The New Yorker interviews Adrian Tomine

The latest comics-to-film adaptation, “Shortcomings,” Randall Park’s directorial début, will be released on August 4th. It is based on Adrian Tomine’s graphic novel of the same name, which was one of the most significant works to emerge from the independent comics scene in the early two-thousands. In the movie, as in the book, we see the world through the eyes of Ben, a young man in Berkeley, California, who stumbles his way through love and his feelings about his Asian American identity.

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“Shortcomings” is not the first film adaption of Tomine’s work; the French director Jacques Audiard drew in part from Tomine’s collection “Killing and Dying” for his 2021 film, “Paris, 13th District.” But, this time around, Tomine was involved in the filmmaking process, acting as screenwriter and working closely with Randall Park. I spoke to Tomine about what it has been like for him to revisit his old work, and how he endeavored to usher it into a different medium.

The complete interview is available on the The New Yorker's website.