Justin Chon interview: Adoption and immigration under a microscope in 'Blue Bayou'
Writer-director Justin Chon knows that his latest film, “Blue Bayou,” will stir positive and negative conversations and he’s fine with that. He’s prepared himself for how audiences will react to his family drama since it first screened at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and he just wants people to see the movie for themselves and form their own opinion.
Fresh off the success of his previous two Sundance dramas (2017’s “Gook” and 2019’s “Ms. Purple”), “Blue Bayou” is Chon’s biggest canvas yet, tackling issues of race, adoption and immigration blended inside a New Orleans zip code. Before directing his own films, Chon also worked as an actor, most notably on the “Twilight” series, so it’s no surprise to see him as the lead in the film’s ensemble cast which includes Alicia Vikander, Emory Cohen and Vondie Curtis Hall.
Korean tattoo artist Antonio LeBlanc is the heart and soul of “Blue Bayou” and Chon makes the character his own. From the way he balances a tricky Southern accent to the stories his many tattoos tell well before he opens his mouth, LeBlanc is someone with his head down, until a dustup with ICE throws his world into chaos. Chon recently traveled to San Francisco to promote “Blue Bayou” and we spoke about the film’s creation as well as his time on the “Twilight” sets. This is a transcription of that conversation.
Q: Your promotional tour of “Blue Bayou” started in Cannes earlier this year. What was your experience screening the film there?
Justin Chon: When I saw the film in Cannes, I started watching the beginning with some of the cute moments, and nobody was laughing. I slowly started sinking in my seat and thinking I made a shitty movie. Because in Cannes, those audiences can be quite tough. They don’t care, they’ll start booing you, a lot of people will walk out. But with us, that was not the case.
Q: Well, you didn’t make a shitty movie.
Chon: (laughs) Thank you.
Q: Your character is the anchor of this movie and I like the look of him and how he carries himself. A lot of that has to do with his voice and accent. I noticed you worked with a dialect coach, how extensive was that collaboration?
Chon: To be honest, I’m not that great at accents. I’m horrible at impressions. But with a Southern accent, if you do it wrong, it feels really corny. So I really took the time and modeled the voice after three specific people to make it very real. Me and the dialect coach really put the work in and it took time. We had to consider socio-economic status, the region. There were a number of factors to consider.
Q: What makes your job as a director easier when you’re on set?
Chon: Naturalism, realism. I don’t like when I feel like the actors are acting. It’s a huge turnoff when I feel that people are performing. I want them to just be present. I want them to be honest with whatever circumstances they’re dealing with. Rather than dramatizing or heightening the situation, I just want it to be what it is. I find myself saying a lot of the time to just do less. I know that’s vague and not the best directing note but that’s what’s important to me.
Q: Since you’re dealing with trained actors and newcomers in “Blue Bayou,” how easy or difficult was it to bring that realism to set?
Chon: It’s mostly a lot of forethought and preparation but when you’re in the moment it’s seamless because you’re prepared and the actors know what to expect. You’re not springing any surprises on them.
Q: You’re obviously dealing with very real subjects in this movie involving immigration and adoption. How intensive was your research process in developing the script?
Chon: In the writing process I had adoptee consultants reading every draft of the script. They told me that having your own kid is one of the biggest moments in an adoptees life and that can be quite emotional, so that ended up in the film. This film obviously can’t be the all-encompassing experience for adoptees but I spoke with an immigration lawyer to make sure the legality and the process was accurate. Of course you have to take some liberties because it’s a film and there’s story structure, but one of the notes I got was that the ending could not be watered down, because that’s not what they go through.
Q: It’s interesting you bring up the film’s ending, because without giving too much away, you have your central characters switching motivations literally from one minute to the next. How hard was it to keep that balance going in the editing room and not push things too far to alienate your audience?
Chon: That’s one of the big complaints about my film, that tonally it shifts a lot. Unfortunately, that’s what I like. I admittedly do that because I like that. As a viewer, I want to see something new and fresh and unexpected. But yes, that ending can feel like the “race to the airport” scene and the “goodbye scene” that every romantic comedy has. The Trojan horse of it all is how do I present something that is familiar yet different. The challenge is how do you defy expectations and that was the biggest challenge in the scriptwriting phase. It was definitely difficult but in the end you’ve got to take the risk and you’ve got to take the swing. You’ve got to be open to fail otherwise you’re going to make something that’s not as effective. I don’t think you want to make something that’s 80% revolutionary because some people aren’t ready for it. That ending scene is just 10% different and that’s all we need. That’s what I go to the movies for.
Q: As an actor, what kinds of things did you pick up while working on studio movies that you were able to bring to your directorial films?
Chon: Being an actor has really helped because I’ve seen how certain directors handle their sets. In terms of management it’s literally people dealing with people but the technical aspect is not that much harder. It’s all storytelling when it comes down to it.
Q: On this particular press tour, how many times have you been asked about “Twilight?”
Chon: (laughs) You know what, you’re the first one today but overall not that much and that’s ok. That’s welcomed. But it’s a blessing to be asked about “Twilight” because that’s a part of my life and my experience as an actor. It’s how people know me, it’s probably the biggest thing I’ve done.
Q: So that’s the thing you get recognized for the most?
Chon: Yeah and that’s ok. People might think that anybody who’s involved with it might think of the films negatively but it afforded me a lot of things in my career. It also helped me decide what’s important in my life. The beautiful thing about that film was that I was in the periphery. I wasn’t part of the main group, so I got to see how it changed Rob, Kristen and Taylor’s lives, for better and for worse. What I realized is that being famous and being rich is not something that is interesting to me. What’s interesting to me is being a part of this industry that can serve my community and give a platform to others.
Q: What was the moment on the “Twilight” sets where you realized things had changed into something completely different?
Chon: Very easily. After the first film exploded into what it was, on the second film when we were walking to set, they had people standing with umbrellas opened up to block helicopters from shooting us and what everyone was wearing. You’re thinking, what the fuck is going on. They probably don’t want me talking about this but also seeing a producer slam a vitamin water on the table and the director saying, “can we not have fucking bright orange in the shot?”
Q: Product placement.
Chon: (laughs) Yeah, they were paying for part of the movie. I’ve always thought that “Twilight” was the equivalent of “Star Wars” for girls. There’s nothing we can do, that’s just the way fanfare is. That’s what drives the industry and brings people to theaters, it’s all good.
“Blue Bayou” is now playing in theaters. Photography by Marco Cerritos.
