Lucy Liu Derek Reed/Getty Images Lucy Liu is not in Los Angeles much these days, but she's trying to take advantage of a small window to promote Rosemead, her long-gestating passion project which hits a few theaters starting on Dec. 5. The movie, which premiered in Tribeca before receiving honors at festivals in the likes of Locarno, Belfast, and Miami, has resulted in some of the best reviews in Liu's career, backed by descriptors like "career-redefining" and "towering." (THR's review says she "transformed," while praising the film around her as "intimate and forceful.") But it has not been smooth sailing: The movie took years to make, due to difficulties in financing, and it struggled to find a distributor despite the strong reviews (Vertical ultimately acquired domestic rights). Related Stories TV 'Landman' Co-Creator on More Seasons and His Trust in Taylor Sheridan: "He's One of One" Movies Inside the 25-Year Journey to Netflix's Acclaimed 'Left-Handed Girl' "Even if a movie like Anora was made for $6 million or whatever it was, you can put $90 million into [the marketing and awards campaign] - and we literally don't have 90 cents," Liu says with a smidge of winking hyperbole, leaning on a couch in a West Hollywood hotel room. "It's kind of heartbreaking to talk about something really important when you don't have much." You sense Liu is talking about both the project's contents and what they represent in her own life as an actor. The groundbreaking star of such smash action franchises as Charlie's Angels and Kill Bill is movingly stripped down in Rosemead as Irene, a Chinese immigrant and widow battling a terminal illness while raising her son, Joe, who is schizophrenic. The film is based on a true story and cuts to the heart of experiences of alienation and mental health in immigrant communities. Liu found the project cathartic - if also a potent reminder of the boxes the industry has kept her in for decades. Liu says she hasn't had a starring vehicle in a film like this over her entire career. She has stayed busy - in addition to those iconic film series, she's done award-winning work on TV series including Ally McBeal, Southland and Elementary - and she has not given up. But a few years ago, she had a wakeup call about her place in Hollywood and how she's been treated over the years. Rosemead may mark a new beginning, with major projects starring Liu now in development. But as she shares over our frank, emotional conversation, it's been forged out of some tough times. 'Rosemead' Courtesy of Vertical It's exciting to see you in a role like this. I know you fought for it - this was not an easy movie to get made. We got it made after many, many years - 16 different investors. "Well, here's 10 cents and here's another $20," hoping that maybe it has a legacy after. But even after we made the movie, it was like, "Does anyone want to distribute it?" Everyone's like, "How is it going to fuel us? What's our kickback?" It does come down to finances. And I started doing indies. I was lucky enough to fall into the commercial world - but those are kind of more side-salad roles. They're not necessarily roles that would challenge me or tap into my potential. This is your first producing credit on a narrative feature. Clearly you learned some hard lessons in trying to get this movie made and sell it. How did you find the experience overall? Grueling. Seeing the sausage get made and then seeing all of the shenanigans behind the scenes, you think you've traversed such a long distance, but really you've just moved the needle a little bit. It's disappointing. It can be disheartening, but when you have so much persistence and fight still left in you, you can keep understanding it because I've seen the other side of it. I know what the machine is. I know what a proper press junket is. I know why they bring certain people onto a project because they can foresee, "Okay, this person has this many followers, so let's bring them in." There's an art and there's a science to it, and I don't know if it's a good thing to know that or not, but as a producer you see the minutiae of it and you really understand how impossible it is to get anything made. Even Cillian Murphy's movies recently are just phenomenal, but it was incredibly hard to find Small Things Like These on streaming. I literally typed the entire movie into my search and it still didn't pop up! What else can I do? I finally was able to watch it - and also watch Steve, both phenomenal - and yet: What's going on? But you're an actor who's been in this industry for a long time, who's been in big movies - I'd think at least some people would be excited by the prospect of you getting to do something totally different, right? But it's a complicated world. Does it have, what's the shiniest thing right now? I don't know that. They said the movie would not have been made if it weren't for me. But also at the same time, when I'm not doing what I've been tailor made for - action