When actor Parry Shen walked into a packed Salomon 001 Thursday night, more than one "He's so hot!" was whispered excitedly. More than one nose was hurriedly powdered. More than one set of lips was quickly glossed. And a lot more than one camera was being focused on the stage.
Shen, it seems, has arrived.
The star of the acclaimed film "Better Luck Tomorrow" addressed a crowd of more than 80 in a speech entitled "Being Asian in Hollywood: Parry Shen on Race, Gender and 'Better Luck Tomorrow,'" a keynote address for Asian American History Month. In a two-hour presentation that ran the gamut from film to social commentary to acting advice, Shen spoke of his experience as an Asian actor and how the 2002 film "Better Luck Tomorrow" changed not only his life, but also the role of Asian actors in Hollywood.
Described as a "funny-sexy-American powerhouse" by Rolling Stone, "Better Luck Tomorrow," or "BLT" to fans, was touted as shattering the stereotypes of Asians in film by portraying Asian American teenagers in roles that were formerly filled by white actors. Shen, who played one of the main characters, recalled his surprise at being offered a leading role specifically held for an Asian actor.
An independent film directed by Justin Lin that garnered enormous attention at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, "BLT" went on to become the first Asian American film to be picked up at Sundance and the first film ever to be bought by MTV Films.
Shen took the audience through an interactive acting exercise, handing out scripts that included "Asian" parts and having audience members act out the scenes.
The first series of skits illuminated the stereotypical roles designated for Asian actors, comprised mainly of delivery boys or people with extensive martial arts skills. Shen played "casting director" in each skit, offering "advice" to the "Asian" actor in each scene.
"They have to be impressed with your martial arts skills," he quipped. And for another skit, he commented on the actor's accent, saying, "He's probably new to this country."
Shen said he had been told exactly that, verbatim, in an audition several years ago.
The second series of skits, taken from movies released after "BLT" as well as from "BLT" itself, showed how newer films had chipped away at the stereotypes.
"I don't see it going back to where it used to be," Shen said about the depiction of Asians in film, going on to say that he believed "BLT" had set the bar.
Despite the success of the film, Shen readily admitted that America is still far from ridding itself of misconceptions of Asians. He recounted a story that took place in the car on the way to "BLT's" premiere, when he and other actors in the film handed a poster for the movie to the driver, telling him to see the movie when it came out in theaters. After double-checking that his English-speaking passengers were actually the Asian people on the poster, the driver asked them if the movie would have subtitles.
The first 35 minutes of the lecture were devoted to the screening of a documentary called "Better Luck Tomorrow: Genesis," which was taken by an outsider during the filming of "BLT." The filmmaker, Evan Leong, captured the essence of the film, focusing on the concepts of opportunity and the feeling of family that were pervasive on the set.
Since its modest beginnings on a $250,000 budget that Lin financed himself, the film has gone on to gross over $25 million in sales.
But Shen warned against doing things for money before happiness, saying that "BLT" was a success because it was a labor of love, not only on Lin's part, but on the actors' as well, all of whom waited six years to see a paycheck for their work on the film.
"It's easy to say what you would do, but it's what you would do when it's most inconvenient for you when it counts the most," Shen said.
"It's like that saying, 'It's the journey, not the destination,'" he said.
Shen's visit to Brown was one of many stops he has been making at universities across the country, offering an Asian perspective on the film industry - and on society in general - that many are not privy to, he said.
John Brougher '06, one of the programmers for Asian American History Month, said he thought Shen "lends an interesting insight."
"He's a big movie star, but he also had to move up through the ranks and make his way through Hollywood, and I think he can tell a lot to people, not just actors," Brougher said.
