Page 52 – RADII

Asian A.V. Club Interview: Director Raman Hui

RADII is excited to announce a new collaboration with Asian A.V. Club, a newsletter celebrating Asian and Asian American creatives in the film and television industry, from directors to producers, makeup artists, soundtrack composers, and everything in-between. RADII will be showcasing excerpts from Asian A.V. Club’s in-depth interviews. To read the full version, head to their site. First up, director Raman Hui.

There are few directors who can successfully navigate careers in two distinct global markets, but in the case of Hong Kong-born Raman Hui, he’s found the perfect blend to work between Hollywood and Asia as one of the industry’s most sought-after creatives. From his work on Shrek the Third to helming one of the biggest box office grossing films in China, Monster Hunt, Raman continues to pave the way for aspiring Asian animators to find a space for themselves on an international stage.

With his latest animated film The Tiger’s Apprentice, Raman directs a star-studded cast featuring the voices of Michelle Yeoh, Lucy Liu, Bowen Yang, and loads more, as a young teenager goes on an adventure alongside warriors representing the Chinese zodiac. We recently caught up with Hui to talk about his early days and how he found his path to his professional achievements.

Tiger's Apprentice

Asian A.V. Club: Do you remember any moments, or things you were into, that kick-started your interest in pursuing a career in animation?

Raman Hui: I was just a typical Hong Kong kid growing up. I loved to watch this TV show called Ultraman where it wasn’t a cartoon, but actual humans who would dress up and fight the monsters. [laughs] I used to love drawing the monsters from that show, but at school, they don’t encourage you to draw. But I was only good with drawing and maths, and for some reason, that got me qualified to go to Hong Kong Polytechnic as a graphic design major.

I never thought about doing animation because during that time, there weren’t that many animators with a career in the local industry. At Hong Kong Polytechnic, there was a rostrum camera [used in television and films to animate a still picture or object] that no one was using, and I found it interesting. So I was like, I can draw something, and make it move. Then once I did that, I just fell in love. And that was almost 40 years ago, I’ve been animating since.

Asian A.V. Club: 40 years! You still look so young! [laughs]

Raman Hui: I was so lucky that I got a job offer in the US, so I moved to Sunnyvale in Silicon Valley. At that time, not a lot of people were making animation films. When I look back, we waited a long time, almost seven years before we got to do anything that we found interesting. And the first thing that we got to do was the film Antz (1998) that starred Woody Allen. When we got to do that, we were like, ‘Oh my God, we’re making something on the big screen. And people are going to PAY to see it!’

For the next few years, I was working closely with Jeffrey Katzenberg at DreamWorks Animation. Not only was he great, but he gave me a lot of opportunities and I just took on more responsibilities. He really helped me become a director.

Asian A.V. Club: At what point did you decide to kind of come back to Asia to work on the film Monster Hunt?

Raman Hui: The funny thing about that is I came back to Asia, because of the DreamWorks movies, I got to meet a lot of people who distributed their films in the region. One person was Bill Kong, who not only distributed films in Hong Kong, but also produced movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Bill came to Hollywood one time while I was there and said, “Why don’t we do something together?” I said yes immediately because I wanted to come back to Hong Kong to be closer with my mother. And then Monster Hunt happened.

Asian A.V. Club: What was it like to work on a project that wasn’t about animation, and was instead a live action, CG-heavy film?

Raman Hui: It was tough. Everything was so different because of the CG visual paths and just directing actual people, that was something I had to adapt to. [laughs]

The Tiger's Apprenctice

Asian A.V. Club: It must have been nice to return to your animation roots for The Tiger’s Apprentice. What was it about this project that made you excited about it?

Raman Hui: I had just released Monster Hunt 2 in 2018 and Paramount Animation approached me about The Tiger’s Apprentice. My first reaction was like, I’m probably too busy to do it and I’m not sure if I wanted to move back to the US. But then they sent me the script and I decided I had to do it because it was set in the Richmond District of San Francisco.

