![]() ![]() The focused 39-year-old filmmaker has an endearing goofball streak (as seen in his pitch video). The Paper Tigers writer and director Bao Tran isn’t thrown by the interruption. By 10 a.m., fire trucks have already come and gone, responding to an alarm set off by a haze machine working vigorously to create a charged atmosphere in the institutional brick building. But on a recent day in August, halfway through a tight 28-day shooting schedule, the cast and crew assembled at a Shoreline community center to film a pivotal fight scene at an empty indoor pool. The film is currently in post-production. The driving goal has remained the same since the team first started developing The Paper Tigers eight years ago: Make an independent film that embraces the thrill and humor of martial arts movies, while offering a nuanced, realistic portrayal of Asian men. Thanks to several big donors (including a lifelong local who studied under Seattle transplant Bruce Lee), they were able to drum up the $1 million shooting budget - and have as many Asian characters as they pleased. That success, combined with a slick proof-of-concept trailer and a coveted slot at Cannes Film Festival’s networking program for movies in development, grabbed the attention of key investors. They took to Kickstarter and raised $124,000. “We knew it was marketable, so we ran with it,” Duong says. ![]() (L-R) Second assistant camera Alex Farias, director of photography Shaun Mayor, and producer Al’n Duong on set in Shoreline. Long before the blockbuster success of Crazy Rich Asians (which grossed $238 million worldwide), they felt certain there was an audience for their kind of movie. The Paper Tigers team was determined to make the film as originally envisioned. Update: Filmmakers released the first official trailer for The Paper Tigers on May 8, 2020. Maybe we could do it with just one Asian guy.’ ” Duong recalls the standard studio reaction: “They’d say, ‘We love it. Now middle-aged, the estranged pals must upend their “civilian” lives to avenge their possibly murdered kung fu master. The story surrounds three former martial arts prodigies (two Asian American, one African American). “We got a lot of pushback about our all-minority leading cast,” says Al’n Duong, a 36-year-old father and filmmaker based in Kent, who is a producer on the film. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |