Kevin Kwan Quotes
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In order for me to write a scene, it's very important for me to see and experience everything with my own eyes, so yes, I was able to visit some remarkable houses and destinations while I was in China.
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I live in New York, but I still get the village gossip. My apartment is a crash pad for so many Singaporean cousins and friends.
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A lot of the people who live the lives of 'Crazy Rich Asians' don't see the humour of their lives simply because this is just who they are. Even though I'm from that part of the world, I'm no longer part of that world.
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Especially in the West, people want to understand Asia on a deeper level because it's become the engine of the world economy, like it or not.
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I sort of wanted to reveal this other side of Asia: Southeast Asia, where the Chinese have been wealthy for generations and have different ways of relating to money. I wanted to sort of reveal this world to readers.
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My father came from old money. There was less of an expectation for the children to earn a living.
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The most important thing to keep in mind is the incredible diversity of talent that's out there - there are so many great actors from all over Asia, from Singapore and Hong Kong to the Philippines and Mainland China, not to mention many great Asian-American actors who are eager for fun and challenging roles.
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I was born in Singapore, and I lived there until I was 12. I had a very fortunate upbringing.
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I think, at least for me, I'm so impressed by Shanghai and how all of China continues to evolve. On a style level, you're seeing this increased sophistication and brand awareness.
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I remember I had an aunt that lived in a house that had this beautiful ceramic wall that was entirely a painting of a peacock.
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I know an elderly society matron in Singapore who would rather walk in the scorching sun for blocks on end rather than have her chauffeur drive into the Central Business District at peak hour and pay the $1.50 surcharge.
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All Americans knew was 'The Joy Luck Club' and children of dry cleaners trying to assimilate. The Asia that I was seeing was a world of people who are incredibly sophisticated, and I wanted to represent that side.
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I'm naturally a shy, quiet person.
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If you're the water boiler king of China, you're selling a billion water boilers.
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I'm a writer. I'm naturally introverted, so being the public face of something, I don't think I do it well.
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I came from a family of extremely old money, and so by the time I was born, there was really just a trickle of money left.
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I was born on the island of Singapore, and I grew up there until I was 11 years old, when I was forcibly removed by my dad and planted into suburban Houston. I was in shock for the first year and then began to really love it - but didn't love it quite enough to stay.
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No matter our background, we all have crazy families.
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I moved to New York and went to art school at Parsons School of Design. Became a photographer. Became a creative consultant.
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I have pictures of my grandmother from the 1920s and '30s in avant-garde dresses that looked like they could have come from the House of Worth or Lucien Lelong. She would never say if they were couture, but I do recall her telling me, 'All my clothes and shoes came from Paris.'
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The China Rich seem to be spending on a scale that's just beyond anything we've ever seen before. They are building and buying an insane amount of luxury residences around the world, commissioning huge flying palaces from Boeing, and paying ridiculous amounts for art.
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I grew up with a posh English accent, and all my aunts sounded as if they came out of a Merchant Ivory movie.
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My golden dream was to move to New York and live in the Village and become that cool rebel beatnik Jack Kerouac.
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Living in the West, you see how there's only two versions of how Asian men are supposed to be. Either they're very nice, yuppie husbands with children in ads, or they're IT geeks.