Asian A.V. Club: What’s the significance of the Richmond District?

Raman Hui: When I moved to San Francisco, I decided to move to the Sunset [District] and Richmond was close by. I would go all the time for Asian food and felt very at home there. So when I was reading the script, I realized that if I was an Asian kid, not only would I love to watch this, but it presented what daily life was like in this predominantly Asian area; and I loved the idea of that.

Asian A.V. Club: What was it like for you to work with this cast?

Raman Hui: We are blessed with this cast. All of them said yes when we approached them with just the synopsis. For example, when we approached Michelle Yeoh, we told her this is the movie that we’re making, but we’re not sure which part for her yet. If she wanted any role, what would it be? Michelle immediately said, “I want to play the villain.” [laughs] Because Michelle is always playing the good person who makes sure everything is all right, it was so much fun watching her embrace the character of Loo. We might be joking about something and then when you could see her suddenly switch to being serious and mean. Then afterwards, she’d say, “Oh, that was so funny.” I loved watching her making fun of herself.

The Tiger's Apprentice

To read the whole interview with director Raman Hui, click over to Asian A.V. Club where you can not only find out more about his fascinating career, but also discover other wonderful creatives working behind the scenes of film and television!

All images via Asian A.V. Club. Animated stills are from Raman’s latest film, The Tiger’s Apprentice.

Viral Story of Lost Homework Leads to Critique of Sensationalist News

Imagine this: A female blogger with a whopping ten million followers drops a video that unexpectedly explodes across the internet, racking up five million likes in no time. The buzz? All about one Chinese elementary school student’s lost winter homework, found in Paris. It’s a scenario that none, including the blogger herself, could have foreseen, let alone predict the flood of media attention from giants like CCTV and Beijing Daily.

This story starts in Paris, where the blogger, Thurman 猫一杯, shared a quirky incident: a French waiter handed her a stack of homework workbooks in Chinese which he found in a restroom, hoping she could help find its young owner. With a mix of curiosity and goodwill, she started documenting her mission to return the homework, and shared that it belonged to a first-grade student named Qin Lang.

Immediately, an internet-wide search for the first-grader began to boil, reaching a climax when a supposed “uncle” of Qin Lang stepped in. The “relative” posted several videos on Douyin, claiming that his nephew was a student missing his winter holiday homework from a certain “Sichang Elementary School.” But soon, the truth surfaced — there was no Qin Lang at the aforementioned school, and the “uncle” was just another attention seeker, who was ultimately banned from the platform.

Despite waves of similar controversy, Thurman has maintained that she did not fabricated anything, stressing she never specified which school Qin Lang attended. She even shared a chat with Qin Lang’s mom, who thanked her for her effort. She wrapped up the tale on her end by asserting the homework had been returned, and all was resolved. But skeptics questioned the authenticity of the screenshot and chat history.

The chat screenshot the internet has been arguing over. Image via Weibo.

Yet the biggest surprise was when CCTV got involved, publishing a critique of the incident titled “It doesn’t matter Who Qin Lang Is: The Danger of Rampant Yellow Journalism.” The national media outlet’s article slams the hunger for sensational, lowbrow news (so-called yellow journalism) that skimps on societal value, merely feeding the public’s hunger for entertainment.

Some argue that any lighthearted news providing a quick laugh holds merit, and are understanding of Thurman’s actions. One Weibo user stated “As a blogger, the need to keep uploading and stay relevant has made yellow journalism an everyday routine action.” Others, supporting CCTV’s stance, note how bizarre it is that a minor incident like a lost homework could become headline news. One Weibo user commented, “These influencers without bottom-lines are really repulsive.”

All in all, the incident was more than slightly strange, showing how an ostensible feel-good story — premised on the economic prosperity needed to take a quick trip from China to France — can quickly take a turn towards controversy.

Banner image via Weibo

Chinese New Year Concert Heightens Demand for Kanho Yakushiji, Japan’s EDM Monk

While most stayed up late this Chinese New Year’s Eve to watch the Spring Festival Gala on TV, some 210K+ Chinese netizens devoted their night to a soul-nourishing electronic Heart Sutra concert streaming on their devices.

