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Exclusive: Sony Pictures Television unveiled the 15 helmers selected for the next class of its Diverse Directors Program. They are Alison Rich, Alexandra Chando, Kristen Buckels, Mauro Mueller, Dale S. Lewis, Alvaro Ron, Caitlin Gerard, Cameron Ali Fay, Kandis Fay, Ria Pavia, David Mahmoudieh, Bao Tran, Gustavo Cooper, Zoe Stewart and Aron Kantor.

Now in its seventh year, the annual program provides opportunities for artists of diverse backgrounds to take part in an intensive episodic directing workshop consisting of discussion and instruction from working directors, production personnel and entertainment professionals at the Sony Pictures Studios lot in Culver City.

Running through May 6 this year, the initiative is part of the Spt’s overall strategy to identify and cultivate an expanding pool of emerging talent from a wide range of backgrounds. .

“Spt’s Diverse Directors Program is an integral part of the studio’s multi-pronged strategy to further expand and enhance our roster of under-represented talent.

It’s Scene 1, Take 1 for the 2021-22 class of ViacomCBS’ Directors Initiative. This year’s group, which is guaranteed to helm an episode of television on CBS, includes Julie Herlocker, Joy T. Lane Steven J. Kung, Pat Santana and Bao Tran.

The initiative provides a platform for experienced directors to gain access to showrunners, executives, managers and agents and the opportunity to shadow CBS Television Network and CBS Studios shows throughout the year. The program helps directors develop meaningful relationships with industry professionals that are essential to getting hired.

“The ViacomCBS Directors Initiative gives television directors the access, exposure and opportunity to be successful in this industry,” said Tiffany Smith-Anoa’i, EVP Entertainment Diversity and Inclusion, Global Inclusion, at ViacomCBS. “The success of this initiative has created a growing community of support, where past participants, who are now in positions of influence, are mentoring and hiring current participants.”

One of last year’s participants,...

Quoc Bao Tran’s tale of three ageing men who meet up again when their old teacher dies is formulaic but charming, with some great fight sequences

Quoc Bao Tran, a promising film-maker whose previous work includes editing and action coordination, makes his writing-directing debut with this highly likable if formulaic action comedy about three middle-aged guys reunited when their old martial-arts master dies suddenly. The word on the internet is that Tran has been trying to get backing to make this for years, but the Hollywood studios he approached wanted him to whitewash it by casting at least one famous Caucasian actor. But Tran insisted on having the core trio played by two Asian Americans and one Black American and raised the budget partly through crowdfunding. The fact that none of the stars are huge names, and look just like schlubby dudes you might see on your street, makes...

Photo: ‘The Paper Tigers’/Well Go USA Entertainment ‘The Paper Tigers’ is a great movie, lovingly and skillfully paying homage to classic Hong Kong kung fu comedies (think Stephen Chow and Jackie Chan)--it’s also one of few true examples of Asian-American cinema. Debuting director Quoc Bao Tran and his team originally pitched the film to Hollywood producers, but were offered $4 million with the caveat that the Asian-American lead is replaced by a White lead to be played by Bruce Willis--they declined the offer, producing the film with an ultra-lean shooting budget of $1 million. Related article: 10 Best Martial Arts Movies: An Intro and In-Depth Look at the Genre Related article: Why The Oscars Should Have An Award for the Best Stunts Category 'The Paper Tigers' It follows the “Three Tigers,” an undefeated trio of kung fu prodigies--leader Danny “Eight Hands” (Alain Uy), Ah Hing (Ron Yuan), and Jim...

Martial arts movies remain contentious in Asian American cinema. On one hand, the likes of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan have made major breakthroughs in the US; thanks to their kung fu movies from the 20th century, Hollywood realized that Asians too are excellent leads. On the other hand, however, the same films have molded into an unbreakable ceiling for Asian American actors. Stereotypes of sagely shifu and nunchuck-wielding warriors have since been well baked-in, the most recent “Mortal Kombat” (2021) notwithstanding.

