S1: It's time for KPBS Midday Edition for today's arts and culture show. We're talking about sports , fashion and movies. I'm Jade Hindman with conversations that keep you informed , inspired , and make you think. Olympic bobsledder Kaylie Humphries joins us. Then the student run Sdsu fashion magazine. The look is in our spotlight after covering New York Fashion Week. They'll join us to talk about the experience , plus our midday movies. Critics join us to talk about all things John Woo. That's ahead on Midday Edition. So let me take you to the scene. Speeding down an ice track. Kelly Humphries is flying at 80mph. She's racing Germany in the two woman bobsled.
S2: Kylie Humphries is ahead of Lawrence by 300th of a second. This is a really encouraging start.
S3: She was better out of corner nine and she'd been nailing that all week in training. Okay. Little late in the 14. That means she hits more G-Force at once.
S2: The training runs had an average finish of just over four , so she was in the top five. She's going straight to the top here. Kylie Humphries track record. Five hundredths of a second to the good.
S1: And the crowd goes high. She and her teammate Jasmine Jones would clinch bronze , making Olympic history as the first mom duo to medal in the sport. Humphries leaves Milan Cortina with two medals , now holding six total. She's widely considered one of the best bobsledders in the history of the sport , and the first ever Olympic champ in the mono , Bob. And she's got local ties , too. In fact , she's a Carlsbad resident. Kaylie joins me now to talk about her most recent Olympics experience and her journey through the sport and motherhood. Welcome , Kaylie. Congratulations.
S4: Thank you. Thanks for having me.
S1: So glad to have you on. What an honor. Yeah. So you. I mean , you flew back to San Diego just yesterday , right ? How are you feeling ? Yes.
S4: I am tired and jet lagged beyond belief. Um. My son , he's a year and a half. He was up. Oh , I am wide awake , so that's going to be a battle. We're gonna fight all week. But I don't have athlete life to do anymore. So we're okay ? Yeah , more training and everything else. I just get to enjoy the sunshine.
S1:
S4: And it was such a great ending to be able to end at the Olympics with two bronze. This now makes me the most successful and decorated bobsledder. On the women's side in history. So it it feels really great. And I honestly , I did everything I could to be the best version of myself. And I know my teammate Jasmin did as well. And for us to be able to earn bronze not only in the mono bar , but in the two men , it really is historic and it's a very , very cool feeling. Wow.
S1: Wow. Well , I want to hear all about your son during this interview too , but yeah , but first , I guess I want to know what it's like to take to the track.
S4: Um , we train a lot to lift as heavy as possible , but also sprint , just like the Olympic sprinters , to be as fast as possible. And you have 50m to move that sled. You are using every single ounce of muscle and speed. And that's a lot of our training that we do to get that sled moving. And then once we jump in as the pilot , I'm responsible for navigating the course. Every track is different around the world , so I had to do a lot of visualization , a lot of studying every single day , especially when we were at the Olympics and this track was brand new. So I'm still the only pilot in the whole world , male or female , that got to drive the old Olympic Cortina track , and now this new one that was built. But to be able to to race on this new one , it was technically very challenging to get down , which played into my wheelhouse. Huge. As a more experienced pilot , I'm 40. I've been doing this a hot minute , so that helped for sure. Um , and then , yeah , I drive down and we see what happens , but definitely the equipment , the start and how fast you push and how well you drive. All three of those things determine , you know , who takes home Olympic medals.
S1: I mean , what's going through your mind as you're flying down the track at these top speeds ? I mean , are you ever a little concerned , scared ? No , no , I.
