You were born in Las Vegas. Is that correct? That's correct and raised in Hawaii correct What was your childhood like did you grow up watching a lot of television? Like is that something like did your parents encourage that? I don't know they encouraged it and more so like that was kind of their version of babysitting You know that they would kind of just like put you in front of the TV and and that was it But I love TV. I loved all kinds cartoons, you know sitcoms everything And I read Professional wrestling as well. I was a huge professional wrestling fan My uncle got us into it and my parents are both born in Iran. So we love the iron chic Which I don't know if anyone knows who that is. He's a villain. He's a villain, but he was a hero in our house So I'm chic was a venue and what did your parents think of you being watching professional wrestling where they cool with that? I mean, I think that they were so enamored by the chic's presence that they were fine with it You know, so as one is you know, you can't I don't know if you've checked out his Twitter, but it's he's a genius. I Was interested to find out that You wrote and you wrote humor editorials in high school How did you is was that your first taste of writing comedy and why'd you start doing that? I? Think it was I don't remember why I started. I feel like I was assigned it was like in a like I was in yearbook or something and Somehow the school paper was like, why don't you just write editorials, you know Like whatever you want could be funny and you know, whatever. So yeah, that was my first taste of writing comedy I like, you know, I blew the lid off of prom and stuff like that, you know different Different typical high school things, but I remember really loving the way that it worked in terms of writing where it was less immediate than Performing or stand up or something like that where like someone can read what you've written in their own space in their own time And sort of is like a time-release thing where then they would come up to you later and be like, hey I really like that thing you wrote. I thought it was funny, you know So I remember really liking that. Did you know in high school that you want to get involved in a show business? Not really. I mean, I I always loved movies. I always love TV. I Applied to USC and I didn't know what I wanted to major in so I just picked something that sounded cool So I picked international relations because I was like I like traveling. I don't you know, I don't know I don't know what it is You know, but I went to in Hawaii, you know You don't have a lot of my parents and have any money So we couldn't really tour campuses. So a lot of schools will come there and do like seminars and stuff So I went to the USC seminar one weekend and I was flipping through brochure and I saw the School of Cinema Television And I read about it. I was like, this is what I want to do not international relations So then I talked to the you know admittance people and they were like, it's very hard to get into good luck So, yeah, hard sell hard sell. Yeah, they were like don't get your hopes up kid Like whatever we had I think it was two weeks until the deadline for the film school So I just say that don't get your hopes up. No, but it was inferred the guy I could tell he was like, you know looking past me already to like see what was for lunch, you know on the menu board You should you should get back in touch with them now. I should find out who that was. That's it. That's it I was also interested to find out that you interned at National Lampoon in college. Yes, absolutely I don't think a lot of people know that about you. No, I'm surprised.   Like what you know, are you do you feel like you're writing humor at that point for for essentially a white audience? Like what were you thinking? Are you thinking in those terms at that point? You're not really thinking in those terms, but that is the audience that all those places were targeting, you know So you're really thinking about how do I impress these people so they'll hire me, you know to write for them So, you know for a long time. I think in comedy like the gatekeepers were, you know straight white dudes Really so you have to kind of be a chameleon a little bit and kind of learn what they liked and what they didn't like Until you got the chance to write for yourself or in your own voice Or you know, you would write in your own voice But it would always kind of be under the the Trojan horse style of like what they were doing, you know And what did your parents think of you pursuing this career? I think that they didn't quite Understand it, you know as a career like they obviously knew what writers were but they felt like it was like novelists, you know They weren't angry. They weren't angry. No, they were happy. I was going to college for sure I mean that really, you know, that sold them but You know, they there was really no plan B for me because You know, I I went to undergraduate film school for four years. So it wasn't like I had Something to fall back on so it was sort of fingers crossed. I'm after you graduate college You started with I think it was animation. That was your kind of your first, you know, I think you did pepper and that's right That was the first job I had And for me, I was also shocked to find out you I think you wrote an episode of recess Which that's right. Yeah, which for me was like, oh well this person's legit Yes, recess, of course How did getting involved in animation coming right coming right as your first start your career? How did that shape your future? For me animation was like grad school in in a lot of ways because you know, I was Pretty new out of college. It was my very first job and I learned how television work from the beginning to the end So from being in all those, you know, development meetings to getting a writer's room together to Production to editing scoring mixing everything like that. It really taught me a lot You know, we did 65 episodes. So Pepper and pepper and yeah, exactly and it just taught me how to kind of see things, you know Far in the future sort of like three steps ahead and kind of thing was working in animation Fun like we did you have fun doing that? Like what was what was your fun?  Definitely only person of color in the in the writer's room. I believe that that is accurate. Yeah I don't think there was I can't remember any other people and did you think about that while you're in the room Did that ever weigh on you in any way?  It was challenging. Yeah, definitely. I think but as a writer, you know, and I'm sure you have this too It's like depending on who you're writing for You can adjust your style, but it is more of like a It's not something you feel on a visceral level like the stuff I did later even the stuff I did with pepper Ann You know, it's something that's more learned and more cerebral I think than from the heart Um With fresh off the boat What drew you to to that project? What was the what was the reason you were like? Well, this should be a television show well, I had just done a show for ABC that got canceled called don't trust the bitch in apartment 23 and That was a bunch of thank you and so I knew that I Was mourning the death of that I didn't want to do something that was in that space which is sort of a you know women in New York Kind of adult humor So I was interested in the family sitcom as a genre just because I hadn't done that You know my version of that and then I read the memoir fresh off the boat memoir by Eddie Wong And it was his whole life I think up until the age of 30 or whenever and there was a couple chapters in there about when his family moved to Orlando So his dad could open the Western theme steakhouse and in the 90s, and I was like that's it like that's the TV show like you just take take that section and I pitched it to 20th. I was like this is what I think the show should be and I related to it very much, you know, because You know, my parents were not born here either. So I really related to that kind of late first-generation idea of kind of being that bridge between the outside world And the inside world, you know, like explaining stuff to your parents and explaining Stuff about your parents to your friends You know, like when they would come over I would explain to them what all our foods were and like the different sort of customs and You know why my grandmother when she was praying had to like cover up the mirrors and stuff like that And then I would have to explain to my mom like why I needed the new Jordans like the new Air Jordans And she didn't understand. She was like you have sneakers. I was like no, but that's not it's not sneakers You know what I mean? So like that's specific thing where she was like, I don't understand this Did you have to did it take a lot of convincing for it for the higher-ups to sign out sign on? Not know the thing that took a little bit of convincing was they they wanted to set it in present day They were like, why do we need to keep this in the mid 90s? So that was the only thing I had to sort of justify it to them And what what what reason did you give? Well, I told them that I I think that because of the idea of that This family is moving to like a white suburb where they don't know anybody they feel isolated It would change it to me if you could just go online and kind of find like-minded people It makes you feel less alone, and I think that you know, I like the idea that they had to exist Where they were, you know, you had to make it work with like the kids in your school and the kids in your block Otherwise, you know, it's a rough. It's a rough go for you. So they I sold it through that What were your rules that you told yourself that the show would be and what it wouldn't be? Well, I mean for me it was always about entertaining, you know, we had to the fact that the Green Litter show was big for ABC at the time, you know They're they've talked a lot about how there hadn't been an Asian-American family on network TV even 20 years Since Margaret show had her show that got canceled and I think 94 So we knew that we needed to connect with audiences on an entertain entertainment level, you know Like on modern families level, but what was very important to me was that we center This family, you know and tell these stories because we're not again that the family sitcom has been around forever But I thought that you could sort of be a little bit quietly Revolutionary in the way you chose to tell those stories So for example, you know, you tell first day of school stories But you haven't sort of told it through this lens Through this family's experience. So that to me was the thing that we always have to keep in the forefront of our minds as like What is their experience here? Like how do they, you know, see the world? How does the world see them and a lot of it too also came from from my experience with my own family of like explaining white culture to them a little bit like there is a thing where You know, you have to explain NASCAR like you sound like You sound like a crazy person if you try to explain NASCAR to someone who doesn't know what that is, right?  It's like, yeah It's kind of funny to me that your parents like took to pro wrestling.  That's fine NASCAR. Wait, what NASCAR is what without the iron chic I don't know that they would have that was their wedge into that was our access point It's one of the say hey, we're gonna we're gonna tell the story. We're gonna tell an authentic Asian story It's another thing to actually do it In terms assembling the writers room. What were you looking for out of your writers? Well first, you know, I had to like their writing so I had to like their sample then when I set meetings with them all it was about their experiences growing up as a version like what was their Version of feeling like an outsider, you know, because this family is moving to this neighborhood that is foreign to them and You know, that's what I really wanted to hook into it's like how do you feel and that can mean anything?  Is there a story you can tell us about a writer who particularly strike you with some sort of outside or a story? Well, there was a writer's name Sanjay Shaw he was Indian American his dad ran a Burger King in Sacramento and The stories about that, you know, we're incredible. I was like stop talking. You're hired, you know, like that's it Um Was it given given that at that point writers rooms were very white? In many cases very male Was it difficult for you to find the writers as in did you have to expand the networks with which you were tapping into?  Like, hey, no no shame You have a white friend. I have a couple white friends. Yeah, my best friends You know and it's not about not thinking that they could do the job It's about providing opportunities for other writers and making that a priority Um Honestly, you know Eddie Very famously wasn't thrilled with the way that the show turned out. I don't want to rehash that however Looking back on it because you're now transitioning out of the show because you have Approximately a billion projects to that you're about to commence on looking back on it Is there anything in those early days that you wish you did differently? Honestly, no, like I really When we got our green light, we were a mid-season show So we had 13 episodes that first season and like I said, there was no dad Nobody knew if it was gonna work. Nobody knew if anyone was gonna watch So in my mind when I assembled that first writers room I said like we've got a chance to make like 13 jewels, you know, because I don't know if we're gonna get to make more So let's if we have to stop at the end of this 13 Let's make sure that it that we left it all out on the dance floor, you know what I mean? Like we didn't check our swing on anything So I really felt good about the stories we were telling and if we had ended I would have felt good about it But thankfully, you know, we kept on going because people were into it. They wanted to see it Let's talk about the film. The film was called always be my maybe Let's go to the