Quoc Bao Tran’s “The Paper Tigers” (2020) enters the fray with a charming spin on an age-old trope. This production too had initially faced funding resistance. Critics denounced “yet another” Asian American martial arts movie, clamoring for other forms of representation. Upon viewing, however, these arguments seem redundant, if not ironic. “The Paper Tigers” is anything but. While it plays with the usual tropes of kung fu comedy, the...

With only a couple of clicks of the dial and a little dash of hybrid vigor, the hackneyed can be made fresh again, a point proven by Tran Quoc Bao’s silly and special little kung fu comedy “The Paper Tigers.” Balancing the naive structure of an old Shaw Brothers movie (a vengeance mission with an escalating series of fights en route to the Big Boss showdown) with the kind of male-midlife-comedy schtick that bought Judd Apatow a house or six, Tran’s irresistibly good-humored debut is a diverting blend of Hong Kong and Hollywood that delivers, on a slender, Kickstarter-enhanced budget, a rousing roundhouse hug to both traditions.

Danny (Alain Uy), Hing (Ron Yuan) and Jim (Mykel Shannon Jenkins) have become estranged in the 25 years since they were “The Three Tigers,” disciples of kung fu master Sifu Cheung (Roger Yuan) — scenes that play out with younger actors in lovingly re-created garage VHS footage.

"When the hands cross... all will be revealed." Well Go USA has released an official trailer for a martial arts action comedy titled The Paper Tigers, marking the feature directorial debut of filmmaker Quoc Bao Tran. This premiered at the Fantasia Film Festival last year, then stopped by numerous other festivals in the fall including the Busan, Hawaii, and Asian American Film Festival. Three Kung Fu prodigies have grown into washed-up, middle-aged men, now one kick away from pulling their hamstrings. But when their master is murdered, they must juggle their dead-end jobs, dad duties, and old grudges to avenge his death. The film stars Alain Uy, Ron Yuan, Mykel Shannon Jenkins, Matthew Page, Andy Le, and Yuji Okumoto. This already looks like an indie cult classic!! Seems like a fun throwback and a clever Kung Fu dark comedy. Here's the official US trailer (+ posters) for Quoc Bao Tran's The Paper Tigers,...

Exclusive: The Hawai‘i International Film Festival (Hiff) has unveiled its lineup for its 40th anniversary of the festival which will be a hybrid of in-person and virtual screenings. This marks the fiest time that Hiff will be accessible to audiences across the nation. The fest will focus on Hawai‘i-made films and Kanaka Maoli filmmakers and will take place November 5-29.

“This has been an enormously difficult year for nonprofits, artists and arts organizations, and creative entrepreneurs in Hawai’i. While our 40th anniversary isn’t the grand experience we had been planning, I could not be more proud and excited to announce our Festival lineup.” says Hiff Executive Director, Beckie Stocchetti. “For our 40th anniversary, the Hiff lineup is a statement on the perseverance and resilience of Hawaii’s community and entrepreneurial spirit. In an unexpected Festival year, we are proud to have pivoted our theater experience into a top-tier streaming experience,...

Exclusive: Well Go USA Entertainment has acquired the North American rights to Bao Tran’s action comedy The Paper Tigers and has slated a theatrical release in Spring 2021.

Written and directed by Tran, the movie is an homage to Seattle’s martial arts scene from the 1970s and 1980s as well as the legendary Bruce Lee. The story follows Danny (Alain Uy of Helstrom), Hing (Ron Yuan of Mulan) and Jim (Mykel Shannon Jenkins of Undisputed III) who, as teenagers were kung fu prophecies and were inseparable. After graduation, the trio drifted apart due to a mysterious fallout at an overseas tournament. Fast forward 25 years, and they are now adults — washed up middle-aged men to be specific. They are one kick away from pulling a hamstring and not at all preoccupied with thoughts of martial arts or childhood best friends. That all changes when their old master is murdered and...

