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daniel wu · europa report · MW · News · Reviews Cinema · Aug 09, 2013

Daniel Wu on Europa Report

Really stoked about Europa Report, which has been available for streaming in the U.S. and finally hit big screens last week. My friend, Hong Kong-based actor Daniel Wu and I had a short conversation about the indie sci-fi flick, which has been getting press for its slow-burning intensity and sound science, and this is how it went… MW: You told me that you are especially proud of this movie. Why is that? DW: I’ve always wanted to do a sci-fi flick but have never had a chance in Hong Kong or China. And the fact that this is “hard” sci-fi is even better. It was a really interesting film to make. Six of us actors from all over the world being thrown into a space capsule and shot via “on-board cameras” that didn’t move presented a lot of challenges. It was very experimental and after having done 50-something regular narrative films, this was fresh. MW: What attracted you to the role in Europa Report? DW: To play the ship’s commander amongst a group of well-seasoned actors stuck inside a space capsule seemed like it was going to fun. The fact that I was going to spend three months in New York didn’t hurt, either. I literally just came off The Last Supper, where I spent about eight months in rural China, and I was eager to get back to civilization. MW: The thrust of the Comic-Con panel was that the movie’s science is realistic. Did you have to study up on it? DW: Yes, lots. We had three weeks of rehearsal where we got to talk to actual astronauts and experts, and that proved vital to the project. The original script was a bit between hard science and Armageddon type sci-fi. It was through our research that we decided to keep it as real as possible and get rid of the Hollywood shit. We wanted the story to seem not only believable but possible, too, so the facts had to be spot on. Obviously, we did dramatize certain things but we kept it 90 percent real. Also, because my character is from the CNSA (Chinese National Space Administration), I had to do a lot of research on the history of their program and their future plans. MW: What was it like working on an indie sci-fi flick in New York? Must have been very different than your Hong Kong and China gigs… DW: Yeah, totally. A lot more comfortable and great food and culture was always all around us. We were located in a studio in Williamsburg and stayed in Manhattan, so every morning on the way to work we’d see hoodie-wearing hipsters mixed in with hardcore Hasidic Jews near the studio. It was also nice to be close to many useful museums and libraries for convenient access to research materials. MW: Was it odd to act in English? You pretty much learned how to act speaking Chinese. DW: Yes and no. It was incredibly freeing to be able to...

daniel wu · europa report · MW · News · Reviews Cinema · Aug 09, 2013

Daniel Wu on Europa Report

Really stoked about Europa Report, which has been available for streaming in the U.S. and finally hit big screens last week. My friend, Hong Kong-based actor Daniel Wu and I had a short conversation about the indie sci-fi flick, which has been getting press for its slow-burning intensity and sound science, and this is how it went… MW: You told me that you are especially proud of this movie. Why is that? DW: I’ve always wanted to do a sci-fi flick but have never had a chance in Hong Kong or China. And the fact that this is “hard” sci-fi is even better. It was a really interesting film to make. Six of us actors from all over the world being thrown into a space capsule and shot via “on-board cameras” that didn’t move presented a lot of challenges. It was very experimental and after having done 50-something regular narrative films, this was fresh. MW: What attracted you to the role in Europa Report? DW: To play the ship’s commander amongst a group of well-seasoned actors stuck inside a space capsule seemed like it was going to fun. The fact that I was going to spend three months in New York didn’t hurt, either. I literally just came off The Last Supper, where I spent about eight months in rural China, and I was eager to get back to civilization. MW: The thrust of the Comic-Con panel was that the movie’s science is realistic. Did you have to study up on it? DW: Yes, lots. We had three weeks of rehearsal where we got to talk to actual astronauts and experts, and that proved vital to the project. The original script was a bit between hard science and Armageddon type sci-fi. It was through our research that we decided to keep it as real as possible and get rid of the Hollywood shit. We wanted the story to seem not only believable but possible, too, so the facts had to be spot on. Obviously, we did dramatize certain things but we kept it 90 percent real. Also, because my character is from the CNSA (Chinese National Space Administration), I had to do a lot of research on the history of their program and their future plans. MW: What was it like working on an indie sci-fi flick in New York? Must have been very different than your Hong Kong and China gigs… DW: Yeah, totally. A lot more comfortable and great food and culture was always all around us. We were located in a studio in Williamsburg and stayed in Manhattan, so every morning on the way to work we’d see hoodie-wearing hipsters mixed in with hardcore Hasidic Jews near the studio. It was also nice to be close to many useful museums and libraries for convenient access to research materials. MW: Was it odd to act in English? You pretty much learned how to act speaking Chinese. DW: Yes and no. It was incredibly freeing to be able to...

envy · hardcore · japan · Music · MW · News · temporary residence label · tetsu · Aug 09, 2013

Twenty years of Envy (Japanese hardcore/post rock)

Remember Envy, one of the bands that I interviewed for the final issue of Giant Robot? The group from Japan is celebrating its twentieth anniversary with Invariable Will, Recurring Ebbs and Flows, a killer box set with fourteen LPs, two DVDs and a 100-Page book that contain absolutely everything, starting with its vicious hardcore roots and culminating with its cosmic post rock present. For this mother lode of amazing vinyl, I hit up singer Tetsu Fukagawa with some questions and pulled out Doug Kim’s photos from their 2010 stop at Santo’s Party House.

