I love independent films because I love to help, I love to assist, I love to pass along knowledge or experience to young filmmakers because usually, that's what they are. They're young filmmakers who are trying to either just simply tell their stories or trying to break into show business, and this is their calling card. But either way, I just really respect young filmmakers who are trying to tell a story that means something to them.
Tamlyn TomitaI'd like to connect with fans because there are people who have really connected and they deserve a shoutout, they deserve a thank you. And so I'm learning on Twitter. So that's what I'm still literally doing every day is just trying to learn how to be better at it.
Tamlyn TomitaThe idea of scrolling is amazing because you could just bypass everybody's whatever, but then whatever catches your eye - yeah, I don't judge those people who tweet their breakfast, lunch and dinner but, I like to just use it for special occasions.
Tamlyn TomitaI usually try to connect with young filmmakers over the phone so I can hear them and just pick their brain as to why they want to tell the story. And usually, I'm on board. I go, "Yeah, I'd love to help. And I just need to know why you want to do this,' and it's usually an easy process because a filmmaker usually reveals his or her heart in telling the story. And that's why I'm pretty much of a softy when it comes to helping along the young ones along the way.
Tamlyn TomitaPeople love that kind of beginning, middle, and end. They like that comfort of turning on the TV week-to-week and being entertained with a good story. There's nothing wrong with TV franchises because, first of all, they're successful. They just make people feel good and hopefully make people think about other people.
Tamlyn TomitaWe know that there were so many Japanese American soldiers in World War II who were fighting in Europe despite the fact that their families, their parents were back home in American prison camps. It's savagely ironic that between themselves and the African-American soldiers, who were also segregated and didn't see the fruition of the work the culminated in the Civil Rights Act until the '60s, that these American heroes and their stories are not well known; and the fact that the 442nd/100th became the most decorated unit in U.S. history.
Tamlyn TomitaWhy do we tell stories? It's because we want to connect to people, we want to tell them who we are, we want to tell them a story that affects us, that impacts us. And to help a young filmmaker doing a short or independent film is my testament, I think, is my desire to really make sure that our younger generations get passed along all the elders' experience and to literally have the image - to literally carry them on their shoulders and say, 'This is what the world is. This is how the world operates. Let me show you how.'
Tamlyn Tomita