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Your new movie The
Keepers of the 5 Kingdoms - in a few words, what's it about?
This
movie is a love letter to the 70s & 80s films that I grew up on: Meatballs,
The Goonies, My Bodyguard, Big Trouble in Little China,
The Last Starfighter,
Labyrinth, Never Ending Story.
They
were filled with hope and had real people who were flawed but trying to be
better. I could relate to their worlds and saw myself in their stories.
It’s
about a family overcoming their grief and appreciating each other for who
they really are. And
that includes being a 95-year-old action hero!
How how did the project fall together in the first place, and how did you end
up on the directing side of things?
James Hong called us, as he wanted to rent gear from our studio (Brilliant
Screen Studios - brilliantscreen.com)
to shoot a test for his story concept. Of
course we were excited to be talking with the legendary Lo-Pan and offered
to help wherever we could. The
conversation grew from him renting from us into producing, writing and
directing. I’ve
worked with FX houses for the last 20 years and have a HUGE love for
practical effects, so when we discussed the filming style, James felt I
would be a natural fit.
The story for The
Keepers of the 5 Kingdoms was written by the film's star James
Hong - now how detailed was his outline, and what were your sources of
inspiration when turning the story into a screenplay?
James’ concept was centered around Chinese mythology and fables. He wanted to
connect the ancient stories to modern values, just as he wanted a senior
character to share the protagonist’s role with teenagers. Building
on this goal, we reached out to Professors of Cultural Anthropology at USC
and UCLA to gain clarity on the ancient stories of China. Learning
that their myths date back over five thousand years and have been adjusted
endlessly over the centuries as different monarchies, ideals, or beliefs
held sway, we chose to involve them as a baseline similar to the story
value in the Marvel
movie Thor, where they state that ancient human
mythology was merely a story to explain technology or magic that
couldn’t be grasped otherwise. With
that established, we scoured for stories and myths to see what would fit
in our world and then checked them with James. Once
we had his approval, we created a story to incorporate them.
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James
wanted a film the whole family could enjoy. Which meant we had to keep it
friendly enough for everybody. But we also wanted moments like a Warner
Bros cartoon, that are meant for parents and go straight over children's
heads. Comedy,
pathos, tragedy, heroism, we knew it could all fit in the script if we
kept it honest and simple. So, we studied films we loved and questioned how the classic moments
resonated for us, the ones we could quote without hesitation
“It’s our time. Our time down here.”
If you know where that quotes from it gives you all the feelings
immediately. If not, watch The Goonies again and you’ll get it.
Our
goal was to make a story that lived up to James Hong’s legendary career
and impact on our young lives, something that parents and kids could watch
together and connect on. A
friend of mine watched it with his kids and they loved it. But the best part was a few days later, when my buddy was having a bad
day and getting really angry, his son turned to him and said, “Dad,
you must choose to drop your potatoes.” That's a quote right out of our film.
That made me so proud! That my buddy’s 12-year-old son could quote our film to encapsulate a concept
as complex as “emotional responsibility” and be funny at the same
time? That’s
just the best!
What
can you tell us about your co-writer Ace Underhill, and what was your
collaboration like?
Ace Underhill is a monster, an inhuman beast that walks like a man and must be
stopped before he kills again! ... kidding, I just wanted to get that into print somewhere.
Ace is awesome; incredibly smart, technical, diligent, curious, layered,
specific, and all in ways that are sometimes the polar opposite of me - which
makes for a great collaboration. Ace
is also the director of photography, my producing partner, and my editing
mentor, and we did all the VFX post-supervision together. I
saw more of him than my wife while we made the movie, and we haven’t
killed each other yet, so that says a LOT! Ace
is also my business partner and the big brains behind Brilliant
Screen Studios. He
can also play the piano, guitar, and drums, and writes music and computer
code. Yes, he may be a cyborg from the future, but he’s MY cyborg!
I am grateful every day that I get to do what I love for a living. Ace is a
huge part of my gratitude. He’s an incredible person and a joy to work
with.
Do talk about The
Keepers of the 5 Kingdoms' approach to the fantasy genre!
Ground
it in reality. But how? How
do the Goonies go into One-Eyed Willie’s cave that looks like a skull
and into his pirate ship with us believing it? Why
do we cheer when Bastian flies Falkor over the bullies and they jump into
a trash can in Neverending Story?
Ground
the fantasy in real emotion. If the characters are genuine and the stakes
are relatable to the audience, then you’ll go along for the ride. That’s
why the first Iron Man is great and
Black Adam was not.
Always
come back to the character's motivations. If I can’t relate or don’t
care about them or their problems, then I’ll fast forward. If I DO care?
I’ll have their back through thick or thin.
The
Keepers of the 5 Kingdoms is chock-full of (mainly practical)
special effects - so what can you tell us about those, and how were they
achieved?
I’ve had the honor of working with legends in the FX world for decades and was
able to get an incredibly talented team involved. I
wanted to do as much practical as we could with our timeline, so juggling
the production schedule required a massive team effort.
Jerry Constantine created and built the Ao puppet that George Takei does the
voice for. It is similar to a Yoda puppet in complexity of design with multiple molds
and rigs for various positions, functions, close-ups, wide walking shots,
etc. It took a team of 4 to puppeteer the walking action used in the motion
control shots and then 3 people to puppeteer the close-up shots.
