'Expats' Director Lulu Wang on the Power of Saying “No”…and Sound

Let’s say you’re an indie filmmaker and Nicole Kidman asks you to direct her tv show. You say “hell yeah” right? Well, that wasn’t Lulu Wang’s first response when she was approached to direct the Amazon Prime limited series, Expats.

In today’s episode, No Film School’s GG Hawkins, speaks with Director Lulu Wang to discuss:

• Why Lulu originally rejected Nicole Kidman’s proposal to direct the show
• How she protected her creative vision in a high production, studio project
• Exploring and dissecting privilege throughout the show
• Where they always start when planning each episode
• Changing the visual language in each episode
• Episode 5 - It premiered as a standalone film at TIFF
• The different perspectives represented in the writer’s room
• The benefits to shooting on location
• Recording real life sounds while location scouting
• Starting a production company to support other filmmakers
• Why emerging filmmakers shouldn’t follow industry trends

Memorable Quotes

• “I initially said no. I passed on it, because it just felt so typical Hollywood.” [3:35]
• “Beauty is very subjective. It has to function within the context of the story.” [7:47]
• “The context through which you meet someone, colors the way that you see them.” [12:04]
• “I always see it as such a blessing if someone tells me that I’m wrong, or that I can do things better.” [14:06]
• “If you follow the trend, you’re always going to be a step behind.” [27:56]

Mentioned:

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EXPATS

The Farewell 

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