- 4 months ago
- #thefutureisfemale
On this episode of #TheFutureIsFemale Melisa Idris speaks with Rachel Tan, a Malaysia-born, Los Angeles-based film producer and founder of King Street Pictures. She is also a former Miss Malaysia and was the first and only Malaysian to win the Miss Chinese International Pageant. Her latest film, ‘Worth the Wait’ features an all-Asian cast and is scheduled for theatrical release in Malaysia this August 7th.
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00:00Hello and good evening. I'm Melissa Idris. Welcome to The Future is Female. This is the
00:15show where we find the extraordinary in every woman. I'm delighted to introduce my guest today,
00:21Rachel Tan, who is a Malaysia-born, Los Angeles-based film producer. She's also the co-founder
00:26of King Street Pictures, a former Miss Malaysia and the first and only Malaysian to win the Miss
00:37Chinese International Pageant. She's since built a career producing feature films and she's here
00:43today on the show to talk to us a little bit about her latest project, Worth the Wait, which is
00:48scheduled for a theatrical release here in Malaysia this August 7th. Rachel, welcome to the show. It's
00:53good to be to join me. Thank you for having me. I'm very excited. I'm always very excited to come
00:58back to Astro. As you know, my career started in Astro as Miss Astro. Miss Astro, what year was that?
01:042002. Okay, and you've come, I mean, your journey has been so multifaceted all these years.
01:11You started from pageantry, Miss Astro, now you're producing films in Hollywood. Maybe you can talk
01:16to me a little bit about that. A little bit about that journey. What drew you into the world of
01:21feature films? Right, so I walked through the same doors at Astro just now for the interview.
01:28Was it nostalgic for you? Right, and I walked through the same door for my audition back in the day for
01:33Miss Astro, right? Oh, wow. And it took me all the way, you know, I thought it was just like, you know,
01:39a summer thing to do before going to a university. And then ended up, I won Miss Malaysia and then I won
01:45Miss Chinese International in Hong Kong. And then, and then I actually went to Cambridge to finish
01:53law. And then I came back and still wanted to do entertainment. I was like, well, I told my
01:58parents, like, okay, I've done my Asian duty. Just go to college, go to university. I still want to
02:05pursue, you know, entertainment, just, you know, something about it, like telling a story or being
02:10part of this, like, great magical performance, you know, it's something, you know, so went back
02:17for the stage and I signed with Jackie Chan Group in Hong Kong. And I spent some time there. Meanwhile,
02:22I was, you know, I took the Hong Kong bar and the New York bar, you know, you know, for law just to,
02:28like, I don't know, not waste time while auditioning. And then I met my husband, who's my
02:35producing partner. And he was based in Los Angeles as an entertainment lawyer. So, and then we got
02:42married. It's a long distance relationship that we'll go into later because our movie is inspired
02:47by that long distance relationship. So we met and then, you know, I then moved to LA as an
02:54entertainment lawyer. And then one day, my friend, who's director, who I was, and I was in his movie
03:00in Hong Kong before this. And he's like, oh, Rachel, I have a co-production between Hong Kong
03:05and LA. Can you help me with my legal, you know? And I was like, okay. So my husband and I,
03:13we started helping on legal and then slowly we're like, hey, you know, this story, you know, there's
03:18this scene here that needs work or like, you know, there are casts that we can help with, you know,
03:24and that's this, the plot that we can work on. And then it just went on and this went
03:28on and on. And he was like, okay, why don't you become an associate producer on this?
03:33And that's how it happened 10 years ago. So for many of us who are not in the industry,
03:37can you describe what the role of a producer is? So, you know, when we see the role credits,
03:42right, that's the role of a producer. What does, what do they do? Oh, you know, you know,
03:48for the Academy Awards, like the, the best picture goes to the producer, but no one really
03:54knows what the producer does, right? So, but he, you know, she definitely deserves the credit.
04:00Yes. I mean, from the beginning to the end, you carry this, this child, this baby,
04:06baby, right? Like from the inception, you like from the idea, right? All the way you, you hire,
04:14we wrote this new movie ourselves, the story, the storyline, we found a writer to, you know,
04:23Maggie Hart back then, like nine years ago, oh my, to, to write this. And she wrote the script.
04:29And then you carry, you develop the script over years, you attach director, then you find the
04:35funding for, oh, you find the funding attached to director, sometimes, you know, chicken, egg
04:39situation, then you, you know, attach the cast. And then, you know, the whole pre-production
04:44and production, we had like a hundred crew in, in, in the West and a hundred crew here, you
04:50know, and like you hire everybody. And that's just like halfway point. So the producer is involved
04:55at every stage. And sometimes a production can take years to develop. Right. So I've been
05:01with this for nine years. Right. So, and then you shoot it, you think like every day, you're
05:07putting out fires, you shoot it. And then there's the post-production where that's like, you color,
05:12the sound, you cut most importantly, right? And then, you know, a composer, every, every stage,
05:20that's just post-production. Then you got to sell it to you. Again, you have meetings with distributors,
05:25right. You know, the big studios and the streamers, right. And before that, maybe you enter into
05:31festivals and then you navigate it through the festivals. Right. And then even after you sell
05:35it, we, what, that's what we've been doing, we're marketing it. So we had, you know, a premiere in,
05:40just within these two months, a premiere in LA. We had a Taipei Film Festival. We got into Taipei Film Festival.
05:46We went there and then we had a premiere in KL, as we know, with Astro and Tourism Board. We had,
05:53and then we had one in Singapore and now we're doing press and it's all the way. We, we are with
05:59it. Amazing. Yeah. It must be then so rewarding to finally be able to have this out there in the
06:05world after nine years of, of birthing and just the gestational period of nine years is a long time
06:12to carry a baby. For sure. I mean, but then we have other projects. I think this is like the sixth
06:16movie since like, it's not like we're waiting for worth the wait to come to pass. Could I ask you,
06:21Rachel, what, why did you move behind the camera into the producing role? Is there something that
06:29producing gives you that maybe being in front of the camera or being on a pageant stage doesn't allow
06:37you to, to develop? What is it about producing behind the camera? You know, with being an actor,
06:44I really love how I could like, my voice could reach the world if there's a cause, like I can always
06:49bring attention spotlight to it. And I love like connecting with the audience. Right. And then after
06:56a while, I realized that they are specific stories and causes that I wanted to champion. And as an actor
07:01or, you know, a beauty queen that, um, that my hands are tied many times. And so instead of being a brand,
07:10I wanted to be like the, the, you know, you create the brand and shape the brand. Right. And being a producer
07:17is kind of like, um, a shield that, that, that shields all these, like, uh, produce these creatives,
07:29you know, so that they can focus on what they do best, which is art and the creative process. And then
07:36you kind of like facilitate it. And I think I love that role. Do you consider yourself a storyteller?
07:41Yeah. Yeah. Yes. I am a storyteller. Right. I had, I feel like this role is like finally a role where,
07:48you know, I've been through so many roles, right? I feel like this is a role that finally has used
07:54all my experiences, be it, you know, as a, you know, lawyer, talent, uh, assistant producer, or,
08:01you know, intern. I mean, being in different countries, um, all my blood, sweat and tears,
08:08all my success and failures, eh, I can finally just use it in this one role. And, and I use it
08:15every day. Which was one of the questions I wanted to ask you because you, there's so many facets to
08:22your journey. And because you have many hyphenated identities, you're Malaysia born, you're Hong Kong
08:30shaped, you're legally trained, you're, um, LA based. How have all of these different hyphenated
08:37identities shaped the way you tell the stories or what kind of stories you want to tell? Have you
08:43seen it, um, shape the way you navigate the film industry? Oh yeah, I think so. I was in England too,
08:51just like you, by the way. I've actually lived in quite a few places. Um, and with that, right, I,
08:57you know, I have like a global mindset. I don't see like one place as the beyond in all, even like,
09:04you know, United States or China. I just feel like they're so, the world is so big. And there's so
09:11many stories there to tell in unique, authentic ways. Um, so one of our mandates is also to be the
09:18bridge between the East and the West and to bring, um, well, I have like a little ambition,
09:25which is to bring Malaysia and showcase it to the world stage. And that's why, you know, we brought
09:30Hollywood back to shoot it in all the places that we, um, I hasn't, my husband and I had our dates at,
09:36by the way. So, but like, you know, um, Batu K's, Patanian Street, um, Sultan Abdul-sama,
09:43you know, the Durian store, you know, like it, you know, just outside the malls and stuff. So, um,
09:49that's my little ambition. And apart from that, I feel like, yeah, there's, I've seen so much talent
09:56in, uh, Asia, just working even in Hong Kong or, or meeting Taiwanese, um, and just so many,
10:02right. Okay. And in Malaysia, and I've also seen all the talent in the West, right, in Hollywood. And,
10:09and boy, that's formidable. It's like, I can imagine. Right. After I see those actors, I'm like,
10:15okay, yeah, maybe I shouldn't act. No, they're incredible. Okay. It's competitive there. Right.