Terry Sandin built the animatronic head for the eyes in Ao that I puppeteered
off-camera while directing.
Todd
Tucker from Illusion Industries was the lead puppeteer for Ao and also
cast the prosthetics for Dante Basco and Dave Sheridan.
The key to practical FX is trusting your team, communication, lead time, and
enjoying the process. Otherwise,
the stress and toxic chemicals will make you go crazy and you’ll just
destroy yourself and your relationships.
A few words about your overall directorial
approach to your story at hand?
Each project is different but I always search for a moment of truth, of
emotion, for the characters to start from. That
way it motivates everything else they do. When
it comes to camera movement, framing, lighting, production design, comedic
timing, or tension, it’s hard to generalize the overall process. I’ve
been working in the entertainment industry for 45 years and I’m
constantly searching how to be better. I think curiosity and empathy are
key.
What can you tell us
about The
Keepers of the 5 Kingdoms' cast, and why exactly these people? And
being an actor yourself first and foremost, did it ever occur to you to
cast yourself in one role or another?
First off, I AM in the movie! Can you guess who I play?
With
the casting process, I got incredibly lucky. I was starting with James
Hong as Uncle Chuck. That was my starting place, a LEGEND! Knowing that my leading man was respected by every actor in the world
gave gravitas to the casting process, so that raised everyone else’s
game at auditions.
We saw so many fantastic actors for the role of Patsy, but Michelle Mao was
immediately IT. The
minute she walked in the door it was YES! She
carries the story on her shoulders like a seasoned pro, standing toe to
toe with James Hong in some seriously moving scenes. She kills it.
Anna Harr is my RINGER! I’ve known her since she was a tween, she can do
pretty much anything and makes it look easy. I knew I could depend on her
for comedy improv as she’s hilarious and talented. She makes me laugh
out loud and can convey massive emotion with a single look of her giant blue
eyes.
Matt
Sato was pure luck! He was the very LAST audition for the role of Hopper.
The other actors were good but seemed like men playing kids. Matt WAS a
kid! He was 17! He reminded me of Leonardo DiCaprio in Growing Pains, all
arms and legs and sweet and goofy. But you can see how handsome and
talented he was going to grow into. And he did. Love that kid.
George Takei was a HUGE GIFT! He’s old friends with James Hong and he loved the
Buddhist subtext of the Ao character. So he very kindly said yes. Working
with him was a dream come true in every way and he brings such a rich and
loving voice to Ao, I am eternally grateful.
Gedde
Watanabe was amazing as Trader Joe. Such an incredibly talented, kind, and
funny man.
Dante
Basko and Dave Sheridan for Hank and Frank. They steal the movie. Those
two together are pure comedy, a new Laurel and
Hardy. They played off each
other so perfectly. It was amazing to watch them get into character once
their facial prosthetics (nose and Adam's apple on Dave, nose, mouth, and
mustache for Dante) were applied. Dave
would start bobbing his head when he walked and Dante would sniff the air
and lick his “paws”. The
only problem is that Dante is too buff. Seriously, the guy was a rock and
made it look… like cosplay? So I added a fat suit to his costume and
BOOM! He took off with it. Now he was rubbing his belly while he talked,
and waddling as he walked. Now Hank and Frank were total opposites and
worked perfectly! They make me laugh every time I watch them.
Bai Ling was fantastic and terrifying! She brought so much rage and energy to
her character that really raised the stakes, making her the Darth Vader to
Patsy’s Luke Skywalker.
Do talk about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere!
We
all knew we were making something rare and special. These type of fantasy
movies are usually giant studio budgets from existing IPs and we’re
making this original indie film? That’s
very punk rock. Everyone
knew we couldn’t waste time or money, that opportunities were short so
we had to pull magic out of our butts. And we did. Everyone gave 100% to
make it the best they could. You can feel the love in the film.
Anything
you can tell us about audience and critical reception of The
Keepers of the 5 Kingdoms?
We
had a cast and crew premiere in a beautiful 250-seat theater. It
is a magical feeling to watch a room full of people connect and respond to
your film the way you intended. After
the film, some of the guests, complete strangers, came to me saying,
“Wow, it was so funny and sweet, and I cried... like really cried a few
times, but then I laughed again… so much fun!” They
got it! That’s the feeling we wanted to share.
But who knows what the future will hold? Some people will love it, others will hate it, and others won’t care.
We’ll just have to wait and see. Our
goal was to make a film we could be proud of, that deserved to be in the
pantheon of films that James Hong has done, that families can watch now
and years later and still feel connected to. Yes,
it’s a crazy big goal, but life is short so take big risks.
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No matter what they think, I’m grateful to the audience for taking a chance
and giving us a shot. Unless
you prefer Black Adam 2. LOL.
Your/your movie's website, social media, whatever else? Instagram & Twitter: TotalZackWard
Instagram: Brilliantscreenstudios
Website: brilliantscreen.com
Anything
else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? Ace
and I run our studio - brilliantscreen.com:
4 stages, LED wall volume, Unreal Engine, full post house for sound &
color, cameras, lenses, lights, grip gear, trucks, picture cars, armory,
props, stunt rigs, EVERYTHING! We
make movies from A-Z (Ace to Zack, lol) ... or you can just rent from us. We
work with big studios and indie filmmakers. If you’re in LA, come for a
tour and make your project Brilliant!
Thanks
for the interview!
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