Asian American Film: Features

The Quest for Length - Interview with Gene Rhee

04.15 - Posted by Editor

Roger Fan in "Quest"	"The Quest for Length" Interview by Joan Huang

4.15.02 - Gene Rhee's digital short film, "The Quest for Length," made an impression on audiences and critics alike at its debut at the Sundance Film Festival a few months ago. Critics called it "vivid," "a surprise hit," and "damn funny," and TV film critic Richard Roeper called one if its stars, Roger Fan, "the bravest actor in history." Why? Well, the film basically looks at the quest of one "average" guy in a relationship who wants to get a penis enlargement, though he has an adoring beautiful girlfriend who is perfectly happy. Roger Fan not only takes on the role in investigating the different options a guy could choose from with real doctors and "experts," but puts himself literally out there when talking to strangers on the street and now on the big screen. At the root of the comedy is the commentary of how much we define ourselves and each other physically and the insecurities of people in a culture that is increasingly focused on sexuality. Watching the film with the added layer of knowing that the Asian American male has infamously absent or asexual on the big screen, "The Quest for Length" goes a long way to emphasize that it's not the size of the budget of your film, but what's inside that counts. -- Joan Huang

AAF For people who haven't seen the film yet, how do you describe "The Quest For Length" without giving everything away?

GR "The Quest For Length" is a comedy about one man's burning desire to increase the size of his penis. It explores deep-rooted insecurities in both men and women, but in a fun, light-hearted way. Some of the issues the film addresses include: Does size really matter? Why are men AND women today so fixated with the size of their body parts, and what does this say about our society? And finally, what can men really do to increase their size? We started out just wanting to make an entertaining film, but the deeper we delved into it, the more social commentary we found.

Links

"The Quest For Length" Official Site

AAF   How did you ever get everything on camera that you did, like the doctors and the candid reactions of people? Did shooting on DV help?

GR   Shooting on DV was huge. We couldn't have made this film any other way. Our entire crew from beginning to end consisted of just myself and my good friend, Roger Fan, who was the lead actor in the film. We basically had no budget so we borrowed a DV camera, and because we couldn't afford a sound man, I simply taped various microphones to the camera and shot guerilla-style. I shot hand-held for pretty much the entire film. We then edited the picture on a standard Macintosh computer. Only DV allowed us to do it so cheaply. A few Sundance officials suggested that our film may have cost less than any film in the festival's history. In terms of capturing all our footage, going DV was crucial because it allowed us to shoot on the fly. Some of the doctors and common pedestrians we visit in the film would only give us a few minutes of their time, so we had to shoot quickly. If we had shot on film, the set-up time would've taken 10 times as long.

AAF   "Quest" was paired with "Devil's Playground," a feature documentary at Sundance... Were there people who thought "Quest" was a documentary? What were the reactions from the audience?

GR   It's funny you mention that. About a week after receiving our acceptance from Sundance, I got a phone call from the head of the festival's short films program asking me if I had seen the film "Better Luck Tomorrow." I told him I had, a bit perplexed by his inquiry. See, he had just seen Roger in a "BLT" screening and until that moment didn't know that Roger was an actor. He then asked me if "Quest" was really a documentary? So I told him the truth, that both Roger and the person who played his girlfriend (Bree Turner) were both professional actors and that although the facts in "Quest" were real, it wasn't a pure documentary -- it was more a docu-comedy. My mind raced at that moment, wondering if he might revoke our acceptance into the festival. So I asked him, "Is this a problem?" He paused for a beat, saying it wasn't, and then he said he was actually more impressed with us now because we fooled him so convincingly. As far as audience reaction goes, I think some of them thought it was a pure doc, and some knew otherwise. But in the end, I don't think they cared because they were laughing so hard. The reaction to our film exceeded our expectations at every screening. One of the most famous movie critics in America wrote that our film garnered the most enthusiastic response of any film at the festival. Who knows if that was really true, but it was certainly nice of him to say.

AAF   So did Roger know what he was getting himself into when you guys were shooting the film?

GR   Roger knew what to expect because we planned out the story and the structure of the film together long before we shot a single frame. Having said that, when it actually came time to shoot certain scenes, there were moments where we'd look at each other like, what the hell were we thinking??? I think the beauty of our film is that we tackle a risque subject in a very playful, innocent way. At the same time though, we go places where few have gone before. In the end, I gotta hand it to Roger for having the balls to do some of the things that this film required. Very few men out there (asian or otherwise) would be willing to go so far.

AAF   Did you have fun at Sundance?

GR   I had a great time. The screenings, parties and press junkets were interesting, but what I really enjoyed was the general love for movies at the festival. I've never seen so many people so hellbent on seeing so many films. I was constantly surprised by how many people would stick around after a movie ended for the Q&A sessions with filmmakers, even if the film wasn't very good. Also, I think the Asian American presence at Sundance this year was stronger than ever before, and since I knew a lot of the other Asian American actors and filmmakers, it made it a lot more fun.

AAF   What's your background? How did you get into filmmaking?

GR   Well, believe it or not, I actually got my undergraduate degree in business from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. I hated number-crunching so when I graduated I went to work for an advertising agency and helped create ads for Nike and Honda. After a while, I grew tired of peddling shoes and cars so I went to U.S.C. film school and got my M.F.A. From there, I worked briefly at 20th Century Fox and Paramount Pictures as a studio exec before realizing I wanted to pursue filmmaking full-time. I started writing and eventually set up projects at places like DreamWorks SKG, the Fox Family Channel and Hallmark Entertainment as a screenwriter and producer.

AAF   What's next for you? Rumor has it you have a great feature film script, and that you’re starting to look for funding.

GR   Yeah, I have this passion project called "Forsaken Seoul" that I want to direct later this year. The script is a two-time Nicholl Fellowship Finalist, one of the highest honors bestowed on an unproduced screenplay by the same organization that runs the Academy Awards. It's a dark, character-driven thriller with very smart action and a jarring twist a la "The Usual Suspects" or "The Sixth Sense." It's also gotten some glowing notices from some major Hollywood players. The thing is, I really want to shoot this film with an all-Asian cast, but most mainstream financiers say they'll only fund it if I make the main characters Caucasian. And that sorta defeats the purpose of what I'm trying to do. People who've read the script tell me it could be groundbreaking in many ways because we haven't seen Asian-Americans in a film like this, especially this genre. I thought about going super low-budget and maybe shooting it digitally like my Sundance short, but this is such a stylistic, noirish piece that to do it justice, I really need to shoot it in on film with a legitimate budget. It's a bit frustrating but I certainly haven't given up. I have to say, though it was great seeing Asian-American films have such a strong presence at Sundance this year, I think overall we still have a long way to go.

AAF   Thanks Gene! So for the readers out there who want to see "The Quest for Length," is it screening in any more festivals?

GR   After Sundance, the film screened at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival and will also screen at the VC Film Fest in Los Angeles (May 16-23). In truth, since Sundance, we haven't really been submitting to many other U.S. festivals, but if we do, I'll certainly let you know. Thanks for your time.

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Posted by: tony on March 30, 2004 08:07 PM

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