The concert itself was held at Beigang Wude Temple in Yunlin County in Taiwan by Kanho Yakushiji, a Japanese singer and the lead monk of Kaizenji Temple.

Responding the unexpected combination of popular music and Buddhist sutras, often thought to be monotone, viewers commented, “Really pleasant to the ear” and “So talented.” Concertgoers also expressed similar feelings, “It’s refreshing to hear someone combine the Heart Sutra and EDM.”

Growing up, Yakshuji believed that he could only choose either the path of religion or the path of music. After realizing that Buddhist sutras and music both aim to lighten heavy hearts, he started to fuse sutras with rock and electronic music.

Yearning for the same revitalizing experience, Chinese netizens have flooded the comment sections of Yakushiji’s recent online posts with demands for more shows. “We also want to hear your melodies,” cried one Weibo user. “You must come to the mainland this year,” another user commented. Some netizens even announced their commitment: “Waiting for you in Beijing.”

In fact, the monk held concerts in the Chinese mainland just last year. His shows were so popular that many fans clamored for more, leaving comments like “Didn’t get the tickets; can you add one more concert in Shanghai please?” and “One more at Shenzhen!” Unfortunately, his scheduled concerts in first-tier cities, including Shanghai, were cancelled. Recently, Yakushiji has shared updates less frequently on Chinese social media platforms due to regulations on religious activity.

Despite these obstacles, Yakushiji has still presented netizens with unexpected new songs. In his latest post on Bilibili, shared on February 24, the monk collaborated with Namo Band (南无乐队, Namo Yuedui) to present a slow rock version of the Amitabha Pure Land Rebirth Dharani. Within 24 hours, his post surged with over 20K views.

Yakushiji's slow rock performance of Amitabha Pure Land Rebirth Dharani

Yakushiji’s performance of the Amitabha Pure Land Rebirth Dharani. Image via Bilibili.

In another post, the monk surprised his fans with a performance in Chinese of the poem “Looking at Fuji from Zhongshan Ridge” by Master Yinyuan Longqi (Ingen Ryūki), a Chinese monk who migrated to Japan in the 17th century.

‘Looking at Fuji from Zhongshan Ridge’ cover by Yakushiji

Still from the music video of Yakushiji’s cover of “Looking at Fuji from Zhongshan Ridge.” Image via Bilibili.

As Chinese fans await the possibility of more Yakushiji concerts on the mainland, his music remains available on YouTube and Spotify, as well as Chinese streaming services.

Banner image via YouTube.

New Music: White+ Returns and Akini Jing Gets Conceptual

After a Lunar New Year-induced break, China’s music scene is back in full force, with a few of the biggest albums of the year so far having just been released. There’s new work from some big names: a long-awaited sophomore album by experimental electronic duo (and Carsick Cars side project) White+; post rock veterans Wang Wen’s first-ever live album; and a concept album by electronic pop star Akini Jing. There’s plenty more besides that, from raucous Xinjiang folk, to Scintii’s post-club torch songs and Sweet Sister Session’s dark psychedelic rock.

White+ – II

It’s been over ten years since White+ — which consists of Carsick Cars frontman Zhang Shouwang and The Gar’s Wang Xu — cut loose with their self-titled debut, a slice of electronica heaven that became an essential piece of the early Maybe Mars catalogue. And while the pair have never stopped playing, frequently popping up in festivals and clubs across the country, home listeners haven’t been able to get a taste of what they’ve been up to till now. Aptly named II, the duo’s sophomore release is a throwback in the best sense, sliding with ease right back into its groove of looping rhythms, woozy guitar, distorted vocals, swirling feedback and hard-kicking drums. Oscillating between club-leaning earworms and more sprawling minimalist jazz-laced jams, White+ hasn’t so much updated their sound as allowed it to marinate in a decade’s worth of creative exploration.

Akini Jing – VILLAIN 反派角色

Jumping headfirst into the sounds of China’s underground electronica scene — think techno, 2-step and deconstructed club — the multifaceted Chinese electro pop star Akini Jing (the cyborg alter ego of singer-songwriter Zhu Jingxi) looks toward wuxia martial arts culture for inspiration on her latest Villain. released with 88RISING and produced with multi-talented producer Chace. A more subdued and more human work compared to the artist’s previous efforts, Villain follows the fictional story of a deadly assassin who must come to terms with the code by which she lives.

Ὁπλίτης – Παραμαινομένη

The one-man progressive metal project Ὁπλίτης (Hoplites for those who aren’t caught up on their Greek), AKA Ningbo-based musician Liu Zhenyang, stormed onto the scene last year raising alarms all across the globe for his awe-inspiring technicality and punishing ferociousness. His fourth LP in just a year, Παραμαινομένη, might be his best yet — bolder than ever as acid-laced free jazz saxophones bleed out over its blackened mathcore rhythms and heart-stopping riffs. Audacious, delirious, and as grand as they come, it’s pure uncut catnip for metal fans looking to veer valiantly off into the deep end — a gateway drug towards the genre’s most provocative and unorthodox offshoots.

NaraBara – Dab Hi

After years of Mongolian metal bands evoking the grasslands with riotous rock and roll breakdowns, it’s refreshing to hear a band take the music of their ancestors in another direction. NaraBara — a musical collective led by prolific producer and singer Yider — finds refuge in the complex harmonies and intricate rhythms of jazz, injecting new life into the “mystical storytelling and atmospheric qualities of Mongolian folk.” Their latest EP, may not have the novelty of the band’s trailblazing debut Hamt Zamin Hümüs, but it proves there’s plenty more to discover in its merging of genres, firmly putting NaraBara on the map.

Scintii – wetlands, harbours… and stations in between

Scintii — the musical moniker of Taiwanese singer and producer Stella Chung — has played a prominent role in the thriving club scenes of not only Shanghai, but also London, where she once studied. This rootlessness and beguiling melding of cultures are at the center of her latest EP, wetlands, harbours… and stations in between, released with London imprint Houndstooth. A sonic fairy tale built on synth-filled electronica, atmospheric beats, and Scintii’s elegiac yet potent voice, it’s pop music made in the same vein as Portishead, with a slicker more club-oriented luster. A siren guiding listeners through the EP’s labyrinthine production and genre-bursting catharsis, here the multi-talented artist proves herself once again.

Sweet Sister Session – Filthy Floating Fantasies

Three-piece psych rock outfit Sweet Sister Session, straight out of Wuhan — in this case, apparently a cesspool of 1960s acid rock filtered through the likes of The 13th Floor Elevators, Suicide, and Spacemen 3 — are as direct as they come. Dabbed in layers of transistor organ, feedback and noise, muddy guitar riffs, and distorted vocals, they’re on a wavelength as pure as the static from your vintage television set. Making psychedelic space music with impeccable craft and a steady hand, Sweet Sister Session captures that perpetual descent into music-induced psychosis with glee.

Mekit Dolan Muqam Group – Bayawan

A distinctive form of folk music and a key part of Uyghur cultural heritage, Muqam are large-scale suites that include songs, dances, and instrumental sections, prominently featuring improvisation. On the latest release from Old Heaven Books, the Mekit Dolan Muqam Group pays tribute to what’s often considered “the wildest, if not the uncanniest tradition” of Muqam. Recorded at a studio session coinciding with the 7th Tomorrow Festival in Shenzhen last year, Bayawan is a beautifully realized achievement and a transformative listening experience. Ritualistic, welcoming, beguiling, and haunting, it’s familiar yet foreign at the same time.