S4: Know I get. I still get nervous before races for the result , which is something that , you know , I can't always control because it depends on other people and their performances too. So it just shows. I really want it , and I think that that helps me actually hone in and be extremely focused. I learned to embrace those nerves. They even happen now after , you know , 24 years of doing the sport. It just means a lot on the line. I know that our sport is dangerous and there are safety concerns. I'm confident in my ability to navigate the track and get myself and and my teammate down safely. I wouldn't do it if I wasn't. And but aside from that , you know what ? I'm really just focused on each and every steer that I do in a bobsled , because at any moment and I do have someone else's life in my hands , it could go wrong. I have to be 100% in the zone in that moment. And so each and every step I take , pushing the sled , each and every steer of the bobsled that I do on the way down has to be very much in the zone and very focused. So I literally it's just one step after another. It's push , push , push. I jump in , I'm like , okay , corner one , steer here , let this lead go in turn , grab steer. And I'm literally just talking to myself the entire way down. It feels not like a roller coaster , I can tell you that. Okay. There's no point that it lifts up and your stomach kind of drops away. Um , it just really feels like somebody is pushing you down. The G-forces just feel like it really squishes you on the way down at different points. And if I do it right , you'll feel the sled accelerate out of the corners. And you can definitely tell a good run versus a bad run. Wow.
S1: Wow. Well , you know , you got to definitely have that winning mindset that you have. That's great.
S4: How can you be in California and be a bobsledder ? No , we don't have bobsled tracks here. Um , so in the summer , there's no bobsled track around the world where you can go and train. So every bobsledder , it doesn't matter if you're from the USA or Canada , Germany or Switzerland , everybody is just physically training. So in the summer you want to get yourself about 90% physically ready , which is a lot of weightlifting , a lot of sprinting , which I can do here. And I'm going to choose to do in the sunshine where my body is happy and soaking in the vitamin D , and then once we start competing. So around mid-October , early November until the end of February , then we're on tour and we're anywhere in North America and Asia and Europe , and we compete on a World Cup circuit that entails , you know , nine races every single year. And so then we're traveling and we go to the winter spots where the bobsled tracks are during that time. And and then it's about honing in the driving skill and the actual sport. So then it's at that point I'm just trying to top up my physical performance , but I'm trying to gain , you know , 90% bobsled knowledge in that four months of of competing. Wow.
S1: Wow. Well , I want to talk about your journey with motherhood , too , because you returned to competition five months shortly after giving birth to your son Alden.
S4: I won't lie , I underestimated it. Huge. I thought , man , I'm good. I've been an athlete my whole life. I know how to get the best out of my body. I know it's going to be a journey I definitely underestimated to the extent. I mean , I still have , you know , pelvic floor issues. And I'm at 20 months now. Um , and so , you know , I had to return back five months postpartum , which was earlier than I wanted , but due to when my son was born through IVF and just the competition schedule , I couldn't afford to take any more time off , or I would be giving up my opportunity to go to the Olympics. So competitions and qualification started last year , which was five months after he was born and I had to begin. Um , I gained about £60 in pregnancy , so in five months I had to lose about £60 , which was a task. And then it's been 20 months of just trying to get bigger , faster , stronger. Um , and , you know , athletically working on just pelvic floor. Huge has been the hardest part. And then the laxity within my joints and the stiffness , especially while breastfeeding , everything's a lot more relaxed and loose and you have that relaxing in there. And as a bobsled athlete I'm competing. It's girls that are 20 , you know , 25 who have none of that and are at the peak of their athleticism. I'm 40 and , you know , just back postpartum. So I had a big uphill battle. And I think that's what makes these bronze medals feel gold to me. Um , you know , I went in just wanting to be the best version of myself and to know that that's still competitive , that that's still the best in the world. Um , it feels really great. And I knew that I had an uphill battle. And , you know , we're still working on it and still fighting it athletically. But I wouldn't change it for the world. My son is the most amazing gift , and if I walked away with no medals , I would be happy just to be a mom.
S1: Wow , that is great and I know you. As you mentioned , you went through IVF and you've spoken about it publicly.
S4: So my husband and I tried for years unsuccessful. Um , and it was actually removing an ovarian cyst in preparation for the 2022 Olympics where I found out I had endometriosis. I didn't even know I had it. Um , it was something that was undiagnosed for majority of my entire life. Um , and so it was good that it gave a diagnosis to the infertility , but a long road ahead. So it was two and a half years of the IVF process with egg retrievals. We went through , um , three failed transfers. And finally , on the fourth embryo transfer , my son was successfully , uh , in process. And so , um , you know , it it was hard. I was competing , taking on depo shots , being on hormone injections , trying to still qualify and live out my athlete life and mom dream goals at the same time , but it's the challenge that I accepted that I wanted , and I wanted to make sure that I told people about it because it's not something I'm ashamed of. And , you know , I think infertility affects 1 in 8 families in the US. And it's definitely something that , you know , is not something to be ashamed of. And , you know , sometimes we all need help. And I did in this category and it's it's made me a mom so. Right.
S1: It's an experience shared by so many people. And for you , I would imagine there , there was a pressure maybe to put parenthood on hold because of your career.
S4: Throughout majority of my athlete career , I started a bobsled at 18. Um , and majority of my career , I was told , you know , your body will never be the same. You can never get back to being the best in the world once you have a baby. I was told as a kid , you know , you can't be a mom , you can't bring your kid and still be high performance. It's going to be a distraction. I was told everything under the sun on. Once you choose family , your sport is done. And I wanted to go out there and showcase that , you know , I was going to try at least to prove that that wasn't true. And that's been a huge motivation , especially over this last 20 months for me. You know , you see Allyson Felix , you see Serena Williams , Naomi Osaka , you see these women go out there that can still be dominating in their sport and be able to live out their mom dreams , too. And , you know , bobsled is no different. And if anything , it's made me stronger. It's made me more resilient , more confident in who I am as a woman. And , um , and I think , you know , mom's strength. It's a real thing. It is. And so. Yeah. And so I continue to , uh , just want to be the best version of myself. And that , you know , entails becoming a mom now. And I'm so grateful that I was fortunate enough to do it. I know a lot of women aren't in that scenario. And like I said , I mean , two and a half years of a lot of no's and a lot of downs throughout the process , and I had to continue to believe that it was possible. I think the IVF process is actually very similar to an Olympic process. You go in with these hopes and goals and dreams of , you know , your ultimate goal becoming a mom and , you know , winning Olympic gold. And there's no guarantee it's going to happen. And the chances dwindle and dwindle. The father and along you get. And there's ups and there's downs. There's successes and failures throughout the either way. And you have to believe in a process that may or may not happen with , you know , the hope and the dream that it is possible. And so I think my athletic career helped me get through the IVF process and vice versa. I think having gone through the IVF process definitely helped me earn , you know , these two bronze medals and not give up when things weren't exactly perfect or as I dreamed or imagined. And this Olympics being different. I had my son at the Olympics. I wasn't in the Olympic Village. Um , and so for me , it was a very different Olympic experience , and I had to believe in myself completely different than I have in any other Olympics that that I've been in. Wow.
S1: Wow. It's it's the hope and faith that you hold on to in those processes. I mean , tell me more about your son , Alden. How does he continue to inspire you when it gets tough.
S4: Just being able to have him at the end of every race. Um , sorry. He. He's just the sweetest little boy. And to have him at the end of every race. Good or bad , you know , just he runs up because it will have been like 4 or 5 hours since he sees me. And he's in this , like , clingy phase , which I love. Um , and so it's now it's so cool to know , you know , he gets to spend the days with his dad. We traveled. We did this Olympic dream together as a family. So he's spending time with his dad. He gets to see me race. He has no idea what's going on. Realistically , now , um , it'll be cool for show and tell later. He doesn't know , but at the end of the day , I get to know good bad weather. I win , lose , make a mistake. I get to come home to this little boy who just loves me for me , and I get to be mom. And that has given me a completely different perspective on who I am and not what I do. And I think for a long time , especially as athletes and Olympic athletes , you represent your country. And I am so grateful to be representing the United States of America and so honored and to be able to , you know , to have all of that pressure and the target sometimes that comes with it. It can feel like if I if I don't do my best or if I make a mistake , you know , I'm letting everybody down. And my son is a constant reminder that that's not true. You know , I get to be a mom and bobsledding is what I do. It's my career. It's what I love and I'm passionate about , and I'm grateful to have the opportunity to do it. But to be able to to hold that title of mom is , is who I am deep down in my heart. And and to live that every day and see him and raise this , you know , amazing little boy is is just the best thing ever. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. When it happens , you take on a new identity for sure. 100%.
