'Expats' Director Lulu Wang on the Power of Saying “No”…and Sound

Let’s say you’re an indie filmmaker and Nicole Kidman asks you to direct her tv show. You say “hell yeah” right? Well, that wasn’t Lulu Wang’s first response when she was approached to direct the Amazon Prime limited series, Expats.

In today’s episode, No Film School’s GG Hawkins, speaks with Director Lulu Wang to discuss:

Why Lulu originally rejected Nicole Kidman’s proposal to direct the show

How she protected her creative vision in a high production, studio project

Exploring and dissecting privilege throughout the show

Where they always start when planning each episode

Changing the visual language in each episode

Episode 5 - It premiered as a standalone film at TIFF

The different perspectives represented in the writer’s room

The benefits to shooting on location

Recording real life sounds while location scouting

Starting a production company to support other filmmakers

Why emerging filmmakers shouldn’t follow industry trends

Memorable Quotes

“I initially said no. I passed on it, because it just felt so typical Hollywood.” [3:35]

“Beauty is very subjective. It has to function within the context of the story.” [7:47]

“The context through which you meet someone, colors the way that you see them.” [12:04]

“I always see it as such a blessing if someone tells me that I’m wrong, or that I can do things better.” [14:06]

“If you follow the trend, you’re always going to be a step behind.” [27:56]

Mentioned:

Follow Lulu on IG

EXPATS

The Farewell 

Find No Film School everywhere:

On the Web

https://nofilmschool.com/

Facebook 

https://www.facebook.com/nofilmschool

Twitter 

https://twitter.com/nofilmschool

YouTube 

https://www.youtube.com/user/nofilmschool

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/nofilmschool

Send us an email with questions or feedback: [email protected]!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices