Kevin Kwan teases TV series, new book

CEBU, Philippines - When I met Kevin Kwan, he was outfitted in an all-white ensemble and had on a pair of rather simple thong sandals – far from your image of a crazy rich, influential novelist.

No crisp suits or handmade Italian footwear. There was no fancy earpiece attached to his lobe for phone calls, not even a phone in hand in contrast to the fabulously wealthy characters he writes about and even knows in real life. He wore his hair down, just brushing his shoulders, and he had a warm, welcoming gaze.

Kwan looked like a man who couldn’t wait to hit the beach. He would have looked like any other tourist in the city and yet, he also blended well with the VIP crowd at a cordoned-off portion of the SM Seaside City Cebu Sky Hall.

Now a New York Times best-selling author, Kwan visited the Queen City of the South to promote the last book in his trilogy, “Rich People Problems” via a book signing event alongside Queen of all Media Kris Aquino who, after much speculation, was confirmed to play a part in the film adaptation of Kwan’s outrageously funny debut novel “Crazy Rich Asians.”

More to say

Despite having written three satirical novels about the super-rich pedigreed families and all their gossiping, backbiting, and scheming adventures, “Crazy Rich Asians,” “China Rich Girlfriend” and “Rich People Problems” – all successful upon release – Kwan presses that people can count on more varied content in his future works.

“I do think that I’ve become known as a satirical novelist and I hope to change that. I’ve written three books about that but I have so much more to say, and it’s not just about crazy, rich Asians,” Kwan shares during a press conference as he hinted on a brand-new book outside of the trilogy, plus a television series – both of which he describes as “globe-trotting” and “completely different from ‘Crazy Rich’”.

Born into a wealthy family from Singapore, Kwan was the baby among his two brothers. They lived in Singapore and then moved to Houston, Texas in the United States when Kwan was 12 years old. He shared how his father, who spent most of his younger years in an Australian boarding school, fell in love with the outback and wished a much more outdoorsy, carefree life for his children without too much pampering from maids. Thus, the move to America.

Beyond his wildest dreams

The novelist, who calls New York home since 1995, considers Hong Kong and Singapore as his second habitat, and revealed that his books are a valentine to his motherland. Despite the outpour of milk and honey brought by his novels, Kwan absolutely didn’t see the success coming.

“I never expected it to come to this point. This is beyond my wildest dreams and it could’ve happened to any author. It was just a matter of timing, and I feel very lucky,” Kwan says.

The film adaptation of his debut novel, “Crazy Rich Asians,” is currently in post-production and slated for a 2018 release. Produced by the same studios that worked on “The Hunger Games” series, Color Force and Ivanhoe Pictures, the comedy stars an entirely Asian cast such as Constance Wu (“Fresh Off The Boat”), Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Harry Shum Jr. of “Glee” fame, Chris Pang, Gemma Chan, Awkwafina, and Filipino comedian Nico Santos. Of course, there’s Kris Aquino’s much-publicized participation.

Kris, who has been raving about her excitement in being part of the project, promises that the film is going to be one of the most fabulous and unbelievable projects out there. She describes her time with “Crazy Rich Asians” as “one of the most beautiful experiences in my life.”

On Kris nabbing a part in the Hollywood project, Kwan says that it was serendipity and that the stars just happened to align for them to work together. He admits to being torn between keeping news of the casting and the film in general a secret, especially after witnessing how these places and characters who were all just inside his head came to life as a major motion picture.

“It was just unbelievable to me. Yes, giddy would be the right word.,” Kwan says. “Every day I was watching audition tapes, and hearing from producers about how they found the perfect actor, and I’d get hundreds of photos from the set, from Constance, and Henry, and everybody. It’s a dream come true, and I knew so early but I couldn’t tell anyone. That’s why it’s so nice when the media puts the news out and says that Harry Shum Jr. is part of the cast, and only then can I say ‘Yay, Harry Shum Jr. is part of the cast!’”

Fascination with Filipinos

Noticeably, the Philippines plays a huge part in his latest novel, “Rich People Problems.” Palawan, for instance, is a highlighted part of the book as the background to Astrid Leong’s arc. Kwan, who first visited the country in 1997 as a college student who slept by day and partied by night, reveals that the Philippines holds a dear place in his heart.

In 2015, Kwan returned to the country to promote his second book, “China Rich Girlfriend” and had the opportunity to go on a holiday in a private resort in El Nido – a paradise he fell in love with.

“There’s not a space or anything in my book that I have not seen and breathed the air. I went and immersed myself in all the places that I mentioned in my books,” says Kevin, adding that his research for writing the book mainly came from childhood memories, his travels, and familiar anecdotes from Singapore and Hong Kong society.

