REBEL ALLIANCE : Just in time for Dustin Nguyen.
Our release of the Vietnamese actioner The Rebel should finally put paid to the description of actor Dustin Nguyen as “that guy from 21 Jump Street”. Not that Dustin is ashamed of his association with the undercover cop show that gave the world Johnny Depp. It was a groundbreaking role for an Asian-American lead, and led to a career in which Nguyen (pronounced ‘Win’) has been a constant presence on both the big and small screen.
I first met Dustin in the lobby of LA’s Le Merigot hotel, at last year’s American Film Market. I was introduced by a mutual friend, writer David Tadman, with whom Dustin has a jewellery company, Imperial Rose Collections. (You can find out more about it on My Space.)
When I told him about Dragon Dynasty, Dustin mentioned that he had just shot a Vietnamese period film featuring martial arts action. At the time, Vietnam wasn’t known as a territory that made genre films, and I was slightly skeptical. Regardless, I screened the film, and was blown away both by The Rebel, and Dustin’s performance in it. The film also features sterling work by Johnny Nguyen (who you can see menacing Tony Jaa in our film The Protector) and newcomer Veronica Ngo.
I initially pursued the film through Vietnamese –American entrepreneur Tran ‘Wyn’ Nguyen. (Yes, his name is pronounced ‘Tran Win Win’, and, no, his mother wasn’t a cheerleader.)I was delighted that, thanks mainly to the efforts of my colleague Barry Gordon, we could eventually do a deal to acquire the film, which makes a fantastic addition to our growing Dragon Dynasty library.
As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I ran into Dustin again in Thailand, where the film screened as opening movie at the Bangkok Film Festival. The Rebel was warmly received by both audience and critics, and I also had the pleasure of getting to know Dustin better. Of course, I had seen him in his various film (Rapid Fire) and TV (Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, VIP, Highlander) appearances, but these roles only offer a small glimpse of Nguyen’s potential as an actor. This has been a great year for him, as he showed his acting and action skills in a genre film like The Rebel, and his dramatic skills in the indie Little Fish, in which he stars opposite Cate Blanchett. The story of how he came to be cast, against all odds, in the latter is a trenchant tale of the challenges facing Asian Pacific actors in Hollywood. Rebel was the biggest local hit in Vietnam, and Little Fish the biggest in Australia. Not bad going for “that guy from 21 Jump Street’!
I ran into Dustin yet again in Beijing, where he is shooting a low-budget horror movie. I got to introduce him to Christy Chung, and now (with Maggie Q) I’m proud to be friends with at least 2-and-a-half Vietnamese actors.
Dustin and I discussed bonus features for the Rebel DVD. Dustin and director Charlie Nguyen will be recording a commentary track (along with as many other cast members as we can summon), and we hope to get access to some of the film’s deleted scenes.
Johnny Nguyen, who started his career as a martial arts stunt performer, choreographed the action scenes for The Rebel, and is definitely a rising talent in the field. (His earlier credits include stunt work on the first two Spiderman films and a supporting role in Jet Li’s Cradle 2 The Grave.) I was amazed that, given the paucity of local action product, Vietnam boasted such a depth of talent among its stuntmen. They really get to show their stuff in this film, and I believe this film will put their country on the action movie map, just as Ong Bak did Thailand.
The Rebel cleverly juxtaposes Johnny’s more acrobatic style with the Vietnamese version of ‘iron robe boxing’ practiced by Dustin’s character, Sy. ‘Iron robe’ is a form of chi kung breath training that supposedly makes the practitioner impervious to blows from fist or blade. (It’s the specialty of Wong Fei-hung’s nemesis in Once Upon A Time In China.) A sequence was shot showing Dustin’s Sy performing the Vietnamese black magic ritual that develops this skill. We’ll move heaven and earth to get that, and the film’s other deleted scenes, on the disc.
(Incidentally, none of the many Nguyens involved in The Rebel are directly related. This surname is used in honour of a legendary Vietnamese king.)
Dustin mentioned to me that his tormented Rebel character seems to have struck a chord with young filmgoers in his native land, and there are now several Vietnamese web forums devoted to Sy. The film-makers are now working on a follow-up feature, but it’s a yet unclear whether this will be a prequel, a sequel or (Godfather II style) both!
Comments
- a fan of dragon dynasty, New York City | 2007-09-10 19:49:00
- Mark R., Toronto, ontario | 2007-09-06 14:27:45
- tpmmy trimble, los angeles | 2007-09-17 10:38:58