My Exclusive Interview with JuJu Chan of the Mysterious New Web Series LUMINA

LUMINA is an upcoming Web Series from Hong Kong, described by writer/director Jennifer Thym as an “Indie Thriller”. There is definitely a vibe of mystery going on in this complex story, which follows the beautiful Lumina Wong (JuJu Chan) as she falls in love with a man (Michael Chan) that only appears to her in mirrors. That? That’s not normal. I’m majorly interested in what will unravel in this darkly romantic and unusual story. LUMINA premieres this summer. Subscribe to the Lumina Series YouTube channel to get updates and watch the magical story unfold.

JuJu Chan agreed to talk with me about the exciting LUMINA project. Read on below for our interview!

Lumina

SofaChip (SC): You act, model, dance and sing – making me wonder if you’re secretly the Energizer bunny (who’s always on the go)! At what age did you start engaging in your creative pursuits?

JuJu Chan (J): Yes! I am an Energizer bunny LoL! All of my friends said I never stop, always doing everything, and having so much energy in pursuing all passions. I started my creative pursuits when I was three years old. My parents sent me to ballet school to practice ballet, and music school to learn piano and vocal. I had my first dance, singing, and piano performances when I was 4 years old. I’ve always loved being on stage, and my goal is always to be a successful performing artist.  I started acting in high school in school dramas and plays. My first major stage drama role was in high school, then I started acting in some film and TV projects in Hong Kong and New York. I’ve always loved being on camera no matter if it’s still or video. I started modeling since I was sixteen modeling for fashion and beauty magazines, commercial ads, and fashion shows.

Gorgeous anywhere and everywhere.

SC: How did you get attached to the LUMINA web series project? What was most appealing to you about the story?

J: I met my producer/writer/director, Jen Thym, in July 2008. She was a gaming friend of my friend in New York, and we clicked from the start.  Jen talked to me about the LUMINA project on our first meeting, and showed me the first script. I was very interested in her story, and I very interested in taking the role of Lumina. I still remembered we had a three hours meeting that day, talking about the 1st version of the LUMINA project, getting to know each other, and did some cold reading of the script.  After the first meeting, we stayed attached to the project through its various incarnations and story revisions.

There were a lot of things that appeal to me about the story… LUMINA is a romantic story yet it’s dark; you can feel the romance between the two lovers living in two worlds separated by a piece of glass, and discover the unfortunate truth that there’s no way for them to really be together… or maybe there’s a way that no one knows…  The story is very mysterious, and it always amazes me by seeing the use of all different kinds of reflective surfaces to present the two sides of the world in the story. LUMINA is definitely a story that requires a lot of thought and an amazing crew to make it happen.

True love?

SC: Your character, Lumina Wong, has a strong belief in a fairy tale type of love. Do you share a similar outlook? If you were Lumina’s friend, would you encourage her romantic ideals?

J: I am a very strong believer in the fairy tale type of love and I am still waiting for my fairy tale…haha…  I think what a fairy tale love means is to believe in fate and to never give up on your love. I do believe in fate, I don’t mind meeting a man from another world, from the reflective surface, if I do meet him, that’s fate. Hey! How often will things happen like this? I would definitely encourage Lumina’s romantic ideals. Follow your heart, and believe in fate, Lumina!

JuJu, photographed by Michael Jeong

SC: LUMINIA was shot in twelve days. Was it a hectic process? Did you guys manage to sleep?

J: Ya. We had a crazy schedule, haha… I still remember call time for the first day was 4:30am, the city was still dark while we were setting up. The twelve days schedule was very intense, because we were shooting almost every single day. The longest day was almost 20 hours of filming and we’ve got 2-3 hours of sleep before the next day of filming. However, we don’t really feel tired during the twelve days of filming, we all enjoyed working together and filming LUMINA so much that we really don’t mind working non-stop.

Cast and crew

SC: We don’t want any major spoilers (we’re patient, honest!), and we know you can’t give us them anyway – but can you tell us a bit about one of the scenes you most enjoying filming for LUMINA?

J: Of coz!!! There are so many scenes I love and I had so much fun filming LUMINA. One of them is the scene where I was taking to Ryder in a taxi. This is a very interesting and romantic scene, where you will see Ryder in the taxi window reflection and Lumina inside the taxi leaning against the window with the beautiful evening Hong Kong street lights outside the taxi window. Though Ryder doesn’t appear inside the taxi but in the reflection, we actually shot the scene with two of us inside the taxi. How? You can try to figure it out when you watch the episode. *wink *

JuJu Chan on the LUMINA set - photo by Bettina Enigl

SC: Your blog shows pictures of your absolutely gorgeous apartment, and it contains lots and lots of mirrors. Mirrors play a huge role in LUMINA. Have you always loved the decorative aspect of mirrors, or did you feel especially influenced by the series when designing your place?

J: Thanks for the comments on my apartment J. It’s my 1st interior design project for myself. And you are right, LUMINA has influenced me in designing my place. I started to research on different mirror designs and usages of mirrors in apartment design. I renovated my apartment few months after shooting LUMINA. I really love my apartment with all the mirrors.  It makes my apartment look a lot more spacious, and they are very beautiful decorations. Mirrors are also very useful for me to practice my acting, dance and modeling poses and walk at home =D

Behind the scenes!

SC: What are you most excited for as your friends, family, and fans begin their journey into watching the LUMINA web series? Is there anything in particular you think we should keep in mind as we watch? (Like the gorgeousness that is Hong Kong?)

J: LUMINA is a very exciting project, I am sure my friends, family, and fans will be very excited to see this new Asian American production (our producer/writer/director Jen Thym as well as the main characters are mostly Asian American and Asian-Canadian), and will be amazed by how many reflections there are once they start looking for them in the series.

The gorgeous scenery of Hong Kong is definitely one of the particular things that everyone should keep in mind as they watch. We shot all over Hong Kong, and we also looked for the stranger corners, the bits of Hong Kong that you don’t always see in Hollywood films. Besides, LUMINA was shot on the indie filmmaker’s dream camera, the RED One, it features an intricately layered story, exciting cinematography, and spectacular Hong Kong backdrops, and shows again that indie productions can be a serious contender in the web series field. 

SC: I love to know what other TV shows or web series people are into, and recommendations are always more than welcome. So, spill it JuJu! What do you love to watch?

J: I love all kinds of shows and series from sitcom to layered story to romantic story to reality shows to science fiction series…

Here is my top 10 list of shows: 24, Lost, Heroes, CSI Miami, South Park, Friends, Seinfeld, The Amazing Race, The Guild, and Full House (Korean).

JuJu Chan behind the scenes on LUMINA

The trailer for LUMINA the Web Series:

JuJu Chan’s Blog (She’s so fun and sweet, I love all of the pictures she shares.)

The Official Site for LUMINA (Wonderfully expansive and full of goodies!)

Watch the LUMINA trailer in HD (Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. Should I say it again? Gorgeous.)

Don’t forget to subscribe to or follow the Lumina Series YouTube channel!

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