MW: You recently toured Japan to celebrate your 20th anniversary. What was that like? How did you model your set for the occasion?
TF: It was great. We only did three shows but lots of people showed up and the reactions have all been good. We played a lot of old songs so rehearsal was a bit hard, but we had a great time.

MW: What inspired the making of the new box set? Has it ended up as you expected or is it something different altogether?
FT: We didn’t really plan on doing anything initially but Jeremy from TRL came up with the idea of remastering all our songs, pressing vinyl, and putting it all together in a box set. We’re all really happy with how it turned out.

MW: It must have been a trip to look back to the beginnings of the band. Do you remember those days vividly or was revisiting the old songs like a time warp?
FT: There were some things we forgot about, and it was a really good experience for us to look back on all those years. Our old songs were fast and a lot of them were in English, so we haven’t played them at all recently. We’d forgotten about some really good songs we had! I think we’ll start playing them at shows from now on.

envy · hardcore · japan · Music · MW · News · temporary residence label · tetsu · Aug 09, 2013

Twenty years of Envy (Japanese hardcore/post rock)

Remember Envy, one of the bands that I interviewed for the final issue of Giant Robot? The group from Japan is celebrating its twentieth anniversary with Invariable Will, Recurring Ebbs and Flows, a killer box set with fourteen LPs, two DVDs and a 100-Page book that contain absolutely everything, starting with its vicious hardcore roots and culminating with its cosmic post rock present. For this mother lode of amazing vinyl, I hit up singer Tetsu Fukagawa with some questions and pulled out Doug Kim’s photos from their 2010 stop at Santo’s Party House.

MW: You recently toured Japan to celebrate your 20th anniversary. What was that like? How did you model your set for the occasion?
TF: It was great. We only did three shows but lots of people showed up and the reactions have all been good. We played a lot of old songs so rehearsal was a bit hard, but we had a great time.

MW: What inspired the making of the new box set? Has it ended up as you expected or is it something different altogether?
FT: We didn’t really plan on doing anything initially but Jeremy from TRL came up with the idea of remastering all our songs, pressing vinyl, and putting it all together in a box set. We’re all really happy with how it turned out.

MW: It must have been a trip to look back to the beginnings of the band. Do you remember those days vividly or was revisiting the old songs like a time warp?
FT: There were some things we forgot about, and it was a really good experience for us to look back on all those years. Our old songs were fast and a lot of them were in English, so we haven’t played them at all recently. We’d forgotten about some really good songs we had! I think we’ll start playing them at shows from now on.

aaiff · animal style revisited · asian cinevision · eric murphy · jesse neuhaus · jo koy · judy lei · mario rubalcaba · martin wong · Music · MW · ny remix · ray barbee · rb umali · Reviews Cinema · stevie dread · the brotherhood: chicago · the perfect time · the working man · traveling sounds · willy santos · Aug 03, 2013

Animal Style Revisited at Asian Cinevision’s AAIFF (NYC) + Ramones Pilgrimage

Last night my program of indie skate videos by friends showed at the Anthology Film Archives in the East Village. I knew it was a rad spot as soon as I saw the Let Me Die a Woman and Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! posters outside. And then when I finally met R.B. Umali in person, he said that he showed the first installment of N.Y. Revisited at the same venue ages ago as part of the Underground Film Festival. Another good omen. And when I saw my friends Wing Ko and Jesse Neuhaus gather to represent The Brotherhood: Chicago, I was reminded of the Chicago and Honolulu screenings, I knew this film festival tour was a pretty rad thing to keep going. (There was also San Diego.) I’m a crummy skateboarder. I’ve never made a movie other than filming my daughter do cute stuff. But I’m really proud that I’ve been able to help promote the rad skate videos that my friends have made. From Tadashi Suzuki and Thy Mai’s artful and fun “The Working Man” and “Perfect Time” (which I got to be in, here’s a shorter version) to Wing Ko’s amazing doc about Chicago’s first generation of pro skaters Jesse Neuhaus, Stevie Dread, and Eric Murphy, The Brotherhood: Chicago. Ben Clark and Langdon Taguiped’s music shorts on Ray Barbee and Mario Rubalcaba. Willy Santos versus Pinoy comedian Jo Koy. And I wouldn’t have taken these to New York City unless I secured the local support of R.B. Umali, who made a special remix of his upcoming N.Y. Revisited Vol. 3 just for the fest. The screening looked and sounded incredible and the Q&A afterward kicked ass until the lights dimmed. Thanks to Asian CineVision’s AAIFF Managing Director Judy Lei for inviting us to show skate videos on the big screen alongside indie, experimental, and imported works. I think it’s awesome that she would take that chance and put the genre in such context. Yes, I’ve been doing other stuff in NYC, too. Namely, taking my 5-year-old daughter Eloise on pilgrimages to various destinations related to The Ramones. Left to right: Joey Ramone Place, 53rd and 3rd, the address where CBGB once stood. I know the way to Rockaway Beach but don’t think we’ll make it this trip. Perhaps next time… Gabba gabba hey!