“I’ve been to beaches around the world. I’m a beach bum, and I thought I’d seen it all and then I came to Palawan and it took my breath away. I went and had the most marvelous time. Every day they would take me to a different place and I would see a secret lagoon surrounded by cliffs, and a secret beach. I was so inspired and I knew I wanted a setting for one of the characters to have a transformative experience there, for them to really feel their soul,” Kevin gushed.

In his time in the Philippines, Kevin also fell for garlic rice (sinangag), and has established friendships with many Filipino A-listers who welcomed him two years ago.

His book signing event was his first time in Cebu, and because his schedule was packed, Kwan bemoans how didn’t have the time to go to the beach, which is why he plans to come back to Cebu on vacation mode.

Beaches aside, Kwan is also fascinated with the Filipinos he has come across. After his YOLO days as a partygoer, Kwan finally had the chance to meet different types of people across the country.

“I’ve always been interested since there’s always a diverse mix of people here. There are the Filipino-Chinese which is one section of characters in my books, there are also the ones with Spanish blood. I think it’s a fascinating history of families, similar in Singapore where you have a few families who worked for decades to build the country,” he says.

Name game

When asked about how much was fact and fiction in his books, Kwan reiterates that much of it is inspired by his childhood, and he tries to write from a place of memory, inspiration and truth.

“If I have friends who are more careful around me now, then they’re being very diplomatic about it. And none of my friends have their personal stories written in my book so it’s not like I’m exposing anyone’s secrets. The stories, they are all already very familiar to most people,” Kwan elaborates.

Kwan likes to play a little name game with his characters by joining the names of different Singapore, Hong Kong, and even Western high society icons and friends.

“I did the same to my Filipino friends, with the exception of Karen Davila. It’s fun for the friends that discover themselves in the books. It’s like a fun little treat to see a version of yourself,” says Kwan, who referenced Filipino icons in his story like Josie Natori, Karen Davila, Manny Pacquiao, Ramon Orlina, and Cebuano accessories designer Neil Felipp.

Cebuana blogger Kryz Uy and Kris Aquino, both Filipino-Chinese and big fans of Kwan, mirror each other’s sentiments about relating so much to his books. Kris, whose “friends who love brands are in love with Kevin,” thinks that the novelist brought “reading back into fashion” and encapsulated the trilogy as something Filipinos and Asians in general would love because of its family factor.

“Filipinos love talking about family. It’s something that we’re so into, and something that we can all relate to because you know we all have infighting, and issues so it’s made reading also close to our hearts,” the actress quips.

Kwan admits that the books are very much inspired by his family as well, and jokes that maybe the reason why he doesn’t have nephews and nieces yet is that his brothers must be convinced that “the crazy has to stop somewhere.”

Among his three best-selling books, Kwan finds the second —“China Rich Girlfriend” – the most difficult to write. The book circles into the elite society of Mainland China, something that the novelist found difficult to capture.

“I don’t know China that well,” Kwan admits. “China was a closed culture until 20 years ago, so I didn’t start going until 10-15 years ago. It’s not a second home to me in the way Singapore and Hong Kong is so it was harder to infiltrate that world.”

Kwan, who only had eight months to write “Rich People Problems,” says that the said book is his favorite among the three—mainly because it’s the freshest in his mind.

Easygoing disposition

The novelist found an interest in writing when he was 10 years old, and had published his first piece when he was 16 via a literary journal in Texas. Aside from writing, Kwan has also ventured into the world of art and style. Usually, he writes separate short stories for his characters, and watches how they all come together.

Recently, he admits that his writing style has become more adaptable. Before, Kwan used to write at the corner of his living room, in the very small apartment where he lives in New York where he followed a disciplined schedule: writing in the morning, office work in the afternoon, and a few hours of writing in the evening. In his latest book, he began to start writing in his laptop — something that was very new to him.

“I never thought I could write anywhere else besides my living room. Somehow, I ventured into cafes and I found to my surprise that I could write in a café. It’s nice to be out there, motivated and being in a space where there’s energy around you. It’s exciting because now I can travel and write instead of in my apartment,” Kwan says.

Kwan’s easygoing disposition is a stark difference to the high-strung perception that pop culture has over the one percent of the one percent elite. He unrelentingly signed over 200 books, posed for countless photos, and entertained one question after the other. Asked about the take-away from his mock-epics, Kwan remained modest.

“I just really hope to entertain people and I hope that people laugh and enjoy the story. I hope it makes them think and decide for themselves about what to take from it—whether money is worth the price.” (FREEMAN)