William Yu poses for the camera.
William Yu is a Korean-American screenwriter based in Los Angeles. After creating #StarringJohnCho, the viral phenomenon that sparked a global conversation about Asian-American representation, he left his advertising career behind to write subversive stories that wink at you with a hopeful smile. He was recently selected for the NBC TV Writers Program.
His feature romantic comedy, It Was You, was selected to the annual Black List and is currently in development with Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu attached as an executive producer. Yu’s dramedy pilot, Good Boy, was selected for the 2020 Sundance Episodic Makers Lab and named to the 2020 CAPE List as a top screenplay by an AAPI writer. He is repped by Bellevue and APA. Forbes sat down with William Yu to discuss his career and next steps.
Goldie Chan: Hello William, thank you for speaking with us. Could you share what has your entertainment career path been?
William Yu: I’ve definitely taken a non-traditional path into the entertainment industry. I used to be very jealous of friends who had majored in screenwriting or filmmaking, because I felt like I was behind the curve. Before pivoting to screenwriting, I worked in advertising for five years. During that time, I launched #StarringJohnCho, which made viral waves around the world and gave me a calling card in this industry.
When I decided to focus more on writing scripts, I didn’t go to film school. Instead, I bought every screenwriting book and script I could get my hands on and sat in a cafe for a year reading and writing as much as I could. At the end of that year, I wrote a feature script that won a screenplay competition. The win gave me the confidence that this approach had legs and that I could continue to grow if I committed to the craft. As I’ve grown into my career, I’ve actually found that my life experiences are an asset and set me apart as my storytelling brought me to Sundance, The Black List, and most recently, the NBC TV Writers Program.
Chan: Based on all the scripts you’ve written so far, what has been your favorite project that you’ve created?
Yu: I’m so excited to continue pushing my romantic comedy feature It Was You - think You’ve Got Mail, but set in Manhattan’s Chinatown - forward with Jon M. Chu and his production company Electric Somewhere. It’s such a full circle moment to be working with him, especially after he mentioned that #StarringJohnCho influenced him to take on directing Crazy Rich Asians. It’s been such a fun, meaningful collaboration and I know that the project is in the hands of a team that wants to give the film as much nuance and sensitivity to an Asian American project as I do. And after reading so many Black List scripts to learn about screenwriting, it was a dream come true to make it onto the list last year.
Chan: How would you describe your personal brand?
Yu: My mission in giving up my advertising career was to stretch the definition of the Asian American representation from labels like ‘good’ or ‘bad’ to something that celebrates the awkward, messy, gray areas of our experiences. So, I write subversive stories that take on difficult cultural conversations, but do so with a cheeky wink and a hopeful smile. I gravitate to bold, splashy narratives that put the capital E in ‘Entertainment’, but also possess a thoughtfulness and nuance that can assure audiences that the specificity of our flaws is what makes us special. It’s also my hope that the stories I develop demonstrate the richness that comes from when we interrogate how our communities intersect and relate to each other.
Chan: You’re working on a lot of different projects - what are you currently working on?
Yu: My latest pilot is called KOREAGATE. The project is a one hour, limited series drama that is based on the true story of the ambitious Tongsun Park, known as "The Asian Gatsby" among the D.C. elite, as he conducts an illegal influence-buying campaign that brings American democracy to the brink and now lives in infamy as the political scandal known as Koreagate. Think The Wolf Of Wall Street meets The Post. It’s glitzy and glamorous, but also examines the dark underbelly of the American political machine and what it means when unbridled ambition goes too far. It’s also not just a piece of overlooked American history that was covered by The New York Times and The Washington Post, but also a piece of pop culture history, as I was surprised to discover a Saturday Night Live sketch where Dan Akroyd and Jane Curtin discuss Koreagate on Weekend Update.
Also, I’m developing a script idea based on #StarringJohnCho. Stay tuned.
Chan: And with your current projects, is there a dream project or collaborator that you’d like to partner with?
Yu: I was recently obsessed with the shows The Dropout and Winning Time. They’re both such entertaining, high-octane stories that also have characters that you get so invested in, despite all of their shortcomings. Rapid rise and fall stories that center on extremely flawed protagonists who you can’t help but empathize with? I’m in!
In terms of collaborators, I’d love to explore stories with, writer/directors Bing Liu and Lulu Wang are names that immediately come to mind. Director Hiro Murai. Anything that executives like Dan Lin or Theresa Kang-Lowe touch. Or showrunners like Alan Yang and Sonny Lee, for that matter. If you’re Asian or Asian American and like mess in your stories, I’d love to work with you.
Chan: You tweet a lot about representation. What changes would you like to see in your industry?
Yu: In recent years, we’ve seen so much discussion about Asian American representation in front of the camera, which is AMAZING. I’d love to see the conversation evolve and also continue to support those behind the camera, both on the creative and executive side. As a screenwriter, it doesn’t matter what stories I create if the decision makers at a production company, network, or studio can’t see the vision. Additionally, we can’t rise up if we don't reach back. Without nurturing, training, and championing those in the pipeline to be promoted and elevated to senior ranks, the representation we’re fighting for has a very low ceiling. A rising tide lifts all boats.
Chan: What do you do to uplift others in your community?
Yu: I’m passionate about demystifying my journey into screenwriting. I’ve been fortunate to cultivate a platform on Twitter (follow me @its_willyu) where I offer as much transparency on how to sign with a manager or agent, as well as provide practical, actionable insights on how best to navigate a screenwriting career, especially as a person of color. There’s so much obscurity in this profession and I believe it only serves to impede the marginalized. I also use this platform to highlight and shout out Asian Americans who are moving the cultural needle forward in any way. A small gesture I make every day is to tweet “Representation matters today”, because I truly believe that if you can see it, you can be it.
Chan: Any last branding or career advice?
Yu: Many years ago, my mom ingrained a saying in me that has followed me across my professional life. It goes something like, “If you don’t tell people, they won’t ask.” In job interviews, I would get very self-conscious about mentioning my accomplishments. This saying reminds me that highlighting work you’re proud of isn’t bragging, it’s simply stating a fact. You’re not showing off, you’re informing. So many of us are raised to keep our heads down and not rock the boat, but I hope that, when that right moment comes, we all talk our talk and never regret letting others know how great we are.
