12-6-08 Rebel Without A Pause 3 : Showdown In Saigon

June 12, 2008

‘REBEL’ WITHOUT A PAUSE (part three): Showdown in Saigon.

Most commentary sessions for our DVD releases see me sitting in a recording booth all by my lonesome. Fans often ask why we don’t get more input from the on-screen and behind-the-screen talent, and the main reason is that most of the people involved either don’t speak English or are dead (or both). It was a great experience, therefore, to find myself recording the commentary for ‘The Rebel’ alongside its three stars.

After meeting Johnny Nguyen and Veronica Ngo in both Hong Kong and Vietnam, and Dustin in what feels like every other country in Asia, I know the team pretty well, and the commentary recording features lots of laughs as well as some great stories and insights into the whole production process. The track reveals exactly why Dustin’s character has highlights in his hair, exactly which supporting player used to be the Vietnamese James Bond and the peculiar nature of one of Veronica’s tattoos. My only regret was that we couldn’t have the film’s director, Charlie Nguyen, join us, but he was tied up on a shoot in LA.

The video interviews for the DVD are shot at the same studios where some interior shots for the movie were filmed. In fact, the Cinema Pictures soundstages were still under construction when The Rebel was in production. When I arrive, I’m greeted by a ferocious guard dog that turns out to be the pet of producer Jimmy Pham. The studio is spacious, but rather bare. Besides movie shoots, it’s used for MTVs and TV commercials. There’s a Vietnamese poster for The Rebel on one wall, and a black and white image of Bruce Lee on another.

Veronica arrives with her hair gelled back, looking for all the world like an Asian Audrey Hepburn. She fusses around Dustin, fixing his hair and lapel mike, as he prepares to be interviewed. Its fascinating to trace Dustin’s career from the teen idol success of 21 Jump Street, to his current status as Vietnam’s leading actor-turned-director. In her interview, Veronica proves herself a cunning linguist, even managing a shout-out in her second language, Norwegian.

Johnny has agreed to do a martial arts demonstration for us, and has brought in a couple of stuntmen who worked on the movie. One of them was actually Dustin’s double in The Rebel. I’ve seen some action guys in my time, and usually there’s a disparity between what they can do on screen, assisted, on occasion, by wires and editing, and what they can do in reality. Like his former nemesis Tony Jaa, Johnny actually looks better in reality. For this featurette, he walks the audience through some of the techniques used in The Rebel, and shows how they could be used in a real-life sparring or self-defense situation.

As it’s my last night, Team Rebel offer to take me out on the town. Dustin picks me up at the hotel and we take a cab to a Saigon club. As we approach, I see the words ‘Ngo Thanh Van’ on a sign by the door, in the kind of temporary lettering you’d see outside a church hall. ‘Hey, isn’t that Veronica’s name?’ I ask. Dustin nods. She’s performing here tonight. Sure enough, as we enter Veronica is on-stage, powering her way through her Vip-hop set. Dustin being the low-key guy he is, we take seats to one side of the hall. NTV, as she’s known, is shaking up a storm. I’m surprised that, before the set is over, the audience start leaving. They want to beat the traffic, Dustin tells me. Vietnamese audiences always do this…

By the end of the show, Johnny and Jimmy have joined us. Veronica bounces down from the stage. Where were you sitting?, she accosts me. At the side, I tell her. If I’d seen you, she says, I was going to do this (she does a couple of hip hop movements) and get the crowd to go ‘Bey Lo-gan! Bey Lo-gan!’. That’s why I was sitting at the side, I mutter.

We head to another nightclub, and find ourselves in a bar area populated entirely by… guys. Veronica seems to be the only girl in the place. A Vietnamese-American friend spots us, and invites everyone to join him at a corner booth inside, next to the dance floor. That sounds more like it, until Dustin and I find ourselves wedged behind a wall of dancing, sweating frat boys (not one of whom seems to have date). They’re all wearing black t-shirts with their names on the back. There’s an unopened plastic bag next to us, containing another shirt. Hey, maybe it’s got ‘Dustin’ written on it, I suggest. God, I hope not, sighs Nguyen.

Vodka shots have arrived, and the sound of Veronica’s unique whooping laugh fills the air. Okay, you either have to match her drink for drink, observes Dustin, or just run for your life. I take the second option. Good night, Vietnam!