Show Biz Magazine is pleased to introduce the talented Hollywood producer and doctor – Suzanne Yu. Suzanne was born in ShenYang, China but immigrated to the US for better opportunities and freedom. She is an Executive Producer for “The Comeback Trail,” starring three Oscar-winning actors, Robert De Niro, Tommy Lee Jones, and Morgan Freeman. She is also a medical doctor, with a PhD, and is currently an anesthesiologist in New York City. Readers will be fascinated to learn her unique path and ascension to becoming a true industry insider working alongside the biggest names in show business.
It all began with a painful childhood. Suzanne recalls dark memories from her childhood in China that became the trigger for her desire for change. “During a horrific turbulent time in China’s history, my father’s political views did not agree with the communist party. He was forced to step down from his position as a result of his opposition, then was punished for his anti-cultural revolution view. A traumatic, yet hardening scene in my life was when my father was tortured and beaten, in front of us. After these events, my whole family was exiled to a remote farm far away from the big city, to get re-educated by peasants,” Suzanne recalled. Suzanne started to feel singled out as a child and treated differently by others, even being labeled as a “bad child.” “Even though I studied well and was always at the head of my class, I was never granted an award when the other students were receiving theirs,” she recalled.
What kept You happy and inspired was her passion for the arts. “My passion for the arts was immense, and even at a young age I was very competitive by nature and my dream was to be an artist,” she said.
Suzanne recalled telling her mother about her dream. “She held my hand and said that it would be too risky to be an artist in China, that I was a brilliant child and should not waste my education or potential. She wanted me to be a doctor, like herself, so that I could always take care of myself. I looked into my mother‘s eyes and I realized this would be my mother’s decisión for me for the rest of my life.” At the age of 16, Suzanne was accepted into the China Medical University and later graduated with a medical degree. Nonetheless, Yu never forgot her dream.
She was drawn to America and the desire for freedom. “Freedom has always been a strong desire that drove me, especially during and after a turbulent 10 years of my life, surviving the Cultural Revolution in China,” she said. After she graduated from China Medical University, she was accepted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 1988, she moved to America. Even though she initially struggled with her English, within three and a half years, she received herPhD degree. “I challenged myself once again by studying hard and within a year I was able to pass all the licensing exams, and move to New York City to start my residency. I began my studies at the NYU Medical Center, and this experience consisted of the first time I felt discriminated against because of my race,” she recalls. “I was expected to be well behaved and quiet, totally submissive, and to never speak or ask questions about anything. Once again, I felt a feeling similar to my childhood and had a flashback back to the farm and being punished like I was in China.” Despite those negative feelings, Suzanne didn’t get discouraged. She kept going. “I always knew I was a survivor. To this day, that year of training has taught me so much in my life and it truly helped me to grow into the professional person I am today,” she said. “I am thankful for the hardships that I went through, as they made me strong, and enabled me to persevere. Ultimately, I grew into an influential individual and a great anesthesiologist. Suzanne explains getting involved in movies gives her so much pleasure“The Comeback Trail” which Will hit theaters in July after a long set back due to Covid is a dream come true for her. Movie theaters by memorial weekend will be at 75% and by July 4th they will be at 100% when “The “Comeback Trail” hits theaters for the big screen! Independence Day from a long Pandemic.
Interview:
How did you get involved in Hollywood to become an Executive Producer on such a famous film, “The Comeback Trail”?
As I mentioned before, when I was a little girl I always had a passion for the arts. I loved singing, dancing and drawing with all my heart. One day, I was offered a project through CloudBurst’s Entertainment https://cloudburstentertainment.com/about I was introduced to the biggest Hollywood producers you can meet and invested with Cloud Burst Entertainment on their new release the “Comeback Trail ” Starring Morgan Freeman, Robert DiNiro and Tommy Lee Jones, which is being released in July after a long set back due to the Pandemic. I was instantly attracted to this opportunity and I am currently an executive producer on “The Comeback Trail”, with 3 academy award winning actors, soon to finally be released by Cloud Burst Entertainment. I have aligned myself with this new amazing distribution company Cloud Burst and I will be an Executive Producer on many new films yet to come.
“ The Comeback Trail” is a huge hit overseas to date and sold out around the World. Now that the movie is going to be released in America in July after a long shut down of Movie theaters across America you must be excited to go see the movie on the big Screen!
I’m beyond excited about that since this is the first movie I have invested in, I wanted to see it in a movie theater and watch the Audience love it. With the 3 Oscar academy award winning actorsin this film I’m more than confident it will be a huge success! .
Tell our readers the summary of the movie “ The Comeback Trail”
The Movie is Directed by George Gallo who is known for “Bad Boy’s” with Will Smith and Martin Lawerence, also Midnight Run” George has two blockbuster movies. “ComeBack Trail” is a comedy/crime about two movie producers who owe money to the mob to set up their aging movie star for an insurance scam to try and save themselves. But they wind up getting more than they ever imagined.
When deciding whether to join a project as an Executive producer what do you look for in a script ?
I definitely need to like the story, it needs to appeal to my film taste. I would rather invest in an amazing script with good actors; unique style films, heart touching, inspirational grown-up stories scattered with humor and drama.I think A good script and a Good production team can overcome average actors. Great actors die with pathetic script.
Investing in Movies is risky business. If you’re still looking to invest in Hollywood, the best approach is to spread your bets across a variety of films, You mentioned you invested in another movie “Mick and Trick”! Tell us about this film.
Sure, a good friend of mine named Federico Castelluccio you know him as one of the main actors in “ Sopranos” contacted me with his associate Robert J. Morgalo , who is a film director and actor. They were looking for investors for their independent film “ The Mick and the Trick”. I invited them to my home to discuss the project and after about a 1/2 hour of listening to their pitch I was totally fascinated by the story as well as Robert’s own story. I Trusted my own gut feeling as a financial investor. I know instantly it was a good project for me to invest into.
While Dr. Suzanne Yu combines being a doctor and an executive producer successfully, her success comes with a price. “In order to be what you want to be in life, there is always a price to pay. I have sacrificed having a child and motherhood for my career, since I would have to be very focused on what I wanted in my life – which was to be the best doctor!”
“The Comeback Trail”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9aJATnSseo
Suzanne Yu’s website: www.suzanneyu.com
Suzanne Yu’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/suzanne.yu.79