1 00:00:00,792 --> 00:00:05,809 The Silicon Valley and the internet gave me superpowers, 2 00:00:05,833 --> 00:00:08,643 tools to go to battle with, 3 00:00:08,667 --> 00:00:11,643 a suit to take bullets with 4 00:00:11,667 --> 00:00:16,250 and a giant signal in the sky that told me when it was time to fight. 5 00:00:17,125 --> 00:00:20,684 Now, I can't actually prove any of this. 6 00:00:20,708 --> 00:00:22,726 I am not a "scientist," 7 00:00:22,750 --> 00:00:24,208 I don't have "facts." 8 00:00:25,042 --> 00:00:28,434 In fact, my Rotten Tomato score is running around 50 percent right now, 9 00:00:28,458 --> 00:00:30,226 so I'm not sure why they let me in. 10 00:00:30,250 --> 00:00:31,476 (Laughter) 11 00:00:31,500 --> 00:00:34,976 But if we're talking about colliding with a power 12 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:36,601 that's bigger than us, 13 00:00:36,625 --> 00:00:38,226 then I'm in the right place, 14 00:00:38,250 --> 00:00:39,643 because this last year, 15 00:00:39,667 --> 00:00:43,476 I had an interesting year with a movie called "Crazy Rich Asians" that I did -- 16 00:00:43,500 --> 00:00:44,518 (Applause and cheers) 17 00:00:44,542 --> 00:00:46,518 Thank you, thank you. 18 00:00:46,542 --> 00:00:49,434 And if we're talking about connection specifically today, 19 00:00:49,458 --> 00:00:52,059 then I know my story is only possible 20 00:00:52,083 --> 00:00:56,018 because of a collection of connections that happened throughout my life, 21 00:00:56,042 --> 00:00:58,726 and so hopefully by telling a little bit of my story, 22 00:00:58,750 --> 00:01:02,476 it will help someone else find their path a little sooner than I did. 23 00:01:02,500 --> 00:01:06,625 My story begins when I opened the holy book for the first time ... 24 00:01:08,208 --> 00:01:10,934 The holy book of gadgets, of course, "Sharper Image." 25 00:01:10,958 --> 00:01:12,184 (Laughter) 26 00:01:12,208 --> 00:01:13,518 Yes, those who know. 27 00:01:13,542 --> 00:01:16,976 It was a magical magazine of dreams 28 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:20,851 and had things in there that you knew could not possibly exist, 29 00:01:20,875 --> 00:01:22,143 but it was right there. 30 00:01:22,167 --> 00:01:24,025 You could order it -- come in the mail. 31 00:01:24,049 --> 00:01:26,684 And some things that probably should have never existed, 32 00:01:26,708 --> 00:01:29,934 like "Gregory," a lifelike, portable mannequin 33 00:01:29,958 --> 00:01:32,851 who deters crime by his strong, masculine appearance. 34 00:01:32,875 --> 00:01:34,143 This is a real -- 35 00:01:34,167 --> 00:01:35,184 (Laughter) 36 00:01:35,208 --> 00:01:36,809 This is a real thing, by the way. 37 00:01:36,833 --> 00:01:37,851 (Laughter) 38 00:01:37,875 --> 00:01:41,601 But my eyes were set on the Sima Video Ed/it 2. 39 00:01:41,625 --> 00:01:44,476 This thing was so cool at the age of 10. 40 00:01:44,500 --> 00:01:47,309 You could connect all your VHS players together 41 00:01:47,333 --> 00:01:48,684 and cut something together, 42 00:01:48,708 --> 00:01:51,601 so I called my parents and convinced them to buy this for me. 43 00:01:51,625 --> 00:01:52,976 But before I get into that, 44 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:55,351 let me give you a little rundown about my parents. 