{"id":198261,"date":"2021-03-10T04:04:07","date_gmt":"2021-03-10T01:04:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/30-things-we-learned-from-alice-wus-the-half-of-it-commentary\/"},"modified":"2021-03-10T04:04:07","modified_gmt":"2021-03-10T01:04:07","slug":"30-things-we-learned-from-alice-wus-the-half-of-it-commentary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/30-things-we-learned-from-alice-wus-the-half-of-it-commentary\/","title":{"rendered":"#30 Things We Learned from Alice Wu&#8217;s &#8216;The Half of It&#8217; Commentary"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3364e9e17eb\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3364e9e17eb\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/30-things-we-learned-from-alice-wus-the-half-of-it-commentary\/#The_Half_of_It_2020\" >The Half of It (2020)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/30-things-we-learned-from-alice-wus-the-half-of-it-commentary\/#Best_in_Context-Free_Commentary\" >Best in Context-Free Commentary<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/30-things-we-learned-from-alice-wus-the-half-of-it-commentary\/#Final_Thoughts\" >Final Thoughts<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#30 Things We Learned from Alice Wu&#8217;s &#8216;The Half of It&#8217; Commentary<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\">\n                <\/aside>\n<p><!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 3.7.9--><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Welcome to\u00a0<\/i><b data-stringify-type=\"bold\"><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\">Commentary Commentary,<\/i><\/b><i data-stringify-type=\"italic\"> where we sit and listen to filmmakers talk about their work, then share the most interesting parts. In this edition, Rob Hunter listens to a commentary for a film that isn\u2019t available on disc..<\/i>. <em>what kind of sorcery is this?!<\/em><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>There\u2019s no denying that commentary tracks from a film\u2019s talent pool are an increasingly uncommon extra on new release <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">movies<\/a>, but they\u2019re still out there if you keep your eyes open. Case in point? Netflix\u2019s short-lived <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/watchingwith.simplecast.com\/\">Watching With podcast<\/a> brings filmmakers on to record commentaries for their streaming films \u2014 I say short-lived as the last entry was from May of 2020 \u2014 and as I\u2019ve only just discovered it exists we\u2019re going to cover one now.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>The Half of It<\/em><\/strong> is one of 2020\u2019s best films \u2014 don\u2019t just take my word for it, though, check out our top 20 movies from last year \u2014 and as it\u2019s a Netflix Film there will most likely be no physical release. H<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ily, writer\/director Alice Wu sat down with the podcast to record a commentary anyway. Keep reading to see what I heard on the commentary for <em>The Half of It<\/em>.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Half_of_It_2020\"><\/span>The Half of It (2020)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Commentator: Alice Wu (director, writer), Marya Gates (moderator)<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\"><strong>1.<\/strong> The opening animation, in addition to being beautifully crafted, is filled with references to the film itself including the letter, the hot springs scene, and more.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2.<\/strong> Wu intentionally keeps Ellie\u2019s (Leah Lewis)\u00a0 face hidden through the opening montage as we instead get glimpses of her and her life. It makes a brief mystery out of her identity which is in essence the journey that Ellie herself is on \u2014 who is she becomes who am I? The film\u2019s end pays this off with an extended shot focused on Ellie\u2019s face as we realize that we\u2019ve come to know her, and more importantly, she now knows herself..<\/p>\n<p><strong>3.<\/strong> <em>The Half of It<\/em> ends \u2014 spoiler incoming but honestly you shouldn\u2019t be reading this if you\u2019re planning to watch the film! \u2014 with all three of the main characters on their own, sans romantic partner. Wu prefers this over endings that leave viewers thinking \u201coh they got married, hooray.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>4.<\/strong> Wu acknowledges that this film could have been shaped towards a more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a> audience as a more traditional crowd-pleaser \u2014 ie a romantic comedy that ends in a happy couple \u2014 but she notes that Trump had just been elected while she was writing the script, and that gave her pause. What was initially set in a big, diverse city instead shifted to a small, rural, conservative town.