'This is just reality': 'Expats' creator Lulu Wang reflects on her mother's review on series' success
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: ‘Expats’ series creator Lulu Wang gets candid while talking about her Amazon Prime miniseries.
The Chinese-born-American filmmaker talked about her mother’s reaction to its success and her "confusion."
"They didn't know why Hollywood was giving me money to tell the story. They felt like, 'Well, this is just reality. It's not a story. It's not entertainment. It's not interesting,'" Wang recalled.
The 41-year-old also reflected that her parents are not so concerned about ‘identity.’
"First of all, they're like, 'Well, are you able to pay rent? Well, that's good.' They just wanted to know that you're being paid for your work.,"
Lulu Wang's mother enjoyed 'Expats' series
No surprise, Wang’s mother loved her daughter’s latest project, "She doesn't talk to me so much about like, 'Wow, this is the first time this is being shown or that's being shown,'" she told People.
"I'm not sure if they feel the same sense of pride around representation, because I guess also because they're more Chinese than the hyphenate," she stated.
"So they've never really felt a lack of representation in terms of their own lives because there are a lot of Chinese movies," 'The Farewell' filmmaker explained.
'Expats' series is based on Janice YK Lee's 2016 novel
The ‘Expats’ is inspired by author Janice YK Lee's 2016 novel ‘The Expatriates’, which is set in Hong Kong in 2014.
The story "centers on three American women whose lives intersect after a sudden family tragedy," per a plot synopsis.
The series features Nicole Kidman, Ji-young Yoo, Sarayu Blue, Brian Tee, and Jack Huston in lead roles.
Previously, Wang discussed her filmmaking style with Vulture, "I’m never going to make something where it’s like, ‘Here’s a good person, here’s a bad person, and this is how you’re supposed to feel about them.’”
She shared how 'Expats' series turned into a reality, “When Nicole Kidman brought me the book, I saw this rich tapestry of a world of women of all different backgrounds,” Wang recalled.
“I saw it as an opportunity to expand. I am an expat when I travel to Hong Kong and Asia. But I’m also an immigrant from Asia. And I really wanted to look at the intersection of all these different identities of people who are searching for home, which is not just a physical place,” she added.