45 00:01:55,375 --> 00:01:57,976 They came to the United States when they were young, 46 00:01:58,000 --> 00:01:59,684 they're from Taiwan in China 47 00:01:59,708 --> 00:02:02,601 and they settled in Los Altos, California -- 48 00:02:02,625 --> 00:02:04,976 the Silicon Valley before the Silicon Valley -- 49 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:08,601 and they started a restaurant called Chef Chu's. 50 00:02:08,625 --> 00:02:11,351 50 years later, today, they still work at the restaurant, 51 00:02:11,375 --> 00:02:12,643 they're still there, 52 00:02:12,667 --> 00:02:14,518 and I grew up there, so it was great. 53 00:02:14,542 --> 00:02:17,434 Talk about connection -- this place was a hub of connection. 54 00:02:17,458 --> 00:02:21,893 People coming there to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, business deals, 55 00:02:21,917 --> 00:02:23,184 eating, drinking -- 56 00:02:23,208 --> 00:02:24,476 connection. 57 00:02:24,500 --> 00:02:26,476 And I got to grow up in that environment. 58 00:02:26,500 --> 00:02:29,851 And my parents always said America is the greatest place in the world. 59 00:02:29,875 --> 00:02:31,143 You can -- 60 00:02:31,167 --> 00:02:35,018 if you love anything, you can work hard and you can accomplish anything you want. 61 00:02:35,042 --> 00:02:38,559 So, they raised five all-American kids. 62 00:02:38,583 --> 00:02:39,893 I am the youngest -- 63 00:02:39,917 --> 00:02:43,309 you can see I'm the one with the eyes closed there -- 64 00:02:43,333 --> 00:02:46,393 and they named actually my sister and I, Jennifer and Jonathan, 65 00:02:46,417 --> 00:02:49,684 after Jennifer and Jonathan Hart from that TV show "Hart to Hart." 66 00:02:49,708 --> 00:02:51,893 (Laughter) 67 00:02:51,917 --> 00:02:55,018 So that's how much they loved America, apparently. 68 00:02:55,042 --> 00:02:57,434 And they thought that we were The Kennedys -- 69 00:02:57,458 --> 00:02:58,726 my mom specifically -- 70 00:02:58,750 --> 00:03:01,101 so she dressed us up all the time like each other 71 00:03:01,125 --> 00:03:04,643 and she put us in etiquette classes and ballroom dance classes, 72 00:03:04,667 --> 00:03:08,559 made sure that we had the right dental plan -- 73 00:03:08,583 --> 00:03:09,893 (Laughter) 74 00:03:09,917 --> 00:03:12,226 This is a real picture of me. That is not fake. 75 00:03:12,250 --> 00:03:13,708 Thank God for that one. 76 00:03:14,500 --> 00:03:17,976 And I was in charge of the video camera every time we went on vacations, 77 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:21,143 so I would collect all these videos and had nothing to do with it. 78 00:03:21,167 --> 00:03:24,393 Thus, the Sima Video Ed/it 2. 79 00:03:24,417 --> 00:03:26,101 I convinced them to get it for me, 80 00:03:26,125 --> 00:03:29,393 and I spent all night trying to wrangle all the VCRs 81 00:03:29,417 --> 00:03:31,976 from my brother's and sister's room, tangled in wires, 82 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:33,809 and now I had something to show them. 83 00:03:33,833 --> 00:03:36,143 So I brought them into the living room one night, 84 00:03:36,167 --> 00:03:38,309 it was probably 1991, somewhere around there, 85 00:03:38,333 --> 00:03:40,351 and I sit them down in the living room -- 86 00:03:40,375 --> 00:03:42,726 my heart was pounding, my breaths were deep -- 87 00:03:42,750 --> 00:03:44,268 sort of like right now -- 88 00:03:44,292 --> 00:03:45,768 and I pressed play 89 00:03:45,792 --> 00:03:49,684 and something extraordinary happened actually. 90 00:03:49,708 --> 00:03:50,958 They cried. 91 00:03:51,583 --> 00:03:52,851 And cried. 