Page 14 - aruba-today-20230310

A14 PEOPLE / ARTS
Friday 10 March 2023
Bruce Lee, Anna May Wong heirs talk legacy, roles for Asians

By TERRY TANG Quan both women re- pictures her father Anna Lee added. Lee picking (and losing) a
The Associated Press flected on how things have May Wong’s brother kept Even earning a lead role fight with Brad Pitt’s stunt-
Almost every working Asian changed since the blatant- around the house. didn’t necessarily mean a man character. His daugh-
actor in Hollywood can ter criticized the cameo
trace their path back to as nothing but “horrible
Bruce Lee and Anna May tropes,” even penning an
Wong. op-ed in The Hollywood Re-
The Chinese American porter.
screen legends are typi- “With this one film now ev-
cally talked about the way erybody’s like, ‘Oh, that’s
one talks about revered what Bruce Lee was really
ancestors. like,’” Lee told the AP. “No,
One was a martial arts that was not what he was
icon, the other an actor like at all.”
who stood out during the Anna May Wong died in
silent film era despite play- 1961 at 56 and Bruce Lee
ing women who were ei- died in 1973 at 32. All these
ther submissive or dragon years later, the interest in
ladies. Both are credited them hasn’t abated.
with demonstrating Asians In a total coincidence,
could be more than just ex- both families recently
tras for movies about China signed on as producers of
or Chinatown. biopics. Lee is working with
Although Wong was born in Oscar-winning director Ang
1905 in Los Angeles and Lee Lee (no relation), Wong
in 1940 in San Francisco, with “Crazy Rich Asians”
their families like to imagine star Gemma Chan.
they crossed paths. “Ang is a very earnest, gra-
“They may have. Well, they cious man. I think he wants
may have seen each oth- Anna Wong, niece of the late actress Anna May Wong, left, poses with Shannon Lee, daughter of to make a really great film,”
er at like a party or some- the late martial arts actor Bruce Lee, at Douglas Park in Santa Monica, Calif., on Tuesday, March said Lee, who’s been work-
thing,” said Anna Wong, 7, 2023. ing on her movie for several
the elder Wong’s niece Associated Press years. “I would say in this
and namesake. moment I am cautiously
“My father was an actor ly racist practices that per- “When he started telling big payday for Asian tal- optimistic.”
when he was a child in meated Wong and Lee’s me about the pretty lady, I ent. Before Bruce Lee went Wong almost walked away
Hong Kong. So, you know, heydays. was wanting to realize who to Hong Kong and made from her project when
he may have seen some of Lee has a “soft spot” for she was,” Wong said. “And hits like “The Big Boss” and several self-proclaimed
her films that came across,” Yeoh because she came then I became obsessed “Fist of Fury,” he was Kato “Anna May Wong experts”
Shannon Lee chimed in. from kung fu cinema like with her films and seeing all in “The Green Hornet.” The reached out to produc-
“He loved to see Holly- her father. She’s thrilled for kinds of things.” TV series premiered in 1966, ers but they reassured her
wood films as well when he Yeoh’s recognition, espe- Both grew up hearing sto- only lasting a season and they’re “not going to take
was young.” cially because for so long ries of how Anna May Wong carrying a massive pay dis- these people on when we
Lee and Wong had never Hollywood used Bruce Lee and Bruce Lee fought hard parity. can have an actual rela-
met before doing a recent to justify casting Asians only against stereotypes, yet “When you look at the pay tive of Anna May Wong.”
joint Zoom interview with as characters there just to were sometimes stuck in stubs and then they say They both also receive
The Associated Press. They karate chop. unwinnable situations. what everyone’s getting (and often deny) steady
discovered parallel experi- “Of course she’s doing ac- After gaining fame in mov- paid, he’s like way down merchandising proposals
ences protecting the lega- tion in the film but being ies like “The Thief of Bag- on the bottom,” Lee said. like Anna May Wong tea-
cy of a family member who recognized for her artistry dad” and “Shanghai Ex- “Hopefully, there’s chang- cups and Bruce Lee foot-
happens to be an icon of and her acting and for all press,” Anna May Wong es happening there.” ball helmets, snack bowls
both Hollywood and Asian of that is really heartwarm- suffered one of the great- Neither actor was ever and tin guitars.
America. ing for me to see,” she said. est disappointments of her nominated for an Oscar. “I guess I have to say it
They have seen their rela- “And Ke as well who ... as life in 1937. She lost the lead But the 2020 Netflix minise- does speak to the love that
tives’ popularity ebb and a young kid was very sort role of a Chinese villager ries “Hollywood” depict- people have. So I’m grate-
flow over decades. They of stereotyped and he was in “The Good Earth” to Lu- ed an alternate universe ful for that,” Lee said.
have grappled with bogus put in a box because of it.” ise Rainer, who was white. where Anna May Wong Both women hope people

long-lost child claims, weird It’s especially phenom- Rainer went on to win a played by Michelle Krusiec take away lessons in perse-
licensing requests and on- enal when compared with best actress Oscar. won an Oscar. It created a verance when looking at
screen portrayals out of Anna May Wong’s era, ac- The younger Wong brings nuisance for her niece and Bruce Lee’s and Anna May
their control. But they’ve cording to her niece. this up on the lecture cir- a reminder of a sad time in Wong’s lives. They were
also seen how the fascina- “Back in those days, no cuit. Millennial audiences the actor’s life. “symbols of what’s pos-
tion continues: There are one had an Asian man “find it completely irratio- “After that series came out, sible,” Lee said.
museum exhibits, TV show and an Asian woman in the nal to say, ‘Okay, so let’s people said, ‘Do you have “For them to have gotten
projects and an American lead roles,” Wong said. “It’s take a Caucasian person her Oscar?’” Wong said. the opportunity to get on
quarter tribute. crazy how far we’ve come. and make them up to look “I’m thinking, ‘You know the screen, in the first place
With “Everything Every- But then again, how far are like an Asian person and ... that that series was fiction- meant that they had ex-
where All at Once” poised we?” no one will notice,’” Wong alized, right?’” tremely big energy, amaz-
to snag trophies at the Os- While Lee was 4 when her said. Quentin Tarantino’s 2019 ing work ethic and then
cars on Sunday particular- father died, Wong never “It’s actually a good thing flick “Once Upon a Time... they were able to accom-
ly for Asian cast members met her aunt. She knew her that today’s generation in Hollywood” featured a plish the impossible in some
Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy as “the pretty lady” in the thinks that that’s crazy,” fictitious scene of Bruce way,” she added.q