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5.<\/strong> The film isn\u2019t targeted against close-minded whites as Wu adds that she grew up in a conservative Chinese family filled with its own variations of racism, sexism, and homophobia, \u201cand I think my parents are great people.\u201d The idea that these kinds of people are one thing, bad, isn\u2019t one that Wu subscribes to.<\/p>\n<p><strong>6.<\/strong> <em>The Half of It<\/em> is set in eastern Washington state, but it was filmed in Upstate New York.<\/p>\n<p><strong>7.<\/strong> There are several film references here, and Wu chose them in part for the similar character dynamics in each. \u201cThey all have triangles in them. <em>Casablanca<\/em> has a triangle, <em>Philadelphia Story<\/em> has a triangle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>8.<\/strong> <em>Wings of Desire<\/em> doesn\u2019t have a triangle, but Wu sees a connection between an angel invisible to the person he loves and unable to communicate that love, to a closeted person feeling similarly unable to express their emotion.<\/p>\n<p><strong>9.<\/strong> Wu\u2019s creative touchstones are authenticity and timelessness.<\/p>\n<p><strong>10.<\/strong> The knitted scarves worn by the blonde clique were meant to be garish, but people seemed to actually like them.<\/p>\n<p><strong>11.<\/strong> Wu was told she couldn\u2019t mention Venmo, so she invented Hushmo instead. Only after they had shot the film did she learn that she actually could have used Venmo. Paypal couldn\u2019t be reached for comment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>12.<\/strong> She wants Collin Chao to know that several of her friends find him extremely attractive.<\/p>\n<p><strong>13.<\/strong> It was suggested that they cut the \u201cmudding\u201d scene featuring the teens having a blast trying to drive pickup trucks out of mud puddles, but Wu insisted saying \u201cit will tell you everything about this town.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>14.<\/strong> All of Wu\u2019s suggestions for a messenger app name were rejected by the legal department, all except Ghost Messenger, which she\u2019s not the biggest fan of.<\/p>\n<p><strong>15.<\/strong> The teens saying \u201cChugga chugga chu chu\u201d to Ellie is based on Wu\u2019s own experience. \u201cI did grow up with kids calling me \u2018chugga chugga wu wu\u2019 when I biked to school.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>16.<\/strong> Lewis doesn\u2019t actually speak Mandarin, but Wu recorded the eight lines for her so she could practice memorizing the .<\/p>\n<p><strong>17.<\/strong> The conversation between Ellie and Paul (Daniel Diemer) in the car moves from edited beats to a long single shot. Wu trained as an editor and appreciated rhythm and pacing, and here \u201cwe feel the power of their connection more\u201d as we stay with the im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>cy of their performances.<\/p>\n<p><strong>18.<\/strong> This is for viewers with Atmos sound systems only, but Wu and her sound design team added subtle creaks and moans in the scenes set at Ellie\u2019s apartment above the train crossing. It\u2019s meant to give the impression of an old building settling against the wind outside.<\/p>\n<p><strong>19.<\/strong> Wu is *not* a fan of emojis.<\/p>\n<p><strong>20.<\/strong> She offers some good advice to hopeful writers regarding connecting scenes through emotion. Ellie\u2019s guilt over the situation with Paul \u2014 she\u2019s helping him woo Aster (Alexxis Lemire) while actually being in love with her herself \u2014 is what moves her to finally try his taco sausage. It\u2019s simple and silly, but there\u2019s truth in the transition.<\/p>\n<p><strong>21.<\/strong> The search for a film featuring a man running after a woman as her train leaves the station was more difficult than they expected, and it led them to an Indian movie called <em>Ek Villain<\/em> (2014).<\/p>\n<p><strong>22.<\/strong> Ellie\u2019s song is written by Joe Pernice from the Scud Mountain Boys.<\/p>\n<p><strong>23.<\/strong> Wu told Lewis to think of that engineer booth as her safety zone. In there she\u2019s safe, and outside she\u2019s in danger. You can see her clinging to it in the scene where Aster is there with her.<\/p>\n<p><strong>24.<\/strong> The photo of Ellie\u2019s mom is actually of Joan Chen, who starred in Wu\u2019s earlier feature <em>Saving Face<\/em> (2004).<\/p>\n<p><strong>25.<\/strong> Wu drops a rare commentary f-bomb \u2014 seriously, they\u2019re not easy to find as studios often bleep them out \u2014 while confirming that Paul\u2019s comment about Ellie\u2019s sexuality being a sin isn\u2019t said in anger or judgement but in sadness for his friend. He\u2019s been raised to believe this nonsense, and now he\u2019s devastated thinking that his friend will suffer.