Today we’d like to introduce you to Benson Quach.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My first ever experience in “Show Business” was at nine years old in my hometown of San Diego, CA. A casting agent came to my Sunday Chinese language school looking for Asian children to be featured as background in a TV pilot. There was no hope for me learning Mandarin so my mom did whatever she could to get me and my brother on this once in a lifetime opportunity. I have vague memories of my mom saying that we would do our own stunts. Next thing I know, I’m in a wardrobe trailer dressed as a refugee child entangled in a criminal drug smuggling ring off the coast of San Diego. I spent three days on that set and had my first ever omelette bar experience.
Less than ten years later, I found myself at Cal State Northridge pursuing a degree in film production hoping to experience that omelette bar again. I said yes to every industry job and internship I could for the next few years and eventually found my way to Wong Fu Productions, who also got their start in San Diego, CA around the same time I was scooping fake movie cocaine into little ziplock bags for that pilot. I’ve been with Wong Fu Productions for the last five years and just this past February, I was finally reunited with that omelette bar I was chasing after for so many years.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There were definitely struggles during my pursuit toward this career but I acknowledge and respect how necessary they were in getting me to this point. One of the biggest eye-opening experiences after moving to LA was just how truly terrible the traffic was. A few weeks after turning 18, I got into a car accident totaling the car I got only the year prior for my 17th birthday. Luckily, no one was injured, but I learned several life lessons that night. My entire family dropped everything and drove up the next day to check in on me. That day I made a promise to myself that the next time my entire family came to visit, it wouldn’t be for a mistake I made but to celebrate an accomplishment I achieved. The next time the full Quach clan visited was my graduation day. Of course, I would forget to bring their tickets but luckily, my brother got to a computer lab in time to print them.
The next few years of freelancing were not too different than the stories you hear of all the fresh faces trying to make a name for themselves in this town. The long days on set and the long days between, waiting to get back on set was something all film school graduates needed to persevere through. And only the ones who clawed and fought the hardest got into the system. It wasn’t too long ago that I was bagging up the leftovers from crew lunch and stuffing them in my backpack to freeze at home just to get me through the next couple of weeks. Now as a producer, one of the first things I budget out on any project is lunch.
Please tell us about Wong Fu Productions.
Wong Fu Productions is mostly known as a YouTube channel where we produce dramatic/romantic short films and comedic sketches along with vlog and reality type content. As Asian American creators, we also push for representation and diversity in entertainment and have featured many Asian actors/actresses that have since gone on to successful careers in television and features.
I started at as an editing intern shortly after Wong Fu released their feature film “Everything Before Us” (2015) which did a festival run and eventually made its way to Netflix. I worked my way up to become the in-house producer and assistant director. I was already working toward becoming an AD prior to joining Wong Fu so it was great to be able to transfer and utilize my skills in that way. We’ve produced a number of short films that have gone viral including “Asian Bachelorette” and the follow-up “Asian Bachelorette 2”. It’s rumored that our comedic parodies inspired the actual Bachelor spin-off in Vietnam.
We are truly a one stop shop that can produce content at any level. We’ve done successful short films with just a cell phone and an 8-part webseries that launched with YouTube Premium called “Single By 30”. We’ve worked with local mom & pop shops and large international brands. We’ve made audiences laugh, cry, and jam out to a made-up K-Pop boyband. It makes me so proud to see the talented individuals we get to work with go on to be on billboards, television, and big blockbuster movies. Our team may be small, but we’re a small dog with a lot of fight and heart.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
There’s not too much I would have done differently to be honest because I’m happy with the direction I’ve been able to take my career. If anything, I would tell myself to stop racking up credit card debt and be better about asking for help. I have always been very independently minded since childhood. Being the youngest of 3 boys meant I had a third of the parental attention that they had growing up so I had to rely much more on my observation skills and intuition. At the same time, I was lucky to have two older brothers I could turn to for guidance. I also grew up being completely deaf in my left ear making communication and paying attention in school that much more difficult. The sense of pride in my independence yet lack of courage to ask for help created unnecessary hurdles for my past self to overcome.
There was also this one gig I took as a production assistant that I probably should never talk about…
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bensonquach.com
- Email: benson@quach.com
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/bensonq
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thebensonq
- Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bensonq
- Other: http://www.youtube.com/wongfuproductions
Image Credit:
Wong Fu Productions, Jessica Lin, Marlo Coloma, Rommel Andaya and Chris Lam
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