There is no fixed mode of filmmaking, but there is a way to tell a story
Interview | Yao Lu Editor| Zhang Wei Illustration | Cheng Lao Wet
Character PORTRAIT = P
Lv Yinrong = L
P: Most of the animated films in China are for kids, but you're mainly making family movies at DreamWorks Animation. How do you get adults and kids alike to accept your movie?
L: We try to balance the relationship between the two, just as jokes make all of us enjoy it. People have emotions, some scenes are also emotional, some jokes are created for children, others are created for adults. We'll have some rules to balance the relationship between the two. It's a feeling that doesn't require strict proportional control. When children find it funny, we add some content that they are interested in; when adults find it not funny, we will also add content that they are interested in.
P: You're Korean, you came to the United States at the age of 4, and now you're making a movie with Chinese elements. How has a multicultural background influenced you?
L: It's very beneficial for me to have multiple backgrounds, when you look at a thing, you think about it from multiple angles, so you can really understand the situation and the situation. I can make American movies because I have an American cultural background, and I know American culture. I can also better understand other cultures because I grew up in different cultural backgrounds. We are fortunate to work with people with a Chinese cultural background, and we must have respect for culture. Growing up, I was the only Korean kid in the community and the only foreign kid in school. It wasn't until after the first grade that there was a second foreign child in the school, and more and more after that. More and more people from different cultural backgrounds are coming to the United States, and I am very adaptable to culture, and I can quickly adapt to people from different cultural backgrounds. No one treats me specially because I look different. Getting to know the different people around you is very interesting and very rewarding.
P: Some people think that Hollywood's big productions attract a global audience, but domestic films will also be affected by this. What do you think?
L: If you make a small movie, it will attract a small part of the audience. If you make a big movie, you'll have a huge impact.
There are a lot of people who say that Hollywood movies fail because there are a lot of small-budget films that reap huge profits. I think there are many different types of movies in the world. If you make a niche film in France, you can show it from a personal perspective, you don't have to be under pressure at the box office, which is very interesting. If the world were Hollywood movies and there were fewer niche independent movies, the movie world would be a lot less fun.
P: Do you think that Hollywood movies have some fixed patterns and frameworks, which limits the director's expression?
L: No, I don't think there's a fixed pattern for filmmaking, but there's a fixed pattern for the way people tell stories. You want to see movies, you want to see heroes, you want to go through their journeys. You don't want to see a bad story and a bad protagonist.
It's not a static pattern, it's something you love, it's the journey you want to go through, and that's the principle we have to follow. I don't think Hollywood has a fixed narrative pattern, I don't think there is a fixed mode of making movies, the only mode is whether you tell the story to everyone, whether they let them enjoy the story, that's the pattern.
P: There are not many female directors who have a place in Hollywood. Does being a woman stress you out?
L: I don't think it's a flaw as a woman. In our company, whether you are a woman or not makes no difference at work. Filmmakers, actors, and other crews value whether you can take on the job.
I remember when I first directed Kung Fu Panda 2, a lot of people made a surprised voice, they said: Wow, she's a woman! Then one of my male animators came up to me and he said I was upset that it was important for others to treat you as a woman. I don't see you as a woman, I see you as a director, and your directorship is the first. It makes me very happy that gender identity is neither an advantage nor a disadvantage.
P: Does being a woman make you different in your job compared to a male director?
L: I think it's not about gender, it's about personality. I seem to be a very quiet, introverted person and don't look like a workaholic at all. They think I can't speak out loud and lose my temper. It was really a really big challenge for me. Because when you're dealing with 50 people, what you say has to be accepted, approved. I was very lucky, my team was very friendly and everyone was very quiet. It was precisely because I was quiet, and in order to hear clearly what I said, they also became very quiet. They'll say, "What is she talking about? Shhh, I can't hear her." My character is truly a challenge.
P: What was the craziest thing you ever did in 2015?
L: It took three and a half years, and at the last moment of the finishing production, all of us sat together listening to music and talking about movies.
This moment moved me very much. I sat there and saw that all the work was over, including character sketching, coloring. There were 111 musicians making music at that time, and I was in tears at that moment, and it was a very touching scene. It's really been a very long journey.
P: In 2015, what was the most common thing you said to others?
L: I think one of the things I say most often is, "I'm sorry, but at the moment I want to sleep." It could also be that "[filmmaking] is almost over."
P: In 2015, what was the most satisfying thing you ever bought?
L: A big pencil in the shape of an owl that you can use to draw, for about $30. Another favorite gift is a drawing board that can be connected to a computer.
P: On the last day of 2015, if you could become an invisible person, what would you do?
L: I would walk in the dark of night and see the whole city sleeping and enjoy this wonderful moment. If it is not an invisible person, it is like spying on someone else's privacy, which is not good.
P: In 2016, you will have 25 hours a day. What would you do for the extra 1 hour?
L: Draw. Even though I work very long hours every day, as soon as I get home, I paint because it makes me happy.
P: In 2016, if you could have a superpower, what would you hope for?
L: Fly. I want to fly because I want to go over everybody and look at people from above.
P: On the first day of 2016, if you could have dinner with anyone in any place, who would you like to be? Where is it?
L: I want to eat at home with my deceased father.
P: If you were given a huge sum of money, who would you donate it to?
L: I love cats and dogs and want to donate it to a shelter in the United States that houses stray animals.
P: If you have an Aladdin lamp and can make 3 wishes, the lamp will expire at the end of 2016. What kind of wishes will you make?
L: My mother lives a long life, my husband is happy, and I am inspired by art.
P: In 2016, you can give anyone a birthday gift, who will you give it to? What to send him?
L: I'll give my husband a credit card, in fact I've given it to him before. I thought, I'll take my mom to Korea.
(Intern Jing Jiayi also contributed to this article)