The advice actor Dante Basco got from Jon M Chu before his directorial debut

When actor Dante Basco decided he wanted to direct a dramatic comedy centered around an Asian / Pacific Islander family, he knew exactly who to call.

I spoke to Jon M. Chu the director of Crazy Rich Asians, ” Basco told TheWrap ahead of the SXSW premiere of his film, The Fabulous Filpino Brothers.

When I first met Johnny, he was like, You’re the first Asian face I’ve seen. When you did Rufio [in Hook], it made me feel like I could be a part of Hollywood. So we’ve always had a great relationship, explained Basco.

I remember sitting in New York looking at some of the pre-cut scenes from In the Heights, ” Basco said, referring to the movie Chus based on the musical of the same name, which will be released in theaters and on HBO. Max on June 11. I was about to embark on my journey. He told me to take it one day at a time. I texted her sometimes some of the toughest days on set. It would remind me of everything you think you’re going to shoot, you know you have your plans. But also be present so that the film comes to reveal itself to you.

Little by little, we tried to tackle what we had planned but these beautiful nuggets of the film were revealed by working, he added. I have to thank Jon for this.

Read also: Jon M Chu’s In The Heights Gets New Summer 2021 Release Date

If directing was new territory for Basco, the subject of films was not.

The Fabulous Filipino Brothers stars Basco and his three real brothers: Derek, Dionysio and Darion. The extended Basco family (cousins, second cousins, uncles and aunts) also play themselves. Filipino mega star Solenn Heussaff and Liza Lapira round out the cast.

The story is told in four vignettes each centered around a brother Basco with cockfighting, adultery, romance, food, and family. It takes place in the working-class city of Pittsburgh, in Northern California, and is, as Basco describes it, a valentine for the Filipino community.

The Basco boys in The Fabulous Filipino Brothers (Photo: Andrea Walter)

The story continues

There are more familiar Filipino nods: a large lechon is served at the wedding, along with platters of lumpia and longanisa sausage. There are songs and dances. But there are other things that tend to get swept under the rug, too, including gambling and adultery. A scene reveals a mistress facing a woman. It’s part of many stories of Filipino families, says Basco. Especially a lot of immigrant families who have, you know, two different lives.

It’s a look at a Pacific Island culture that is poorly represented in feature films, which is very important to Basco, as anti-Asian discrimination and hate crimes soar in the United States.

Read also: Daniel Dae Kim tears GOP apart for voting against anti-Asian violence resolution

The word representation is often used. And representation is important. But what is representation? What does that mean? Basco asks. It means we need more movies, more, just more content. The reality is that there is a lot of hate. And there are a lot of misrepresentation going on. Because people don’t know each other. We don’t understand each other. At the end of the day, were all the same. You will see that in this film it is a Filipino family, but it is any family.

The problem with the conversation is that it has been so one-sided for so long, he continued. Ninety-nine percent was written from a white man’s perspective. It’s not false. It’s not even racist. But it’s just a category from the rest of the world. We walked in the shoes of these heroes: the Brad Pitts and Tom Cruises and Nic Cages. And it is awesome. As an audience we have so much empathy and sympathy for the white man, because we’ve all walked in their footsteps, we’ve saved the world through their eyes, we’ve been heartbroken, we’ve fallen lover.

When you talk about representation, we need more stories, because when we walk in the footsteps of the lives of other peoples, be it African Americans, men, women, Latinos, Asians, Filipinos, then you start to empathize with each other more.

Check out the trailer for The Fabulous Filipino Brothers below:

Trailer: The Fabulous Filipino Brothers of Cignal TV Inc (Philippines) sure Vimeo.

Read the original story The advice actor Dante Basco got from Jon M Chu before his directorial debut At TheWrap