Shanghai Calling Production Notes

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Production Notes


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For Media Inquiries:

PMK/BNC

Marian Koltai-Levine

[email protected]

Rachel Aberly

[email protected]


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CREDITS

CHINA FILM CO., LTD. and AMERICATOWN, LLC present

a MANIFEST FILM Production

SHANGHAI CALLING

DANIEL HENNEY ELIZA COUPE GENG LE ZHU ZHU ALAN RUCK

and

BILL PAXTON

Written and Directed by

Produced by

Executive Producers

Presenter

Director of Photography

Production Designer

Editor

Costume Designer

Music by

US Casting by

China Casting by

DANIEL HSIA

JANET YANG

XIA ZHENGZHAO YUTING

HAN SANPING

ARMANDO SALAS

YU BAIYANG

PAMELA MARCH

WANG HAIYAN

KLAUS BADELT &CHRISTOPHER CARMICHAEL

LESLIE WOO

POPING AUYEUNG


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SYNOPSIS

An ambitious young American attorney discovers that his hard-charging approach to corpo-

rate law is no match for the surprises of modern China in Shanghai Calling, an intelligent, charm-

ing, cross-cultural romantic comedy that marks the feature lm debut of writer and director Daniel

Hsia. One of the rst of a new wave of Sino-American co-productions, Shanghai Calling features an

outstanding international cast and a timely story, all set against the gorgeous backdrop of modern

Shanghai, a city whose blend of old and new, and East and West, has made it a symbol of contempo-

rary globalization.

Sam Chao (Daniel Henney), an up-and-coming Manhattan attorney angling for partnership, is

dispatched by his bosses to Shanghai to open the rms new satellite ofce there. If Sam completes

the three-month assignment, they will give him the promotion hes been dreaming about. But Sam

may not be suited for life in China. His rst day in Shanghai, he humiliates Amanda (Eliza Coupe), the

lovely relocation specialist hired to smooth his way into the expat community, browbeats Fang Fang

(Zhu Zhu), his hyper-capable ofce assistant, and insults everyone he meets with his refusal to adapt

to local customs.

When his insistence on doing things his way costs an important client a potential billion-dollar

deal, Sam must rely on the very people he has alienated to x his blunders and save his job. As he

painfully learns to temper his take-no-prisoners style, Sam slowly discovers a new way of looking at

the worldand at Amanda.

Written and directed by Daniel Hsia (Psych, Andy Barker, PI), Shanghai Callingstars Dan-

iel Henney (Three Rivers, X-Men Origins: Wolverine), Eliza Coupe (Happy Endings, Scrubs), Bill

Paxton (Big Love, Titanic), Alan Ruck (Greek, Extraordinary Measures, Ferris Buellers Day Off),

Geng Le (Desires of the Heart) and Zhu Zhu (What Women Want, MTV-China).

The lm is produced by Janet Yang (The Joy Luck Club, Dark Matter, The People vs. Larry

Flynt). Director of photography is Armando Salas (Sophies Revenge, Sailsh, Cocaine Cowboys).

Editor is Pamela March (I Heart Huckabees, Waiting for Forever). Production designer is Baiyang Yu

(Mission: Impossible III, Shanghai Kiss). Costume designer is Haiyan Wang. Line producer is Jiakun

Jaguar Zhang (The Painted Veil, Inseparable). Executive producers are Yuting Zhao and Xia Zheng.


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ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

The multicultural mix-ups and misunderstandings of Shanghai Callingwere inspired by the

real-life stories writer and director Daniel Hsia heard from a friend living the expatriate life in Beijing.

Every time I ran into him at a classmates wedding or college reunion, he told me hilarious stories

about what its like to be an immigrant from America, says Hsia. Its not an experience a lot of Ameri-

cans are familiar with. Were used to people visiting the U.S. But now that China is becoming a global

powerhouse, all the big companies are opening ofces there. Were no longer the center of the uni-

verse. For many Americans just out of college, their rst job is in China. Thats where the inspiration

came from.

Based on his experiences writing for American television, the Bay Area native was sure that

there was a compelling story with a sprawling cast of characters to be found in China. I decided to

go to Beijing and Shanghai for a couple of months to do some research, he says. Shanghai today

is a very dynamic and exciting setting, so I interviewed everyone I could meetAmericans, Chinese,

Europeansfrom all walks of life, and the story very quickly came together.

