098. The Wedding Banquet (2025): Interview with Director Andrew Ahn

Director Andrew Ahn is back for a three-peat with his new film The Wedding Banquet, a re-imagining of Ang Lee’s 1993 classic. We chat with Ahn about his updates to the original to capture the new nuances of queer lives today, get behind the scenes tidbits of his time working with his incredible AAvengers cast, and see how the original and his remake have shaped him on a personal level. The Wedding Banquet is currently premiering in the United States, get tickets in the cinema! Get married at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.comTimestamps:00:00:00 Intro00:02:13 Film Synopsis00:03:00 General Reactions (spoiler-free)00:05:42 Spoiler warning (for both films)00:06:21 Interview begins00:12:45 Reimagining The Wedding Banquet00:13:38 Ahn's first encounter with the original00:15:19 Adapting with James Schamus00:17:14 Ahn's updates to the original00:23:05 Stylistic shifts00:26:13 New concerns for an evolving queer audience00:27:48 The films’ endings00:33:07 New families00:34:06 The original being more subversive00:36:00 Watching Ahn's version before Ang's00:36:54 Connection between Ahn's features00:38:40 Giving actors their due00:41:29 Casting the ensemble00:46:32 Good acting vs most acting00:48:54 Directing a scene00:52:01 Editing00:53:41 Modern gay rom coms00:55:28 Landscape and location00:58:44 Coincidences01:01:49 Has Ang Lee seen the remake?01:03:19 Eat Drink Man Woman Sidebar01:05:36 Cinematography01:08:34 Favorite moment on set01:11:23 Artmaking as personal diary01:15:36 The artwork in the film01:16:19 Directing Youn Yuh-jung01:18:09 Good filmmaking01:19:58 Wrap-up