beginning. How did you get involved with the project? Well, you know, I obviously knew Randall from the show he plays the dad and Allie Wong was a part of that first writers room that I assembled That was before baby Cobra and everything like that. I You know knew her stand up. I seen bits of it on YouTube and I remember calling her manager I was like, hey, does Ali have any writing samples? They were like, sure. We'll send you a script So she they sent me a script. I was reading it and then like page nine It stops and so I call the manager. I was like, hey, there's something wrong with the PDF like there's only nine pages and Manager was like, no, that's it. That's the only that so she wrote like a nine page script I think like the day before I don't know when she wrote it I'm sure her manager was like, do you need a script and she probably just like banged something out in Google Docs So anyway, I just thought that was really funny and I was like, I have to sit down with her So hired her and that's how Ali and I we worked together for two years on the show so that's when she was working on baby Cobra at night, you know after the writers room broke and So that hit I knew both of them and they were like, hey will you come aboard as a consultant help us with the story and I said absolutely and then Things just lined up I was supposed to direct another movie that wound up not going and my schedule was cleared and they said How would you like to direct this and I was? Like absolutely, you know jumped at the chance. I think you had directed at least a couple episodes of yeah shot But I think maybe two or three.  All right Was there a big was there a learning curve going from showrunner to a feature? There is sections of it that is a big learning curve but honestly, there's a lot that translates between Being a showrunner in television is very similar to being a feature film director because it's all about creating a world like a world building You know creating a tone introducing people to characters you know Modulating jokes and performances everything like that. So there was a lot that was a crossing over. What's the difference? I if there is one Primarily the difference is the length right you have an hour and 40 minutes to introduce people You know get them invested and then make it satisfying make them laugh Whereas TV it's it's long form, you know, you we've got hopefully knock on with the ideas like seven seasons So that the time was different but you know and also honestly the rhythms of the scenes are different because Network sitcom is a very specific structure Whereas movies things can breathe a little more the the scenes can live, you know longer shorter and in a different rhythm What was the day like on set and then and what I mean by that is you know Ali and Randall wrote the film and they're also starring it and are there scenes where You know they stop and say hey that is not what we wrote or that's not how we picture this scene What was what was that like? Well, I mean I threatened to recast them quite a bit, so I was like you guys don't want to do it. I got ten people here that no just kidding. We never just joking No, no, it was never like that because we all are friends first, you know So it was like imagine making something that you love and care about with your friends. So it was rather not I Don't know about your friends, but no, but it was it was very collaborative. It was very generous like those guys are Extremely generous. There's no ego involved. They were willing to try everything Whatever they if they wanted to try another take we would always do another take if I wanted to try another take we would do another take and You know, we just wanted to make sure we we got it. We got it all was there any improv or was it all all You know mapped out to a tee No, there was definitely improv we we got it as scripted where we were happy with it What I like to do and I've done on my TV shows that I did on this movie is I do Alt sides so I have alt Pre-written alt jokes for the scenes. They're in the actors trailers in the morning. So the actors know Oh, we've got these alt areas the production the crew knows And that I've found Opens things up. So you're not a as a writer You're not killing yourself to craft the perfect joke on the page You know the one joke you're like, I hope this works and Conversely, you're not praying for improv to strike gold because sometimes it doesn't you know, so it allows you That kind of middle ground and it also opens up things up for like people to play and contribute and it's a good I like it as a director when you're when you're doing a scene and there is improv involved Is that a little difficult because you don't have control over everything that's happening? Well, I mean, you know when possible as much as possible. I like to cross shoot to Ensure that we get it, you know So it is not like if I have both cameras running and they're both on you and we improv this hilarious bit And I'm super funny, but it's not I'm the my back is a camera So then I have to come around and try to recreate it That's death that that never works because it's like, oh, it's not as funny as it was that first time That's the whole thing about improv is the spot, you know the spontaneity of it. So You know to prepare for it We allowed ourselves, you know the best chance of getting all that stuff the first time So that's particularly interesting to me about the film is the importance of food I mean you have one main character who is a restaurateur several plot points happen Who you know sometimes food is a source of conflict sometimes food is used to You know show culture and show was that a deliberate choice? Is that something you you went out of your way to kind of hit home more? I think you know when Allie and Randall Wrote in the script that she was a successful restaurateur like the thing that we really liked about that is it it provided a Way to be creative in this sort of structured business world for Allie's character But also because the two characters have known each other since childhood So much is wrapped up like for me food is very much about memories and about you know shared experiences Well, it's like, you know, I think everybody can relate to whatever Something from your past some dish that you had growing up that was your favorite that maybe only you know An ant of yours makes every time you over there There's something that's like if you smell it or taste it you're instantly transported back to a certain time in your life It can be nostalgic It can be comforting and I think in terms of storytelling That's an element that we're dealing with here in terms of the narrative structure So I appreciated that for that point, you know also another interesting thing that the film does which is which is Remarkable is that Sasha is not the only bread is not and not only the breadwinner But really in another league professionally from from the rest of the cast and so it's good One movie I reminded me of is a sweet home Alabama And her personality is really