S4: 100%. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. And the stories you will have to tell. Amazing.
S4: Cool pictures for sure.
S1:
S4: You know , our season ended at the Olympics. It ends on a high , and I get to just enjoy this California sunshine. It feels so nice. Oh , I have been in winter and in Europe for the last four months straight , so I'm going to soak it up , eat some familiar food , things that I know , and just enjoy time with my family without having to to worry about , you know , training and therapy and nutrition and everything that goes into being an Olympic athlete. So I'm just going to enjoy some downtime. My husband , I have probably , you know , plan a family vacation somewhere , hit up a beach and , you know , we'll we'll go from there. We do want to start a family , start a family , have another kid , um , grow our family again. So that'll be on the horizon. And , you know , we'll look to go meet with IVF doctors here shortly.
S1: All right , well , all the best to you. And please soak in the sun.
S4: Thank you. Well , do.
S1: I've been speaking with Kylie Humphries. Olympic bobsledder and six time medalist mom and history maker. Kylie , thank you so much. And congratulations again.
S4: Thank you , I appreciate it.
S1: Still to come , this student run Sdsu fashion magazine. The look is in our spotlight after covering New York Fashion Week , they'll join us to talk about their experience. KPBS Midday Edition returns after the break. Welcome back. You're listening to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. Have you ever wondered what it's like to attend New York Fashion Week ? Well , a local student magazine got the chance to peek behind the curtain and cover the event themselves. The magazine is called The Look. It's the first and only fashion publication at San Diego State , and it's entirely run by students. Joining me now to talk about the book is editor in chief Aaron Sisler. Aaron , welcome.
S5: Thank you. Thanks for having me.
S1: So glad to have you here and in studio. Um , what a cool experience. I can't wait to get into it. You got back from New York Fashion Week not too long ago. But before we dive into your experience , I mean , talk to us about the look and what the magazine is all about. Yeah.
S5: Yeah. So the look is an art , fashion and design publication here on campus. We have six working teams in each semester. We create one final publication and we work all semester long. There are small things we do in between , but that's our main , you know , effort and it ranges from 80 to 100 pages. We really like to focus on visuals , but the overall , um , like point of our club is to create a space for creative expression , new perspectives , diverse voices on campus.
S1: So yeah , that's really cool. And you know , you're not just covering the latest trends here. You're creating a space for people to really express themselves creatively. Tell me more about that. I mean , how are you really making space for creative expression ? Yeah.
S5: So like you just said , we really try not to report on any trends or any influencers , things like that. Um , it all comes from the students. And like their , their brain is how I , you know , I say it um , so also our , our , um , experience in New York kind of reflected that a little bit , if that makes sense. So when we were there , it's our sole focus was on the art that we were seeing in front of our faces. You know , we didn't have any , like , preconceived ideas of what anything was going to be like. So that's kind of how we operate our magazine , um , just straight from the students and what we're all passionate about. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Well , let's talk about the New York Fashion Week. You just mentioned your experience there. Um , how did you first find out about the opportunity to cover it ? Yeah.
S5: So we actually have a member on our exec board who flies out and works for runway seven. And she mentioned to me the idea of being a volunteer , because that's what she did a few years ago. And I thought about being a volunteer and then looked at the work hours and I was like , you know what ? I don't really want to do this while juggling my senior year. But I took a look at their website and saw that there was a press accreditation passes. So I thought , you know what ? I have technically a publication that I could put down with my name. Why not just give it a shot ? And it worked within like a week ? Um , that was shocking to me , to be honest and kind of like taught me a little bit about what and how I should approach post-graduation. Yeah. Um , and then I saw that I could maybe bring a team , too. So I asked , like my best friends that I work with if they wanted to come with me. And of course they said yes. So that's kind of how it happened. Um , very , very , like , empowering , you know , and just and , um , validating of what I've been doing.
