Destin Daniel Cretton, director of Marvel's “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” sits down with CinemaBlend’s Law Sharma to discuss the film’s success, the support of the Asian community, his hopes for a sequel and more!
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00:00 - You are a product of all who came before you,
00:03 the good and the bad.
00:05 (upbeat music)
00:07 - I am an Asian American kid originally from the Bay.
00:15 So the first thing I gotta do is say thank you
00:17 for this movie because it hit home more than I can express.
00:21 It literally felt like it reinvigorated the MCU for me.
00:25 So thank you for doing that.
00:26 - Oh, that's awesome.
00:27 Thanks, thanks for saying.
00:29 Something that I really enjoyed throughout, you know,
00:32 all of the initial press was just all the conversation
00:36 that we were having about diversity.
00:37 And Simu said something really beautiful
00:39 about the authenticity of this movie,
00:42 feeling the way that it did because of the diversity
00:45 of your production team.
00:46 My question to you is what was important to you
00:49 when it came to staffing and what's going to be important
00:52 in your hopes for staffing for the sequel?
00:55 - I grew up in Hawaii, so diversity is the norm.
01:00 The intermixing of cultures and ideas to me
01:05 is the most enriching way to live.
01:11 And when it comes to creating a film set,
01:16 it's the most enriching way to be creative
01:24 and particularly with a story like this,
01:27 it was really important to surround ourselves
01:30 with obviously people who understand the culture
01:35 of the characters that we have
01:37 and understand the intricacies of those cultures,
01:42 of growing up as a Chinese American living in the Bay Area,
01:47 of growing up in mainland China versus Hong Kong.
01:54 And also understanding how vast China is
01:59 and how many different cultures there are
02:02 just within that one country.
02:05 So we were really, I think, privileged
02:09 to have so many different people
02:12 from all over the world working on this movie
02:16 who could personally relate to each of these characters
02:22 and the specificity behind those characters.
02:25 And for me, that was one of the biggest parts
02:30 of this production was having all of these voices on set
02:35 to say that food is not what he would have on the table,
02:41 that music is not correct,
02:44 that if Wenwu is really from this area,
02:49 he wouldn't have that on the wall.
02:50 So having those types of conversations
02:53 was really important to this process.
02:56 - You know, Tony Leung is a legend, Michelle Yeoh is a legend.
03:01 If you can work with another legendary Hong Kong actor,
03:04 Asian actor to bring into this world,
03:06 is there anyone that you have in mind,
03:07 any kind of like fan casts of your own
03:10 that you have in your head?
03:12 - I mean, if we could ever get Jackie into a movie,
03:18 that would be a lifelong dream of mine.
03:21 - That would be absolutely incredible.
03:23 Put it out into the universe.
03:24 - Yeah, let's put it out.
03:26 - Let's put it out there.
03:27 In the "Assembled" documentary on Shang-Chi,
03:31 you had mentioned that if this film
03:33 was where this story stops, that you have failed.
03:36 And now you have the announcement of the sequel
03:38 and an ever expanding deal here that can open up new worlds.
03:43 My question to you is how are you feeling now
03:46 about the successes of this film?
03:47 - I feel very hopeful.
03:50 I feel like it is a very exciting time
03:55 to be a director period,
03:59 but to be a director of color right now,
04:04 it's exciting.
04:06 It's not perfect.
04:07 We've got a ton of work to do,
04:12 but I do feel like the temperature in Hollywood
04:17 is going in a direction where people understand at the top.
04:22 They understand that if we don't start telling stories
04:28 that represent the world around us
04:30 in all of its colors and differences,
04:33 that this industry will become irrelevant.
04:37 And so seeing that more and more people
04:41 are waking up to that reality is pretty exciting.
04:45 - Absolutely.
04:46 There's no way to really describe
04:50 being in a theater full of Asian people openly weeping.
04:54 I feel like I was openly weeping
04:56 through many viewings of this in the theater.
04:58 And those themes really hit home for me.
05:01 And I'm not a Chinese American,
05:03 but there was so much that I could connect to
05:05 in my own life.
05:06 So amazing, amazing storytelling in my opinion.
05:11 - Thank you all.
05:16 - Nice one, Helen.
05:18 - What was the most surprising piece of feedback
05:22 or experience that you got from a fan
05:25 that you were like, "Wow, we really did something here."
05:27 - There was one moment in one of our later test screenings
05:30 where we screened the movie
05:34 for a primarily all white audience in Florida.
05:38 And afterwards there was a talk back.
05:41 We had no idea how this would connect
05:43 with people who had no idea about this culture,
05:47 who weren't used to seeing all Asian faces in one movie,
05:50 who aren't used to reading subtitles.
05:53 And there was one young man,
05:57 he was probably in his mid thirties.
06:00 He was tattooed up.
06:02 He was a pretty hard looking dude.
06:06 He was ex-military.
06:08 And he was talking about the character, Shang-Chi.
06:14 And how much he related to him
06:17 and how much he related to his personal journey,
06:21 his relationship to his father
06:24 and specifically how powerful it was for him.
06:27 And he actually got emotional when he was talking about
06:30 how powerful it was for him to see a man
06:33 who was clearly masculine, clearly strong,
06:37 but was learning to deal with his emotions,
06:41 who was learning to be vulnerable and open.
06:44 And to have somebody completely from a completely
06:49 different part of the world,
06:52 a very different cultural upbringing,
06:54 connect to Shang-Chi on that level.
06:58 It was surprising, but it was also the hope that we all had
07:03 for this character and this world,
07:07 that it's not only for our community,
07:12 but it's also to show people not from our community
07:16 that we all have so many things in common.
