to hear from mom >> advice. But my mom was a college professor and she was an adviser to many young kids all the time. So, she just wanted people to be great. And so, she uh wanted that for me, I guess, and told me to try it. She's like, "Don't be scared. Just give it a shot." And so, I listened to her and I did it and changed changed my whole life. And you just knew how to act like you just got right into it. >> Well, here's the thing is like when I did my first movie, Bishon, I had no idea what I was doing. And so I had three months to prepare my where I was living was like a block away from the office. I go there every single day. And I was like to the director, I'm like, I don't know much about acting, but I'm looking at this character like a building, right? Like a building has a foundation and that's what it sits on. And that's like his backstory, right? So if the foundation is not good, his backstory is is abusive or trauma or whatever, that's going to affect how he stands, right? And then I go then the structure of the building of his steel or wood or whatever, that's his internal strength. And then his the skin of the building, whether it's, you know, glass or wood or whatever, that's what he's trying to project on to the world. And um he goes he goes, "I've never heard anybody break down acting in that way, but it sounds like you have a process, so just stick with that." Um and so I did. and and in fact in fact I still kind of use pieces of that today uh along with many many other things I've learned along the way but that was the basis the foundation of me learning how to act and then I remember on the first movie I really didn't know what I was doing so I wasn't conscious of what I was doing and so I just did it and actually that was probably the most freeing acting experience I've ever had because after that I started to self-criticize myself watch everything I did and be like this is terrible this is terrible and I just and I also I'm learning Canese at the same time so I'm learning a language and learning how to act at the same time and the whole world gets to see it, right? Everyone, they see my progress. And so, you had to develop a very thick skin and not not let that affect me. Even though, you know, it it was very uh it definitely affects your self-confidence, you know, when you're when you're when you're being self-conscious. Like, the most freeing where I'm at now almost 30 years later is where you don't think about it. I don't even look at the monitor anymore when I'm working um because I just allow the performance to happen. Um and that's the most freeing. It took me a long long time to get to that stage. Um, but yeah, it was a it was a difficult process. It was it was um tough and I think in the end, you know, by the time I got to working with Derek, it was I'd figured out a process. >> Uh, I had a sneaking suspicion on the opening night when you were here and you told your story that that we had I probably a fair number of people may have changed their majors that night after you aritects or you know, engineering students, whatever. But so I have a question. I have one more question. We'll turn it over to the audience. Um, so Martin and and Eric, what was it like this kid who came and asked you for a job at the magazine and you're making a magazine writing about Asian culture and writing about pop culture and then all of a sudden over time one of your contributors becomes Asian pop culture. I'm really curious. I mean, you're all friends now, so I'm curious how that how your relationship has sort of evolved as as Giant Robot grew and and and Daniel, you know, became a star. >> Well, I remember the the first letter he sent. It was after issue seven which had the alcohol reviews. And I wrote a little sidebar about Drunken Master 2. You know that Jackie Chan movie? >> One of the best ones. >> Yeah. And I was saying, "Oh man, I I called all these studios and no one will teach me." Which is total BS because I would never I don't even drink or do martial arts. So, but it was just a cool sidebar. >> Drunken Kung Fu, you don't have to be drunk to do it. >> But yeah, Dan said, "I'll teach you." So, um, yeah, we became friends and I met him in New York and actually we went to the Tokyo Shock Boys show that you recommended and we wrote an article about it and I visited you in San Francisco when we visited the Bruce Lee Museum. >> That's right. That's right. >> In the Sunset District and he was there >> and like I didn't realize I was bigiming you and taking you to these articles and not letting you write them. Like >> but um somehow he um rose above I just persevered. I just really wanted to be part of the the giant robot family, you know, and I remember like, you know, I'd written a couple articles and in the magazine they would thank their contributors, but there was one section for the inner circle and that was like a goal. I wanted to be in the inner circle because only a few people were in there and I remember it was like a few articles in that I finally made it to the inner circle and no one told me about it. I just flipped the page. I'm like, "Oh, I made the inner circle." Yes. >> You mean the plaque didn't show up at your doorstep? No. >> So funny. No, I didn't get it. Those things are like >> still in your mom's garage. >> No, they don't even matter though. All these kind of inner circle and all the little details were just sort of >> It doesn't matter to you guys. >> Yeah, they're