S1: Exactly , exactly. Well , I mean , take me behind the scenes. You're you're covering one of the biggest events in the fashion industry. I mean , what what is this ? What is it like ? And I guess , what did your day to day look like ? Yeah.
S5: So , um , I first off , I had to reach out to some hotels and things like that to see if we could exchange marketing content for discounted , um , like , meals and stays and stuff. And that worked also. So we did have to commute a little bit. Um , but so we'd wake up early and then we had shows. I signed us up for three shows a day. So I kept us booked in busy ? Because that's the point of us being there. Um , but the best show probably was the second day. The first , uh , like the 7 p.m. show , and you just wait outside and align with the press. They let you in. We had seats , second row back from the runway. And then after each designer goes , you're able to go upstairs to the press section and you're allowed to interview , take photos , do whatever you want , and ask them whatever you want for a specific amount of time. So that's kind of where we had to learn. You know , okay , you're on the spot. You have to go follow them and you have to get this in five minutes. But that's not something that we were prepared for until we got to New York. So we were figuring all this out there in the moment. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Listen , I love the the ask and you shall receive. Yes.
S5: Yes.
S1: Part of this that is just it's so true. And I hope you carry that with you along your career , even after you graduate here. Okay. Okay.
S5: Okay.
S1: All right. Um , you know , you you also covered a young designer from Canada who's experimenting a lot with the form and structure.
S5: Who's , um. She's VP of the the styling for the look , and we just both nodded because we knew that it was like a style that we really like. It's playing with like asymmetry and like surrealism almost a little bit is what I first noticed. Um , and then you look closely at some of her designs , and there were 3D like transformational cards on it. So it really took kind of the audience by surprise. Like it was something that no one else had done thus far in the in the runway show. So yeah , I knew I had to race after her and immediately , um , cover. I started recording the models on their walk up to the press section. And I was very , very inspired by her work , especially because she was a 23 year old and , you know , pumped out all of those designs.
S1: So that's so very interesting. How are you planning on bringing back some of what you learned in New York to your publication here ? Yeah.
S5: So we're still in the beginning stages of shoots and styling and kind of gathering our ideas behind this. Um , the , our newest , our latest edition , issue ten. So definitely within some of the styling work , I would love to incorporate the like asymmetry. Our latest , our newest issues going to be um , kind of also similar to what the designer was producing like surrealism. Um , and kind of like , um , alternate like dystopian realities of that make sense. And that's kind of what her pieces were inspired by to really animations. And , you know , a lot of like Japanese culture. So I thought that was super cool. And it also inspired me for the new the new issue too. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. The designer that you covered.
S5: Um , yeah , she did repurposed and recycled upcycled fabrics , which is I am obsessed with. All my clothes are thrifted. I love to , you know , upcycle clothes. So that was another aspect of her as a designer that I really like.
S1: Just.
S5: Just.
S1: Inspired by it. Inspired.
S5: Inspired. And like , it's. She said she was proud of herself. And I think a lot of designers said that to , like every person I talked to strangers , um , parents of models in the audience , even just people on the street. A lot of people mentioned the word like pride when talking about New York Fashion Week and how they're here and what they're witnessing. I thought that was super cool , because I'm proud of myself , too , and of our club. So yeah , it's kind of like a word to connect us all.
S1: Oh , very nice. When you talk about upcycled clothes , it makes me think of Sao loca here in San Diego. Um , and they are right in National City. And yeah , there's , there's a whole day dedicated to upcycling clothes now. Yes. So it's very cool. Yeah. Listen like ultimately what are your your hopes for the look and its place , not just on campus but really in the creative industry at large ? Yeah.
S5: So well , this experience kind of proved to me , and I hope , prove to the rest of the club that even just the student led publication can operate in a national fashion industry and we can be taken seriously. So I really hope that pushes future look members to really continue to push themselves , um , by using the magazine. You can use this magazine to your benefit. Um , and on so many levels , like I always tell members , this is for your portfolio , like , yes , this is , you know , a club that we all need to contribute to towards its growth , but it's also for your own personal growth. So it kind of goes hand in hand. Um , so I hope that they keep reaching out to. You know , fashion shows or other opportunities or even like , shoot collaborations , you know , vintage markets around San Diego. Just keep pushing and like , treat it professional because it is , you know , it is. Absolutely.
