#INTERVIEW: SANDRA OH, MAITREYI RAMAKRISHNAN, ROSALIE CHIANG, DOMEE SHI AND LINDSEY COLLINS ON DISNEY & PIXAR’S “TURNING RED”

A moment for Toronto to call its own! The Cast of Disney and Pixar‘s upcoming feature TURNING RED came to the City that inspired it all! The Toronto-set coming of age story centers on Meilin, a 13-year-old girl about to go through puberty, navigating life, boy bands and her mother in the early 2000s. Above, this she finds herself turning into a Red Panda every time she gets triggered! Packed with Toronto-isms, catchy Pop, brilliant animation and performances, TURNING RED is a must-see and it will stream exclusively on Disney+.

The Red Carpet was rolled-out tonight at TIFF Bell Lightbox, coinciding with International Women’s Day, welcoming the Film’s stars, Director and Producer as we see in-person events pop-up again in the City.

Appearing tonight and wrapping-up a busy two-day Press Tour, were:

Marci Ien – Minister for Women and Gender Equality of Canada
Cameron Bailey – TIFF, CEO
Domee Shi (Director)
Lindsey Collins (Producer)
Sandra Oh (“Ming Lee”)
Rosalie Chiang (“Meilin Lee”)
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (“Priya”)

We had the pleasure of chatting with stars Rosalie Chiang and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan:

This Press Tour is Chiang‘s first time ever in Toronto and we ask her what she loves most about the City.

Chiang: “There’s nothing I didn’t like about Toronto. The City is gorgeous. This is my first time in Canada, so seeing the full ambience and energy, it’s very refreshing!”.

We ask Chiang to take us through the emotions of the casting process and finding out she landed the starring role of Meilin.

Chiang: “At first I went through shock… when they told me that I was officially Meilin, I froze. I teared-up a little, but it wasn’t till a week later that I processed it. My mom was like ‘What’s wrong?’ and I was like, ‘I can’t believed I booked it!!'”.

The Film touches upon themes of female friendship. We ask what Chiang pulled from her own life experiences in exploring Meilin‘s world.

Chiang: “Often time, female friendships are portrayed as catty and backstabbing. I never actually went through that. I don’t know anyone who has. In my life, I’ve had friends come and go for sure, however the friends I’m with now, I’ve known them my entire life. There was one point that I moved away. When I came back, they welcomed me back with open arms.”.

Today was a big day for Ramakrishnan who stars in Netflix hit series NEVER HAVE I EVER, which just got renewed for a fourth and final season. In addition to this, the Mississauga native is to receive the Radius Award at the upcoming Canadian Screen Awards in April.

We ask her what makes her ‘turn red’?

Ramakrishnan: “You mean like as in ‘Panda-Out’? I think a lot of things. I’m an Actor, we all are emotional little worms. That’s what Actors are. We wear our hearts on our sleeves. Basically I ‘Panda-Out’ all the time. I’m more of a Panda than I am a human.”.

Ramakrishnan knows all the good spots in Toronto to eat. We ask her for her ultimate Hidden Gem in the City.

Ramakrishnan: “Being the Mississauga Girl that I am, I’m gonna keep it in Mississauga. Actually, maybe I don’t want others to know… oh my God…I’ve gone to deep. You saw that realization! We really have to support the businesses. There’s this really awesome Korean Fried Chicken place called K-Pocha – they make the best Corn Cheese. It’s open late night. And I’m a late night owl and I go out at 2 in the morning, you know?”.

Some Snaps from the night:

Video Highlights (pardon the mic issues):

Disney and Pixar‘s TURNING RED arrives March 11, 2022 on Disney+.

We had the pleasure of sitting-in on a junket with the Cast and Creators as well recently. More here.

Our Review of Disney and Pixar‘s TURNING RED here.

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong/Walt Disney Studios Canada)