Exclusive: Fire Island director Andrew Ahn on the film’s “bold” representation of gay culture
Fire Island director Andrew Ahn has praised Joel Kim Booster for his “brilliant adaptation” of Pride and Prejudice. The upcoming rom-com follows Booster’s character Noah and his small group of friends as they head to the famous gay escape destination for a weeklong vacation.
Ahn, director of acclaimed dramas such as Spa Night (2016) and Driveaways (2019), tells GAY TIMES that he and Booster connected years before they collaborated on Fire Island because “meeting other gay, Korean-American people” in the industry is an “art-form”. “I don’t think he even had the script yet.
But then a few years later, I heard from him saying, ‘I’ve got this project,’ and I was just really moved by it,” he recalls, before commending the screenplay for its positive depiction of Asian-American friendships. “To me, that was just so badass and I really wanted to do it.” Fire Island’s premise was directly pulled from Booster’s experiences with the Pines, as well as Jane Austen’s classic romance novel.
Ahn says the comedian “knew” that a modern – and queer – version of the novel would “resonate” with viewers due to its themes, such as friendship and chosen families. “I think when a lot of people think about Pride and Prejudice, when they think about rom-coms, the central relationships are often the romantic one.