Stars: Mykel Shannon Jenkins, Alain Uy, Ron Yuan, Joziah Lagonoy, Matthew Page, Jae Suh Park, Ken Quitugua, Roger Yuan | Written and Directed by Bao Tran

Essentially The Paper Tigers is a feel-good movie that uses martial arts as a vehicle for a story about finding oneself, re-discovering not only friendships of youth but also one’s self-esteem. In this case self-esteem that comes with martial arts – the quite strength, the feeling a of power that comes from the discipline that one needs to fully learn and be in control of your skills.

As teens, friends Danny (Alain Uy), Hing (Ron Yuan) and Jim (Mykel Shannon Jenkins) were inseparable. Loyal disciples to their Sifu, Master Cheung (Roger Yuan), they trained together, fought together and planned to become the next great martial arts masters. Life, as they say, has other plans, and when Danny left to take part in a tournament in Japan,...

Fallen legends, faded friendships, and a heartwarming homecoming; The Paper Tigers hits a lot of the familiar touchstones for Kung Fu cinema while making them feel fresh, funny, and full of heart. The new underdog martial arts comedy from debut feature filmmaker Quoc Bao Tran follows three former friends who used to be kings of their local Kung Fu scene, known as the unbeatable “Paper Tigers”, and find their way back to each other after the death of their former master. Fueled by a tremendous trio of leads, Tran’s light touch, and tightly choreographed fight scenes, The Paper Tigers …...

The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, presented by Visual Communications, has announced that its 36th edition will take place virtually from Sept. 24 to Oct. 31.

The festival postponed its original in-person presentation in May due to the Covid-19 pandemic, holding in its place the first-ever Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Virtual Showcase. But now, the festival is ready to present its full lineup of 225 filmmakers over the course of five weekends.

This year’s festival will include the world premieres of “I’ll Meet You There,” “One Meal,” “Accept the Call,” “The Girl Who Left Home,” “Finding Yingying” and “The Celine Archive.” Other selections include Ramona S. Diaz’s “A Thousand Cuts,” Baljit Sangra’s “Because We Are Girls,” Bao Tran’s “The Paper Tigers” and Ursula Liang’s “Down a Dark Stairwell.”

Beyond Los Angeles, the festival is also screening international films like “Death of Nintendo” and “Patutiki: The Guardians of Marquesan Tattoo.

Exclusive: After postponing its in-person festival that was originally slated for May, the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (Laapff) is ready to return — virtually, of course. Visual Communications (Vc) will present the 36th Annual Laapff from September 24 to October 31.

“Visual Communications is grateful for these storytellers who believe in the power of media to build and connect communities,” said Francis Cullado, Executive Director of Visual Communications. He added, “Vc thanks these artists and community members for utilizing their creative powers to oppose racism and amplify change.”

The fest will include the World Premiere of Mallorie Ortega’s musical dramedy The Girl Who Left Home as well as the U.S. Premiere of Bao Tran’s martial arts action-comedy The Paper Tigers.

Laapff will also include special screenings of Ursula Liang’s Down A Dark Stairwell, Iram Parveen Bilal’s I’ll Meet You There as well as Ramona S. Diaz...

Like the warring Japanese dojos depicted throughout the Karate Kid franchise, a growing disconnect exists between those who wish to learn a fighting style as a means of physical and emotional growth and those who simply seek the ability to punish their adversaries without mercy. It’s respect and honor versus strength and superiority—something even the most devout and sacred of Chinese Kung Fu masters like Sifu Cheung (Roger Yuan) can’t always instill in their pupils. No matter how much they strive to trust the younger generation’s capacity to protect what they’ve learned as a tool, the allure of morphing it into a weapon for profit is often too much to ignore. It’s why he retired after his three disciples left. The disappointment was too much to bear.

So we meet him at the start of Quoc Bao Tran’s The Paper Tigers in an...

