They Call Us A Great Divide

Jeff Yang and Phil Yu present an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America.

What's up, podcast listeners? We've got another episode of our podcast They Call Us Bruce. (Almost) each week, my good friend, writer/columnist Jeff Yang and I host an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America, with a strong focus on media, entertainment and popular culture.

In this episode, we welcome filmmaker Jean Shim and actress Jae Suh Park, director and star of the independent drama A Great Divide -- also co-written and produced by our very own Jeff Yang. They talk about making a movie inspired by the contemporary backdrop of anti-Asian hate, the personal experiences with racism and xenophobia that informed the film's story and characters, the quirks and challenges of shooting in the wilds of Wyoming, and why it's convenient to have a doctor on set -- especially if that doctor is Ken Jeong. Also: a special bonus edition of "Pass, Fail, Incomplete, and Fail," sponsored by McDonald's APA Next.

When Harry Met Sally... starring Asian Americans!

Film Independent presents a live read of the classic romantic comedy, directed by Randall Park.


Steven Yeun and Maya Erskine (Photo: Getty Images/Film Independent)
The origins of the Netflix romantic comedy Always Be My Maybe, starring Randall Park and Ali Wong, can be directly and indirectly traced to When Harry Met Sally... Park, who also co-wrote and produced Always Be My Maybe, has cited the 1989 Billy Crystal/Meg Ryan rom-com classic as his favorite film.

More directly, in a 2016 New Yorker profile of Wong, the Baby Cobra comedian mentioned that she and Park had always wanted to make a romantic comedy together -- "our version of When Harry Met Sally..." Overhwelming fan reaction to that single line, near the end of a 4000+ word piece, is apparently what got the wheels turning to get Always Be My Maybe written, produced, and dropped into your Netflix queue.

The influence of When Harry Met Sally can be seen all over the blueprints of Always Be My Maybe and dozens of other films in the genre -- a genre that, let's face it, has been traditionally very very white. But what if When Harry Met Sally... had actually starred Asians? What if Harry and Sally, rom-com icons, had been played by Asian American actors? On Sunday, we got a glimpse of what that might look like, and it was amazing.