李剑峰 JF Lee – 1602

Acting both as a commemoration of a lifetime of memories and a vessel for healing the wounds the world has endured over the past years, ambient electronic musician Li Jianfeng’s (AKA JF Lee) 1602 is a wondrous statement brimming with life. The album is named after JF Lee’s home address, where he has resided for nearly twenty years, all while shifting between the identities of rock singer, label owner, livehouse manager, and now ambient artist. There’s an analogue quality to the sounds at hand, a lived-in, organic vitality to 1602’s rippling meditative layers, abstract textures, and ornamental aura, vividly capturing the feeling of a waking dream.

Mdprl & GitBu$y Trio – Chicken 鸡

Mdprl & GitBu$y Trio, a Cantonese alternative hip hop group from Guangzhou, bring a cheeky irreverent charm to their new single, an ode to food soon to be physically released as a 7’’ on Space Fruity Records. Buoyed by a breezy jazz charm, ramshackle hip hop swagger, and a laidback demeanor that one can only find down south, Mdprl gives listeners a rundown of his deep affinity for chicken and duck — listing off various Cantonese cooking methods and techniques. It’ll work up an appetite.

Wang Wen – All Yesterday’s Parties (Wang Wen 25th Anniversary Live Collection)

Dalian post rock staples Wang Wen celebrate 25 years of manifesting gorgeous sonic vignettes with their first inaugural live release (and their thirteenth LP for those counting), All Yesterday’s Parties. A compilation of live recordings of tracks from across the band’s past albums, Wang Wen states that it’s less a birthday tribute and more their reflection on the past. It’s a must-have for fans of the band looking to revisit some of their favorite tracks, but also a great introduction for newcomers who want to jump headfirst into their extensive catalogue.

Bilingual Comedian Jesse Appell on his viral clip, identity, and being real

A great joke transcends borders and never gets old. On stage, American comedian Jesse Appell was telling one of his favorite jokes to a Chinese audience — in Chinese.

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A post shared by Jesse’s Teahouse (@jessesteahouse)

“Did you know in Boston we actually have our own Northeastern accent? [你知不知道我们美国东北真的有个美国东北口音？]

“This is real. [这是真的.]

“We have a Boston accent. We don’t have any Rs at all. [我们那边有个波士顿话。我们那边什么样的特色呢？我们那边没有儿化音.]

“Let me give you an example. [给你们举个例子吧.]

“Normal English, the sentence ‘I park my car in Harvard Yard,’ lots of Rs. [用标准的英语说“我把我的车停在哈佛院”儿化音很重.]

“But that’s not how we say it in Boston! [但我们波士顿人不这么说.]

“How do we say it? [波士顿人怎么说？]

“I pahk my cah in hahvahd yahd.

“Like ducks, AHHH [像鸭子那种.]

“If you see two Americans chatting, AAHH. [如果你看到两个美国人在聊天.]

“‘Hey, Northeasterners! [噢东北人 !])

“‘I’m from Shenyang!’” [老乡啊，我是沈阳的!]

The clip went viral, amassing over 150 million views and 763,000 likes on Instagram.

“This is nuts. Non-Chinese guy doing stand-up in Mandarin about the way Americans in Boston speak English,” reads one comment.

“The extra layer to this joke is that the Northeastern accent in China is the exact opposite. Lots of Rs casually thrown on the ends of random words, so everyone in that room gets the irony in a way that doesn’t translate to a lot of people in the comments,” reads another.

Having lived in China for nine years and returned to America during the pandemic, Jesse, or 艾杰西 [Ai Jiexi], is a master of Chinese humor and performance whose prowess as a bilingual comedian recently took the internet by storm. More than just a comedian, he is also the owner of a tea business and a podcaster who hosts the weekly show Teatime With Jesse, where he converses with guests of diverse cultural backgrounds over tea.

His jokes, told through a mix of Mandarin Chinese and English, charm his audience across the globe. His witty charisma captures the nuances of intercultural identity, enabling him to connect with his fellow culture straddlers while tapping into his true authentic self.

“There’s the idea of truth in comedy. Language is part of the crazy, true nature of living between cultures,” said Appell. “It’s not like bilingual things are funny. It’s like when I say I have these bilingual problems, people really believe it.”

