Trivia / The Farewell

• As Herself: A variation. Lulu Wang's real great-aunt Lu Hong plays Little Nai Nai, Billi’s great-aunt. Billi is based on Wang.
• Completely Different Title: The Chinese name translates to Don't Tell Her.
• Doing It for the Art: Lulu Wang turned down a bigger distribution deal from Netflix in exchange for a smaller deal with A24 that would give it more attention and care.
• What Could Have Been:
  • In a video for Vanity Fair, Lulu Wang showed off an early draft of the wedding photography scene and compared it to the final draft. Among other changes, Aiko was named “Ami” and Billi was named “Nora”.^note By coincidence, “Nora” is also the given name of Billi’s actress, Awkwafina. Wang said that she changed the name to “Billi” to give the character a name that could be easily pronounced in both Mandarin and English.
  • One producer proposed combining the characters of Billi and Aiko and making what Lulu Wang called "My Big Fat Chinese Wedding."
  • Chinese investors proposed a movie centered on a Chinese character teaching the Chinese-American Billi the value of the Chinese perspective. Wang refused, and created a movie that doesn't treat either perspective as clearly right or wrong.
• Working Title: Nai Nai.
• Write What You Know: Lulu Wang, the film's director, based the film's premise on when her own grandmother fell ill and her family became convinced she was going to die. Wang based the character of Billi on herself, particularly her struggles as a Chinese-American trying to straddle both cultures.