Actors, “The Motel”
Interviewed by Cinema AZN, courtesy of AZN Television

CAZN:  Thank you both for joining us today. I want to ask you about “The Motel.”  What is it about?

Jeffrey Chyau:  Um, ok, it’s supposedly about, sort of like, a part of a boy’s life, like more of a side character. I play the role of Ernest Chin, who is the main character of the movie.  He is basically not the main character type of person, but he is the main character of the story.  And Mike Kang, the director, kind of really shows how this person also has his own life and his own needs, but like, sort of put in the worst possible situation, which is he grows up in a sleazy motel, run by his family and like, sex is all around him, and it’s really awkward for him. 

CAZN:  Samantha, do you want to answer the question?

Samantha Futerman:  Um, it’s about, well, Ernest Chin and his life at the motel, and he goes through changes.  He meets Sung’s character, Sam Kim, and he tries to help him, but it doesn’t really work out, and he, uh…

JC:  …He gets really pissed off, heh heh.

SF:  …Yeah.  But Ernest, he realizes that he doesn’t need Sam Kim at all.  And I play his love interest, I guess (both laugh).

CAZN:  So tell me about your characters.

JC:  Um, like I said before, I’m just Ernest Chin, the really fat kid, who’s normally like, not the main character of the movie, and he doesn’t really… know much.

SF:  Christine is the girl who works at the Chinese restaurant across the street.  Ernest has a crush on me, and um (laughs), he tries, Sam Kim tries to teach him to do stuff, and he tries to do it on me and (laughs)…

JC:  …It doesn’t really work out.

SF:  No, no not really.  But, we’re friends.  We’re very good friends.  But to me he’s more of like, a younger brother type, not as much a love interest.

CAZN: Jeffrey, you seem very natural on camera.  How did you identify with your character?

JC:  Um well, I didn’t really identify with him that much, just like kinda worked out naturally, ‘cause Mike helped me a lot along the way.  He did certain things to make it seem more natural, like if I was supposed to be really tired, he’d make me jog a long time, and then start shooting so I’d be huffing and puffing.

CAZN:  Do you want to talk about the kissing scene?

JC:  No. 

(everyone laughs)

CAZN:  Maybe I should rephrase that.  Tell me about the kissing scene.

JC:  Um, the kissing scene was actually sort of my first kiss with anyone, and so Mike wanted us to practice beforehand but we both refused, and so the first time we actually did it was on camera.

CAZN:  And how was that?

JC:  It was pretty cool (laughs).  It was great.

CAZN:  What was the most difficult scene for both of you?

JC:  The kissing scene.

SF:  I think the scene when we were reading the dirty magazine.

CAZN:  Why is that?

SF:  I don’t know it was just…  it was awkward.  And I think, was that the first scene we shot?

JC:  Yeah, I think it was.

CAZN:  Jeffrey, can you tell me about the fight scene in the hotel room?  What was that like to film?

JC:  It was choreographed really well, I think.  But when I actually got hurt, that’s the scene Mike liked.  So he took like, actual violence, ‘cause Sung threw me against the wall, and it actually did hurt.

CAZN:  That’s very realistic.

JC:  Yeah, it was.  It was a lot of fun, though.

CAZN:  So how were you two chosen for these roles?

SF: I auditioned through an agent’s call.  And we went in and I read for the part and I got called back, and I remember he called a lot of kids.  And we all were just sitting in the room talking.  And then like a month went by, and I got the call that I got the job.

JC:  For me, I went to Chinese school.  And Mike called over and wanted kids around my age.  The auditioning place was right across the street from where I lived at the time.  And so I went and read a couple lines, and they picked me.

CAZN:  It was that easy?

JC:  Yeah (laughs).

CAZN:  What was it like to work with the director, Michael Kang?

SF:  It was fun, he’s like our friend.

JC:  Yeah, he really tried to like, bond with us.

SF:  He made us feel, like really comfortable.  Like we weren’t talking to an adult, or a director.  It was like, he’s just our friend.  We were just playing.

JC:  We fooled around a lot.

CAZN:  So is it true that you guys had an unconventional way of getting to know each other in preparing for your roles?

JC:  Oh, I guess sorta, yeah. When I first met Samantha here, Mike sent us to find pictures of weird people across the city. 

SF:  Yeah, we met on the first day of rehearsal. And he sent us with a camera, and we had to like get people to take pictures of us with…

JC:  …the weirdest looking people…

SF:  …yeah, yeah, in front of buildings and stuff, we went all over New York.

CAZN:  So Jeffrey, this was your first feature film, right?  And how does this experience compare to your experience in commercials?

JC:  It’s longer for sure.  And I guess it’s a lot more fun because Mike let us bond with everyone.  So we made friends more or less.

CAZN:  And what about for you, Samantha?

SF:  It was my first feature, too.  I was nervous though, because I had done mostly theatre stuff.  So it was really really different.  But it was really fun.  Yeah, we got close to everyone.  And stuff.

CAZN: How do you balance the life of a teenager and an actor?  Do you find that difficult?  Especially coming from New York.  In New York City, there’s a lot of stress being a teenager. 

SF:  I think it’s…  It’s not really hard if um, you have friends and family who can help you, like balance it out.  Because my friends understand when I have to leave for a weekend, I can’t talk to them, whatever, and they keep it real.  And also, we did this over the summer.  And it’s like, it wasn’t stressful, it wasn’t work.  It was just a lot of fun to do.

JC:  Yeah, basically all we did was hang out over the summer.  But for me, I’m not really like a fulltime actor, ‘cause I don’t look for jobs or anything.  So I’m just like a normal kid.

CAZN:  So in your case, Samantha, you’ve always wanted to be an actor.  In your case, Jeffrey, you didn’t necessarily want to be an actor. Tell me about that in terms of what you want to be and how you anticipate getting there?

SF: I started out dancing, so I got used to the stage.  And then I got into acting, and then I started to do film.  And I really, really liked it.  I love it, I can’t picture myself doing anything else. You know, it’s kinda crazy and weird but I love it.  And I just wanna, this is what I want to do.

JC:  Um, I’m more of a conservative type.  Because I know that acting, I know a couple of actors that like, they’re really stressed out over their job because they don’t have enough money and stuff.  And so, they’re really like, always weird, like stressful, and so I really don’t want to be in their position.  And so I’m thinking a more steady job would be better for me.

CAZN:  So what kind of a steady job are you looking for?

JC:  To be a doctor.  Yeah, to make a lot of money.

CAZN:   (laughs) Actors can make a lot of money! 

JC:  If you’re lucky, yeah.

CAZN:  So, Samantha, you recently finished “Memoirs of a Geisha.”  Can you tell me about your character and about that experience?

SF:  Um, I play Satu, the sister of Chio Sayeri.  It was completely different from my experience on “The Motel.”  The people you work with, like, the way the entire thing works is different.  I play the older sister.  We’re like poor, dirty and everything (laughs). 

CAZN:  And do you have any future projects that you’re looking forward to?

SF:  Not right now.  I’m concentrating on going to school in the fall.

CAZN:  And Jeffrey, how about you?  What are your future plans?

JC:  Uh, nothing at the moment.  You know, just focusing on school.

CAZN: Is there anything that I didn’t touch on that either of you would like to add? What was the most fun part about making this movie for you guys?

SF:  Everything (laughs).

JC:  Yeah (laughs).  Just about everything.

CAZN:  For Jeffrey, the kissing scene.