bold and daring compared to Marcus who is kind of stray You know afraid to take risks kind of guy Did you approach the film with any thoughts about how you wanted to emphasize or de-emphasize these contrasts? I Think for us it was very important that yes, they're two completely different people But we wanted them to feel like people that you actually know Especially well honestly both of them because I think for Randall's character You know, we've seen the sort of guy who still lives at home or whatever and he's kind of like a clown almost like he's like Like a loser or whatever, but that's not the case like I we all know people who Live at home because they can't afford to move out, but they're successful like he's great at what he does He's got a successful music career But he's not ambitious in the way that she is, you know He's satisfied with less than she's satisfied with and that's no one's right or wrong in that scenario Just Sasha see that as a flaw in your eyes. I think she does it's a certain point in the movie She doesn't understand like you're so talented. You're so good. Don't you want more and he's like no I'm satisfied and that idea of being satisfied to somebody like Sasha Who is very ambitious who wants to keep going and is driven by the way she grew up It doesn't quite compute for her, you know, do you relate to Sasha? I do relate to Sasha. Yeah, definitely because but that's why for the Sasha character Like we wanted you know myself Ali Wong like we're both career women. We have had success and what we do It's okay to show more than one emotion at a time right like you can be Driven and also vulnerable and you can be ambitious and insecure And not know what you want and know what you want, you know in certain aspects of your life So we tried to paint her with as many sort of levels as we could there's a pretty amazing cameo in the film You're in for a trick. No kidding. Just kidding Sorry, sorry How did how did how did you get counter eaves to be in the film? I mean we You know, we wrote Wrote the part with him in mind as our dream He was you wrote the part with him in mind Yes sent it to his agent and that's the thing where it's like you probably will probably never hear back and Then we heard back from his agent that he wanted to sit down and meet that he read it and he liked it So he sat down with Ali and myself and we talked through the role He had a lot of funny ideas. He totally got the joke It's something that I was really impressed with was that I think when you get to like a certain star level like I thought he would just read his part, but he read the whole movie So he understood how his his role affected the bigger story And I really appreciated that thoughtfulness, you know because we could talk about it on kind of a bigger level not just you know The whatever many pages he's in the in the script for what was it as a first-time feature filmmaker What was it like to direct him?  What was it like to you know for someone who hadn't done feature before? What was it like to work with them for those four days? Well, first I came in with a lot of notes on John Wick I was like I was like, here's how I would do it.  He knows everything about cameras He knows where the coverage is, you know, we had him for a limited amount of time So I had an extra camera that day. I Told him feel free to improv whatever you do. I'm gonna get it. So don't wait till we turn around We don't have to worry about that And it was it was delightful. He had jokes. He wanted to try I mentioned the alt sides We had written some alt jokes for him and he came in he was like I read the alt jokes Do you mind if we try a couple more alts that I have I was like sure Absolutely, so he had a couple pitches that actually made it into the movie. They were very funny But yeah, it was it was delightful Being a director obviously as you know has for years been a Like many things notoriously white and a very male space now That's changing a little bit with avid DuVernay and you know some of these names How do you think a film changes with a woman of color in the chair? You know, it's hard to say because like I never I can only look at things through my eyes, right? Like I have no idea how a white dude would direct something, you know, like I I don't know if they would pay attention to the same things I do if they would choose the same shots I do if they'd be dialed into the performances in the in a way that I am, you know I just know what I bring and I'm very grateful to have had this opportunity to show that, you know All we all we need is more chances, right? All you need is people to be like, yes, you know Let's open the door wider. Let's let more people in Your first generation your parents emigrated from Iran you grew up in Hawaii You must have stories of your own. Have you thought about putting your own life in on screen in some way? I mean, you know, I definitely have put myself into everything that I've done But I haven't done like a straight-up me thing Like my own not a movie in a notch for the movie. Yeah, we'll be here next year talking about that No, I have not done that. I think at some point maybe, you know It's hard. It's hard to sort of Figure out how you want to tell your own story, you know what I mean, like or maybe other Iranian stories for an Iranian Definitely, definitely. Yes, for sure. I would love to do that. Okay, so we are going to take a couple quets Although I'm not clear. How are we doing the question? Oh, we have a microphone. Okay, so if you have any questions I will call on you and then someone will hand you a microphone and then we'll go from there I'm gonna go right here in the front row Thank you, Nachka. I'm so looking forward to seeing the movie soon and you know, I guess in the pre-crazy rich Asians world We were all Certainly angry about having one-note stereotypes for Asian characters Asian male characters especially and so it sounds like I mean It's kind of uncomfortably close. I mean because Randall's character is kind of this awkward guy, but I assume you break it up with ways to make him relatable and Sexy and interesting and attractive. So maybe could you talk about how you thought about that and how you played that out? Yeah, absolutely. I think Randall Park to me is one of the most talented actors I mean, he's been in a lot of things TVs movies TV shows movies, but We haven't seen him as a leading man in the way that he is in this movie He is all those things that you just said like, you know, he's in a band So he wraps in this movie and he's so good and People are like Randall. Do you want to like really start a band like release a rap album? He's like, no, no, it's like he's so talented that he could easily do that, you know So that was a big thing for us. We wanted to show that part of him and also He's sexy like he is he's a snack on the streets out here You know like he in this movie and we wanted to show it You know, we didn't want to sort of like, you know have them hook up or whatever and then do that You know pan over to the curtains