92 00:03:52,875 --> 00:03:56,226 They cried not because it was the most amazing home video edit ever -- 93 00:03:56,250 --> 00:03:57,768 although it was pretty good -- 94 00:03:57,792 --> 00:03:58,768 (Laughter) 95 00:03:58,792 --> 00:04:04,226 but because they saw our family as a normal family that fit in 96 00:04:04,250 --> 00:04:06,393 and belonged on the screen in front of them, 97 00:04:06,417 --> 00:04:11,351 just like the movies that they worshipped and the TV shows that they named us after. 98 00:04:11,375 --> 00:04:13,726 I remember as the youngest of these five kids 99 00:04:13,750 --> 00:04:15,726 feeling heard for the first time. 100 00:04:15,750 --> 00:04:18,351 There was this place where all these things in my head 101 00:04:18,375 --> 00:04:21,934 could go into the great, electric somewhere-out-there and exist and escape, 102 00:04:21,958 --> 00:04:23,518 and I knew from this moment on, 103 00:04:23,542 --> 00:04:25,684 I wanted to do this for the rest of my life, 104 00:04:25,708 --> 00:04:27,893 whether I was going to get paid for it or not. 105 00:04:27,917 --> 00:04:30,309 So I had this passion and now I needed some tools, 106 00:04:30,333 --> 00:04:31,601 and my dad went to work. 107 00:04:31,625 --> 00:04:34,976 He continued to brag about my home video editing skills 108 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:36,934 to the customers at Chef Chu's, 109 00:04:36,958 --> 00:04:39,101 and luckily this is the Silicon Valley, 110 00:04:39,125 --> 00:04:41,976 so they're working on stuff, hardware and software -- 111 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:43,351 these are all engineers. 112 00:04:43,375 --> 00:04:47,268 And they offered to give me things for digital video editing. 113 00:04:47,292 --> 00:04:49,934 This is like the mid-'90s, early '90's, 114 00:04:49,958 --> 00:04:52,768 where this stuff didn't exist for kids like me. 115 00:04:52,792 --> 00:04:57,101 So I'd get this beta software and hardware from places like HP and Sun 116 00:04:57,125 --> 00:05:00,018 and Russell Brown at Adobe. 117 00:05:00,042 --> 00:05:01,726 And I had no manual, 118 00:05:01,750 --> 00:05:04,559 so I'd figure it out and I fell in love with it even more. 119 00:05:04,583 --> 00:05:08,268 I went to USC School of Cinematic Arts and started to go there, 120 00:05:08,292 --> 00:05:12,476 and my mom and dad would always call me randomly and remind me 121 00:05:12,500 --> 00:05:16,643 that I've got to do movies about my Chinese heritage. 122 00:05:16,667 --> 00:05:19,976 That China was going to be a huge market for movies one day. 123 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:21,684 I was like, "Yeah right, guys". 124 00:05:21,708 --> 00:05:23,143 (Laughter) 125 00:05:23,167 --> 00:05:24,684 Always listen to your parents. 126 00:05:24,708 --> 00:05:27,934 (Laughter) 127 00:05:27,958 --> 00:05:30,768 I wanted to be Zemeckis, Lucas and Spielberg. 128 00:05:30,792 --> 00:05:34,018 The last thing I wanted to talk about was my own cultural identity, 129 00:05:34,042 --> 00:05:35,684 my ethnicity. 130 00:05:35,708 --> 00:05:37,726 And honestly, I had no one else to talk -- 131 00:05:37,750 --> 00:05:40,559 there was no one at school that I could really open up to, 132 00:05:40,583 --> 00:05:42,583 and even if I did, like, what would I say? 133 00:05:42,607 --> 00:05:44,851 So I ignored it and I moved on with my life. 134 00:05:44,875 --> 00:05:46,893 Cut to 15 years later, 135 00:05:46,917 --> 00:05:48,184 I made it in Hollywood. 136 00:05:48,208 --> 00:05:49,851 I got discovered by Spielberg, 137 00:05:49,875 --> 00:05:53,518 I worked with The Rock and Bruce Willis and Justin Bieber. 