more important for everybody else, but they didn't mean much to >> creatively. Everyone else wants to get in. >> Yeah, that's how it works. >> It meant a lot to me. And when I when I got to that level, I was like so happy. Super happy. >> We had a pretty cool inner circle, I got to say. >> Yeah. >> But it was it was incredible having a mole in Hong Kong. Um because you know we were just dorky fans going to see movies you know in the San Gabriel Valley in the Chinese theaters. You know we'd go see these double features and then suddenly we have someone who's in them. >> Yeah. It's just weird too, right? It's like uh I went to Hong Kong and it's there's paparazzi, right? I'm not I'm not used to that at all or I've never really seen that except for on TV and then sure enough we go to dinner and it's like there's paparazzi like everywhere and I'm like is this real? And then yeah, but that's your life out there, right? It was like >> Yeah. I probably never spoke about that to you guys. >> Yeah. But it was like five paparazzi. And you were like, "Yeah, the other guys they get one, but you're like, but me I get five." And and you know, and literally >> Yeah. You said that. >> Well, it's true. You said that. He goes, "Yeah, I get five." And I'm like, "Wow." >> Yeah. So that was like how it was there. And I was just like, "Whoa, this is crazy. Like I'm not used to that, you know, or I'm I just can't believe it." >> Yeah. I think people in Hong Kong, they don't realize that. Um or maybe it takes someone to come from the US and California and come out of punk rock and skateboarding and you know street art to go over there and like he introduced us to all these all of his friends like um there was LMF >> and Sam Lee and then there's um you know Proip this really rad artist Michael Laauo um yeah and there was this whole like indie underground in Hong Kong that's trying to >> um do really interesting cool artistic subversive things in like this really capitalist commercial place. >> Yeah, it was it was interesting because for me it was kind of like a double identity because my kind of public image >> because I didn't speak Chinese so well. Like I just didn't talk that much and so people just thought I was a really nice good-looking guy and like they didn't realize I had this whole subversive culture of subversive part of me that I didn't really talk about that much like skateboarding, punk rock music, whatever, all that kind of rebellious stuff that I I grew up with. And so, but I was able to write about write in that way in the magazine. So, it was very a dualistic identity, but it was very fulfilling to me to write for Giant Robot because I was really writing as myself. Uh, I look back at some of the articles now that's in the book, if you similar have it, the one that's in there. I kind of cringe because it's like 25year-old me. Um, and and I'm not that person anymore. But, but but it was it was a little bit more braggadocious than I thought I was. But, yeah, sure. Um, it was a good time. And I I really love writing for giant robot. >> I think some people probably don't know that although you you got famous I guess you got famous out there and you're doing all these movies. You were also doing like what is that thing you were doing that video series that >> cheese scene? >> Yeah. Yeah. You were doing like things like that. Then you make a documentary your own or what do you call it? Rockumentary. Yeah. >> That's you know like those are all subversive and >> Yeah. It's true. It's true. And I still tried to hold on to that somehow. And so the TV show that he's talking about was like um when Jackass was really popular in the US. I was a huge fan of that show and so MTV Asia asked us to do something similar and so we made this show called Chesene which is in Kent that means crazy, right? Um and so I did one season of that did some really crazy stupid stunts. Um and then what was the other thing we're talking about? >> But you also did it with like a bunch of your actor friends, musician friends. >> Yeah. All the subversive friends or like the LMF guys, the family. It was all the guys that I became really good friends with. I clung on to those people. I didn't necessarily become friends with like bigger mainstream stars just because I didn't have much to relate to. But all the people that were kind of subversiveminded like me, I became really close with. >> You make your own documentary, right? >> Oh, yeah. Yeah. And so, yeah, when I did Heavenly Kings, uh, Suzan Wong, that was a very subversive film about, um, you know, again, I was saying earlier, I grew up listening to punk rock music, hip-hop music, independent music. And so, I was very put off by Kanto pop. It was very manufactured um, you know, pop music. And I never really liked it even though a lot of my friends were in it. And so I made this movie that lampuned that whole music industry because it was like I mean now this style of music has taken over the world. I mean this pop music factory like BTS all that stuff that's it's gone off. But I had a my film was a social commentary on that and that you didn't really need to be a singer to become a singer, you know, with with things like auto autotune and all that stuff. It could make you a singer. So you just had to fake it till you make it, right? And so we were in in that movie Heavenly Kings. We were Heavenly Kings was also making fun of uh the he the real Heavenly Kings at the time was Andy