May 23, 2005
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SAVING FACE
This Tuesday I’ll be keynoting at Oregon State University’s APASU Asian American Heritage Event. It’ll be nice to dress up after being covered in dirt/mud/rain/blood for the past 3 weeks of shooting!
But more importantly, this Friday, May 27th — the romantic comedy ”Saving Face” opens on both coasts in New York and Los Angeles — (Boston and San Francisco Bay Area on June 3rd).
You’ve all heard the spiel before: It’s a limited release film that requires huge support on the first weekend in order to survive and expand the next coming weeks — to send a message out to the studio (Columbia/Sony) and the movie industry that there is a paying audience willing to see 3-dimensional Asian-American characters. Characters that will serve as molds to inspire future budding writers and directors (see previous entry) — and to just open and challenge the impressions the public has on Asians in general.
Don’t wait till next weekend to buy a ticket because it just might not be there next week. And when you watch “Revenge of the Sith” buy a “Saving Face” ticket if it’s playing at the same theatre and then hop into Lucas’ last installment of the Star Wars Saga — every little bit helps.
If it’s not it your area, inform others you know in those areas – it’s an easy thing to do towards helping to change the tides… and many hands make light work.
And it’s not a “support it just cuz it’s Asian” thing — nothing I ever mention or publicly plug is ever done blindly. I have to have either seen it, read it, heard it, eaten it or have had an inside track on it. And just like ”BLT“, it was at both Sundance and Toronto Film Fests.
I saw this film at the VC Film Fest a few weeks ago and it was one of the best films I’ve seen in a long time. Very solid from beginning to end and really sweet. It stars Joan
Chen, Michelle Krusiec and Lynn Chen.
Although Lynn’s a relative new face to the game, you won’t be able to tell and I’ll go on record saying that she’s gonna be a star — and that you guys (and gals) out there are gonna have someone new to crush on. The interplay between her and Michelle is just perfect – my favorite is their scene on the balcony learning “how to fall”. Adorable.
Comments (26)
IT SEEMS LIKE THE MOVIE WILL NOT BE IN CANADA………..HOW SAD!!!!!!!!
this movie’s gonna be hot
It’s gonna be hot. Seeing that Will Smith has production credits and it’s his first indie film production credit, I would think he’d want to push this as much as possible. I hope it does really well and can’t wait for it to open in Boston.
i’ll be watching it, i missed it at the SFAAIFF!
I just watched the trailer. I’d definitely go watch it to support the cause, but I dont think it will get as much of an audience as BLT since it looks like it deals with lesbian issues. BLT at least had a story most of the young generation can relate too. nonetheless, i will cast my vote via buying a ticket.
:]
To EnVy_ML–why would this movie not appeal to a general audience? Were there hobbits or elves who went to see Lord of the Rings? Are the people who flock to see Harry Potter wizards? Come on, show a little imagination. You don’t have to have a story you can relate to in order to enjoy a movie–& further, just because the movie has (gasp!) LESBIANS in it doesn’t mean that there isn’t anything else out there for heterosexuals. The movie has a lot of stuff in it about culture clashes, for one thing. Jeez. Show a little imagination, why don’t you?
Hey Parry, ;D
Thanks for posting about “Saving Face”… I’ll see if I can check it out while I’m here. I actually moved permanently out of Illinois on Thursday to LA, so I’m out of the cornfields haha. Anyways, hope all is well with the college tours and I’ll talk to you later, bye!
—Andrew =)
i am in boston, so june 3rd it is. good luck!
i just read the synopsis. I am very impressed. Have a blast at OSU.
yeah brian from dreamleague has a role in it too
were there any commercials?
This is awesome! Do you know where i can find which theaters it will be playing at?
I guess Alice Wu forgot there are asian men on this planet. Not to mention how cliche this is since the Lesbo theme is quite prevalent and occuring theme in asian movies back east.
Selling the oriental doll image is not exactly a stepping stone for community
wow, i feel like it’s been so long since i’ve seen joan chen on the big screen again.
thanks for the movie rec – been thinking about checking it out. keep up the good work man.
thanks for speaking at our event at OSU! A lot of us were really looking forward to meeting you, and I think a lot of us were wowed at the event tonight. Thanks for delivering such an encouraging message.
My boyfriend and I really enjoyed hearing you speak at OSU tonight! You were so humble! Thank you so much!
more Asian-American exposure…GOOD shit!
You were great! Thanks for speaking here at OSU! I enjoyed the wonderful night! I know your words have already gotten some of my friends to think about their ‘core’ =) Something i’ve been trying to do for the last year! thanks! =)
Thank you Parry Shen for coming out, giving us some laughs, and making us really think that evening. People were telling me how great you were all night. You really changed the way people viewed things last night. Pretty powerful stuff. Hope you enjoyed your chimichanga! thanks again!
Nam!
will do
Why aren’t there any American-made movies featuring positive Asian Male images, All I see are White males with asian women, or asian women with asian women.
Too bad the flick’s not opening up here in San Francisco.
subscribe!
Hi Parry! I just wanted to say hi! I just stumbled upon your xanga… I think it’s really neat that you have a free xanga for everyone to read, b/c you are like a celebrity and all
Congrats on all the accomplishments you’ve made so far… when I have a chance, I’m going to look through your website/entries….. and hope the event in Oregon went well 
. ~ Fan in Berkeley, California
Thanks for the plug, Parry. I’ve seen this at Sundance and it’s a genuine winner. It opens up in the Bay Area next Friday, June 3rd, at the Landmark Embarcadero, UA Stonestown Twin, Landmark Shattuck (Berkeley), Palo Alto Square, Century 5 (Pleasant Hill), Santana Row (San Jose) and Marin/Sausalito.
BTW, in response to xocruiser,
1) Without giving too much away, see this movie to the end first before you write off the positive Asian male image thing.
2) To my mind, this is the first time an Asian lesbian couple’s been the focus of an American-made movie. Let’s not jump to the conclusion that just because it focuses on the women, it’s a direct slam against the guys.
3) There are a bunch of us working in the trenches . . . writers, directors, uh, ACTORS (did you check Parry’s recount a few posts ago about changing a character he thought was stereotypical?). It’s not easy getting work in the business, much less a position of power. For now, the best we can do is to support the stuff that’s already out there and the artists who are doing what they can with what they know. Write your own script, shoot your own movie, get your own images out. Either that, or loan me half a million and we’ll do my project.