blowing or what? You know, I mean, you know, we wanted to show it and We want to let him be sexy and let him sort of step into that role And I'm excited for people to see him that way because I think that a lot more opportunities are gonna open up for him All right next question We're gonna go right back there straight up Thank you so much for making this film in San Francisco particularly Because both Ali and Randall are from here. Let's say how did you decide to use the location? How did you structure what your schedule would be? We have famously unpredictable weather lighting all those things I also would just I'm glad you brought up the weather because we shot here last summer in July and I I wasn't ready, you know It it was crazy I've never been colder But no, you know Ali is from the Bay Area So it was very important to us to show San Francisco in a different way you know not just the sort of the postcard version but for example they the childhood homes we shot in the Richmond district and You know, it's beautiful. It's real. That's where they would have lived You know, I was very excited to be able to do that here because I know it can be challenging We shot in the farmers market. That's just right here like two days a week Which was great and we didn't have complete control of the crowd. We had some but not all Which I also love so in the movie. Did that stress you out as a filmmaker? At first I didn't know what to expect. I was like, are we gonna be able to is everybody gonna be looking at our cameras? Nobody cared about us. They They were trying to get the best deal on radishes, you know And so in the movie you'll see a take where Ali comes out to greet Randall and she's sort of jostled by these women who are not extras. Those are women We're going for the cucumbers, you know, like they They didn't care they didn't see Ali Wong. They didn't see the camera And I loved it, you know, it was really really great and there were moments like that all throughout our experiences shooting here So I really loved it Sir, I'm sorry.  I apologize So in fresh, you hear me? Cool. So in fresh off the boat Why did you decide to make the characters Chinese instead of Taiwanese like they are in the book? They're Taiwanese Chinese and I remember the episode where they talk about like make making sure they remember their Chinese heritage I didn't remember seeing that many episodes about like Taiwan. Well, we shot the premiere in Taiwan the season completely wrong Oh, yeah. Yeah. No, we went to Taipei and shot the season three premiere out there Because Randall's brother was getting married So it was really important to us to be out there to shoot and you know, all those amazing locations the Grand Hotel Yeah, I don't know if you guys saw that episode, but it was really fun Who's question we look that we have one in the front row. I'm sorry to keep doing this to you We have a The first-ever pinch runner Feeling left out over there. How did you go about choosing the Richmond district to film it? Cuz that's my neighborhood. I was born there raised there.  Yeah Sorry, what was your question? I missed it. How did you choose the Richmond district to film? Well, that's where Ali is from, you know, Ali grew up in that neighborhood. So There's a when you guys watch them. You haven't seen the movie. Have you? No. So when you see the movie, there's a I needed the side-by-side houses, so I was looking for a Very specific street and Ali sent me reference photos. She's like, this is what I wanted to be I wanted to be around the Richmond area. So that's where we scouted and We looked for a lot of different places. We We had we identified a few couple of people didn't want us to shoot in their houses We got sometimes we got one side to say yes one side said no we needed both sides You know, so it was a little bit tricky, but then we found the perfect the perfect spot. So And we had to shoot there at magic hour We wanted to get the light as you know with the weather. You never know is it gonna be super foggy And we got very lucky when we shot out there that night So I'm excited for you to see it. What other little obstacles did you come across while shooting that you didn't anticipate? Well, the definitely Like I said, the weather was it was a thing that we didn't anticipate When we shot a scene that wound up being very shortened in the movies So but initially it's a alien Randall's characters as kids sitting on a bench Talking about what they want to do when they grow up and it was completely foggy that night And so they were you know looking out over the bridge and the fog horn was going off like every ten seconds So I couldn't get I couldn't get a clean Dialogue run so like our sound guy was like I'm gonna kill myself like I can't I'm gonna jump into the ocean And I was like, okay, let's just so we had to reset every ten seconds So the in these kids were pros. So it was like they would get as far as they could fog horn We'd pause and I'd be like, okay. Keep going It was it was insane and it was so wet like our script pages were breaking apart, you know I was like, I think we got it. But yeah, are you coming back to San Francisco ever again after this? I mean no one told me about July, but I'll come in I'll come later. I'll come in October or whenever it's sunny Yeah, I think we have a question over here Thank you Um, I actually have two questions The first one is when you first started after you graduated from college Was this your ultimate goal to be a showrunner and a director or did you just kind of take it next step next step next step? I definitely took it next step because You know, there's no way to know how it's gonna it like for me I think I was one of the few writers who never wanted to direct It was never a thing for me. It was just I wanted to you know, get paid to write Which is what I love to do and then once you kind of feel comfortable at that level You're like, okay, no one's gonna kick me out of you know, like that I can make a living at this then you start to Feel more comfortable writing in your own voice and telling the stories that you want to hear And then you decide that the best way to get those stories to get the words on the page onto the screen Is to do it yourself Because you know exactly or at least for me I see it in my head, you know, so working with Allian Randall It's like going through the script with them It's like I saw it in my head and I knew exactly what they wanted to convey And so, you know, it was definitely every step of the way kind of thing. That's really cool Sorry, thank you. My second question is I thought I heard that you're transitioning out of being a showrunner for fresh off the boat And what's your plans and why? Yes. Yes, so I started a new well I will start on June 1st a new TV overall deal at Universal So I'm excited about that fresh off the boat. Thank you. Thank you And Fresh off the boat is produced by 20th. So when we got picked up for season six You know, which I'm thrilled about so that show is gonna keep but I'm leaving that studio So