S1: Absolutely. Oh and I misspoke earlier. So Loca is actually in Barrio Logan not National City. Okay. Tell me , what about you ? Um , you know what is in the future ? Um , do you think you'll kind of stick and stay in the in this industry and the fashion industry ? What's going to happen here ? Yeah.
S5: So I'm a journalism and media studies student. When people ask me what I want to do. It's it's very hard. There's so many different outlets , especially media looks different. And that's what we're taught in our classes here at San Diego State. Um , it's ever evolving , ever changing. So my future job might not exist right now. Um , but I love all things media. So. videography , photography and a magazine is a really great outlet to combine all of those things. I don't know if fashion is what I necessarily want to cover. I really like authentic stories , genuine storytelling. Um , so I'm hoping to do something along those lines and whatever opportunities come my way. I love project based work. Wow.
S1: Well , best of luck to you. Thank you. Future. You've got a bright future ahead for sure. I've been speaking with Aaron Seidler , editor in chief of the Look magazine at San Diego State University. Aaron , thank you so much.
S5: Thank you for having me.
S1: Up next , our Midday Movies critics join us to talk all about John Woo. Mm. Midday edition is back after the break. Welcome back to midday edition , I'm Jade Hindman. Action cinema would not be the same without Hong Kong director John Wu. He helped launch the Hong Kong new wave of the 1980s with his film A Better Tomorrow. He later secured an international reputation with The Killer and Hard Boiled. All three of these films have been given a new 4K restoration by shout ! Studios , which is not only releasing on Blu ray for home entertainment shelves , but also putting them back in theaters on the big screen. And that right there really excites our midday movies. Critics who are here to sing the praises of John Woo. So joining us once again , our KPBS Cinema Junkie , Beth Accomando and movie Wallace podcaster Yazdi Beth Yazdi. Go ahead and scream now , because I. I know you could hardly wait. Hallelujah.
S6: Hallelujah. We are talking about John Woo.
S1: Well I'm Beth. Of course , you can barely contain your excitement. Give us a little introduction to John Woo.
S6: I'm giddy like a schoolgirl.
S1: I love. It.
S6: It. Um , so his films are absolutely intoxicating to me in terms of action , but then he also layers in this kind of heartbreak to them as well. So , I mean , I end up crying at a number of these action movies , which is brutal. So John Woo grew up in a slum surrounded by a lot of violence , but he firmly held this belief that there is a better world out there. And what he ends up doing in his films a lot of times , is he turns violence into the most beautiful ballets ever put on the screen , and he endows these Contemporary tales with the sense of a code of honor like you'd find back in , you know , the Chinese warriors and stuff. So if you give John Wu an action scene , he'll turn it into something that's so deliriously cinematic that you feel guilty deriving pleasure from something that's so violent. And if you give him a formula film , he'll turn conventions on their ear and deliver complexity and emotion where you least expected. So he's a filmmaker I cannot live without.
S1: I don't know , Yazdi. You got to be able to follow up on that.
S7: I cannot , I cannot , but I'll try. Everything that Bette said is true. I also like him because he's a maximalist action filmmaker who loves to dip into so much iconography. There is a Christian iconography. There's always doves in his movies , and as Beth mentioned , he's someone who finds the poetry in violence and from the start , who has choreographed action scenes with so much flair that what could have otherwise been laughable instead become something that you appreciate with giddy delight. These days , my main complaint with action scenes and movies is that they often seem to be like an extended blur of things just randomly blowing up , and you seldom get a sense of the relative geography of the two sides , and you can't tell who is doing whom to watch , who is doing what to do. But when you do get a clear sense of this in the better action films , you can almost always tell that that filmmaker owes a debt to John Woo , and everyone from Quentin Tarantino to Robert Rodriguez have mentioned his influence in the films they have made.
S1: Well , there is an opportunity for people to to to take that in and be just as excited as you all are about this , because this Sunday and Monday , the Angelika Film Center in Carmel Mountain will be screening. Woo's a Better tomorrow. So what can you tell us about this film ? Sure.
