TIFF Movie Review: Ping Pong Playa
I never planned on seeing Ping Pong Playa, but it became one of those films that I heard people talking about in between sleeping, screening and eating. I think Jen from Rotten Tomatoes was the first one to mention it to me. Not that she had seen it, just that she had heard good things. So in between two screenings last night I was able to jet over and catch a viewing of Jessica Yu’s ping pong sports comedy. The only way to describe Ping Pong Playa is to play the Hollywood executive game: “It’s Karate Kid meets Bad News Bears but with Ping Pong” And even then, you have no idea what the film is about.
It’s a lower budget fictional indie film (yes, Jessica Yu has made her transition from documentaries to fictional cinema) about Christopher “C-dub” Wang (Jimmy Tsai) a young man full of excuses and failed basketball dreams. He lives at home with his highly accomplished older brother, a ping pong champion, his mother who teaches ping pong lessons, and a father who operates a ping pong shop. Everything is connected. The neighborhood children are sent to lessons because of the champion brother, and the ping pong shop earns based on local sales. So when C-dub’s brother and mother are injured in a car accident, Chris must step up and teach ping pong while he gets up the nerve to compete for the coveted Golden Cock in the California ping pong championships.
Cute is the first word to come to mind, but it’s more than that. A chuckle-fest with a unique sense of humor not found in Hollywood films. I wish there were more filmmakers making movies with Asian American culture and actors in this country. I thought that Justin Lin, who was responsible for Better Luck Tomorrow, would be the one to take the asian american film to the mainstream. But instead he has chosen instead for a paycheck (Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift?) over art. I now hope that Jessica Yu might be the person to take on this role in American cinema. With the right budget, I have no doubt that she will be able to make an incredible film. I don’t know how much money was invested in Ping Pong Playa, but it doesn’t seem like much, and just look at the results.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Shoot ‘Em Up Sequel Gets a Greenlight? Nope
Update: This story has now been confirmed as False.
Shoot ‘Em Up was one of the many of a few great Hollywood films that somehow failed to find an audience this year (Grindhouse, anyone?). A couple months ago we told you that writer/director Michael Davis had already completed a screenplay which could function as a sequel or a completely unrelated action film. We lost hope for the sequel when the first film failed to make more than $12 million at the box office.
But our friends at FirstShowing are reporting that “the script was turned in and approved and it is in pre-production and the leading actors have signed on for the second film.” The film is being fast tracked for a pre-strike production, which means Shoot ‘Em Up 2 is likely to hit theaters late next year. But the question is: Is it a Shoot ‘Em Up sequel, or has it been edited into an entirely unrelated action film.
Clive Owen just began production on The International, which isn’t likely to wrap by year’s end. And Owen is currently scheduled to start filming The Boys Are Back in Town early next year. So I think it’s safe to assume that Owen is not part of this “sequel”.
Retro Movie Trailer: The Independence Day SuperBowl Advertisement
In honor of the fourth of July holiday, we bring you the movie advertisement which has been credited with starting the whole Superbowl advertisement extravaganza (at least in terms of Hollywood films). For those of you you enough not to have seen this advertisement when it first aired in January of 1996, let me tell you - it shocked everyone who was watching. It caught everyone off guard. Most recently people have been comparing the Independence Day tv spot with the new teaser trailer for the JJ Abrams produced monster movie Cloverfield, which is attached to Transformers. I apologize about the jerkiness of the video, but this was the best quality copy I could find. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the movie trailer after the jump. Because it Could Be Your LAST!
A reminder: Independence Day is available for purchase on DVD on Amazon and most other retail outlets.
Sahara Movie Budget Includes $237,386 in Bribes
I love peeking behind the scenes at the ridiculous budgets of big Hollywood films, don’t you? The LA Times ran a revealing report showing the entire budget for Sahara. There is a lot of interesting stuff in this report, the most noteworthy is that the studio included local bribes. Yes, BRIBES. The budget breakdown includes “courtesy payments,” “gratuities” and “local bribes” totaling $237,386 . A $40,6888 payment to stop a river improvement project and $23,250 for “political/Mayoral support” may have been illegal under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Other notable figures include:
- $3.8 million was paid to the ten screenwriters attached to the project.
- Penelope Cruz received $227,515 to cover her Entourage travel arrangements.
- Composer Clint Mansell made $800,000, $50,000 more than director Breck Eisner. Glad to see Mansell’s still doing well after Requiem for a Dream (one of the best movie scores of all time).
- But local Moroccan crew members were paid next to nothing: an assistant propman was paid $233 per week. An American propman would make that much in a days work.
You can check out the whole list at the LAT, but you first must register.