Hsia crafted a classic sh-out-of-water tale about an American businessman arrogantly poised

to take the unsophisticated natives of a far-away city by storm. The twist is that the hero, Sam Chao,

is a Chinese-American who looks like he should t in easily, but Sam has spent his entire life willfully

ignorant of his heritage. A comeuppance is, of course, awaiting him in China.

Determined to shoot his movie in Shanghai, Hsia decided that there was only one producer

who had the knowledge, experience and vision to help him bring his script to life. Janet Yang has

shepherded some of the most successful cross-cultural lms of the past two and a half decades to

the screen and her considerable expertise in lmmaking in China was what Hsia believed he needed

to realize his project. He leveraged all his contacts to get a meeting with the producer.

Janet has done so many amazing pictures, says Hsia. She is such a well-known gure in

Hollywood and in China, and I felt I would be nowhere without Janet Yang. I got in touch with a friend

who knew her and we had lunch so I could tell her a little bit about the project. I just tried my best to

show her how passionate I was about it and about shooting in China.

Yang, whose professional experience in Asia goes back to Steven Spielbergs 1987 epic Em-


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pire of the Sun, was caught up in a hectic schedule that was already taking her to and from China for

another lm. But I was to be the producer of this lm and he was not going to let go of that notion,

says Yang. Daniel is a very kind and open person, but hes also very driven and assured. I suppose

he came to me because I had worked in China before and I understood how to set up a co-produc-

tion, as well as how to be sensitive to the tastes of Chinese audiences.

It took several months and a second introduction for Hsia to convince Yang, who was by then

nished with her previous project, to sign on. Luckily, this is the kind of script that she was looking

for, says Hsia. I caught her just at the right time in her career, because shes doing more and more

lms in China, both Chinese lms and American lms shot there.

Without Yangs assistance, Hsia doubts he would have been able to mount his movie. Shes

so good at the business side of things, he says. If I didnt have her, I have a feeling a lot of people

on set wouldnt know what to do. Our strengths complement each other very well.

Yang sat down with Hsia to ne-tune his script, zeroing in on a story that would appeal to audi-

ences both in the U.S. and China. We did many drafts, she says. We ended up with a lm that I am

very proud of, and I believe he should be very proud of. We were able to tell a story that straddles

both sides of the Pacic.

In shorthand, we like to say its about a banana who falls in love with an egg, Yang continues.

A banana is someone whos yellow on the outside, white on the inside, and the egg is obviously the

reverse. I think it strikes a number of chords for people in China and all over the world. Were expe-

riencing an intense curiosity about China right now. Our protagonist doesnt know anything about

China in the beginning, so he takes Western audiences with him on his journey. And I think its fun for

Chinese viewers to laugh at somebody like that.

So its both a cross-cultural comedy and a romance, Yang continues. I think it really satises

on both levels. The motor of the story involves Sam and the trouble that he gets into as a lawyer, but

his affection for China is largely inuenced by meeting a woman with a very different point of view.

Sam, a man used to being in control of his world, nds it all turned upside-down, a situation

Hsia says is a classic comedic setup. Every time Sam walks into a situation, his expectations are

reversed, says Hsia. My rst lessons in comedy came from listening to my fathers favorite radio


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comedians from the 1930s and 1940sJack Benny, George Burns, Charlie McCarthy and Edgar

Bergen. They taught me about comedy rhythms and the wealth of jokes you can get from a particular

kind of character. It provided me with a bedrock understanding of how comedy works and how char-

acters relate to one another.

And while he admits that there may be jokes that dont translate for every audience, Hsia is

condent that American and Chinese audiences will both nd plenty to laugh at. For Americans, a

lot of the comedy will come from situations theyve never seen before. For instance, you walk into a

noodle restaurant and sit down at an empty table. From the American perspective, that is your table.

All of a sudden, other people start sitting with you and thats just not something were used to.

Its fun to watch the look Sams face as he is having a private discussion and people keep

joining them, he continues. He doesnt understand whats happening. Theres a lot of fun to be had

from the Chinese perspective to see this American-born Chinese, who arrives in Shanghai thinking

hes top dog, and is instead a sh out of water. Every encounter he has with a Chinese local ends in a

disastrousand very comedicway. When somebody who is so put together and so arrogant is very

slowly brought to his knees, it reveals the person he really is on the inside.

Hsia credits his television writing experience with allowing him to accept comments from a host

of collaborators to make the script stronger. TV was good training for this, he says. Throughout the

process, weve gotten notes from the American side, from the Chinese side, from actors and produc-

ers and investors. Its been a whirlwind process.

