Event Introduction & Speaker Backgrounds

• Date: Monday February 26th, 2024 (2 days after 2024 Lantern Festival)
• Host: Oscar Yal, Google Investments and Capital Markets team
• Speakers: Abigail Hing Wen (author), Ashley Liao (actress), Chelsea Zhang (actress)
• Context: Follow-up to Abigail's previous Google talk 4 years ago about "Loveboat Taipei" book

Abigail Hing Wen's Multifaceted Career Journey

• Education: Harvard BA, Columbia JD, Vermont College MFA in Writing
• Career progression: Law → Venture Capital → AI → Author/Filmmaker
• Negotiated multi-billion dollar deals on Wall Street and Silicon Valley
• Originally planned to be law professor but discovered creative writing instead
• Wrote 5 novels over 10 years before publishing "Loveboat Taipei"
• Officially left corporate role 2.5 years ago after green-lighting Love in Taipei film
• Currently starting own studio, integrating storytelling, finance, and technology

Ashley Liao's Acting Background

• Started acting at age 13, now longer in industry than not
• Known for Fuller House role as Lola
• Recent UCLA Communications graduate
• Lead role as Ever Wong in Love in Taipei
• Also appeared in Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
• Juggled academics and acting throughout career
• Statistically improbable career success according to mother

Chelsea Zhang's Education & Career

• Competitive figure skater in pre-teens
• Accepted to USC at age 16, studied business
• Acting debut: 2012's Perks of Being a Wallflower
• Multiple film award winner/nominee
• Plays Sophie Ha in Love in Taipei
• From Pittsburgh, later moved to West Coast
• Business degree provides perspective on industry's financial aspects

Film Adaptation Process

• Book-to-film involved 300+ people vs. solo book writing process
• Multiple producer meetings with different creative visions (musical vs. straight film, TV vs. feature)
• Dance sequences were major excitement focus
• Extensive screenplay drafting process
• Director Arvin Chen brought on board
• Abigail chose not to write screenplay for this project but has other scripts in development

Representation & Cultural Impact

• Building on predecessors: Joy Luck Club (30 years ago), Crazy Rich Asians (25 years later)
• Proving market demand for diverse stories
• Recent Hollywood reckoning creating opportunities for authentic stories
• Fan messages about seeing themselves represented on screen for first time
• Shift from contract clauses allowing character race changes to current opportunities

Cultural Identity & Personal Experiences

• Chelsea: Pittsburgh upbringing, minority experience, transformative USC and Shanghai visits
• Ashley: Taiwanese-American background, family visits vs. work experience in Taiwan
• All experienced "Love Boat" type cultural awakening moments
• Filming in Taiwan provided authentic cultural immersion experience

Character Development & Acting Approach

• Ever Wong: cautious, sheltered character (Ashley)
• Sophie Ha: bubbly, outgoing personality (Chelsea)
• Both actresses drew from personal experiences and growth
• Ashley's college/career decision-making paralleled Ever's journey
• Chelsea's cheerleading background influenced Sophie's energetic persona

Pandemic Filming Challenges

• 2-week mandatory quarantine in Taiwan with closed borders
• 3x weekly PCR testing throughout production
• 20 additional COVID staff hired for set management
• Mask changes every few hours, special tested food
• Closed set with minimal visitors
• Bonded tightly due to isolation, experienced Taiwan nightlife together
• Chelsea brought exercise bike to quarantine room, Ashley used flat iron for toasting bread

Industry Perspectives & Future Outlook

• Expectation of continued diverse content growth
• Streaming platform consolidation predicted
• Art vs. profit balance - storytelling mission beyond financial returns
• Pixar deal comparison to tech company valuations
• Cultural export and narrative control importance
• Writers/actors strike impacts mentioned

Career Preferences & Creative Goals

• Multi-dimensional character roles preferred over one-note parts
• Family dynamics and mother-daughter relationships appeal to Chelsea
• Ashley interested in horror, panic attack scenes, emotionally intense roles
• TV vs. film pros/cons: consistency vs. creative closure
• Director collaboration quality more important than medium
• Business background valuable for artist advocacy and project financing

Fan Impact & Representation Significance

• Messages from Asian-American girls seeing themselves represented
• "First time seeing someone who looks like me" feedback
• Fuller House representation impact on young viewers
• Jane Lee (Harper marketing team) read book 3x times, felt "seen"
• Director advice: "write your stories down and share them"
• Encouragement that minority voices matter despite years of being told otherwise

Current Projects & Future Plans

• Abigail: "Kisses Codes and Conspiracies" novel (August release, Silicon Valley setting)
• Ashley: Hunger Games digital release with behind-scenes content
• Support requests: ratings on IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Goodreads, Amazon
• Pre-orders crucial for publisher decisions
• Social media: @AbigailHingWen, search names on Google
• Recommendation to support other Asian-American films: Shortcomings, Past Lives, "Everything Everywhere All at Once"

Personal Fun Facts

• Chelsea: Can move one eye independently, has twin younger siblings
• Ashley: Laughs in sleep (husband has work meetings in sleep)
• Abigail: Told stories to twin siblings about "kids in world without grown-ups" (inspiration for future book)