Ron Yuan, Alain Uy and Mykel Shannon Jenkins as The Three Tigers Photo: Mark Malijan

Made on a small budget but prepared to make a big splash as part of this year’s Fantasia line-up, Bao Tran’s Paper Tigers follows three middle-aged former martial artists who have to brush up their old skills when suspicions develop about the sudden death of their old sifu. They’re not as fit as they used to be but they soon realise that they’ll need to improve if they’re to have any hope of getting to the truth, defending the honour of their school or even staying alive. Fighting and comedy come together in this entertaining indie. I asked its director why he decided to make a martial arts film about men of this age.

He laughs. “I think I was really interested because I was starting to become that man of a certain age.

Tran Quoc Bao is preparing to make a big splash with his debut feature film, the martial arts comedy flick The Paper Tigers. While we work on our review of this flick we have the pleasure of sharing an exclusive clip with you today. Three childhood Kung Fu prodigies have grown into washed-up, middle-aged men – now one kick away from pulling their hamstrings. But when their master is murdered, they must juggle their dead-end jobs, dad duties, and overcome old grudges to avenge his death. In this clip our heroes - Danny, Hing and Jim - have been challenged by a trio of punk martial artists to a duel for reasons I will leave for you to discover when you see the...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Few things are as scary as real life these days, but for those seeking more refined thrills and chills, this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival continues to provide the best in “genre” entertainment. While the “genre” moniker is wide-ranging enough to stir up images of everything from slasher films to kung fu epics, the annual Canadian festival has consistently stretched the concept to embrace all sorts of off-beat features that go somehow beyond the norm of mainstream cinema.

This year’s lineup is no different, encompassing not just terrifying horror movies and wild martial arts action, but true stories about unique people, unexpected romantic dramas, even a careful examination of how a cute cartoon frog became a symbol of hate. If it’s weird or wacky, it just might land at Fantasia.

This year’s festival runs August 20 through September 2, though it is only available online to Canadian audiences.

Exclusive: Mulan actor Ron Yuan will sit in the director’s chair for the upcoming untitled 47 Ronin sequel. The action-fantasy pic will be produced by Universal 1440 Entertainment, a production entity of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

“I’m incredibly excited to be working with Universal and the producing team on this genre-blending, martial arts, action, horror and cyber-punk film,” said Yuan. “This will be a fun, intense, supercharged thrill ride for viewers globally.”

The original film was directed by Carl Rinsch and written by Chris Morgan and Hossein Amini from a story conceived by Morgan and Walter Hamada. Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu Asano, Rinko Kikuchi and Ko Shibasaki starred in 47 Ronin, which was based on Chūshingura. The pic tells a fictionalized account of the titular 47 rōnin, a real-life group of samurai in the 18th century who set out to avenge the death of their master who was killed by a merciless shogun.

Pre-recorded presentations are being shown in three time zones.

The projects under discussion at the two-day schedule of presentations at the Us agency-led Cannes virtual market has been announced.

Pre-recorded presentations are being shown in three time zones and visitors click on the zone that best corresponds to their region: Los Angeles, Cannes, and Tokyo.

Monday’s sessions included: AGC Studio’s The Blacksmith; Wild Bunch International’s Armageddon Time; HanWay Film’s Peggy Jo; Pathé’s Notre Dame On Fire; FilmNation’s Faster Cheaper Better; Other Angle’s Lives In Secret; WestEnd Films’ Mr. Malcolm’s List; and Archstone Entertainment’s Bonzai Shadowhands.

“I am a James Bond fan and my big question was what would it be like if Q had to be the mission himself?

AGC Studios and director Pierre Morel have targeted a September production start in Toronto on The Blacksmith, the action thriller starring Nick Jonas and Laurence Fishburne that both said could become a franchise.

Discussing the project in Monday’s (June 22) convivial Cannes virtual market presentation with Morel, AGC Studios head Stuart Ford said “soft prep” had already begun on the story of an intelligence community weapons experts who goes on the run in search of his...

“I am a James Bond fan and my big question was what would it be like if Q had to be the mission himself?

AGC Studios and director Pierre Morel have targeted a September production start in Toronto on The Blacksmith, the action thriller starring Nick Jonas and Laurence Fishburne that both said could become a franchise.