138 00:05:53,542 --> 00:05:58,018 I even came to the TED stage to present my dance company LXD, 139 00:05:58,042 --> 00:05:59,518 and it was great. 140 00:05:59,542 --> 00:06:00,934 And then a couple years ago, 141 00:06:00,958 --> 00:06:03,000 I felt a little bit lost, creatively. 142 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:05,893 The engine was going down a little bit, 143 00:06:05,917 --> 00:06:07,292 and I got a sign ... 144 00:06:08,417 --> 00:06:10,292 I heard from voices from the sky ... 145 00:06:11,417 --> 00:06:13,268 or more it was like, birds. 146 00:06:13,292 --> 00:06:14,601 OK, fine, it was Twitter. 147 00:06:14,625 --> 00:06:15,893 And Twitter -- 148 00:06:15,917 --> 00:06:17,184 (Laughter) 149 00:06:17,208 --> 00:06:18,685 It was Constance Wu on Twitter, 150 00:06:18,709 --> 00:06:20,643 it was Daniel Dae Kim, 151 00:06:20,667 --> 00:06:22,976 it was Jenny Yang, who's here today, 152 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:24,268 it was Alan Yang -- 153 00:06:24,292 --> 00:06:27,601 all of these people who were writing their frustrations 154 00:06:27,625 --> 00:06:30,351 with representation in Hollywood. 155 00:06:30,375 --> 00:06:31,726 And it really hit me. 156 00:06:31,750 --> 00:06:34,309 I thought these things but never really registered -- 157 00:06:34,333 --> 00:06:35,643 I was really focused on -- 158 00:06:35,667 --> 00:06:37,226 and I felt lucky to be working, 159 00:06:37,250 --> 00:06:38,643 and so then I realized -- 160 00:06:38,667 --> 00:06:40,393 yeah, what is wrong with Hollywood? 161 00:06:40,417 --> 00:06:41,768 Why aren't they doing this? 162 00:06:41,792 --> 00:06:45,726 And then I looked at myself in the mirror and realized I am Hollywood. 163 00:06:45,750 --> 00:06:47,018 I literally -- 164 00:06:47,042 --> 00:06:49,101 I popped my collar before I came out here, 165 00:06:49,125 --> 00:06:50,434 that's how Hollywood I am. 166 00:06:50,458 --> 00:06:51,476 (Laughter) 167 00:06:51,500 --> 00:06:53,476 Is it still up? OK, good. 168 00:06:53,500 --> 00:06:55,000 (Applause) 169 00:06:56,292 --> 00:06:59,101 For all these years I felt I had been given so much, 170 00:06:59,125 --> 00:07:03,393 and what was I giving back to the film business that I loved? 171 00:07:03,417 --> 00:07:04,726 I felt lucky to be here, 172 00:07:04,750 --> 00:07:07,976 but at this moment, I realized that I was not just lucky to be here, 173 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:09,601 I had the right to be here. 174 00:07:09,625 --> 00:07:11,309 No, I earned the right to be here. 175 00:07:11,333 --> 00:07:14,518 All those sleepless nights, all those parties I missed on Fridays, 176 00:07:14,542 --> 00:07:18,059 every friend and girlfriend I lost because I was editing -- 177 00:07:18,083 --> 00:07:21,934 I earned the right to be here not just to have a voice but to say something, 178 00:07:21,958 --> 00:07:23,351 and say something important, 179 00:07:23,375 --> 00:07:25,393 and I had, actually, the power -- 180 00:07:25,417 --> 00:07:29,375 the superpower to change things if I really, really wanted to. 181 00:07:30,375 --> 00:07:33,434 When you try to tell stories about yourself 182 00:07:33,458 --> 00:07:36,143 and people who look like you and look like your family, 183 00:07:36,167 --> 00:07:37,434 it can be scary, 184 00:07:37,458 --> 00:07:39,809 and all those feelings of being alone came back. 185 00:07:39,833 --> 00:07:41,559 But the internet is what told me -- 186 00:07:41,583 --> 00:07:44,851 sent the sign that there was going to be a whole army waiting for me 187 00:07:44,875 --> 00:07:46,934 to support me and to love me for it. 188 00:07:46,958 --> 00:07:51,226 And so I found Kevin Kwan's amazing novel, "Crazy Rich Asians" 189 00:07:51,250 --> 00:07:52,518 and we went to work. 190 00:07:52,542 --> 00:07:54,726 We put this movie together. 