Up in lights

Dustin Nguyen

One of Hollywood’s premiere Asian-American actors, Dustin Nguyen is popular for both his martial arts action roles and dramatic parts.

Born in 1962 in the former Saigon, he migrated to the US in 1975.

He first became known for his role in the hit TV show 21 Jump Street alongside Johnny Depp in the late 1980s.

He has also acted in other hit shows such as V.I.P and Seaquest DSV, as well as several feature films.

Nguyen achieved his greatest recognition so far after co-starring alongside Academy Award-winner Cate Blanchett in the critically acclaimed Little Fish in 2005.

The film collected five Australian Film Institute Awards and three Film Critics Awards.

He most recently starred in Justin Lin’s latest film Finishing the Game, which will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival later this year.

To Nguyen, the US, however, is not the dreamland some make it out to be.

“In the US, where people like me are in the minority, I have to be 10 times better than natives in everything I do,” he said.

“Since I began my acting career till now, I don’t have much choice. Several American actors of Asian origins don’t tell the truth when they say they are offered a lot of opportunities there.”

Nguyen returned to his homeland in recent years, because “I want to be part of our nation’s movie industry.”

He starred in last year’s blockbuster Dong Mau Anh Hung (The Rebel) in which he played his first villain.

He is currently playing the lead in Huyen Thoai Bat Tu (The Legend Is Alive), which he describes as an “amazing feature” that gives him the chance to experience a fascinating role.

In the film, directed by Luu Huynh, he plays an Agent Orange victim who deals with his pain alongside a loving mother.

Nguyen is also working on Lua Phat (Monk on Fire), his first attempt at being a writer-director.

He stars in the film, along with Johnny Tri Nguyen – Vietnam’s hottest male star and singer – and actress Ngo Thanh Van.

The film, estimated to cost US$1 million and expected to hit local cinemas in late 2009, tells the story of Buddhist monks who leave their pagodas to fight in defense of their country.

After the war ends, the monks no longer feel at peace and cannot return to their former lives, haunted by traumatic memories of the war and disturbing images of the people they killed.

So they embark on a journey to find the inner peace they once had.

Charlie Nguyen

Though he hasn’t made many films, Charlie Nguyen has proven to be a gifted director, both in Hollywood and in his home country.

Born in Saigon, he migrated to Orange County, California, in 1982 with his family, including his younger brother Johnny Tri Nguyen.

Nguyen fell in love with martial arts movies when he was in junior high school and began his career by making short action films, music videos and comedy skits.

In 1992, he started his own production company, Cinema Pictures.

His first feature was Thoi Hung Vuong 18 (18^th King Hung Vuong), a historical drama set in 900 BC.

Nguyen’s second feature, Vat Doi Sao Doi (Chances Are), was well embraced by the Vietnamese American community.

The romantic comedy focuses on a Vietnamese expatriate who journeys back to his home country to look for a wife and ends up finding love in the most unexpected places.

His most ambitious project, the action-packed martial arts film titled Dong Mau Anh Hung (The Rebel), garnered blockbuster status last year.

It also won several prizes, including the grand prize at the 2007 Los Angeles-Asia Pacific Festival and the Silver Lotus prize at the 15th Vietnam National Film Festival.

The flick stars Johnny Tri Nguyen as a Vietnamese soldier in France’s colonial army who changes sides once he meets a beautiful young revolutionary, played by singer-actress Ngo Thanh Van, who is assigned to assassinate a French official Tri Nguyen is protecting.

US cinema mogul Harvey Weinstein’s the Weinstein Company will release the DVD of the film this September.

Nguyen is now writing a sequel to the movie, working as the producer of Lua Phat.

Vincent Ngo

Over a period of many years, Vincent Ngo has established his name as a screenwriter of popular Hollywood dramas.

He wrote scripts for well-known television dramas including John Woo’s Hostage, which won the DVD Premiere Award in 2003, Tony Scott’s Beat the Devil and Blair Hayes’ Fearless.

He has specialized in writing and editing scripts for Tony Scott’s films over the past 10 years.

Ngo recently sold Tonight He Comes, which he wrote in 1996 and was praised for its brilliance by studios, for around $4 million.

The script was made into blockbuster Hancock, directed by Peter Berg and starring Will Smith, Jason Bateman and Charlize Theron.

The flick has grossed $107.3 million since its release on July 2.

The storyline revolves around a hard-living, alcoholic, underappreciated superhero (Smith) facing an existential crisis and a disillusioned fan base.

Jason Bateman plays a public relations executive who makes it his mission to revamp the superhero’s image – even as the superhero woos his wife (Theron).

The smash hit won a nomination for this year’s Golden Trailer.

Ngo said he plans to build a school in his home country with the money from selling the script.

He also wrote Lua Phat’s script together with Dustin Nguyen, one of his best friends.

Reported by Cat Khue