Hopper Stone/HBO
The Hamlet has officially gone into production in this week’s episode of The Sympathizer. No, not Hamlet—THE Hamlet. Famous (and fictional) director Niko Damianos (Robert Downey, Jr.) has gathered (an also fictional) cast for the ages to stage his recreation of the most violent moments in the Vietnam War.
Because of Niko’s connection to CIA agent Claude (also Downey, Jr.), Captain (Hoa Xunde) has been tapped to be the film’s special “Vietnam Consultant.” Niko’s first direction to Captain is to speak “frank and freely” around him, so Captain does, recommending Niko add in at least one line from a Vietnamese person into his script. Niko is pissed about this—no, the Vietnamese people aren’t going to speak. They’re going to look scared in the background. That’ll be their whole thing.
Captain has to say some goodbyes before leaving for the film set. First, he needs to get approval from the General (Toan Le), who is initially upset but, in the end, understands the commitment to Claude. Then, Captain tells Sofia (Sandra Oh) about his new gig, who acts coolly upset about Captain’s dedication to white people. Finally, Captain departs—with a hidden passenger. Lana (Vy Le), the General’s daughter, hides in his trunk, hoping to get her big Hollywood break on the film set. Captain reluctantly agrees to bring her along, but only because she threatens to hitchhike the rest of the way with a stranger.
Read more at The Daily Beast.
thedailybeast.com