Laauo, Leon Lie, Jackie Jang, and Aaron Quac, right? And that was their name. Uh the names they were given to them by the media as as the heavenly kings of pop. And so we made this movie that kind of lampuned that name. Um and we we were a boy band. We became a real boy band, me and three other friends. And we went out and performed for like over a year and a half while we were filming this movie that was done in cinema verite style, documentary, fake documentary style. And over the whole time, everyone thought we were real um boy band. And we would do things like mess up on stage on purpose, like get the dance routines wrong or yell at each other. And sometimes backstage, we get in fights, but they're all it was all staged. We get in fights where people would see it and med the media would be back there and they'd see it and then they'd write about it. And then we used all that stuff in the film to show that like, you know, and this became the way of the world. It was meant to be a commentary to kind of maybe like stop this kind of stuff, but it just kept going, which is like if you just in the news a lot, you're going to get popular, you know. Um, and you know, our next president uses that same tactic, you know, just say sensational crap all the time and you'll be in the news. And so we did that um to be in the news a lot and it worked and we're just showing basically how the whole pop machine works. >> We were all having a good time and then you had to make >> Yeah. Let's turn it over for questions from the audience. Raise your hand and we we'll bring a mic to you. Okay. So let's go right here in the center. Let's we're going to bring a mic to you. Just wait for the mic. >> Hi you guys. Thank you so much for coming. This is my second time here and I came like in the beginning night like the opening night for Giant Robot. So, um my name is Lisa and I'm the USC uh film production student. So, I'm really interested in the production side of this movie. And so, um I'm wondering so first, do you use like stunt double for all the fighting scenes? >> And second, how many hours do you work every day? And third, do you do you actually block those streets and fill with extras or did you use the real street at that time? Thank you. >> Okay. Um, let's see. Let's go to the that last question is um, so a lot of it was shot without permits or anything like the bits of it with us like running through the streets with all the people that was real people. And so the way we filmed that is we went up onto a rooftop and the director had standins and showed us the path of where we're going to run and how we're going to do it. And then we would just go down and do one take and and get it get it done that way. And then that bit on the bridge, some of it was closed off, uh, but not all of it. So there's people all around and you we had to really kind of film and then get out of the way. Like me and Cecilia had to go hide somewhere and then we pop back out and film something and then we go hide somewhere. Um, and because that area, you can't really block off Monk. It's just too hard to do that. And it's actually in Hong Kong, the whole career I was there, I don't recall ever blocking off streets unless it was like nighttime. Um, because the Hong Kong government is not really great at giving us permits all the time. They would do it for Hollywood films for some reason, but they wouldn't do it for our local films. Um, so you'd have to do this gorilla style of filming. Um, stunt double. Well, I did mostly everything except for the very last fall in the end where the guy lands on where I land on my face. Um, I wanted to do it, but the director wouldn't let me do it because he's like, "You might actually really get hurt, so let's not have you do that." Um, but I can tell you the the beating part where my head is getting smashed on the door handle, that was there was a foam door handle on that one side, but uh there's one bit where he kicks me in the face. So, one of the actors, Tenjala, was the action coordinator. He's the one in the brown leather jacket. And so the way they film that usually is they put a like a get a pair of pants and a shoe and they stick a broomstick handle down it and then they just hit you in the face with it. Right. But he told me, he goes, "Okay, Daniel. Um, we want to get this in one take so it's going to be really hard. Okay, I'm just warning you." And so I'm like, "Okay, yeah, no problem." And then we three, two, one, action. And he just bam slams me in the face with it. It was really hard. And he tells the story now. He's like, he's like, "The one time that Daniel swore at me was in that thing because after I hit him and they called cut, I just went [ __ ] right?" Because it just shoe in my face. Um, still wasn't the same as a real cake, but it still hurt a lot. Uh, what was the other question? >> Uh, how many hours do you work every day? >> Long hours. I like say 10 to 12. Uh, sometimes more more 14, 16. Yeah, architecture. I was totally, >> you know, we did crazy hours in Hong Kong films. I did a 27-hour day twice, like round the clock two times on different films. Uh, but I have to say, architecture school definitely prepped me for that because we did all nighters all the time. >> So, when you do projects out there, are hours still similar to that? >> Now, no. So, now I think because I'm old now, I can't really do that anymore. So, I have it in my contract. I work like 10 to 12 hour days, but