Meet the Filmmaker: George Huey Talks Prostitution and Report Cards

A typical day at home for young Ernest Chin would be anything but normal for the rest of us. Down the hall from the 13 year old’s bedroom, hookers get down to business. Beggars barge up the stairs. Then there’s his stern Chinese mother, who’s more judgmental of her son’s every test score than her guests’ biggest transgressions, literally handing those shady strangers keys to the front door.

The Motel tells the story of a traditional immigrant family renting out rooms to their sleazy New York neighbours. It’s a unique glimpse of immigrant life through second-generation teenage eyes and has garnered nominations for the Independent Spirit Award and the Humanities Prize at Sundance. Watch the film and meet one of the producers, George Huey, at The Culture Yard on Friday, but in the meantime, pull up a chair as we chat with Mr. Huey himself.

The producer (who also contributed to the screenplay) is between films right now, working as a sports consultant in Beijing. But he hasn’t abandoned show business, penning fresh scripts and hosting events like this weekend’s screening of the breakthrough film. Here he answers more of our questions:

This setting in the film, is it based on reality?

We scouted over 100 motels in the New York area , and almost all of them were run by South East Asians. The one we chose was busted for prostitution a year before we shot there. It had low income families getting kicked out while we were shooting.

[So ... yes. -Ed.]

Because The Motel was the first film you worked on, did you feel ill equipped? Or did having an immigrant background prepare you to help tell this story?

My life mimics Ernest’s a bit. Growing up, it was just me and my strict Chinese mom. She was college educated as opposed to Ernest’s mother, but she was also obsessed with academics, professionalism, and not happiness necessarily. So I feel for Ernest, my life was more stable than his, but the pressure and expectations were similar.

Was it difficult to develop the film’s mother character? How does her traditional Chinese views clash with her sleazy motel clientele?

She’s just trying to provide for her family. Even though it’s not the best place, she’s doing the best she can.

What’s one of the best scenes in the movie that captures those pressures, and how does it remind you of the pressures you faced growing up?

One of the best parts of the movie is when Ernest wins an honorable mention in a writing contest, and his mother says, “Why are you excited? Honorable mention means not good enough to win, not good enough to lose.”
That’s not just a Chinese value; many immigrant parents are like that. They dream of providing their children with the best opportunities to become dentists and doctors – successes. They’re not so excited when their kids are artsy instead of studious. I grew up with Jamaican and Hispanic friends, and we all knew that 95 percent [on a test] wasn’t good enough, because, “What happened to the other five points?”

Are you going to capture those kinds of details in the next film you work on?

I’m dying to tell redemption stories, movies with characters that overcome self-created problems. Right now I’m working on my own script … it’s very rough. It’s about why expats come to China – what are they running away from, or what are they running to? It’s my story, your story, your readers’ story. But I’m only in the outlining process of the script, because my own redemption story is still in progress.

Have a stay at The Motel and catch a Q&A with the producer Friday, Dec 16. Reservations required: email contact@cultureyard.net or workshop@cultureyard.net, or call 8404 4166. RMB 60. 8pm. Culture Yard