Ep 130: Breaking into Hollywood - coz Asians Take Sh*t Very Well?! | Alvin Wee (Grammy, CAS & Golden Horse Award-Winning Music Mixer, Encanto)

So This Is My Why

Meet Alvin Wee: Grammy, CAS & Golden Horse Award winning music mixer from Kuching (now based in LA)!

You might've heard some of his work:

🔸 Disney's Encanto - it won the Grammy!

🔸 "Loyal, Brave & True" - sung by Christina Aguilera in Mulan

🔸 Top Gun: Maverick - with Hans Zimmer

🔸 Kung Fu Panda 3

🔸 Kingsman Series

🔸 "Arena Cahaya" - sung by Zee Avi

🔸 Video games like Final Fantasy XIII, Kingdom Hearts 2.5, Resident Evil XII, PUBG Mobile x Arcane Collaboration & Kena: Bridge of Spirits

As you might have guessed it, all these achievements didn't come overnight.

It took a lot of effort, grit and good luck to get to where Alvin now is.

And we're diving deep into all of them.

Including:

❓ What kept him going as he studied music & waited for hours at the RTM studio for gigs to come?

❓ Was Berklee instrumental to his career?

❓ How did he "break" into Hollywood & get to collaborate with the likes of Han Zimmer, Harry Gregson-Williams, Pharrell, Jay Chou & Yuna?

❓ What was it like performing (+ winning Best Original Song!) at the 53rd Annual Golden Horse Film Awards 2016?

❓ His advice for other Asians who want to "make it" in Hollywood?

Highlights:

• 3:03 Wanting to be called Donald Duck?!
• 6:19 Learning 7 instruments in high school
• 11:41 The vision
• 18:37 Was Berkeley instrumental to Alvin's career?
• 20:53 IMDB
• 22:06 Networking the right way
• 27:10 Being nice in a cutthroat industry?!
• 29:42 Harry Gregson-Williams wrote a letter supporting his US visa application!
• 33:26 Landing his first gig - Final Fantasy 13
• 35:43 Finding the next projects
• 37:27 Working with Harry Gregson-Williams & Hans Zimmer
• 43:19 What's the Hans Zimmer Camp?
• 45:28 Disney's Encanto
• 47:10 Do awards actually impact your career?
• 48:22 Not being pigeon-holed
• 49:56 It's a marathon, not a sprint
• 51:06 Hollywood Writers' Strike
• 53:05 Jared Lee: Is Hollywood really that glamorous?!

📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/130

💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062

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