RottenTomatoes: First of all, congratulations on picking up the two nominations for the 2003 IFP Independent Spirit Awards. What was that like?

Charlotte Sometimes director Eric Byler

Eric Byler: Thank you. It's a big honor, sometimes I think too big. We just wanted to get distribution. No one was thinking Spirit Awards -- not me, not anyone.

RottenTomatoes: What else has happened since we last talked in July, 2002 (read the first interview with Eric)?

Eric Byler: After finishing Charlotte Sometimes, I tried life as a normal person and failed miserably. Luckily, it was time to hit the festival circuit, which meant free hotel rooms and air travel through October, November and December. At the Hawai'i International Film Festival, Roger Ebert wrote his famous review and things started to happen for us. I was back in Hawai'i for another festival when I got the call about the nominations.

RottenTomatoes: The movie has a number of highly charged sex scenes. Can you talk about the motivation for those scenes? How difficult was it to shoot those obviously very personal scenes, in terms of working with the actors and getting the right shots?

Eric Byler: I tried to approach the sex scenes just like any other. But it was really difficult at first. On the one hand, I had a vision to execute. On the other hand, it was kind of embarrassing to explain what that was.

When we were getting ready to shoot the first one (we shot them in the same order in which they appear), I was describing to the actors what I needed them to do, and I suddenly stopped and said, "Forget it, I can’t do this." Matt and Eugenia had to stop me from scrapping the scene. They said, "C’mon, it’s acting, we can handle it, it’s what we do." I think my discomfort with this kind of intimacy was a big reason why I shot the scene through a window, rather than from inside the room.

The second one was also shot through a frame within the frame, created by the underside of a bed and a hardwood floor. I knew I could create the meaning cinematically if I got the shots I needed. But the action was very dark, almost cruel, which made the scene extremely challenging for all of us.

I think I did my best directing in the sex scene in the hotel room. I was able to prepare the actors in such a way that they focused much more on their objectives and motivations than on the fact that the action was sexual in nature.

RottenTomatoes: There's a really great line in the movie, when Darcy says, "Men don't really want to be with me; they only think they do." It seems to say as much about the movie as it does about Darcy in that the truth is hidden beneath the surface. Do you recall the moment you penned the line, and what was it like hearing Jacqueline Kim deliver it in person?

Eric Byler: I remember writing the scene. It came together very quickly, maybe twenty minutes, and it’s probably the only scene that didn’t change during rehearsal or production.

I imagined a formidable but soul-weary temptress, momentarily revealing her inner self to a man she's beginning to fall for. In the verbal exchange leading up to that line, both Michael and Darcy use their own insecurities as weapons against the other. Darcy's revelation suggests a series of failed relationships, where the same unique strength that attracted her lovers also scared them away. She's asking him to be different from the others, but she's really afraid to ask, so it comes across more like a dare.

I wrote the line, and the role, with Jacqueline in mind. It was wonderful to see her bring it to life with such nuance and complexity.

RottenTomatoes: As a filmmaker and writer, what are your sources of inspiration? How was being bi-racial, growing up in California and Hawaii, influential to your outlook on life?

Michael Idemoto and Eugenia Yuan in Charlotte Sometimes

Eric Byler: Being bi-racial is a big part of my self-identity. I think the awareness of being stuck in between gave me a unique perspective on most things.

Mono-racial people tend to focus more on racial differences. Race is a convenient way to separate people we trust from people we don’t trust -- the good guys from the bad guys. This puts multi-racial people in strange predicament. We can't be separated in terms of race. And doing so to others just doesn't make sense.

Charlotte Sometimes asks people to identify with characters who happen to be Asian in a very personal way. The assumption is that our common ground as human beings will transcend the racial construct. When people react to the film negatively, I sometimes wonder if this is the wrong time for such a film. But in many circles, especially of late, people have responded quite well. Maybe a multi-racial perspective isn't so unique after all.

RottenTomatoes: What's next for Charlotte?

Eric Byler: There are several film festivals in March and April. Theatrical release in April or May. The first cities will be San Francisco and Chicago. You can keep up with us on our website.

RottenTomatoes: Can you talk about some of your current and upcoming projects?

Eric Byler: I've signed on to write and direct the screen adaptation of Shawn Wong’s novel American Knees. I'm attached to direct Kealoha: The Loved One, a film I wrote about my youth in Hawai'i. And I'm attached to direct a Hawai'i noir, currently titled The Tattoo.

RottenTomatoes: Okay, fun question. Can you list your five "guilty pleasure" movies?

Eric Byler: Return of the Living Dead: Always loved flesh-eating zombies and this film has the best mix of terror and humor.

The Exorcist III: There's one scene that blows my mind, really cinematic and terrifying stuff, also George C. Scott and Ed Flanders are really fun together.

The Pink Panther Strikes Again: I think all the Pink Panther movies are hilarious, but no one my age or younger agrees.

Anything with Mel Brooks or Steve Martin: They always made me laugh when I was growing up, and besides that I like them as people.

Just Kidding/Candid Camera – Practical jokes on unsuspecting people are lovely.

Rotten Tomatoes: Thanks very much for your time and congratulations on Charlotte Sometimes.

Eric Byler: Thank you.

About Eric Byler
Bi-racial writer-director Eric Byler grew up in Hawaii and California before graduating from Wesleyan University in Connecticut. His short film Kenji's Faith premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and went on to win six festival awards, as well as a nomination for "The Student Academy Awards" sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. His first feature Charlotte Sometimes is up for two 2003 IFP Independent Spirit Awards: Best Feature Under $500,000 (The John Cassavetes Award) and Best Supporting Actress (Jacqueline Kim). Charlotte Sometimes also received the "Audience Award for First Films Narrative" at the South by Southwest Film Festival, the "Special Jury Award for Narrative Filmmaking" at the Florida Film Festival, and "Best Dramatic Feature" at the San Diego Asian Film Festival. Eric's father is of European descent; his mother is Chinese American.

Charlotte Sometimes hits theaters in May 2003. Click here to find out when it shows in your location.

Watch the trailer here.