191 00:07:54,750 --> 00:07:56,018 All-Asian cast -- 192 00:07:56,042 --> 00:07:59,101 the first all-Asian cast in 25 years with a contemporary story -- 193 00:07:59,125 --> 00:08:02,268 (Applause and cheers) 194 00:08:02,292 --> 00:08:07,143 But when we started it was not a guarantee at all. 195 00:08:07,167 --> 00:08:10,143 There was no comp for this kind of movie. 196 00:08:10,167 --> 00:08:11,934 Every time we did surveys and stuff, 197 00:08:11,958 --> 00:08:13,851 the audiences weren't going to show up. 198 00:08:13,875 --> 00:08:15,643 In fact, even in our test screenings 199 00:08:15,667 --> 00:08:18,809 where you give free tickets to people to watch your movie, 200 00:08:18,833 --> 00:08:20,851 we had a one to 25 ratio, 201 00:08:20,875 --> 00:08:23,226 meaning after 25 asked, only one person said yes, 202 00:08:23,250 --> 00:08:25,393 which is super low for these types of things. 203 00:08:25,417 --> 00:08:28,393 Asian people who knew the book didn't trust Hollywood at all, 204 00:08:28,417 --> 00:08:31,934 Asian people who didn't know the book thought the title was offensive, 205 00:08:31,958 --> 00:08:36,268 and other people who weren't Asian just didn't think it was for them. 206 00:08:36,292 --> 00:08:38,809 So we were pretty screwed. 207 00:08:38,833 --> 00:08:41,351 Luckily, Warner Brothers didn't turn away from us. 208 00:08:41,375 --> 00:08:43,893 But then the electric somewhere struck again, 209 00:08:43,917 --> 00:08:49,643 and this army of Asian-American writers, reporters, bloggers 210 00:08:49,667 --> 00:08:54,768 who over the years had worked their way up through their respective publications, 211 00:08:54,792 --> 00:08:56,851 went to work, unbeknownst to me. 212 00:08:56,875 --> 00:08:58,476 And they started to post things. 213 00:08:58,500 --> 00:09:01,976 Also, some tech founders out here started to post stuff on social media, 214 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:05,768 write stuff about us in articles in the "LA Times," 215 00:09:05,792 --> 00:09:08,518 in "The Hollywood Reporter" and "Entertainment Weekly." 216 00:09:08,542 --> 00:09:14,601 It was like this grassroots uprising of making ourselves news. 217 00:09:14,625 --> 00:09:16,250 One amazing thing to witness. 218 00:09:17,250 --> 00:09:23,226 And the swell of support turned into this conversation online 219 00:09:23,250 --> 00:09:25,143 between all these Asian Americans 220 00:09:25,167 --> 00:09:27,309 where we could actually debate and discuss 221 00:09:27,333 --> 00:09:28,810 what stories we wanted to tell, 222 00:09:28,834 --> 00:09:30,559 what stories should be told or not, 223 00:09:30,583 --> 00:09:31,851 what kind of -- 224 00:09:31,875 --> 00:09:33,809 are we allowed to make fun of ourselves? 225 00:09:33,833 --> 00:09:36,059 What about casting? What are we allowed to do? 226 00:09:36,083 --> 00:09:38,809 And we didn't agree -- and we still don't, 227 00:09:38,833 --> 00:09:40,393 but that wasn't the point. 228 00:09:40,417 --> 00:09:43,143 The point was the conversation was happening. 229 00:09:43,167 --> 00:09:47,018 And this conversation stream became an infrastructure. 230 00:09:47,042 --> 00:09:50,726 It took all these different groups that were trying to achieve the same thing 231 00:09:50,750 --> 00:09:54,768 and put us all together in this connective tissue. 