S6: So , John , we started making a lot of period kung fu films in the 70s , but it was 1986 with A Better Tomorrow that he really defined himself and got himself on the cinematic map. The film starred Chow Yun fat as a romantic , modern dress version of the Chinese warrior. He may have come from the wrong side of the tracks , but he still had this sense of honor and loyalty and a strict code of behavior that he stuck to. This is a gangster tale of sorts , but it's really more about friendship and these two brothers who are also in it. So these films are called Heroic Bloodshed because it's a particular style that John Wu has perfected. It's violent , but it's got this layer of heroism to it that you really don't find in other movies. It's rapturously stylized , and there's this odd and mesmerizing beauty in bloodshed and death. I know I sound a little deranged.
S1:
S6: So he glides down this hallway in slow motion with a woman. They're kind of revolving around each other. It looks a little bit romantic. They embrace , they kiss. But then we notice he's been dropping guns in each of the planters as he's gone by. And this changes the tone. And at the end of the hallway , he parts company with the woman , draws two guns , as people always do in a John Woo film , and he blasts away at the man who just betrayed his friend. So then he tosses those two guns away , goes to walk away , but he has already planted all those guns down the hallway , so the people think he's unarmed. But nope , he's got more guns to finish them off , and he's followed by them. And it's just. It's.
S3: It's.
S6: Just intoxicating to watch John Woo direct action. And Chow Yun Fat is just this beautiful , physically beautiful person. He's a lot like Alain Delon was in Le Samourai.
S5: So it's.
S6: Just something that is so good cinematically that I just get a rush out.
S1: Of it. It does sound glorious.
S6: So I've gotten to interview John Woo a few times. He's an incredibly gracious , sweet man. If you met him at a cocktail party , you would never guess that he made films this violent. But he noted that one of his key influences in doing action is MGM musicals. And so here's what he said in 2009.
S8: Uh , whenever I choreograph the action sequence , I still , you know , feel I'm , you know , choreography , a dancing sequence. You know , I , I'm so concerned about the rhythm of the action and the ability of body movement , you know , of the I think , a dance , you know.
S6: And that's why I love him.
S1: I love that , um. Yazdi. The next film to be screened in the Angelica series is The Killer. And that'll be in April.
S7: And even though parts of this film are inevitably dated , this was a movie that was released first 35 years ago. What is not dated is is Woo's unparalleled shoot em up stylistic prowess , where the bullets fly like a rigorously choreographed dance performance. We just were talking about it , and it is almost a cliche at this point to state that , you know , John Woo films are like poetry or like a ballet performance , and it has to be seen to be believed. Uh , this film was also Woo's calling card to Hollywood and led him to getting hired for American films subsequently. Wow.
S1: Wow. Well , okay , so give us some background on that. His his calling card to Hollywood. Yeah.
S7: Yeah. So he had been gaining a lot of attention internationally through his films Made in Hong Kong. And it was this kind of perfectly packaged cinematic story which had a lot of emotion as well as this amazing action scenes in The Killers , which I presume convinced , uh , you know , the big studios in Hollywood to bring him in as a filmmaker for for films made stateside.
S1: Beth , do you have anything to add about his move to Hollywood ? Sure.
S6: So , you know , he had a really innovative and exhilarating , over-the-top style that caught Hollywood's eye. And in 1992 is when Jean-Claude Van Damme , the muscles from Brussels , or whoever that goes , decided to bring him over. And he hired him to do Hard Target. And this is an action film where Jean-Claude Van Damme plays someone who's got a lethal background that , of course , the other people don't suspect. So here's a little bit from the trailer.
S9: There's a new game in town. You'll be provided with a guide to trackers and the weapons of your choice.
S10: I need to file a missing person report.
S9: The competitors are deadly. We pride ourselves in hunting only combat veterans , men who have the necessary skills to make our hunts more interesting. They always win.
S11: You want to find your father ? Get somebody knows the city to show you around. No.
S9: No. The opposition is about to get one last chance.
