Asian crime drama Dragon Boys aims for realistic depiction of race relations
Amy Carmichael
Canadian Press
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Byron Mann stars as an RCMP investigator in the CBC mini-series Dragon Boys, currently filming in and around Vancouver. (CP/HO/Katie Yu)
VANCOUVER (CP) - An edgy CBC show about Asian organized crime in British Columbia is trying to take race relations to a new level of realism on Canada's small screen.
Shooting in Vancouver, star Byron Mann says Dragon Boys goes well beyond what most TV productions deliver. "Usually, the race issue is tiptoed around very cautiously," said Mann, who plays a Chinese-Canadian RCMP detective trying to bring down a senior gang leader.
Or it's serious, painful and dramatic, he added.
In the multi-plot Dragon Boys, cops casually crack racial jokes.
"In one scene, the police superintendent gives me a pep talk," says Mann (Red Corner, Catwoman). "My Caucasian partner asks me what it's about. He says, 'So, what were you and the superintendent talking about? Trading noodle recipes?'
"I say 'No, we were trying to come up with a way to convince you guys to build us a railroad.' "
Mann says that's how people on the street, and people from different cultures who work long days with each other, actually speak.
The stories in Dragon Boys are also real, says writer Ian Weir (Edgemont).
The show, directed by Jerry Ciccoritti (Shania, Trudeau), weaves together the lives of Asian-Canadians living in B.C.'s Lower Mainland. One story focuses on a family: the son has been targeted by young criminals and his father struggles to connect with him.
Another plot involves a Cambodian woman who is an illegal immigrant, trapped working as a prostitute in a massage parlour.
Other subplots intersect these dramas, which all come together in the style of the thriller Traffic, says Mann.
Weir said CBC jumped on the project immediately, excited to see a drama driven by Asian-Canadians.
"They are here and on the street, but they're not represented on TV in the same way," he said.
Celebrated Asian star Eric Tsang, who has appeared in about 150 films, plays a crime boss, while his son Derek Tsang has also come from Hong Kong to act in the drama.
"I was absolutely blown away by the reaction from really big Asian stars who have just flown so far to do this," says Weir. "They are saying to me, this is the role I've been waiting for my whole life."
The two-part four-hour drama, which will air on CBC next September, presents Asians in lead roles very different from than the minor stereotypical characters that pepper North American TV today.
Weir, who's white, asked his Chinese-Canadian friends to help him draw the characters.
"My friend Derek said, 'I grew up in North Vancouver, I'm just as white as you are,' " Weir said.
"But as we kept talking he started remembering things. He remembered being on the bus one day and having an elderly Caucasian man sit down beside him and start speaking Cantonese, thinking Derek would be pleased.
"Derek said, 'Sorry man, I'm from North Vancouver, I don't speak Cantonese.' "
Weir dug deeper and spoke to community leaders, rode with the Richmond RCMP gang squad, and brought in Chinese-Canadian advisers.
And when the actors were hired, he let them shape the characters.
"When I first read the script, it was more generic. We've put a lot of time into making it more authentic," said Mann.
In fact, the line about the noodle recipes and the railroad came from a real cop who has been working as a consultant.
"I actually called him up . . . and said, 'What would you say in this environment,' " Mann said.
Mann isn't a household name in the white world, but he and many of the show's other stars constantly appear in Vancouver's Chinese language media outlets.
Filming in a suburban Asian mall, he was mobbed by fans.
"This, quite frankly, is a cast far above the level of anything you could expect to get on a Canadian television production. We were in this mall shooting and in the video store, there's a huge poster of Byron promoting his latest movie. Everyone in the mall wanted to talk to him," said Weir.
Dragon Boys is produced by Anchor Point Pictures with the CBC.
© The Canadian Press 2005
Canadian Press
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Byron Mann stars as an RCMP investigator in the CBC mini-series Dragon Boys, currently filming in and around Vancouver. (CP/HO/Katie Yu)
VANCOUVER (CP) - An edgy CBC show about Asian organized crime in British Columbia is trying to take race relations to a new level of realism on Canada's small screen.
Shooting in Vancouver, star Byron Mann says Dragon Boys goes well beyond what most TV productions deliver. "Usually, the race issue is tiptoed around very cautiously," said Mann, who plays a Chinese-Canadian RCMP detective trying to bring down a senior gang leader.
Or it's serious, painful and dramatic, he added.
In the multi-plot Dragon Boys, cops casually crack racial jokes.
"In one scene, the police superintendent gives me a pep talk," says Mann (Red Corner, Catwoman). "My Caucasian partner asks me what it's about. He says, 'So, what were you and the superintendent talking about? Trading noodle recipes?'
"I say 'No, we were trying to come up with a way to convince you guys to build us a railroad.' "
Mann says that's how people on the street, and people from different cultures who work long days with each other, actually speak.
The stories in Dragon Boys are also real, says writer Ian Weir (Edgemont).
The show, directed by Jerry Ciccoritti (Shania, Trudeau), weaves together the lives of Asian-Canadians living in B.C.'s Lower Mainland. One story focuses on a family: the son has been targeted by young criminals and his father struggles to connect with him.
Another plot involves a Cambodian woman who is an illegal immigrant, trapped working as a prostitute in a massage parlour.
Other subplots intersect these dramas, which all come together in the style of the thriller Traffic, says Mann.
Weir said CBC jumped on the project immediately, excited to see a drama driven by Asian-Canadians.
"They are here and on the street, but they're not represented on TV in the same way," he said.
Celebrated Asian star Eric Tsang, who has appeared in about 150 films, plays a crime boss, while his son Derek Tsang has also come from Hong Kong to act in the drama.
"I was absolutely blown away by the reaction from really big Asian stars who have just flown so far to do this," says Weir. "They are saying to me, this is the role I've been waiting for my whole life."
The two-part four-hour drama, which will air on CBC next September, presents Asians in lead roles very different from than the minor stereotypical characters that pepper North American TV today.
Weir, who's white, asked his Chinese-Canadian friends to help him draw the characters.
"My friend Derek said, 'I grew up in North Vancouver, I'm just as white as you are,' " Weir said.
"But as we kept talking he started remembering things. He remembered being on the bus one day and having an elderly Caucasian man sit down beside him and start speaking Cantonese, thinking Derek would be pleased.
"Derek said, 'Sorry man, I'm from North Vancouver, I don't speak Cantonese.' "
Weir dug deeper and spoke to community leaders, rode with the Richmond RCMP gang squad, and brought in Chinese-Canadian advisers.
And when the actors were hired, he let them shape the characters.
"When I first read the script, it was more generic. We've put a lot of time into making it more authentic," said Mann.
In fact, the line about the noodle recipes and the railroad came from a real cop who has been working as a consultant.
"I actually called him up . . . and said, 'What would you say in this environment,' " Mann said.
Mann isn't a household name in the white world, but he and many of the show's other stars constantly appear in Vancouver's Chinese language media outlets.
Filming in a suburban Asian mall, he was mobbed by fans.
"This, quite frankly, is a cast far above the level of anything you could expect to get on a Canadian television production. We were in this mall shooting and in the video store, there's a huge poster of Byron promoting his latest movie. Everyone in the mall wanted to talk to him," said Weir.
Dragon Boys is produced by Anchor Point Pictures with the CBC.
© The Canadian Press 2005
posted by wontonguru @ 11:32 AM
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