232 00:09:54,792 --> 00:09:56,101 And again, not perfect, 233 00:09:56,125 --> 00:10:00,333 but the start of how we determine our own representation on the big screen. 234 00:10:01,667 --> 00:10:04,768 It became more physical when I went to the movie theater. 235 00:10:04,792 --> 00:10:07,476 I'll never forget going -- opening weekend, 236 00:10:07,500 --> 00:10:10,143 and I went into the theater, and it's not just Asians -- 237 00:10:10,167 --> 00:10:11,434 all types of people -- 238 00:10:11,458 --> 00:10:12,768 and I go in and sit down, 239 00:10:12,792 --> 00:10:15,375 and people laughed, people cried, 240 00:10:16,333 --> 00:10:18,976 and when I went into the lobby, 241 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:20,250 people stayed. 242 00:10:20,750 --> 00:10:22,643 It's like they didn't want to leave. 243 00:10:22,667 --> 00:10:24,476 They just hugged each other, 244 00:10:24,500 --> 00:10:26,226 high-fived each other, took selfies, 245 00:10:26,250 --> 00:10:28,351 they debated it, they laughed about it. 246 00:10:28,375 --> 00:10:30,268 All these different things. 247 00:10:30,292 --> 00:10:33,601 I had such an intimate relationship with this movie, 248 00:10:33,625 --> 00:10:36,726 but I didn't understand when we were making it 249 00:10:36,750 --> 00:10:39,768 what we were making until it was happening -- 250 00:10:39,792 --> 00:10:44,768 that it was the same thing that my parents felt when they watched our family videos 251 00:10:44,792 --> 00:10:46,643 in that living room that day. 252 00:10:46,667 --> 00:10:50,059 Seeing us on the screen has a power to it, 253 00:10:50,083 --> 00:10:52,893 and the only way I can describe it is pride. 254 00:10:52,917 --> 00:10:56,351 I have always understood this word intellectually -- 255 00:10:56,375 --> 00:10:58,643 I've probably talked about this word, 256 00:10:58,667 --> 00:11:00,476 but to actually feel pride -- 257 00:11:00,500 --> 00:11:02,518 and those of you who have felt it know -- 258 00:11:02,542 --> 00:11:06,851 it's like you just want to like, touch everybody and grab and run around. 259 00:11:06,875 --> 00:11:08,351 It's like a very -- 260 00:11:08,375 --> 00:11:09,643 I can't explain -- 261 00:11:09,667 --> 00:11:11,351 it's just a very physical feeling, 262 00:11:11,375 --> 00:11:15,292 all because of a long pattern of connection. 263 00:11:16,500 --> 00:11:18,726 Film was a gift given to me, 264 00:11:18,750 --> 00:11:21,434 and through the years I've learned a lot of things. 265 00:11:21,458 --> 00:11:24,601 You can plan, you can write scripts, you can do your storyboards, 266 00:11:24,625 --> 00:11:26,851 but at a certain point, 267 00:11:26,875 --> 00:11:29,018 your movie will speak back to you, 268 00:11:29,042 --> 00:11:31,208 and it's your job to listen. 269 00:11:31,667 --> 00:11:34,393 It's this living organism and it sort of presents itself, 270 00:11:34,417 --> 00:11:37,184 so you better catch it before it slips through your hands, 271 00:11:37,208 --> 00:11:39,768 and that's the most exciting part about making movies. 272 00:11:39,792 --> 00:11:42,351 When I look at life, it's not that different actually. 273 00:11:42,375 --> 00:11:46,351 I've been led through these sort of breadcrumbs of connections 274 00:11:46,375 --> 00:11:48,809 through people, through circumstances, 275 00:11:48,833 --> 00:11:50,393 through luck. 276 00:11:50,417 --> 00:11:54,976 And it changed when I realized that once you start listening 277 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:57,518 to the silent beats and the messy noises around you, 278 00:11:57,542 --> 00:12:01,768 you realize that there's this beautiful symphony already written for you. 279 00:12:01,792 --> 00:12:04,042 A direct line to your destiny. 