10:21They have so much resources and support there, you know, and, and yet here, I also see these
10:28talent, but I don't see like enough, um, opportunities and resources. So, um, yeah,
10:35one of our mandates is really to kind of bridge them. So that's why, yeah, that's why we brought,
10:40uh, Tom Lin, who's a Golden Horse Award, um, winning director. He was just nominated for eight
10:46Golden Horse Awards this year. Amazing. Yeah. And, uh, we brought him over to the West,
10:50right. Um, that's his debut. And so is, uh, Karina Lam, who's, uh,
10:54Lin Jiaxin, like Karina Lam, who's in our movie. She plays like the pregnant, the
10:58lady who's pregnant. Uh, she has three Golden Horse, Horse Awards under her belt. Okay.
11:03Very prestigious cast. Uh, can we talk a little bit about your film? So maybe for, for the audience,
11:08um, talk to us about this, um, story, which is based on your real life love story.
11:16Uh, why, why did you want to tell this story? What, what, why now? What was the kind of story
11:22you wanted to, to share with the world? I wanted to share it nine years ago.
11:26Yeah. It's been a decade in the making.
11:29Oh, um, I think really, right. Right. What we, you know, and we, we first started with though,
11:36and, uh, we started it when we were quite green was like, uh, almost at the beginning of our career.
11:41Right. And, um, because it was sort of inspired by our story. Um, we, it was, it was not easy because
11:50then the whole cast have to be like Asian American. And we took, it took a long time,
11:55even after crazy, crazy rich Asians to be able to have people who are willing to give us a chance.
12:02Right. Um, this story is not just like about a long distance relationship, you know, it's like
12:09a love actually where it's like an ensemble of different relationships. It's kind of like
12:13different stages of our lives that we've been through, you know, the young teenage love, you know,
12:19where you just choose to believe, you know, and then like, you know, the, the, you know,
12:24the big loves that you need the courage to, you know, face whether to let go or not, you know, um,
12:32the, you know, the happily ever after right along distance relationship, but then after marriage,
12:37right. Is it always happy ever after what comes, you know, after marriage, you know, it's in our forties,
12:44you know, for example. So it's, it's a whole array of our lives. So I think like you need that kind
12:48of experience to be able to like weave this, these stories together. Was it difficult because it's
12:54based on your story because it's so personal, do you, how did you balance the, um, kind of staying
13:02true to your lived experience versus also crafting a story that works as a romantic comedy? I mean,
13:08were there moments where you felt like you had to kind of let go of the truth in service of the story?
13:12Oh, for sure. I mean, it's just inspired by, you know, sometimes to make them all connected,
13:18it's like, you know, got to get rid of like, here, this guy's an orphan.
13:22Okay. So you had to like unpack the drama a little bit, creative license.
13:27And then one of the, there was a storyline that's based on my sister's journey in her pregnancy.
13:33And it's actually a quite dramatic and it doesn't, sometimes we took a bold move because,
13:39you know, many people just want a clean cut rom-com. And I think like Tom Lin, who's our
13:44director, has like the visionary director to bring this together and to, um, just boldly include
13:51that, you know, as real life.
13:52So there's an element of drama involved in it, right?
13:54And then, um, after, after the premiere, I saw all my friends are like crying and then it's like,
13:59oh, this is a rom-com. Why am I crying? You know, I just feel good kind of cry.
14:03And they'll come towards me and they'll come to me and say like, okay, you know,
14:06thank you for showcasing, not showcasing, but bringing, highlighting like, yeah,
14:10what women go through in miscarriages or when they, they, because it's such a taboo topic.
14:15And I feel seen and heard, you know, many people just suffer in silence, you know, couples,
14:19they suffer in silence because of the shame or the guilt or, you know, it's hard to talk about it.
14:24And, and, um, I don't want them to feel like alone, like how I felt and how my sister felt.
14:32Like they, you're, you're not alone and people do go through this.
14:36It's a deeply personal story.
14:39Um, when you said earlier that the idea was really bridging the East and the West,
14:44and because it is a personal story and you want it to be representative of who you are,
14:49um, your identity, talk to me a little bit about, um, convincing the funders, the investors,
14:57the money people, um, to fund your story as is, that you had these two Asian protagonists,
15:04um, that this is a story that was not just worth telling, but worth backing.
15:10Two Asian protagonists, not so, not that difficult, but we have like 10 Asian protagonists.
15:15It's like a whole cast of Asian Americans and that's the first of its kind, if I'm not mistaken.
