Director
Quentin Lee
"The People I've Slept With"
By Troy Maillis
The
2nd Annual Fort Lauderdale Gay and Lesbian Film Festival at
The Manor in
Fort Lauderdalehas a fantastic cinematic line-up
planned for October 7-10. Mark Magazine caught up with Quentin
Lee, director of “The People I’ve Slept With” to talk about the
film and its effect on audiences. You can watch the film on
Friday, October 8th at 8 p.m.
MARK: Can you talk about “The People I've Slept With” in your
own words, and why you decided to take on this project?
QUENTIN: The project dated back to one fateful night in 2006
when I was kicking with actress Karin Anna Cheung. We talked
about doing something together and laughed about some of our
crazy dates. And I thought, “What about a romantic comedy with a
strong female protagonist and a gay best friend?” Both Karin and
I wanted to make a gay positive movie. We enlisted writer Koji
Steven Sakai and my producing partner Stanley Yung and off we
started developing the script. So I was pretty much involved
from ground up. You've received rave reviews for not only the
film, but also the cast.
What was it like working with such a talented cast? Did any of
the actors stand out?
It was very easy and a lot of fun. Particularly because it was a
low budget indie film, we worked like a large family, a crazy
family of actors and film lovers. Although we faced the
challenges of not having enough money, like having to shoot on a
set built in a warehouse at the heat of the summer with no air
conditioning, we all pulled through with a diverse cast from
veterans like James Shigeta and Wilson Cruz to the hilarious
scene-stealing Randall Park (Nice But Boring Guy) and Chris
Zylka (Mr. Hottie).
What are you hoping the audience takes away from watching the
film? What type of audience do you think will identify most with
the film?
We want the audience to walk away thinking about leading a more
open life and being more tolerant to others after having a fun
time watching the movie. As ‘People’ is considered my most
"accessible" film, I feel female and gay audience will identify
most with the film.
Do you think there is still a stigma attached to women who are
promiscuous compared to their male counterparts? If so, why?
Of course. The world is still incredibly sexist, racist and
homophobic. Nevertheless, America is one of the most equal
societies in the world where we can talk freely and make movies
about the issues we face.
Are you working on any new projects and what can we expect from
you in the future? Will you be at next year's Fort Lauderdale
Gay & Lesbian Film Festival? I am working on several projects
including a gaythemed serial killer thriller called “After Me,
Disaster,” a teen drama called “The White Frog,”and a horror
feature.
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