they don't do that so much anymore. It's pretty pretty um civilized. Another question from the audience. Let's go. Let's go right down here in front. >> No. >> First of all, thanks so much for Miss Daniel and uh and giant Robbo uh for the stop Asian crime um campaign the past couple years, especially during the camp pandemic. That means a lot to us. >> Thank you. Uh so quick question. So uh Mr. Zaniel, when you look at yourself that is like 20 years ago, you're way much younger. >> Um what do you think? Do you have any like new feelings or reflections of your role or your performance? >> Uh, well, I would have to say that this is probably one of my favorite films of like almost 70 films I've done and I don't necessarily like all the films I've done. Um, so this is one that I can watch and every time I do watch it, I do see something different because it's like I said earlier, it's very layered. There's so many um really awesome aspects of this film um that are not just in my performance in the ensemble. You know, we have great actors, Alex Fong, uh, Lamshoot, uh, Sam Lee, all these guys that just turned out really great performances for this this film. And so, um, this one I can watch again. Um, what do I think? Uh, I look really young and I I, you know, I I do, this is why I don't watch my films that much. Like I don't usually I watch a film at a premiere and I don't ever watch it again is because I start to pick apart the performance and uh you shouldn't do that 30 years later. You know what I mean? It's not doesn't there's no point in doing that. And so I try to avoid watching stuff I've done before. >> Another question from the audience. Let's go right down here in front front row. There we go. >> Hi. Um my name is Lucia and thank you so much for like bringing us to this great movie and it's my first time watching it and I have a like a question for um Mr. Wu. I want to ask from your perspective how are you going to uh interpret the final action of life his uh choices of like shooting to either the big badass and also a policeman he he meets. Do you think is a choice of self like maintaining self-dignity and self values or it is a choice of others like maintaining a justice or like a romantic like care to the another like main character? >> That's a really great question. I think it's a little bit of both. I think he's a product of what's happening to around him. He's reacting to that. He's, you know, a fish out of water and so everything is new to him. And so in that final act, there's emotion there. And so what you're saying about dignity and and he has a moral standing. You can see that through the whole through the whole film is that he stands for a certain thing. Um one is that he's back in Hong Kong looking for although he's supposed to go kill somebody, he's looking for his lost love, right? Um, and then he he meets Cecilia's character and kind of has feelings for her, but he can't realize them because he's still looking for that girl. But when she and you know, even when he gets beat up, it's not about him getting beat up, but it's the way that she was treated, right? That that bothers him. And that's why that motivates him to get back up after getting beat like that and then going to try and get get these guys, right, and getting that gun. Um, I don't think he meant to kill that cop. Um, you know, there's blood all over his face and in his eyes and there's a bunch of people coming at him. So, he just he just fired the gun. Um, and I think that's what's tragic about it is that at that point it's the emotional boiling point for this character. He's had enough, right? And and he just explodes in that moment. And so, there is collateral damage with that. >> There's also interesting parallel between those two characters, the two the young cop and and the young kid. Especially when the detective tells the young cop, "Think twice." when your character's going down the stairs, I'm gonna kill him. I'm I just kept thinking, think twice. Just think twice, man. >> Right. >> Yeah. There's a lot of little Easter eggs like that throughout the thing. And then also just so tragic with that character, you know, >> uh being trying to do be a good cop, do the right thing, and you know, even against some of the dirty cops, and then he accidentally kills somebody and then he gets killed, you know, and so it's a very tragic character. >> Any questions on over here? Let's go right on the aisle here. Hi. Um, thanks for coming and sharing this movie. Um, so unlike most films, this is there's two clear story lines and there's like minimum overlap until the very end. So does how does that affect like the filming process and um do you have like see others in the script or do you kind like focus your own own story line and kind of like don't know what the others are kind of like working on? >> Well, obviously I read the scripts. I knew what everyone was doing, but we weren't sure what they were filming. like really like they when the cops were filming their story, I wasn't at work, so I wasn't there until the very end. Um, and I really like that aspect of this movie that you have these two very compelling story lines that are running parallel throughout the whole thing and that's how you build that tension throughout the film. Um, and uh, it was a really fun process. So, it was really the most of the movie was just me and Cecilia, you know, that's how my memory of the film was. I like I like how the gang war