Want to hear more from the actors and creators of your favorite shows and films? Subscribe to The Cinema Spot on YouTube for all of our upcoming interviews!
Cheryl X. Wang’s Upcoming Work with Music in Film and Television
JT: The last thing I want to talk about is your upcoming work.
Now, as you mentioned just earlier, you have two films, both of which you serve as the music coordinator, that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this month. The first [film] is Shortcomings, directed by Randall Park, and the other [film] is Sometimes I Think About Dying. What is Sometimes I Think About Dying about?
CXW: It’s [about] a woman [who] always think[s] about the ways of dying in a very quiet town in an office space. Then, something happened, and she has to deal with a kind of obsession with think[ing] about dying. I actually haven’t finished—I didn’t watch the film as a whole, so I don’t have a lot to say. That film’s needle drops— I [wasn’t] really involve[d] in creative[ly].
Shortcomings, I put more time in[to] it. Shortcomings [is] based on Adrian Tomie’s graphic novel of the same title [over] 15 years ago. I read the graphic novel and I read the script and also had a lot of meetings, spotting sessions with the team, Randall [Park], and our composer Gene Beck is also a Korean American; there [are] many Asian filmmakers involved in this project. Then the story follows three people, basically, Asian Americans from [the] Bay Area to New York City.
When I worked on [the] music with Joe [Rudge], we also talk to Randall [Park]. We definitely want to have Asian, have this Bay Area vibe, because that’s where he is from as well, so [we] have th[ese] Bay Area AAPI moments in music for this film. It was a very fun project to get to pitch a lot of music to that.
The Other Two Season 3 (HBO Max)
JT: What else do you have coming up next? What are in the cards for you going forward?
CXW: Working with Joe, right now, we are working on The Other Two, the HBO Max show. I don’t know if you have watched it. They just finished filming for Season Three, and we are working on music for that. Its showrunners are former head writers at SNL. I don’t think a lot of people are watch— It definitely deserve[s] a much bigger audience. It’s just one of the funniest TV shows right now.
Background on The Other Two
CXW (con’t): It has two seasons right now on HBO Max. It started as a Comedy Central show, but then it’s an HBO Max original. It’s so funny.
Basically, the story is [about] two older siblings. One is a failed actor and one is a failed dancer, but their third—the youngest of the family—sibling… All of a sudden, he became Justin Bieber-style famous. [He is like a] teen pop idol sensation, and so those two older siblings called “the other two”, they just have to navigate like, “How [are] we gonna live our life?” Then, their mom, later on, became a popular TV host, like a talk show host. It’s like the whole family is thrown into this game of fame in entertainment.
It’s so funny, it’s so good. Definitely recommend. That’s the one we are working on right now.
Good Grief (Netflix)
CXW (con’t): Then, Dan Levy from Schitt’s Creek—he’s first-time directing. He also is the lead actor, he also wrote the script—beautiful, beautiful script—called Good Grief. It’s a Netflix film, so we are working on that. It’s such a beautiful script. We took care of some stuff … last year, and now we’re full in post[-production. We’re] going to get that going.
Inheritance (Miramax)
CXW (con’t): What else? There is a Miramax film called Inheritance. The lead actress is Phoebe [Dynevor] from Bridgerton. It’s another spy thriller. The director is Neil Burger who did Divergent and other [projects] like Limitless. It’s a very interesting spy thriller. Phoebe is such a great actress. I’m so happy for her.
History of Evil (Shudder)
CXW (con’t): And other [projects]—I’m working as a music supervisor [on] a Shudder horror film called History of Evil. I think it’s still wrapping up the post[-production] right now, but the lead actor is Paul Wesley, from The Vampire Diaries.
Independent Projects
CXW (con’t): Also, I’m just working on a lot of indie projects with first-time directors. [They are] also Columbia alumni, so those were pretty cool films. Right now, one of the films [that] just wrapped filming. It’s kind of an experimental feature film about a French Black female artist. And then there’s another one—it’s all independent films.