15:20And that's, that's new, you know, everything that's new, you know,
15:24there are no numbers to back it, right? There are no precedents, right?
15:27So we have to find like the, the, the, you best, you know, you match, make yourself with the best
15:33investors, you know, who would back you and believe in it.
15:35Were they understanding?
15:36Um, you know, most are not, you know, that's why we could, we had to, you know, find the right people
15:43and we finally found them and they are very, you know, supportive and they care more about
15:48the cause, um, you know, of shaping, you know, perspective and changing the landscapes of,
15:53you know, Hollywood.
15:54Oh, that's great.
15:55So, yeah. And, and we're very fortunate and blessed because of that, but definitely
16:00that's why it took so long.
16:01Yeah.
16:02Talk to me about the partnership with Tourism Malaysia.
16:04Um, what was the reason behind, you talked a little bit about that reason,
16:08about wanting to kind of showcase what, where your heritage, um, was what, what we have here
16:13in this country, but when you bring in, um, a kind of government partner, often there is
16:20a struggle to make sure that the story remains yours as opposed to theirs.
16:23How did you, how did you navigate that showcasing Malaysia beautifully, but also not letting it
16:30slip into kind of, um, travel log territory?
16:34Yes. Yes. And, and audiences are smart. They know when they're being sold something.
16:37Oh, no funny part is I didn't go to anybody and just shot it.
16:42I just shot it and, uh, I wasn't funded by, yeah.
16:46So, um, it's just purely for the love of my country and to keep it authentic where,
16:51what we did when we're dating and the beauty.
16:54So it wasn't that kind of partnership.
16:57So it was more like after they saw it and they said, hey, this is like an ad for our country.
17:03But it's not really, it's just very, it comes from a very true place and that's what audience
17:08wouldn't feel like they're sold to because I, it wasn't the intention.
17:11It was just coming from a case of truth.
17:14Isn't that wonderful that, um, it was so beautifully shot that the tourism people said,
17:20hey, this really is showcasing the country.
17:22Yes.
17:23Let's get on board.
17:24I know.
17:25It is kind of a biggest, it's an honor for sure.
17:28And that I'm, I'm acknowledged.
17:30Uh, the work is acknowledged, but it's just like, I don't know.
17:33It's just our truth, you know, it's not selling anything.
17:37Yeah.
17:37You, you talked about this authenticity, which really kind of comes across when you talk about
17:43this project, you feel so passionately about it.
17:45But because you are of such a kind of global mindset, when you were in Hollywood,
17:50is Hollywood a place of global mindsets?
17:53Are they still kind of stuck in the way doing things a certain way?
17:56Or are you seeing that change that there's a more, um, universal or inclusive perspective
18:03happening there?
18:04I feel like they are trying, but like if they don't know what they don't know,
18:10they just don't know, right?
18:11If they don't see, they don't know, right?
18:13It's like culture.
18:14They don't, you don't tell them they don't know, right?
18:17It's, um, because there's so many, we're multifaceted, right?
18:22And even like in our stories, like when they champion something, they, they, they do want to,
18:28they have the heart to, but it's about things they already know, like immigrant story,
18:33you know, it has to be like, how Asian is this Asian?
18:36Like the model majority, the model immigrants, right?
18:38Yeah.
18:38Model immigrant, model minority, um, showcasing your dumplings or taking off your shoes.
18:44Those before you go out, go into homes, right?
18:47They are trying to be respectful, but like, then they don't know beyond that, right?
18:52So does it go deeper?
18:53Right.
18:53So in this story, we just wanted Asians to play like normal people.
18:58Nothing inherently Asian about us.
19:00It's just every single day, we don't go and think about, uh, our immigrant parents,
19:06or like our identity as Asian.
19:09We're just people falling in love.
19:11We're, we, you know, we break up.
19:13We're sad.
19:13We cry.
19:14We have ambitions.
19:15We, we're not robots.
19:17Uh, we're not math genius, or, you know, we're not playing, we're not doing kung fu.
19:22Even though, you've listed so many stereotypes.
19:26It's just stereotypes.
19:26But like the funny thing is like all, someone pointed out to me that you have so many action
19:31heroes in your rom-com, you know, Sung Kang is like Fast and Furious.
19:34She's action.
19:35And then like Andrew Koji plays, you know, Bruce, like the Bruce Lee's, um, TV show.
19:41He's like main lady.
19:42And he's like, you know, now also in Street Fighter, he's like the main.
19:46So he's, you know, uh, you know, uh, Elodie Young is, uh, Elektra.
19:50You know, they're all like action, you know, stars, right?
19:55Yeah, in their own right.
