Wayne Wang (; born January 12, 1949) is a Hong Kong–American

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

, producer, and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. Considered a pioneer of Asian-American cinema, he was one of the first

Chinese-American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from m ...

filmmakers to gain a major foothold in Hollywood. His films, often independently produced, deal with issues of contemporary Asian-American culture and domestic life. His best known works include '' Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart'' (1985), '' Eat a Bowl of Tea'' (1989), the

Amy Tan Amy Ruth Tan (born on February 19, 1952) is an American author known for the novel '' The Joy Luck Club,'' which was adapted into a film of the same name, as well as other novels, short story collections, and children's books. Tan has written ...

literary adaptation '' The Joy Luck Club'' (1993), ''

Chinese Box ''Chinese Box'' is a 1997 movie directed by Wayne Wang and starring Jeremy Irons, Gong Li, Maggie Cheung and Michael Hui. The movie is set and was made at the time of Hong Kong's handover to the People's Republic of China on June 30, 199 ...

'' (1997), and ''

A Thousand Years of Good Prayers ''A Thousand Years of Good Prayers'' is a 2007 American drama film directed by Wayne Wang and starring Faye Yu, Henry O, Vida Ghahremani and Pasha D. Lychnikoff. It is adapted from the short story by Yiyun Li and shot on a high-end high-def ...

'' (2007). Other films include the

Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He first rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running association with ...

and

William Hurt William McChord Hurt (March 20, 1950 – March 13, 2022) was an American actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he received various awards including an Academy Award, BAFTA Award and Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor. ...

–starring comedy ''

Smoke Smoke is a suspension of airborne particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-product ...

'' (1995), the family film ''

Because of Winn-Dixie ''Because of Winn-Dixie'' is a 2000 children's novel written by Kate DiCamillo. It was adapted as a 2005 family film directed by Wayne Wang, produced by Walden Media and Twentieth Century Fox, and starring AnnaSophia Robb as Opal Buloni.

'' (2005), the romantic comedies ''

Maid in Manhattan ''Maid in Manhattan'' is a 2002 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Wayne Wang and based on a story by John Hughes, who is credited using a pseudonym. It stars Jennifer Lopez, Ralph Fiennes, and Natasha Richardson. In the film, a h ...

'' (2002) and '' Last Holiday'' (2006), and the controversial erotic drama ''

The Center of the World ''The Center of the World'' is a 2001 American drama film directed by Wayne Wang and shot on digital video. It stars Peter Sarsgaard as a dot-com millionaire who hires a drummer/stripper ( Molly Parker) to stay with him in Las Vegas for three ...

'' (2001). He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a

Bodil Award The Bodil Awards are the major Danish film awards given by the Danish Film Critics Association. The awards are presented annually at a ceremony in Copenhagen. Established in 1948, it is one of the oldest film awards in Europe. The awards are given ...

, a

Silver Bear The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fes ...

, two Golden Shells, with

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cer ...

, Sundance Grand Jury,

Golden Lion The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguishe ...

, and César Award nominations.

Biography

Wang was born and raised in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, and named after his father's favorite movie star,

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...

.Lim, Dennis.
Wayne Wang, Bridging Generations and Hemispheres
" ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. 12 September 2008. When he was 17, his parents arranged for him to move to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to study, to prepare for medical school. Wang, however, soon put this plan aside when his 'eyes were completely opened' by new experience, and as he turned to the arts, studying film and television at California College of Arts and Crafts in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

. After graduating from film school, Wang taught English to new immigrants in Chinatown. ''

Chan Is Missing ''Chan Is Missing'' is a 1982 American independent comedy-drama film produced and directed by Wayne Wang. The film, which is shot in black and white, is plotted as a mystery with noir undertones, and its title is a play on the Charlie Chan f ...

'' (1982), '' Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart'' (1985), and '' Eat a Bowl of Tea'' (1989) established his reputation. He is best known for '' The Joy Luck Club'' (1993), ''

'' (2002), and the independent features ''

'' (1995) and '' Anywhere but Here'' (1999). At the 2007

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

, Wang premiered two feature films, ''

'' and ''

The Princess of Nebraska ''The Princess of Nebraska'' is a 2007 film directed by Wayne Wang. It stars Li Ling and Brian Danforth. It was adapted from a story by Yiyun Li. Premise A pregnant San Francisco Chinese teenage immigrant named Sasha tells of life in America. C ...

'', as well as appearing in the

Arthur Dong Arthur Dong is an American filmmaker and author whose work centers on Asia America and anti-gay prejudice. He was raised in San Francisco, California, graduating from Galileo High School in June 1971. He received his BA in film from San Franci ...

documentary film ''Hollywood Chinese''. He won the

Golden Shell The Golden Shell ( es, Concha de Oro; eu, Urrezko Maskorra) is the highest prize given to a competing film at the San Sebastián Film Festival. It was introduced in 1957. In 1953 and 1954, the highest prize had been called the Gran Premio. In 19 ...

at the San Sebastian Film Festival in September 2007 for ''

''. In 2016, he won a

Lifetime Achievement Award Lifetime achievement awards are awarded by various organizations, to recognize contributions over the whole of a career, rather than or in addition to single contributions. Such awards, and organizations presenting them, include: A * A.C. ...

at the

San Diego Asian Film Festival The San Diego Asian Film Festival ( SDAFF) is an annual event organized by Pacific Arts Movement (formerly the San Diego Asian Film Foundation) that takes place every November in San Diego, California. Background SDAFF is the flagship event for ...

Personal life

He is married to former

Miss Hong Kong The Miss Hong Kong Pageant (), or Miss HK () for short, is an annual beauty pageant organised by local Hong Kong television station, TVB. The pageant was established in 1946, and acquired by TVB in 1973. The current Miss Hong Kong is Denice La ...

and actress

Cora Miao Cora Miao () is a Chinese actress who worked predominantly in Hong Kong cinema, Hong Kong films. During her career she was nominated for four Hong Kong Film Awards and four Golden Horse Film Festival, Golden Horse Film Festival awards, winning one ...

, and lives in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Filmography

References

External links

*
Interview with Wayne Wang October 2011
at subtitledonline.com
"New look of Asian American films / Festival opens with edgy 'Better Luck Tomorrow,' honors 'Chan Is Missing
''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Wayne 1949 births Living people American film directors of Hong Kong descent American film editors American film producers American male screenwriters Asian film producers Film directors from California California College of the Arts alumni Hong Kong emigrants to the United States Chinese emigrants to the United States Writers from New York City Writers from the San Francisco Bay Area Film directors from New York City Screenwriters from California Screenwriters from New York (state) Hong Kong people