when I first met Bao, 3 years ago, in Shanghai, he told me that he was a ‘director’. lots of people stopped by our studios and lots of people said they did lot of interesting things – so I shrugged him off as a ‘nice guy’ and assumed his ‘movie making’ was like others claiming to be, ahem, writing a novel.

and then I looked him up.

and then I started seeing his newest film being shown at numerous festivals, winning a handful of them.

and then I saw ‘Bookie’.

and then I took Bao seriously.

you’ve made a film. it’s a good film because different people around the world are saying so. tell us about this film – in less than 10 words.

“Bookie loves nightclub waitress, but her man is his boss.” We’ve been very fortunate to have a great film festival run and a lot of positive reaction with our audiences. And now that it’s available for viewing online, BOOKIE has reached even more people around the world.

having watched this, and enjoyed it, I did see a few glimpses of a Wong Kar Wai fan in you – safe to say? any other influences?

Although I’ve seen a lot of WKW, I wasn’t thinking about him explicitly. I’m sure any movie I’ve seen has some subconscious influence one way or another, but I try to consider what the story is about and go from there, rather than try and follow after a certain style.

Our music supervisor Johnny Horn hosts a blues show on KEXP and he is THE soul/R&B expert! It was great having him on board, he basically culled his music collection and we listened through it to make final selections. He even brought the sessions players together for the band you see and hear in the film. The two singers, Bernadette Bascom and Geoffery Simmons, were great finds who brought a wealth of talent and experience to the table. I think my producer Nick and I showed an enthusiasm and passion for the film that became an incentive for all these great musicians to want to play a part.

how does one go about making a film. from the standpoint of your involvement in this. can you give us bullet-points? we’re much better with that. from idea-to-promotion…

Seven highly-effective habits for the writer/director:

Step 1) Learn story structure by reading Brian McDonald’s INVISIBLE INK.
Step 2) Write your story, then repeat this step until it’s great.
Step 3) Learn directing by reading David Mamet’s ON DIRECTING and Sidney Lumet’s MAKING MOVIES .
Step 4) Find passionate, talented collaborators who will be your awesome producer, director of photography, editor, actor, etc.
Step 5) Direct that great script.
Step 6) If you are ever stuck or hit a roadblock, fake the funk! No one will ever know until it’s too late… for them.
Step 7) Promote your movie through screenings, film festivals, and online networking. Family and friends are your marketing army, so make them march!

what’s next?

I’ve got a couple feature scripts that we are developing, one is an action fantasy called SLEEP NEVER COMES that I hope to direct as well. Follow us on our mailing list and Facebook to keep up with the latest.