19:56Lim like plays like a grieving father.
19:58He can actually break your neck, you know?
20:02He's been playing like action since he was a kid, you know?
20:04So I'm just listing a few.
20:06Like they are all like, I wanted to sort of expand the stereotyping in casting to,
20:14to show how multifaceted these actors are, you know, and just beyond what you see them
20:19and you know about our culture, that's like fight kung fu or fighting.
20:22I'm so glad you brought that up because I think for many Asian creatives, um, in the diaspora,
20:28I think there's this tension between representing the, representing the culture, the identity versus just
20:37creating.
20:38Um, and did you feel that that sense of responsibility to then represent your heritage,
20:43represent your community in your work?
20:46Or, um, I wonder whether that is a very heavy burden to carry.
20:51It really depends on the story.
20:53I wouldn't force it just, you gotta let the story and the characters lead you instead of like,
20:59kind of like, you know, preaching to the choir, you know what I'm saying?
21:03That, you know, so we don't purposely go and like insert a whole culture in it.
21:09It has to be kind of organic or authentic in a way.
21:12For example, like our long distance relationship, this is organic.
21:14Maybe we're, we would be kind of more motivated to champion a project that's inherently showcases
21:24like a beautiful place that we love or a culture that we love.
21:27But we wouldn't force it on a story, you know, that doesn't have it or doesn't need it.
21:32But sometimes Asians should just, should just be Asians, like struggling with whatever.
21:36Yes.
21:37It doesn't matter what race.
21:38Fully rounded people.
21:39Exactly.
21:40It's universal.
21:41You know, it doesn't, it has nothing to do with our Asian.
21:44Is that the future of representation that you see in film and TV?
21:48Right.
21:49For example, right now we're championing one that's a sort of a dark comedy.
21:57Yeah, it's just like a little bit of crime thriller.
21:59It could be played by anyone.
22:01It doesn't have to be inherently Asian.
22:03It doesn't say anything about a culture.
22:04It's just, well, it's played by a few Asians.
22:08Of course, that's our company mandate.
22:10But it just, they are just to be who they are or be those characters without having an Asian-ness in it.
22:17You know what I'm saying?
22:17I think that's the next, next stage where it doesn't have to be about those issues,
22:23like immigrant issues or Asian issues.
22:26It's just to be.
22:27Could I ask you what your film influences were?
22:30When you watch what's being put out there today and maybe in years past,
22:36how, what influences your way of storytelling or your vision of kind of bridging the East and the West?
22:41Can you give me an example?
22:42Of what films influence your vision of storytelling?
22:48What films?
22:50Yeah.
22:50Do you have good films?
22:53Do you have any films that have informed your senior literacy, if I may use that word?
22:59That depends.
23:00Every time I see a new good one, I'm like, yeah.
23:02It adds to the vocabulary.
23:04Never stops.
23:06So it's hard to name one.
23:07I was like, oh wow, this is so well done.
23:09Let's do this and then have the next one.
23:10Have you done The Letterboxd, four favorite films?
23:13That's a tough one, isn't it?
23:14Oh yeah, that will upset many people.
23:16I think you better get prepared for that when the film premieres and you'll get asked for your
23:22four favorite films.
23:23Maybe, but my favorite film is definitely Love Actually, before this movie,
23:27because it's like completely inspired by that.
23:30I grew up with that.
23:30It was one of my favorites.
23:32And now we have an Asian Love Actually.
23:35Do you think it aged well, Love Actually?
23:38Because there's a lot of people who say, well, that film didn't age well over the years.
23:41You think so?
23:42Yeah.
23:42And yet we have a modern one.
23:44And now we're actually, we, you know, we're on, you know, a platform in the U.S.
23:49that has a hundred million users, a hundred million active monthly users.
23:55Fantastic.
23:55Right.
23:56And our numbers are looking very good.
23:58Well, I wish you all the best.
23:59How can we look out for this film?
24:02What do we need to look out for?
24:03When does it come?
24:04So it's coming to you nationwide in Malaysia on August 7th.
24:10So really hope that, you know, this is the first of many.
24:13And if this is received well, then, you know, we'll bring more stories to this country.
24:20And that's our hope and dream for sure.
24:23Yeah.
24:23I hope to see many more pictures from you, Rachel.
24:26Thank you so much for being on the show.
24:28I appreciate your time.
24:29That's all the time we have for you on this episode of The Futures Female.
24:32I'm Melissa Idris signing off for the evening.
24:34Thank you so much for watching.
24:36Good night.
24:37Thank you so much for watching.
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