Paul Muni is a Jewish-Austrian-Hungarian Chinese in The Good Earth. Today it'd have been simpler. Muni would have been merely a Jewish-Ukrainian Chinese.
Hollywood Chinese, Arthur Dong's documentary about the portrayal of Chinese and Chinese-Americans in Hollywood films, will have its Los Angeles premiere at 6:45 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 7, at the AFI FEST 2007, held at the ArcLight theater complex in Hollywood.
Recently nominated for a Golden Horse Award for best documentary, Hollywood Chinese features interviews with numerous Chinese and Chinese-American talent, in addition to veterans Turhan Bey (the Austrian-born actor — of Turkish-Czech ancestry — who played Chinese in the 1944 melodrama Dragon Seed, opposite the likes of Hollywood Chinese Katharine Hepburn, Walter Huston, Agnes Moorehead, Hurd Hatfield, and Aline MacMahon) and two-time Academy Award winner Luise Rainer (the Jewish-German actress who played Chinese — and won an Oscar for doing so — in the 1937 drama The Good Earth, opposite Paul Muni).
Schedule permitting, the following are expected to be present at the Hollywood Chinese screening: filmmaker Dong, Joan Chen, Tsai Chin, James Hong, Nancy Kwan, Justin Lin, Lisa Lu, Amy Tan, Mai Lon Gittlesohn and Marcella Wong-Yasuhiro (daughters of Violet Wong, star of the 1916 film The Curse of Quon Gwon), and James Leong, Jr. (son of James B. Leong, producer/writer of the 1921 film Lotus Blossom).
The post-screening panel discussion will be moderated by Randy Haberkamp, Director of Educational Programs at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Too bad Warner Oland isn't around to discuss his experiences as Dr. Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan, or that Anna May Wong isn't around to discuss her experiences as a second-rank player in the 1920s and 1930s, a time when Caucasian actresses were invariably cast as Chinese heroines.
Tickets for this and other AFI FEST events can be bought at www.afi.com or at 866.AFI.FEST (866.234.3378).
AFI FEST 2007 – International Shorts Competition
AFI FEST 2007 – Saturday Highlights
American Film Market Public Screenings – Friday
AFI FEST 2007 – Latin Showcase
AFI FEST 2007 – American Showcase
AFI FEST 2007 – African Showcase
AFI FEST 2007 – Documentary Showcase