There’s another thing about working in New York. There [are] so many independent films going on. For me, it’s perfect to get to work on really stylized original stor[ies].
I don’t think any of those projects have a release date. I don’t even know. Hopefully this year.
MaXXXine Maybe?
JT: And are we allowed to discuss whether or not you might come back for MaXXXine?
W: No, I don’t have anything to say. (laughs)
Dream Projects
JT: What are your dream projects? You have projects that you have, that you’re assigned on to. But if you have any dream projects, what are some of the things that you want to do?
CXW: Definitely, I want to work on more Asian-led projects—either TV or films. One of my dreams is [to] definitely put more Chinese, Mandarin pop, J-pop—Japanese pop—which I like[d] listen[ing] to since I was a teenager; I want to put those music in film ’cause there’s just so much to discover that Americans—Western[ers]—don’t know.
There’s just so [much] great music [that] I want to put into film. The film that has the—not heavy relies on, but—those films that have a heavy soundtrack, like Trainspotting, film[s] like that. It’s those films…
Projects Centered on Music
CXW (con’t): And musicals! That is definitely one of the bigger goals. I want to be able to do musical films in the future.
JT: Your career is already in music, but you were saying that comedy and horror—it’s one of those. Well, so [are] musicals—?
CXW: Musical, in a sense, is not like a Broadway show. It’s not like everyone just starts singing all of a sudden. It’s a story about music.
JT: Oh, like The Last Movie Stars.
CXW: Yeah, like Sing Street if you have seen [it]. I definitely recommend [it]. It’s one of my favorite films ever.
JT: But not necessarily documentary; just like a regular music show?
CXW: Like a narrative, fictional musical film [that] has a lot of music story.
JT: Oh, like La La Land! Other films that kind of deal with music, but not [necessarily] singing like Tár or…
CXW: Yeah, that would be cool. Anything about music, the story about music, that’s the thing I want to do. When I was in school, I wrote a feature script that’s about a music radio DJ host, kind of like a drama comedy rom-com. That kind of thing. It has something, like the music is part of the narrative that I want.
JT: But just no singing—
CXW: It could be. It could be.
Some Praise for Babylon:
CXW (con’t): I love Babylon, I love the film. I still don’t understand why the box office is like that, but I think it deserved better.
JT: I need to see that one too. I’ve been catching up on the 2022—err, last year’s movies. I was catching up on that all of December, [but] I didn’t have time for that one.
CXW: I think Babylon is great. A lot of things [are] happening. It’s maybe too much for some people, but the music’s so good. To me, The Last Movie Stars is more focused on characters—
JT: Or like the actual figures from Hollywood.
CXW: Babylon [is] definitely hugely inspired by the early ’20s through ’30s, switching from silent films to [films] with the dialogues, and all the exploitation and sacrifices have been made. It has a huge substance when it comes to story and inspirations. For me, it’s just all the music numbers, all the dance numbers—it’s beautifully done.
Social Media and Spotify
You can find Cheryl X. Wang via Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn—follow her for more updates on her work in film and television!
CXW (con’t): I also have like a Spotify playlist. … I made playlists whenever a film of mine, that I work on [has] released, so I have this X playlist that’s 650 likes. I’m like, “Oh my God, my people love this film so much!” Also, Armageddon Time, The Last Movie Stars—if you [or] anyone wants to listen to the playlists to get a sense of music. I’m trying to do more, and I’m trying to make my own DJ mix this year. Step by step. Definitely, focus on film.
JT: Well, it has been a pleasure speaking with you, Cheryl, so thank you. Congratulations on everything, especially with your two films, two films at Sundance. I look forward to speaking with you again. Thank you so much.
CXW: No, thank you so much!
For more music, film and television-related news and reviews visit and follow The Cinema Spot on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
5 Comments on “The Cinema Spotlight On… Cheryl X. Wang — Music Coordination, Supervision, And More (Interview)”