I'm trying to get everybody up and running and put the people in place and then you know, have them keep telling those stories But at this point we've done a hundred and one episodes Which is crazy. Yes. Thank you So, yeah, I'm excited. I want to go over here if I think you have a question No, I found a dead zone Who hi, who are you reading now? reading Like yeah, you know, who's inspired what writers interest you what books who are you reading? Oh my gosh Well, where are you getting inspiration? It could be from other sources, too I'm a big fan of theater. So I like to go see a lot of theater I'm reading a book right now called who put this song on Which is a young adult novel Which is which I really appreciate this 17 year old girl who's struggling with depression sets every chapter to a song So that is a very well-written very internal, but beautiful story I Love, you know, I'm a big fan of TV. Luckily still it's not like, you know Killing Eve. I just watched the finale of not gonna give anything away But it's amazing I You know, I watched the first four episodes. So I'm you know, kind of almost at the halfway point I think it's interesting. I mean, I saw I knew the end of the pilot was coming But I was interested the way that they told that story, you know, and I love those two actresses Would you want to write a play? Is this something that you'd ever want to try? Yeah, I mean, I think it would be really challenging to write a play and I would What would be different than what, you know, writing a TV script or a feature film? Like what would be the what would be like the challenge or different now? Well, I mean, it would be much more contained, you know, like storytelling wise and I think I cut to the moon And you can't cut to the moon you can't do any of those kind of Those tricks to break it up, but I mean the way theater has evolved. I think that there is a lot more room Then you know, it doesn't have to be our town, you know what I mean It doesn't have to be like everybody on the stage at once it can be, you know, a variety of different storytelling Options, but yeah, I think it would be cool to do that Sir The green green plaid Right there on the about fourth row back there Growing up you said you enjoyed watching television What were some of the seminal things for you that you watched growing up that? Formed or you thought was just great storytelling that you enjoyed or helped form kind of where you took your career See You know, I mean as a kid I loved Laverne and Shirley. I really did. I you know, I was like Just imagining I was like I want to work in a beer factory one day You know like it would be amazing to just be so free Live with your roommate. Did you tell your parents that? No, I mean, I don't know They barely let me stay up to watch that show You know as a kid, I loved that show. I really loved moonlighting. I remember the The banter, you know was pretty amazing I liked I'm trying to think if there's any like I Mean those those were kind of my favorite and then of course like all that, you know The sitcoms of the of the era like family ties and things like that But Seinfeld to me blew my mind I think as an adult when you realize that like the storytelling doesn't have to be what it's always been You know, you they sort of broke the the medium a little bit with the way that they You know told stories in non-linear fashion and tiny scenes But yeah, those are some of them Right there in the middle striped shirt Who's I'm sorry to whom? Oh Sure, of course. Hi. Who's your favorite character in Seinfeld? I mean, I got to say Elaine, you know Have you seen a lot of the Seinfeld episodes? Have you seen the one where they go to that wedding in India? And they tell the story backwards, so it starts with the end credits And it starts with the tag and then you go all the way back and it ends with the cold open That to me is one of if anybody has you know a half hour to kill Watch that episode of Seinfeld and just you know if you're stoned it will help, but you don't you don't have to be not you Not you not you I was like hey, we're in San Francisco. Hey Not you's not you Just I mean an adult Well that took a turn In the back over there As you embark on this next chapter with Universal do you feel the weight Being one of the first women of color to break through like this like this weight of paving the way Or are you just trying to do you like what do you do? Like I mean I've heard Eva Durené and Mindy Kaling talk about this Like what is it like for you to be in that position? I mean for me I feel Excited, you know, I feel excited at the opportunity That I have so like there can be more Stories, you know that I'm interested in telling that who knows if other people would open the door to that sort of thing You know so for me I look at it as like a huge opportunity I'm excited that people have entrusted me with enough, you know Goodwill or whatever they they believe in the things that I believe in That they want to see more of it because they know that I'm not gonna give them Kind of the typical fare that maybe they've gotten before in the past, you know They want to be in business with me and with the other people that you mentioned because of what we bring because of that Specificity in that point of view and the more we do it and the more we show that we can have success Movies like this shows like fresh The more chances other people are gonna get you know because there's so many more stories to tell It's just a matter of getting that chance Over here in the front In the midst of the WGA and ATA kerfuffle. I've been encouraged to see writers really lifting each other up and trying to not sort of give anything back in terms of the inclusion Strides, albeit a small we have made And I'm curious on the other side of it in the terms of given that you're sort of in front of media suits What you wish you could never hear again out of a development execs mouth as it pertains to that side of things As it pertains to the WGA no no as it pertains to inclusion and storytelling I Think for sure the question that I I never I hope that I never hear again is Do you think people will watch?  