just vanishes like you don't even know like that aspect of the plot. >> Right. Right. Right. >> Doesn't even matter. >> Yeah. At that point. So, we have time for one more question. Let's let me see if there's anyone on this side. Okay. We'll go right here in the center. >> Um first one is um uh talking about the heaven king. Uh that was when I was in high school >> a long time back. Uh you really fooled me because I I I thought it was really real because I saw it on the media all the time. Yeah. Don't feel bad. Only 12 people, maybe. No, five people knew it was it was fake the whole time. >> I know. It was for like a year or so. And I was really hope that I can get an album. >> Um, do you still remember the song uh how to sing a song Adam's Choice? >> No, not at all. Not at all. There's a rap in it. I rap in it, but it >> Right. Right. I I download that in my MP3 like long time ago. >> Right. I wrote it, but I don't remember it. Um Okay. >> Uh Yeah. No, I don't I don't It was a long time ago. It was 2007. I'm 50 now. I don't have the memory space for that. >> And uh the the second question is um so at the current stage uh I mean you you have a lot of film which is kind of dark in the um a lot of your character got killed at the end of the movie right now. >> I think I've died in like 70% of my movies. >> A lot of them. Yeah. Um so for your current stage, what would be the the new type of movie or character you would like to try? Um, going back to dying in movies, you know, it's a tradition in Hong Kong movies when you die in a movie, they give you a hung ba, right? And so I've kept every single one of those and I have like a stack of them because of I find it interesting. I'm you're supposed to spend it >> but I didn't. Um uh and then what was your second question? >> Like what uh type of character or movie that you try right now? So yeah, I've lately I've been, you know, Americanb born Chinese, um, things like that. Wanting, you know, having a daughter, having a kid now, that's totally changed me. And so I want to do things that she can watch. Like she's not going to watch this, you know. No, I don't think so. Um although she's really into horror movies, she's not watch this yet. My my my wife watched this movie. I think we were on the plane together and um at the time we weren't married yet. And I looked over and she was crying, right? And I and I I was I was watching something different and I go, "Why are you crying?" And I looked and she's watching my movie and she's like, "You just died." I'm like, "But I'm here." I'm like, "Right here." Um, so, uh, yeah. So, in the past few years, I've been trying to do things that are more familyfriendly maybe. Um, I wouldn't say family friendly, but like, you know, different kinds of topics. And I'm different person now, a little more mature, a little a little different. And so, like, GME, Decoded, I did that. that played a father for the first time. Uh, and that was a very fun role to play because it was very subtle and nuanced uh, as opposed to being big in action. >> You got nominated for an award, right, for that? >> Yeah, I won I just won an award in Australia for that best supporting actor. Um, uh, and then I did uh I just did over the summer uh, Cold War. There was a Hong Kong movie called Cold War 1 and two that came out 2017 2019. We just did the prequels for that where I play the commissioner of police. So, it's a I've always played like cops, detectives, maybe beat cops, but I've never played like a a high-end, you know, top level police officer who's a dirty criminal, but um but the movie is not as dark as that. And so, it's really uh I would say I'm trying different things now that are a lot different than what I've done before. >> Okay. Yeah. I I hope you won't show Raven the um that was quite traumatizing. >> Oh, wait. I get my hand cut off. >> Yeah. >> Shinjuku incident. Yeah. Go. >> Yeah. >> So, we have to wrap up, but I just want to say while you guys are all on stage, I mean, from the opening night to now, like this has been one of my favorite film series to do cuz the love in this room for Giant Robot and for everything that it it means has been so I mean I I've been feeling it. It's been meant a lot to I just want to say thank you so much Daniel, Eric, and and Martin for joining us. >> You guys are awesome for putting it on. >> Thank you. >> I'm just so glad that we've got to share, like you were saying earlier, share Giant Robot with a whole new audience. Like I think a lot of people in this room weren't around here when this magazine was was going on and um and it was a really special time. And so to be able to capture it in this book with the 30th anniversary with the documentary and then you guys all participating in these screenings, it's been uh amazing to see kind of a second life of Giant Robot. >> And Giant Robot's still a store on Saw Town. You should go check it out. Giant Robot and Giant Robot 2 right across the streets, the art gallery. So like 10 minutes away from here. And I forgot to say, how many UCLA students do we have in the audience here? Raise your hands. So Eric Martin are both UCLA alums. So we're really excited to have them on stage here at the W. Yeah, I'm a I'm an Oregon alum. >> Sorry we beat you guys this year in football, but you know, we're just number one in the country now. That's all. >> Well, thank you guys so much. I really appreciate it. A >> Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.