A Boston native, Appell grew up as a jokey kid who enjoyed making people laugh. In high school, he dabbled in improv, a comedy style where comedians go on stage without a script and other preparation. After graduating from Brandeis University in 2012, he landed at Tsinghua University in Beijing to study Chinese and xiangsheng (a traditional comedic art) as a Fulbright scholar.

His fluency in Chinese came with arduous training. As he recalls from his apartment in Los Angeles with a candid laugh, the process was intensive and challenging. In the comedy industry, swiftness is as important as humor. His jobs after the Tsinghua program — a xiangsheng performer, a comedy writer, a chat show cast member, a business owner, and the lead organizer of a Chinese comedy team — required high level Mandarin skills. When writing jokes for Chinese TV shows, native Chinese speakers could deliver excellent first drafts whereas he, writing in a second language, needed to work extra hard to catch up.

“It’s really hard to get there if you’re not a native speaker, but my goal is to out-compete the Chinese comedy writers in Chinese. That requirement is very, very high and I’ll never really get there in the same way other people might,” Appell said.

But language was not the main challenge of performing in China. Instead, a more prominent quandary loomed over his physical appearance as a lăowài (the informal Chinese term for foreigners). As soon as Chinese audiences observe his foreign features, they may begin to view him through a lens of preconceived notions. For example, in response to his setup line, “I was on the subway and I saw something,” they may ponder, “What stood out to a lăowài on the subway?” For a dating story, they may expect “what happens to a lăowài in dating.” Or, for a joke about starting a business in China, they may assume he would make the typical mistakes of a foreigner.

That made him wonder, how does he tell a joke to Chinese people who see him as a lăowài living an alien life? What identity should he set up for himself, not merely as a foreigner, but as a real person?

That comes his viral dōngběi (Northeast) joke, which, in fact, is one of his oldest jokes. In the full version on TikTok, he continued on the “Rs” — “Not until I moved to Beijing did I find the missing Rs from the Boston accent. The whole lifetime of R sounds was waiting for me here.” The setup not only tickles the audience, but also informs them of who he is, where he’s from, and how he ended up speaking Chinese.

“Lăowài is not a real thing. Once you leave China, there’s no lăowài,” says Appell. “The idea of being a měiguó dōngběi rén [American Northeasterner] is funny but also real. This dōngběi joke originated because I can’t be a lăowài. I need to find another identity that’s real.”

The explosive success of this video took him by surprise. But other than views, he was more surprised by the politicized comments, where one comment reads, “In order to be funny in China you can just steal jokes and do them in Chinese.”

As a foreigner who does jokes in Chinese, Appell knows the implausibility because, for one, you would need to be very skilled in the Chinese language to steal a joke and translate it; second, what’s funny in one place is not necessarily funny in the other.

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A post shared by Jesse Appell (@whatxisaid)

To him, the essence of telling jokes is to share life experiences. But political fights are ubiquitous, pushing comedians to take sides. He acknowledged that the market for anti-China or anti-America humor is lucrative, but he sees it as a false dilemma for people to feed the audience what they want to hear.

“If I’m telling about my real life, it’s gonna have good things, bad things, funny things and sad things. It’s gonna have the whole experience of being human. I can’t pick sides on being human,” Appell said.

Having returned to the US in 2020 during the pandemic, he hopes to reunite with his friends in China soon. After a 9-year stint in China, he now stays in Los Angeles and tells bilingual jokes to his Chinese immigrant audience, a group he deeply resonates with. Like them, he has to figure out social security scores, visa issues related to traveling between the US and China, and how much money to keep in US dollars and RMB. Like them, he is greeted by Chinese YouTube advertisements asking him, “Did you just move to America?”

“[These problems] are just not a topic that has anything to do with regular people’s lives. But for Chinese immigrants here, this is what they deal with. They also live between the two cultures. I’m just one of them,” he says.

Banner image by Haedi Yue.