Famed filmmaker John Woo is reportedly developing a historical drama biopic about Chinese American Dean Lung.
Lung was the valet of Oakland’s first mayor Horace Walpole Carpentier. Lung’s $12,000 donation in 1901 (the equivalent of about $400,000 today) helped found Columbia University’s Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures.
In order to honour him, Carpentier provided additional donations. Speaking with Variety at Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal, Woo explained his interest in the story:
“I hope I can make it before I retire. I really want to do it, He was this man’s servant, and there were conflicts at the beginning, but later, they started to learn from each other. When he retired, he donated all his savings to the university. His picture still hangs on the wall.
It’s a very human story. These days, there are so many misunderstandings between the people in the West and the people in the East. I think we need to work on it more, work on understanding each other. I want to make a movie that would serve as a bridge between two different cultures. We can be friends – I really believe that.”
Woo most recently shot the Joel Kinnaman-led “Silent Night,” a thriller about a father avenging his slain son with the hook being the film boasts no dialogue.