That was a one thing I didn't think of yeah, I hope I never hear that question again for sure As have you gotten that a lot in your definitely definitely me's and stuff. Yeah, I mean, you know in the development process like you know Different studios different, you know different executives like do you think people will and you know, I think they're genuinely asking but But I hope that's a question. I never hear again I want to end on this question Which is you've already obviously done a lot of barrier-breaking yourself As a woman of color with fresh off the boat and now with all this might maybe what do you think is the Next barrier that needs to be broken in Hollywood. I mean I would think that It's also new, you know that I think you just keep Allowing people who haven't had the opportunity to tell their stories And so I think that when things are a success like I said the more will come So I think the total and Allian Randall and I have talked about this recently The when we get to a place where we're not like sort of counting on our one hand the amount of Shows that are you know created by people of color or movies that are directed by people of color or Starring people of color that'll be true parody, you know when when A movie or a TV show can come out and fail and it doesn't mean the whole genre is a failure You know what I mean white movies fail all the time So it's like when when you can be allowed to try and not have it work and everything's okay That's something that I think is gonna be a place where it's like, okay We're now we're out here and in a meaningful more equal way And are the floodgates open now for that or do you see your movie Crazerizations fresh off the boat. Are they still at this point in Hollywood still aberrations? I Wouldn't say aberrations, but I would say that it's the beginnings, you know, it's the beginnings of People understanding I mean even even going so far as like Black Panther, you know what I mean Wonder Woman I mean shows or movies that Captain Marvel Captain Marvel, you know even Mindy Kaling's movie coming out late night like The more that in every genre superhero drama Comedy that you can kind of change what people have thought like the long-standing industry traditions or whatever or beliefs and Show that there are other things out here and other ways to go about these telling these stories. I think all the better Well, thank you so much for being here today. Thank you guys for having me such a pleasure. Thank you so much Thank you


Thank you for joining us as we kick off Small Business Week. We're so happy to have you and we're so happy about the activities that the City of Columbia is going to be doing this week. I'm going to turn it over now to the Mayor. Thank you. Good afternoon. Welcome. What a beautiful day. Excited here to be joined by the Chamber, our city center partnership, our small businesses to celebrate Small Business Week. As you know, we've adopted the open for business slogan. And that means we're open for investments. We're open for ideas and we're open for innovation. But what we really want to do is support all of our small businesses throughout our community. Doesn't matter what corner you're in, we want to make it easy for you to make an investment and to start your dream. And to be quite honest, since January, we've had 384 small businesses apply for small business licenses in Columbia. So there's a lot going on in every category that you could think of from professional services to hospitality to consulting to small retail. So we're really excited about what's going on here in Columbia. And obviously, we have our economic development office, our Office of Business Opportunity all here to help us take all the opportunities that we have available, bundling them up and helping you start your business. So we're really excited about that opportunity. And as we know, we have to start off our day with proclaiming Small Business Week 2022. We have a proclamation that we'll present. We'll present this to Melissa and to Matt and Carl and Scott Middleton, who's here today. This is a proclamation declaring this Small Business Week in Columbia, South Carolina. So we encourage everyone today and the rest of the week to spend time supporting our small businesses and continuing to allow them to grow and prosper here in our community. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you. So people come on from all over to build small businesses in Columbia. And we're so excited about that. As you know, small business and what's great about South Carolina is a Palmetto State. We have more women-owned businesses than any. We're in the top five of women-owned businesses in the country. So I'm proud to be in the top five. And we have, obviously, more women-owned businesses in Columbia growing every day. We've witnessed that on Two Knotts Road. We've witnessed that on Greystone. We've witnessed that on Colonial Life. And of course, on Main Street just the other day as we celebrated Uncle Willie's opening. As a small business owner, I have been through the difficulties. I understand what it takes and the risk. And we're always the last ones to get paid and the first ones through the door. But there's a thrill and excitement of being an entrepreneur and how that grows in the role model that you show. So every time we have a business opening here in Columbia, we're excited about it because it shows folks there are opportunities here. And we're going to continue to take the hurdles out of the way to make it simple and easy for you to chase your dreams in Columbia, South Carolina. With that, I'd like to turn it over to Carl Blackstone. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And on behalf of the chamber, we appreciate you very much. You recognize in Small Business Week, and this is one of the highlights every year, to really, I mean, we spend a lot of time talking with small business owners around this community. And the fact that we get to recognize them the first week of May is important. South Carolina is special in the sense that we have over 445,000 small businesses across the state. 99% of South Carolina businesses are small businesses. Now, it's the lifeblood of our community. It's the backbone. And we've talked about that for a long time. But it's important that we recognize them. It's important that we value them and spend time, money, with these small businesses in this community. And so as we look to continue to grow, as the mayor said, and we're thrilled that we're open for business, South Carolina, small businesses, we've seen an increase of over 30% over the last two decades. That's the largest increase anywhere in the country. So South Carolina is a great place to do business. Columbia is a fantastic place to work, live, and play. And so we celebrate with the mayor, with our friends here, to recognize small businesses. And please go out and support them this week. Thanks. Thank you. Turn it over to Matt. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Mayor and Carl, for all the great work you do for this community. And what a beautiful day it is on Main Street. Main Street, Columbia, really is the best of Main Street America. It's very exciting to see the small businesses that are able to start small and grow and thrive and prosper in our community, largely because of some of the comments the mayor made about how the city is there to support them and to help them with their growth. The last couple of years have been tough. It's been a rough patch for some of our small business. But the resilience and the flexibility of our merchants has been incredible. Scott Middleton is here with us today. And I think he's going to say a couple of words after I do. But Scott and his companies are just a great example of how you can thrive and change and be flexible. You know, if going left doesn't work, you go right. And they do something else. And they do it so well. And that's just an example of what we've seen in Columbia in the past few years. We did have a few businesses closed over the past couple of years. But we actually had more open than closed. And that's just wonderful. And we're very proud of that. So I just wanted to recognize the small businesses today. And thank you for making our community and our Main Street what it is. Thank you very much. This year, the city will recognize five local businesses during the small business week. And obviously, the first one we want to recognize in local businessman, Scott Middleton. Scott, please join me. Scott only has an investment. We're going to rename the 1600 block, the Middleton block. As you look around, we have the main course. We have the Grand. We have Smoked. We have, I'm drawing a blank. Good Life Cafe. Good Life Cafe. There's so many businesses over here, along with my physician's office, which is right down here. You haven't been there, revived. But also, their corporate offices are all here located. They have made an investment. But what's great about that investment is they've done it mainly through food and music, my two favorite things in the world. As my grandmother said, between food at the table, you can talk about any issue with anybody because people are happy when their stomach's full. And Scott has had a found a way to bring everybody together. This is a great example of how our community is a whole. Diversity all the way across. The board comes here into our 1600 block and takes advantage of the great entertainment opportunities and dining opportunities that are here. And with that, Scott, we wanted to give you a proclamation today for the main course. And y'all have to excuse me. I gotta hold it out here because I want my glasses. But the main course was established in 2020 and is known for providing popular culinary favorites and exclusive family fun for all ages.  Scott Middleton, the owner of the main course is an innovative entrepreneur that has greatly contributed to the restoration and vibrant architectural and entrepreneurial spirit of the city. And I think that's a very important part. The entrepreneurial and architectural preservation and experiences because that's what you see on Main Street. A mix of not only old buildings, but new investment. And that's what we're looking through across our city. So with that, I wanted to recognize the main course is our 2022 small business spotlight honoree and congratulate you on your continued success. Thank you much. And I'd be reminisced before I let Scott take the podium if we didn't go ahead and talk to about, it's not just investment downtown that Scott and their family are doing. They're working on a brewery in North Main in an old historic warehouse, stone manufacturing, the place that made the first boxers with elastic band just so I do know my history there. Which was incredible, but they're making a tremendous investment there that not only gonna provide jobs, but entertainment, but allowing us to grow our city down the Main Street corridor into North Main and really bringing a boost to the economy in that area. Scott? Well, thank you. Thank you, I appreciate this so much. You know, and even though we have a lot of businesses, they're all very small businesses and all very local and are run local by each and every one. But I will say that as a small business owner, the one thing that I have always learned is that you have to be able to move very quickly based on what's going on in the marketplace and what's going on in the city. So when we came down in 2014 and renovated this building standing behind us, it was actually corporate offices. It was office complex and we brought in a small restaurant, Michael's Cafe and Catering, that struggled quite a bit because there was just nothing else on this block and we knew that in order for that restaurant to be successful and to have what we would, we'd have to continue to renovate across the way. But we've gone from having a pharmacy and a small cafe in here to having two beautiful stages for live music that take place almost every single day and the Players Club on the third and fourth floor of the building where we actually play golf almost every single day I'm up there with somebody and we're doing virtual golf right here in downtown Main Street. So just say we appreciate the creativity of all the small businesses, get out there, you work hard, you live hard and I think you've got a successful life. And so I just wanna thank the city, the chamber, but also city center partnership for all that they've done to be able to encourage the small businesses here and to support us and to help us to continue to grow. So thanks Daniel, we appreciate it much. The other business that we're highlighting during our 2020 Small Business Week celebration on Thursday, May 5th will be Ms. Karen of Karen's Kitchen and Catering. If you haven't had Ms. Karen's food, hold on, give her a call, I'm telling you, you'll wanna know how do I get home and take a nap because it's so good. Mr. Dionne from Seven Sunday Live, who has, what a great individual that I've learned to get to know over these months and I know he does a lot of production here at the main course, but he's been doing projects with the city and very innovative production gentlemen who, his ideas are incredible and I think you're gonna see a lot of great things coming from him. Lance Brown, here we are, Rhino Medical, a company that came in in the middle of the pandemic, found a need and has created national attention, was one of the few places that you actually could go find a home test and had it available to the general public if they wanted one or 20 with no limits and really has made a big difference and we thank you Lance for his continued investment in our community. And Mr. Landry Phillips of the Regal Lounge, these are five outstanding businesses that define Columbia and we need to continue to support them so don't hold back, take this week, there are hundreds, thousands of small businesses in our community, pick up the phone, make a reservation, call them for their services, get their accounting services, go get a massage, pick up lunch, have an opportunity to really engage with the small business in our community and let's make this the most successful week that any of these businesses have seen. And with that, I will hand it over to Ms. Lindler to wrap us up. Thank you, sir. Thank you. And I'm just gonna close it out. Thank you again for coming. There are still opportunities for everyone to enjoy. Small Business Week, as the mayor said, make sure you shop local, go out to eat. Some of us probably do that more than we shop but enjoy our local businesses. They're here, they're thriving. We have our Small Business Week celebration on Thursday at the Medallion Center. It starts at 11 o'clock and it's not too late to register. You can go to our website at www.obo.citycolumbiasc.gov. Sorry, obo.columbiasc.gov. And you can also call us at<PHONE_NUMBER> if you want to register and we'll register you. So thank you so much. Have a great day.