Having lived in Korea and Japan it sounded to me like Rain was imitating a japanese accent in speed racer. I was laughing about it the whole time. I had my reservations about rain cause he looks ridiculous in all the ads you see, but he’s actually a really good actor too, he was one of the leads in a dope movie called “I’m a Cyborg, but that’s OK.” I do have some issues with chinese or korean people playing Japanese characters but most of it springs from my anger that westerners can’t tell the difference. Rain was introduced as the name of his character (some japanese name like Daejou Togokan) twice at the premiere of speed racer. That to me is ridiculous. When europeans play characters from other countries (see Jean-Claude Van Damme or Sean Connery) they get to keep their name and ethnic identity. Rain is apparently too difficult of a name to remember, they may as well have introduced him as “asian guy.”

Someone’s got to take the first step and not be afraid to get his hands dirty so to speak. If you can’t start from the top, start from the bottom. You want something bad enough, you take what you can get. I suppose it could be “degrading” for some Asian stars but maybe that’s why they haven’t made it. The Asian stars we know now were terribly obscure for many years until their big break finally came. In many ways Rain’s fame is kind of working against him since expectations are high and people are waiting for him to make a mistake.

The fact that Rain’s name is being bounced around so much nowadays may make it seem oxymoronic to his rep of being “humble” – but I think the sheer fact that he is trying so hard despite the fact so few have succeeded, stubbornly refusing to go back to his comfort zone despite the setbacks, and pretty much risking much of his acting credibility to be in Hollywood… Nobody can say this kid doesn’t have guts. He may go down but dude, he’s going to go down fighting —

^ But on the other hand I want to give Rain the benefit of doubt. Because I’ve always thought he was one of the most genuinely humble celebrities out there…. so maybe he isn’t the one to think “this is beneath me.” I’m just curious as to the lengths he is willing to go to make it in hollywood, which is far, i’m sure, but seriously how much is he willing to give up to maybe possibly make it?

Hmmm…. I feel kinda bad for rain. In asia, he was All That…a highly regarded model and singer, always in demand to play the lead roles in dramas and movies.. In America, he’s lucky if he gets a kind-of-sort-of-nice mention in Stephen colbert….and he’s lucky if he’s typecast into a minor role in speed racer. I remember watching a press conference for speed racer, and rain was this nondescript blob in the far back, which kind of looked odd because in asia he’d definitely be one of the most visible there, talking it away and answering questions and being flattered to lil bits. Isnt this all horribly degrading for him? A considerable step down? Is Hollywood worth putting everything he’s earned in Asia to start all over at the bottom again in America? I don’t know whether to call it sirvility or humility. Whether its ambition or desperation. I don’t know. There’s just this horrible, sirvile, self-depreciating tendency to glorify the west and whinteness in asian pop-culture and asian culture in general that sometimes it makes me cringe inside.

I saw the row over Rain and his Hollywood ambition in the Ceiling Thunking post. I really do not know that much about him but from what I know, the boy sounds like he has determination in spades. When they told him he was too ugly to make it as an idol, he plugged at it till he was. I applaud him for his determination and never-say-die attitude. Although many of his decisions seems ill-advised or ill-though out, at least he tried. Because until you do, how do you know if you will fail or succeed? May successes have come from complete ignorance of the obstacles and cards staked against them.

He must know that he could fail. And he must know everyone is watching him to see if he will. And he must know that if he returns homes with his tail between his legs, the ridicule and mockery that will ensue will be hard to take. Because he is such a big star in Asia, the consequences of mediocrity in Hollywood will be viciously negative. But still he does it. I just hope that his fans back in Asia will be as supportive of him as Jackie Chan’s were when he first returned whipped and humbled on his first foray into the West.