Discussing the project in Monday’s (June 22) convivial Cannes virtual market presentation with Morel, AGC Studios head Stuart Ford said “soft prep” had already begun on the story of an intelligence community weapons experts who goes on the run in search of his...

Exclusive: Tran Quoc Bao’s The Paper Tigers has set its cast with Alain Uy, Ron Yuan, and Mykel Shannon Jenkins toplining the kung fu action comedy and Jae Suh Park (Friends from College) and Raymond Ma (Always Be My Maybe) stepping into supporting roles. The film is currently in production in Seattle.

Bao’s feature debut features Yuan, Uy, and Jenkins playing former Kung Fu prodigies who are now washed-up middle-aged men, one kick away from pulling their hamstrings. When their master is murdered, they must escape their dead-end jobs and overcome old grudges to avenge his death. The feature is an homage to Seattle’s martial arts scene from the 1970s and 1980s as well as the legendary Bruce Lee — a name that has been making headlines due to Quentin Tarantino...

It was all the way back in 2007 that we first came across the work of Vietnamese-American director Bao Tran. The occasion at the time was his fabulous short film Bookie, a gorgeous black and white crime drama starring Ken Quitugua as the titular bookie who lays himself on the line for a woman. It was a beautifully directed, beautifully realized piece of work that showcased Quitugua both as a leading man and a screen fighter to such great effect that I've always been surprised that I've always been surprised that he's never really had a 'proper' break through part in the years since.Since making Bookie Tran has gone on to become very in demand as an editor - he cut this year's Foreign Language...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Bao Tran still remembers an old man shuffling onto the bridge to hand him a tiny bundle tucked into a straw hat. It was May 1972 and Tran was in the South Vietnamese Army fighting alongside the Americans. His company was about to blow up the bridge outside Quang Tri. "The man said the baby was trying to nurse on its dead mother," Tran, now 65, recalls. He carried the baby in that hat for 60 miles - "I was in full combat gear, with explosions all around," he says - to an orphanage, where he left her with the name he'd planned...

Why Watch? Steeped in the sleek saturation of a 1960s R&B club, writer/director Quoc Bao Tran‘s short film is soulful and dangerous all at once. Amidst the soaring vocals and human silk, a young bookie risks everything to mess with the boss’s goods – a waitress that can’t catch a solid break. It’s heroism and grit with a great soundtrack, and the visual style is as sharp as the script. What does it cost? Just 20 minutes of your time. Check out Bookie for yourself: Bookie (2008) Trust us. You have time for more short films.

At a raucous soul R&B nightclub in 1963, crowds from all over Seattle gather for a chance at alcohol, wild music, and easy money. Amidst it all, a gambling bookie risks everything he has for a waitress down on her luck. This 20-minute short directed by Quoc Bao Tran recalls early Scorsese/Spike Lee. Nothing distinctive or groundbreaking, but still very precisely executed. Check it out.

{vimeo}5709951{/vimeo} Today's Short is a feature on JustPressPlay showcasing wonderful short films found all around the web. If you have suggestions, hit us up.

At a raucous soul R&B nightclub in 1963, crowds from all over Seattle gather for a chance at alcohol, wild music, and easy money. Amidst it all, a gambling bookie risks everything he has for a waitress down on her luck. This 20-minute short directed by Quoc Bao Tran recalls early Scorsese/Spike Lee. Nothing distinctive or groundbreaking, but still very precisely executed. Check it out.

{vimeo}5709951{/vimeo} Today's Short is a feature on JustPressPlay showcasing wonderful short films found all around the web. If you have suggestions, hit us up.

A good while back I was raving in these pages about Bao Tran’s short film Bookie, a gorgeously shot and very noir tinged tale set in a classic soul club in some undisclosed time. Revolving around a minor bookie working out of the club who falls for his boss’ girlfriend the picture neatly balances drama with action and features one killer soundtrack, to boot. At the time, all I could point people to was a trailer but after a quick exchange with Tran yesterday it’s been pointed out that the complete short is now available for your viewing pleasure. And pleasure is the operative word. Check it out below the break!