Interview: Jason Yee Talks The Girl from the Naked Eye

Fans of the action films are often attracted to the genre for the extensive number of fights and stunts included in the narrative. But the new action romance thriller ‘The Girl from the Naked Eye’ takes a risky, but unique, chance by mixing a love story between the main characters with a stimulating vengeance tale after they’re separated by murder. ‘The Girl from the Naked Eye,’ which was directed by David Ren, follows Jake (played by Jason Yee), an ex-gambler who is trying to pay off a debt by working as a driver for The Naked Eye. The private gentleman’s club fronts for a prostitution ring, and Jake is stuck in his existence there. However, his life changes when he meets Sandy (portrayed by Samantha Streets), an innocent misguided runaway, and the two form an unlikely bond and give each other the will to strive for a better life. However, when Sandy is murdered, Jake vows to stop at nothing to find her killer. He risks everything in order to uncover the truth. Jake must survive as he uncovers lies, clues and his own feelings about Sandy. Yee generously took the time to speak with us over the phone about the action romance thriller, which hits select theaters tomorrow. He discussed, among other things, how he separated his duties as an actor, co-writer, producer and the second unit director; his working relationship with Ren, one of his co-scribes on the script; and why he looks up to Clint Eastwood as an actor and director. ShockYa (SY): Besides co-writing the film, you also portray Jake in ‘The Girl from the Naked Eye.’ What convinced you to take on the role after you wrote the script? Jason Yee (JY): Well, we developed the script from scratch. I was looking for a character that was conflicted and for a script that had a singular character that was carrying the story that had a lot of action. We found a script that was different than what it is now, and we developed it from scratch. SY: The director of the film, David Ren, also co-wrote the script with you. What was it like working with him, both as co-screenwriters and in a director-actor relationship? JY: Sometimes it was a director-actor-producer relationship. So at times, as the producer, I had to watch out for things we wanted to do creatively, my business partner and I. We also had to watch out for budget and time constraints, etc. So sometimes there were conflicts, and sometimes we were on the same page. So we were working with multiple people to make things happen. SY: Like you said, besides acting in, and writing, the film, you also served as a producer. When you were on the set, did you try to separate your acting from your producing duties? JY: When it came time to shooting, I tried to separate myself. But that always becomes really hard when it’s a low-budget production, because there are always constraints, having to do with time and finances. Sometimes that can take over, so that can make it really tough. To continue reading this interview, please click here.