Exclusive Interview
Director Andrew Ahn Reveals His ‘Wedding Banquet’ Guest List: Bowen Yang, Emma Thompson & More (VIDEO)
Andrew Ahn understands what makes us swoon. From directing the carriage scene in Bridgerton (yes, you know the one) to helming the inventive Pride and Prejudice adaptation Fire Island, Ahn has brought some of the most iconic and groundbreaking characters to life on screen. The latest: The Wedding Banquet.
With this latest cinematic venture, Ahn is following in the original Wedding Banquet director Ang Lee‘s footsteps—Lee is also known for directing the 1995 period romance Sense and Sensibility starring Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Alan Rickman, and Hugh Grant, as well as the 2005 drama Brokeback Mountain starring Heath Ledger and Jane Gyllenhaal.
The original Wedding Banquet follows the story of a bisexual Taiwanese immigrant man who marries a Chinese woman to appease his parents and get her a green card in exchange. The twist is that he has to pretend his real partner is just his roommate when his parents come to the United States to throw a wedding banquet.
Ahn’s rendition of the film takes this tale to the year 2025, where gay marriage is legal but new questions arise about everything from career paths to IVF treatments. The new cast boasts emotional performances by Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, and Han Gi-chan. Swooon sat down with Ahn to discuss which characters he would invite to his own wedding banquet.
“Both Angela and Kelly Marie Tran, I would invite them to my wedding banquet because I love them both,” he said. “I cannot imagine my life without either the character or the human being in my life.”
From Lee’s original film, Ahn gave a special shoutout to the secret boyfriend Simon, played by Mitchell Lichtenstein. “He was so supportive of his boyfriend despite his boyfriend casting him aside in the original Wedding Banquet,” said Ahn. “And so I think, let him be a part of our big gay party, you know?”
From Fire Island, Ahn said he’d invite Erin and Will, played by Margaret Cho and Conrad Ricamora. “I think she would be the one bringing water to everyone when they need to hydrate,” he explained. “And then she would be gossiping a lot. I think you want that energy.” As for Will, Ahn quipped, “I think I would have to invite [him] so that my friends can gawk at him.”
From the Lee universe, Ahn would absolutely extend an invite to Thompson’s Elinor Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility. “Yes, because I think she believes in love deep down, and I would want her here,” he told Swooon.
Keep watching the video above to see all of the other characters Ahn would invite to his own wedding banquet.
The Wedding Banquet, In Theaters, April 18
