Yin & Young EP39 - Filmmaker Darren Kwan and Post Oscars Talk

Yin & Young Podcast

Highlights

* Darren Kwan - originally from the Bay Area, worked at a tech company in Silicon Valley before deciding on a career change to filmmaking.

* James and Darren met at the De Anza College film department. Reconnected with James when he recognized Darren on the street in downtown LA.

* Darren’s latest film is about the cuddling industry.

* Tangent into Robert Kraft getting busted going to a massage parlor that has happy endings.

* James and Darren shot a short film in the tunnels under downtown LA.

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* 25:44 Oscars Talk. Everyone breaks down the issues they had with the Green Book: story pacing, racism, and replay value.

* Discussion on the films that should’ve won Best Picture.

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* 57:13 Moving on to the Best Documentary category, the Oscar nominated film: Minding the Gap:

* Darren expresses his connection to Kiere’s story and lack of connection to Zack’s story.

* Dan was impressed by the narrative structure of the documentary.

* James likes the film but gets heated about how it does not address racism against Asians.

* 01:19:35 - Best Animated Film, Yin and Young both agree on “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse” as a solid winner.

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Language Corner

* Japanese - 参った (まいった maitta）- a) I give up, b) I’m beaten, c) overwhelmed

* Mandarin - 厭世臉 (yan4shi4lian3) - literally “hate world face”. A cool, smile-less, serious look that women have.

* Cantonese - 身體健康 (san1tai2 gin6hong1) - lit. body healthy, wish you good health. Said during Lunar New Year.

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Links:

* Darren Kwan on Vimeo - https://vimeo.com/user32586431

* Oscar Nominations 2019: Full List – https://variety.com/2019/film/news/oscar-nominations-2019-list-1203112405/

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Yin & Young links:

* Main Website: http://www.jamesyshih.com/yin-young-podcast/

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