Austin, Texas – Amy Wang has a moment. Her debut film film, Diagonally, Just premiered at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film & TV Festival. She was also tapped to write Crazy Rich Asians 2, The long -awaited continuation of the Box Office Smash 2018.
“It’s a slow process. They want to get the script well, “she told Yahoo Entertainment, referring to the studio in question, which she did not identify. Warner Bros. Produced the first film and has the rights to the second. “I hope it will be made soon, but at the moment it is waiting a lot.”
An adjustment of the TV series based on Kevin Kwan’s books is also Max in the making, but that is a separate project. In the meantime, Wang promotes in Texas Diagonally – A biting satire about race that is also very personal for her.
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One day in 2021, Wang was on a walk with her husband, when she was “shocked” by the news that six Asian American women were killed in a hate crime in Atlanta. It made her think about her experience as a Chinese Australian woman.
“When I grew up as a teenager, I would wake up for a long time and think,” Hey, wouldn’t life be just better if I was white? “She said. “All those emotions and oppressed feelings came to the surface.”
She started to think about what such a story would look like, and it evolved into a dark comical (and, she gives, controversial) script – what if two actors of two different breeds would play the same person? That’s the idea behind Diagonally, A film she wrote and directed, who follows an Asian American high school that undergoes ‘transracial’ operation to become white in her search to be accepted by the popular girls and Prom Queen.
“So many of the best films, such as Come out And Sorry to disturb you Porte pleasure in race and difficult subjects, “she said. “I felt like satire and a little body horror was the best choice. … I like to press buttons and make people feel uncomfortable. “
From the left: Amy Wang, Amelie Zilber, Shirley Chen, Fang Du, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and McKenna Grace pose on SXSW 2025 for the release of Diagonally. (Robby Klein/Getty images for IMDB)
Wang tapped Shirley Chen and McKenna Grace to play her leading role, Joan Huang. She goes past Jo Hunt after having undergone an experimental operation to look white.
“The character of Joan has her core of truth for her that I like to pretend that exists. … I like to consider myself as someone who is very extroverted and comfortable in my skin and identity, “Chen told Yahoo Entertainment.” But I remember that I grew up in the state of Washington, surrounded by many white people and imagined me as a 6-year-old … that I could become blonde and had blue eyes. “
She said she outgrown that opinion as soon as she had a better understanding of race, but she sees this role as a tribute to that version of herself. Wang and other cast and crew members trusted her about their own uncertainties, which meant a lot to her, given how she was impressed by them
“Tapping that quiet self-doubt feels really universal and vulnerable-that was really important to me,” Chen went on.
Just like Wang, she has a few projects in the making, but she is most enthusiastic about ‘exploring my voice as a maker’.
“I am really inspired by musicians and artists such as Doechii … who get from so many different forms and voices and styles to create something that is unique to them,” she said. ‘[Doechii] has worked to know itself and wants to make art to show you that you can also be yourself. I hope I can have a similar effect. “
Diagonally In premiere on March 8 in South by Southwest.
