By Alicia Powell
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Writer and director Eddie Huang hopes his first feature film, “Boogie,” will help shift expectations about the type of Asian-American stories shown on the big screen.
“This is the next level, where we get to come in and tell our authentic, specific stories,” said Huang, whose 2013 autobiography was adapted into the ABC television sitcom “Fresh Off the Boat.”
“And then the other step I think the film takes for America and cinema is that it’s intersectional. We can tell a story that feels real to Asian-American immigrants, immigrants all over.”
The coming-of-age story centers around a high school basketball star who dreams of playing in the National Basketball Association while navigating family pressure, love, and rivals.
Taylor Takahashi, who plays the leading man, makes his acting debut in the film, which will open in U.S. theaters on March 5.
“It was kind of like taking two weeks of swimming lessons and then go jump into the deep end,” he said. “But I had the support of so many people, whether they’re family and friends to me on set, the producers, our director, everyone was there to kind of always jump into the pool if they saw me drowning.”
Huang said he cast Takahashi because of their similar backgrounds. “I knew his experiences and I knew the emotions he would draw on,” said the director, who wants viewers to see themselves in the film as well.
“I hope people walk out of it with a cathartic feeling, but also feeling free to reflect and question all of the things people tell us about our existence and our identity and race, because none of us fit in that box.”
(Reporting by Alicia Powell; Editing by Richard Chang and Rosalba O’Brien)
