Life & Work with Yue Luna Wu of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Yue Luna Wu.

Hi Yue Luna, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My name is Yue Luna Wu, and I’m a screenwriter based in Los Angeles. I write television, feature films, and vertical dramas in both English and Chinese. My work can be found on platforms like GoodShort, Tencent Video, and Netflix, or on The Black List.

I was born in a small, underdeveloped town in China, where becoming a screenwriter felt like an impossible dream. But I was stubborn (or naïve) enough to believe that nothing is impossible. So I kept writing, one page at a time, until my stories eventually took me all the way to the United States: after my Hogwarts acceptance letter got lost, I settled for New York University. Drunk on diversity and inclusion, I learned to become a global citizen. For the first time, I realized that stories could travel farther than borders, and that empathy could be a language of its own.

After graduation, I joined Star Lotus Pictures and worked on Lost You Forever, a Chinese fantasy period drama that became the most-watched series of summer 2023 and later received multiple Magnolia Award nominations, one of China’s highest honors for television. I was amazed to see how a story could entertain millions while also inspiring so many young women to believe they were allowed to choose their own destiny. That realization continues to shape my writing.

I then earned my MFA in Screenwriting from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. I write about fighting against injustice and seeking love in the darkest places. I’m deeply grateful for my years at USC. Every step of my journey was shaped by professors, collaborators, and industry veterans who opened doors, challenged me to become better, and believed in me long before I had many achievements to prove they were right.

Today, I primarily work in vertical drama, one of the fastest-growing forms of entertainment. Since 2025, I’ve written, localized, and edited more than 30 series that have generated over $200 million in revenue and accumulated hundreds of millions of views. Looking ahead, I’m excited to continue collaborating with companies such as GoodShort, CineDream, and Tencent to tell stories that entertain first, but also encourage audiences to question unjust systems and find hope in difficult moments. We have several shows coming up, so stay tuned!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Professionally, one of my biggest challenges has been learning how to tell the same story in a way that feels emotionally true across different cultures. I discovered this most clearly while writing The Perfect Lie. The story touches on family relationships, and one of its core conflicts involved the Chinese concept of filial piety. In China, it’s a deeply rooted Confucian value, and being labeled “unfilial” carries serious moral judgment. But in the United States, there isn’t really an equivalent concept. American audiences are more likely to understand the same conflict through the lens of personal boundaries, emotional control, or overly demanding parents.

So instead of asking audiences to understand a cultural concept, I translated it into human behavior. Rather than telling viewers that a character was “unfilial,” I showed parents who tried to control every aspect of their child’s life, expectations that became impossible to meet, and love that gradually turned into pressure. Once I shifted the conflict from a cultural value to a universal emotional experience, the story resonated with audiences from both backgrounds.

That experience taught me that cross-cultural storytelling isn’t about translation—it’s about finding the shared emotional truth underneath different cultures. I’m grateful that this approach proved to work. The Perfect Lie was selected as a Semifinalist for the Humanitas Fellowship, where only 25 semifinalists are chosen each year from more than 1,000 submissions, and as a Finalist for the ChunM Script Rally, hosted by Alibaba Youku, one of China’s largest streaming platforms. Having the same screenplay recognized by two of the most prestigious screenwriting competitions in the United States and China was incredibly meaningful to me. It felt like a small but encouraging sign that I had learned how to bridge two cultures through storytelling.

Personally, being a first-generation immigrant has been its own adventure. I moved to the U.S. alone, far away from my family, and there were times when the loneliness was overwhelming. I also realized that no one hands you a manual for adult life in a new country. I had to learn everything from scratch—how to file taxes, rent an apartment, set up electricity, water, Wi-Fi, health insurance… things everyone else seemed to magically know. I often felt like a child asking endless questions and relying on the kindness of friends, classmates, and complete strangers. I’m very grateful for their help.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m currently developing my own original television series called Against the Current, which is still under a confidential stage, so I can’t share too many details just yet. At the same time, I’ve been writing vertical dramas, one of the fastest-growing storytelling formats in the entertainment industry. It has evolved from a niche mobile format into a global business generating billions of dollars in annual revenue. Major Hollywood studios like Disney have begun investing in or developing vertical content of their own.

It’s an exciting space because it forces writers to rethink narrative efficiency while reaching audiences on an enormous scale. I specialize in writing stories with powerful hooks and cliffhangers. The opening should grab you immediately, and the ending should leave you with no choice but to watch the next episode. That rhythm of constant anticipation is something I pay close attention to.

Some of my credits include I’m the Mafia Girl Boss and He’s My Man, which received a Bronze Telly Award; You Messed With the Wrong Nerd, featuring Dancing with the Stars performer Gleb Savchenko; Trapped and Redeemed by His Love (12 million views); Daddy’s Birthday Became Daughter’s Funeral (700k+ followers); and My New Daddy is a Five-Star General (IMDb rating 8.2).

I’m most proud of my projects making a lot of money. Joking. I’m most proud of my writing being seen and liked. There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing viewers become emotionally invested in characters I created, discussing the stories online, and coming back for the next episode.

What sets me apart is my cross-cultural perspective. Growing up between different cultures has given me both a deep understanding of how stories resonate across markets and the practical experience of writing for diverse global audiences. I’m also good at balancing commercial storytelling and artistic storytelling.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Be brave. So many opportunities begin with a simple email that almost never gets sent.

Don’t be afraid to introduce yourself, reach out to someone you admire, or ask for advice. Most people won’t respond—and that’s okay. You only need a few meaningful connections to make a real difference. Throughout my career, I’ve learned that people are often much more generous than we assume, especially if you’re genuine, respectful of their time, and not expecting anything beyond a conversation!

Contact Info:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yue-luna-wu-617ba2189/
• Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm17942767/