280 00:12:04,667 --> 00:12:06,226 Your superpower. 281 00:12:06,250 --> 00:12:09,083 Now, film was a gift given to me, 282 00:12:10,417 --> 00:12:15,434 sort of spurred on by my parents and supported by my community. 283 00:12:15,458 --> 00:12:18,833 I got to be who I wanted to be when I needed to be it. 284 00:12:19,625 --> 00:12:22,018 My mom posted something on Facebook the other day, 285 00:12:22,042 --> 00:12:24,625 which is usually a really bad thing to say out loud -- 286 00:12:25,958 --> 00:12:28,143 scary, she should not have a Facebook, but -- 287 00:12:28,167 --> 00:12:29,518 (Laughter) 288 00:12:29,542 --> 00:12:31,518 She posted this thing, and it was a meme, 289 00:12:31,542 --> 00:12:33,309 you know, one of those funny things, 290 00:12:33,333 --> 00:12:36,518 and it said, "You can't change someone who doesn't want to change, 291 00:12:36,542 --> 00:12:39,143 but never underestimate the power of planting a seed." 292 00:12:39,167 --> 00:12:41,768 And as I was doing the finishing touches on this talk, 293 00:12:41,792 --> 00:12:44,559 I realized that all the powerful connections in my life 294 00:12:44,583 --> 00:12:51,018 were through generosity and kindness and love and hope. 295 00:12:51,042 --> 00:12:54,434 So when I think about my movies "Crazy Rich Asians" and "In the Heights" 296 00:12:54,458 --> 00:12:56,101 which I'm working on right now -- 297 00:12:56,125 --> 00:12:57,434 (Applause and cheers) 298 00:12:57,458 --> 00:12:59,351 Yes, it's a good one. 299 00:12:59,375 --> 00:13:03,809 All I want to do is show joy and hope in them, 300 00:13:03,833 --> 00:13:07,476 because I refuse to believe that our best days are behind us, 301 00:13:07,500 --> 00:13:09,893 but in fact, around the corner. 302 00:13:09,917 --> 00:13:11,184 Because you see love -- 303 00:13:11,208 --> 00:13:14,143 love is the superpower that was given to me. 304 00:13:14,167 --> 00:13:18,893 Love is the superpower that was passed onto me. 305 00:13:18,917 --> 00:13:23,143 Love is the only thing that can stop a speeding bullet 306 00:13:23,167 --> 00:13:24,809 before it even exits the chamber. 307 00:13:24,833 --> 00:13:27,351 Love is the only thing that can leap over a building 308 00:13:27,375 --> 00:13:29,958 and have a whole community look up into the sky, 309 00:13:30,958 --> 00:13:32,309 join hands, 310 00:13:32,333 --> 00:13:36,167 and have the courage to face something that's impossibly bigger than themselves. 311 00:13:36,792 --> 00:13:39,726 So I have a challenge for myself and for anyone here. 312 00:13:39,750 --> 00:13:42,184 As you're working on your thing, 313 00:13:42,208 --> 00:13:43,518 on your company, 314 00:13:43,542 --> 00:13:47,851 and you're forging this thing to life, and you're making the impossible possible, 315 00:13:47,875 --> 00:13:50,958 let's just not forget to be kind to each other, 316 00:13:51,750 --> 00:13:55,059 because I believe that is the most powerful form of connection 317 00:13:55,083 --> 00:13:56,601 we can give to this planet. 318 00:13:56,625 --> 00:13:59,893 In fact, our future depends on it. 319 00:13:59,917 --> 00:14:01,184 Thank you. 320 00:14:01,208 --> 00:14:03,518 (Applause and cheers) 321 00:14:03,542 --> 00:14:04,976 Thank you. 322 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:07,292 (Applause)