S10: Kind of a name is chance.
S9: My mama took.
S12: When they go find.
S9: My friend , Mr. Boudreaux. Silver star , marine forest recon.
S6: So I have to give a credit to Jean-Claude Van Damme because he brought over a number of these Hong Kong directors at that time. So it was John Woo , Choi Hok , Ringo Lam , and he gave them their first , you know , Hollywood American films to do. And you know , another thing , in part , that was driving Wu to try the waters over here in the United States was in 1997 , Hong Kong was going to revert back to China. And so a lot of filmmakers did not know what that was going to mean for the creative landscape in film. Was there going to be more censorship ? Was there going to be a push towards more like propagandistic films ? So I think he was also kind of looking ahead to say , where could I go to make films if things in Hong Kong drastically change ? And so Hard target was his first film he also made in 96. He made Broken Arrow with John Travolta , and that proved that his Hong Kong style had a lot of U.S. appeal. And of course , that partnership with John Travolta led to a lot more.
S1: Yeah , well , I mean , and it was only up from there because his next American film was even more successful. Face off. Uh , Yazdi , tell me a little bit about that one. Yes.
S7: Yes. So Face-Off , which was made in 1997 and is currently streaming on Paramount+ as well as on the Criterion Channel. You know , is is a great film. It needs to be seen to be believed. And that repeat motif of doves , which was there in The killer , you see it again. You're in perhaps Woo's most popular and commercially successful Hollywood film , the preposterous plot of an FBI agent played by John Travolta and a terrorist , played by Nicolas Cage. Who swap faces and identities holds up only because who invest the film with so many hyper stylized action scenes that even today hold up remarkably well. Just to give you an idea , here is a clip from Face Off of the two characters. They have swapped their faces and they're meeting in the prison for the first time.
S13: But you were.
S14: In a coma. Nothing like having your face cut off to disturb your sleep. Read the newspaper lately.
S13: You killed them. Well , look.
S14: Beats paying the bill , huh ? Come on. I mean , if a facelift costs five grand.
S15:
S7: The top in this.
S1: World I've. Seen.
S7: Seen. But , you know , one doesn't go to the opera for subtlety. And this film with all its , you know , with its outlandish story and juicy action set pieces , always feels very operatic. It's so larger than life. The one other thing about Face Off is that , interestingly , this movie is thought to have inspired Andrew Lau to make the great Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs , where instead of the actual faces being transferred , we see the swapping of identities between the two male leads. And Infernal Affairs famously inspired Martin Scorsese to make The Departed , bringing John Woo full circle. Because it was Scorsese's Mean Streets which had inspired Wu to make The Killers , man.
S1: All of these movies are certainly worth revisiting for sure. Um , Beth , to wrap this up , you've got one more clip from your interview with Wu. Yes.
S6: Yes. So , I mean , I think the thing that's interesting about his films is there is this common thread besides the style and the violence. Like Scorsese , I think he does have this sense of honor and honor on the streets sometimes , too , so he tends to weather his films are modern or period. Or he's dealing with virtuous men or criminals. There's always kind of a through line through these characters and the themes. And here's what he had to say about kind of what the constants are in his films.
S8: I still remain the same theme , like friendship , love , courage , you know , and romanticism , you know. So I still could keep the same style. And actually , when I was making the gun battle with movies , I also had got some inspiration from the martial arts movie. You know , you could see our heroes and they usually using guns. It's just like using two swords. And also you also have the same kind of spirit. They all fighting for justice and they all they also have the , you know , the same kind of honor , you know. Wow.
S1: Wow. Well , this was a great segment. You all I want to thank our Midday movies critics for sharing their love for John Woo. A Better Tomorrow screens March 1st and second at the Angelika Film Center in Carmel Mountain , with the killer screening at the beginning of April. You can also look for these Hong Kong classics at the shout ! Studio website. Thanks again to KPBS Cinema Junkie , Beth Accomando and movie Wallace podcaster Yazdi. Thank you all so much.
S6: Thank you for letting me share my addiction.
S7: Thank you.
S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning.
S16: In to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