<\/p>\n<p><strong>26.<\/strong> Marya reads the slap as meaning that Aster is more angry with Paul than with Ellie, but Wu says it\u2019s actually meant to imply the opposite. Aster is looking at Ellie while slapping Paul as Ellie is the one she\u2019s most upset with. \u201cI maybe have failed on that,\u201d says the filmmaker thinking she was unable to get that across, but hopefully she knows that some of us caught that just fine.<\/p>\n<p><strong>27.<\/strong> They had to create the caterpillar in glasses emoji as there wasn\u2019t one anywhere. Can you believe it?<\/p>\n<p><strong>28.<\/strong> The script for <em>The Half of It<\/em> originally had the woman on the train ask Ellie if Paul was her boyfriend, to which she would reply \u201cno, he\u2019s my friend.\u201d Wu wanted to cut it, secretly, and eventually did as she decided instead to focus on the train\u2019s other passengers, all of whom are looking out the window for something. Returning to Ellie\u2019s face we see that she\u2019s found something, the knowledge that she\u2019s going to be okay.<\/p>\n<p><strong>29.<\/strong> No shade towards Marya, but it\u2019s funny to me that they stay and talk through the end credits when Netflix moves fast as hell to knock you out of them and onto the next thing.<\/p>\n<p><strong>30.<\/strong> The end credits on <em>The Half of It<\/em> include a thank you to Mrs. Jeanne Geselschap who was Wu\u2019s high school English teacher. She\u2019s the inspiration for Becky Ann Baker\u2019s character.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Best_in_Context-Free_Commentary\"><\/span>Best in Context-Free Commentary<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p graf--startsWithDoubleQuote\">\u201cIt\u2019s sort of my favorite kind of ending for a film.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love John Denver.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m so blessed to have the actors I did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s always nice to promote another woman artist.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHepburn vs Hepburn, one of the great debates.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are different ways in this town to be othered.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is my Wong Kar-wai moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t have anything against oboes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI always watch credits on movies I love.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"graf graf--h3\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Final_Thoughts\"><\/span>Final Thoughts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Wu has clearly given a lot of thought into what she wanted to say with <em>The Half of It<\/em>, and it all comes through beautifully. Her comments here offer a mix of explanation, insight, and anecdotes about the film\u2019s shoot, and they make for an interesting listen for fans. As someone who loves this movie, has watched it four times now, and who shifts back and forth between wanting a sequel in two years time, her comments work to remind me that it really isn\u2019t necessary. The three main characters here, four if you count Ellie\u2019s dad, are on a journey, and by the time the film ends it\u2019s clear they\u2019re each in a far better place than they were at the start. We know they\u2019re going to be okay.<\/p>\n<p class=\"graf graf--p\">Read more Commentary Commentary from the archives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/alice-wu-the-half-of-it-commentary\/#utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=alice-wu-the-half-of-it-commentary\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#30 Things We Learned from Alice Wu&#8217;s &#8216;The Half of It&#8217; Commentary&#8221; Welcome to\u00a0Commentary Commentary, where we sit and listen to filmmakers talk about their work, then share the most interesting parts. In this edition, Rob Hunter listens to a commentary for a film that isn\u2019t available on disc&#8230; what kind of sorcery is this?!&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":198262,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/40-the-half-of-it.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[96982,22447,1377,96983],"class_list":["post-198261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa","tag-alice-wu","tag-commentary-commentary","tag-netflix","tag-the-half-of-it"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198261","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198261"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198261\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198261"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198261"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198261"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}