07:20 And that's one of the big hopes
07:23 that I hope people connect to on this movie.
07:26 - Yeah, absolutely.
07:27 I mean, y'all made Shang-Chi a household name,
07:29 which as a comic fan is mind blowing to me, right?
07:33 And so well-deserved.
07:34 And now, congratulations, a sequel is coming.
07:38 An MCU Disney+ series is in the works.
07:42 I know you can't talk about story or anything.
07:45 Things are probably very early,
07:46 but if there's an Agents of Atlas
07:49 or a Xiaoling in the Ten Rings,
07:51 or maybe a Morris standalone animated movie,
07:55 I would like to know what's like your bias.
07:57 What would you hope to tell?
07:59 What stories do you want to tell in this world?
08:02 - I mean, that's a tricky question
08:03 because my hope could be a reality.
08:06 (laughing)
08:08 It's hard for me to answer,
08:10 but I do love all of those ideas, I will say.
08:13 - Cool, cool.
08:15 I mean, if you need an Agent of Atlas, I'm around.
08:19 - Okay, keep that in mind.
08:21 - Shang.
08:22 - Shang.
08:23 - Shang.
08:24 - Shang.
08:25 - S-H-A-N-G, Shang.
08:26 - Now I want to talk about Gold House and kind of Gold Open.
08:30 We give an incredible spotlight
08:32 of what our community is capable of in terms of support.
08:35 As a filmmaker, what does it mean to you
08:38 to have such a force like that behind you,
08:40 backing your vision and cheering on your win?
08:43 - It's pretty incredible and historic
08:46 what Gold House has been doing.
08:48 And I do think it's the first time in history
08:53 that Asian-Americans have been united in this way.
09:02 And I mean, it makes sense why it's been difficult
09:06 because it is such a vast array of cultures
09:10 that are under the umbrella of this term Asian-American.
09:15 But what I love is going to these events
09:19 and seeing Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino,
09:24 all mixing together.
09:25 And yes, seeing that we do come from different cultures.
09:30 We actually do look differently.
09:33 And we, but we also have all of so many similarities.
09:38 And that's kind of the heart of the Asian-American
09:42 experience is what we wanted to capture in our movie.
09:45 We wanted to capture the heart of the family dynamics
09:50 of the respect for our elders,
09:52 the respect for legacy and history.
09:55 But also explore the real Asian experience
10:00 of learning how to simultaneously respect your parents
10:04 and what came before you,
10:06 but learn how to move forward in a way
10:09 that is also respectful to yourself.
10:13 And those are the themes that we really connected to.
10:16 And I feel so excited to have a community
10:21 that Gold House has put together
10:24 to champion movies like this.
10:27 - I love that.
10:28 Now, I know that you had said previously
10:31 that you wanted to make a superhero film
10:34 for your son to look up to.
10:36 And you actually welcomed another child
10:38 during the production of this movie.
10:40 Congratulations on your growing family.
10:42 What are you most excited about, Shang-Chi,
10:46 to share with your kids once the time comes
10:51 to show them this film?
10:53 - I think there's something really powerful,
10:55 not only about seeing characters
11:00 who are up on a big screen like this,
11:02 who are in a big movie,
11:05 and characters who look like you,
11:08 who have a similar cultural background as you.
11:12 But on top of that, to have a character like Shang-Chi,
11:16 who is not only a superhero
11:21 because he is a good fighter
11:24 or good at being very powerful,
11:28 but he's also a superhero
11:30 because he is learning how to be vulnerable.
11:34 And he's learning how to deal with the pain in his life.
11:39 And those are the things that I hope my son,
11:44 when he's old enough to watch this PG-13 movie,
11:47 will be able to take those things
11:51 and apply them to his journey.
11:55 - Must be kind of a surreal feeling
11:57 to know that people all over the world now
12:00 can take home your movie
12:02 and watch it whenever they want.
12:04 I'm wondering, since we're promoting
12:06 the home entertainment release,
12:07 is there any special feature
12:09 that you're most excited for the world to see?
12:12 - I love special features on DVDs,
12:15 'cause I grew up, when DVDs were first coming out,
12:20 that was when I was just getting into filmmaking.
12:23 So being able to get a sneak peek into the process
12:27 and how things are made, I would eat it up.
12:31 And on these extra features,
12:35 you'll get to see the actors interacting
12:38 in a way that you don't see quite so much in the movie
12:43 'cause you see them out of character,
12:45 the rapport that we had.
12:48 And that's the experience that I have
12:49 when I watch the movies,
12:51 remembering how much fun it was to shoot this scene,
12:54 even the serious scenes.
12:55 Like I'm like, "Oh, I remember when something crazy happened
13:00 and everybody broke out in laughter."
13:02 And you get to see a glimpse of that in the extra features.
13:06 - Absolutely.
13:07 I love the gag reel.
13:09 It just brings me so much joy
13:11 to see everyone smiling and dancing.
13:13 Everyone's dancing, which is all great.
13:14 - Yeah, I know.
13:15 Including Michelle Yeoh,
13:17 who I think most people just assume
13:20 she's always this stoic, elegant queen,
13:24 but she is such a silly, fun person on set.
13:28 - I love to hear that because Michelle Yeoh's
13:30 an Asian icon.
13:33 One of my bucket list goals in life
13:35 is to find an excuse to have a meal with her one day.
13:38 So I love hearing stuff like that.
13:40 - Yeah, that would be a great meal.
13:42 - Thank you for everything from "Short Term 12"
13:44 to now "Shang-Chi."
13:46 You are just an incredible storyteller
13:48 and it's an honor to sit down with you, man.
13:50 - Thanks a lot.
13:51 (upbeat music)