9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The Silicon Valley and the internet[br]gave me superpowers. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Tools to go to battle with, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 a suit to take bullets with 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and a giant signal in the sky[br]that told me when it was time to fight. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Now, I can't actually prove any of this. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I am not "scientist," 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I don't have "facts." 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 In fact, my Rotten Tomato score[br]is running around 50 percent right now, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 so I'm not sure why they let me in. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (Laughter) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But if we're talking about[br]colliding with a power 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that's bigger than us, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 then I'm in the right place, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 because this last year, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I had an interesting year with a movie[br]called "Crazy Rich Asians" that I did -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (Applause and cheers) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Thank you. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And if we're talking about connection[br]specifically today, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 then I know my story is only possible 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 because of a collection of connections[br]that happened throughout my life, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 so hopefully by telling[br]a little bit of my story, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 it will help someone else find their path[br]a little sooner than I did. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 My story begins when I opened[br]the holy book for the first time ... 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the holy book of gadgets, of course, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 "Sharper Image." 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (Laughter) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Yes, those who know. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It was a magical magazine of dreams 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and had things in there that you knew[br]could not possibly exist, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but it was right there -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you could order it -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 come in the mail. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And some things that probably[br]should have never existed, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 like "Gregory," a lifelike,[br]portable mannequin 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 who deters crime by his strong,[br]masculine appearance. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (Laughter) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 This is a real thing, by the way. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But my eyes were set[br]on the Video Edit Sima II. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It was so cool at the age of 10. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 You could connect[br]all your VHS players together 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and cut something together, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 so I called my parents[br]and convinced them to buy this for me. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But before I get into that, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 let me give you a little rundown[br]about my parents. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 They came to the United States[br]when they were young, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 they're from Taiwan in China 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and they settled[br]in Los Altos, California -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the Silicon Valley[br]before the Silicon Valley -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and they started a restaurant[br]called Chef Chu's. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 50 years later, today, they still[br]work at the restaurant, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 they're still there, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and I grew up there. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And it was great. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Talk about connection -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 this place was a hub of connection. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 People coming there to celebrate[br]birthdays, anniversaries, business deals, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 eating, drinking -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 connection, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and I got to grow up in that environment. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And my parents always said, "America[br]is the greatest place in the world." 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 If you love anything, you can work hard[br]and accomplish anything you want. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So, they raised five all-American kids. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I am the youngest -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you can see I'm the one[br]with the eyes closed there -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and they named actually my sister and I,[br]Jennifer and Jonathan, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 after Jennifer and Jonathan Hart[br]from that TV show "Hart to Hart." 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (Laughter) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So that's how much[br]they loved America, apparently. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And they thought[br]that we were The Kennedys -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 my mom specifically -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 so she dressed us up[br]all the time like each other 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and she put us in etiquette classes, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 ballroom dance classes, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 made sure that we had[br]the right dental plan -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (Laughter) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 This is a real picture of me. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 That is not fake. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Thank God for that one. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And I was in charge of the video camera[br]every time we went on vacations, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 so I would collect all these videos[br]and nothing to do with it. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Thus, the Sima Video Edit 2. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So I convinced them to get it for me, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and I spent all night trying to wrangle 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 all the VCRs from my brother's[br]and sister's room, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 tangled in wires, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and now I had something to show them. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So I brought them[br]into the living room one night, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 it was probably 1991, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 somewhere around there, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and I sit them down in the living room, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 my heart was pounding, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 my breaths were deep -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 sort of like right now -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and I pressed play 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and something extraordinary[br]happened actually. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 They cried. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And cried. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 They cried not because it was[br]the most amazing home video edit ever, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 although it was pretty good, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but because they saw our family[br]as a normal family that fit in 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and belonged on the screen[br]in front of them, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 just like the movies that they worshipped[br]and the TV shows that they named us after. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And I remember as the youngest[br]of these five kids 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 feeling heard for the first time. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 There was this place where[br]all these things in my head 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 could go into the great, electric[br]somewhere-out-there 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and exist in escape, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and I knew from this moment on, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I wanted to do this[br]for the rest of my life, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 whether I was going[br]to get paid for it or not. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And so I had this passion[br]and now I needed some tools, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and my dad went to work. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 He continued to brag[br]about my home video editing skills 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to the customers at Chef Chu's, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and luckily this is the Silicon Valley, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 so they're working on stuff, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 hardware and software -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 these are all engineers -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and they offered to give me things[br]for digital video editing. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 This is like the mid-'90s, early '90's, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 where this stuff didn't exist[br]for kids like me. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So I'd get these beta software[br]and hardware from places like HP and Sun 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and Russel Brown at Adobe. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And I had no manual, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 so I'd figure it out and I fell in love[br]with it even more. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I went to USC School of Cinematic Arts[br]and started to go there, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and my mom and dad would always[br]call me randomly and remind me 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that I've got to do movies about[br]my Chinese heritage. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 That China was going to be a huge[br]market for movies one day -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I was like, "Yeah right, guys" -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (Laughter) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Always listen to your parents. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (Laughter) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I wanted to be Zemeckis,[br]Lucas and Spielberg. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The last thing I wanted to talk about[br]was my own cultural identity, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 my ethnicity. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And honestly, I had[br]no one else to talk -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 there was no one at school[br]that I could really open up to, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and even if I did, like,[br]what would I say? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So I ignored it[br]and I moved on with my life. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Cut to 15 years later, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I made it in Hollywood. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I got discovered by Spielberg, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I worked with the Rock and Bruce Willis, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Justin Bieber -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I even came to the TED stage to present[br]my dance company LXD, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and it was great. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And then a couple years ago, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I felt a little bit lost, creatively. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The engine was going down a little bit 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and I got a sign -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I heard from voices from the sky -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 or more it was like, birds. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 OK, fine, it was Twitter. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And Twitter -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (Laughter) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It was Constance Wu on Twitter, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 it was Daniel Dae Kim, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 it was Jenny Yang, who's here today, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 it was Alan Yang -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 all of these people who were writing[br]their frustrations 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 with representation in Hollywood. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And it really it me. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I thought these things[br]but never really registered -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I was really focused on -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and I felt lucky to be working, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and then I realized -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Yeah, what is wrong with Hollywood? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Why aren't they doing this? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And then I looked at myself in the mirror[br]and realized I am Hollywood. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I literally -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I popped my collar before I came out here, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 that's how Hollywood I am. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (Laughter) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Is it still up? Still up? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 (Applause) 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And for all these years I felt[br]like I had been given so much, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and what was I giving back to the film[br]business that I loved? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And I felt lucky to be here, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but at this moment, I realized[br]that I was not just lucky to be here, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I had the right to be here. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 No, I earned the right to be here. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 All those sleepless nights, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 all those parties I missed on Fridays, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 every friend and girlfriend I lost[br]because I was editing -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I earned the right to be here not just[br]to have a voice but to say something, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and say something important, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and I had, actually, the power -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 the superpower to change things[br]if I really, really wanted to. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 All those -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 you know, when you try[br]to tell stories about yourself 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and people who look like you[br]and look like your familiy, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 it can be scary, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and all those feelings[br]of being alone came back. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But the internet is what told me -- 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 sent the sign that there was going[br]to be a whole army waiting for me 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to support me and to love me for it. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And so I found Kevin Kwan's amazing[br]novel, "Crazy Rich Asians"