Although she has more than a dozen lms to her credit, Yang says that this one is special for

her. Every now and then, Im blessed with the opportunity to work on something that speaks to me

personally. Cross-cultural stories are so much a part of my own background that I feel I have more to

contribute. Joy Luck Clubwas like that. I really enjoyed working on Dark Matter. I have more nuanced

insights to provide for lms like these. The line between the professional and the personal is quite

blurred, so I feel like this is more than just a movie for me.


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easygoing than the hard-driving corporate lawyer. Hes very aggressive, hes incredibly intelligent,

and hes always got the right answer, says Henney. I admire his drive, but I would never want to

have that kind of life. Sam is all work, work, work. He forgets that hes missing certain things in life

that are essential to happiness. He thinks that what he is searching for is career success, but what he

really needs is love.

On the other hand, Henney completely relates to his characters cross-cultural experience.

When I was 22, I went to Hong Kong for three months, he says. It ended up being three years. It

was true culture shock and that helped me understand what Sam is going through. I believe that ev-

eryone, at some point in their lives, should live overseas. It opens your eyes and your mind, and you

come back home with a new perspective on things. When you are immersed in a culture, you have to

be open. If youre not, its like swimming against the current.

When I went to Hong Kong for the rst time, I wanted to leave after a week, he recalls. I

hated it. I hated the smells, I hated the sounds, I hated the music. I wouldnt even give it a chance

because it wasnt what I was used to. And then I fell in love with a girl. Before I knew it, I had a group

of friends and the city acquired such an important place in my heart.

Although Hsia conceived his script as an expansive ensemble comedy, once he found the

actors to play Sam and Amanda, those characters began to become the center of his story. Daniel

Henney and Eliza Coupe, who plays Amanda, have such great chemistry, he says. When they were

in place, it just naturally evolved into more of a romantic comedy. Right before we started rolling, we

reworked the script to make it more about Sams feelings about Amanda, rather than his feelings

about China or about his job. Their scenes together became the heart of the movie.

Coupe has appeared in a number of Hsias favorite TV comedies, including Happy Endings,

Flight of the Conchords, Community, and Scrubs. We were looking for a female lead who was

beautiful and funny and smart enough to learn the Chinese, says Hsia. And as soon as her name

was brought up, I said, shes the one.

Producer Yang says Coupe was meant to play Amanda in the lm. Eliza is one of the funniest

people Ive ever met, says Yang. We sent her the script and she decided to do it the next day. She

goes by her gut and she just felt like this was what she was supposed to do next. In the movie, the


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characters she and Daniel play are diametrically opposed, but in reality, they have the same wacky

sense of humor.

Ironically, what eventually won Coupe the role was what she says was the worst audition of her

career. I auditioned for a different lma very big lm, she remembers. And it was terrible. I hadto start over four or ve times until eventually it became hilarious. It was a train wreck, but thankfully

the casting director was laughing with me. A few weeks later, I got a call for this because, in that awful

audition, the casting director saw something great for Amanda.

Its not like the actress, who calls herself Captain Planner, to make impulsive decisions. Usu-

ally, I think a million steps ahead, says Coupe. I set up my breakfast the night before. But when they

sent over the script, I read 12 pages and called my manager and said, lets do it.

Hsias deep involvement in the story and characters he created dened his directing style, she

says. He knows how to talk to actors in a way I havent experienced too much, says Coupe. We

had rehearsals before we started shooting, and before any scene, he would talk to us about where

we just came from emotionally. He was so invested in it. He was always trying to help us discover

things in the moment.

The actress recognized herself in Amandas way of speaking and ery temperament, and

researched some of the unfamiliar aspects of the character when she got to China. I dont have

children, but my character does, so I met with some expat moms, she says. From what I gathered,

Shanghai is a place where a lot of people come to reinvent themselves. Amanda came from Ne-

braska after her marriage ended. She had already studied the language, so it was good t. But you

wouldnt move to another country with your daughter if there wasnt a bad situation at home.

The actress found herself becoming quite attached to her life in Shanghai. There were been

moments when I thought I didnt ever want to leave, says Coupe. Not because I didnt want to go

home, but because it was an unbelievable experience. There was clearly a reason that I said yes

after reading 12 pages. I felt very strongly that I was supposed to be there and have this experience.

Bill Paxton had just wrapped the HBO drama Big Love before he joined the cast of Shanghai

Calling. He was on Yang and Hsias short list to play Donald, affectionately referred to by expats in

the story as the mayor of Americatown, when the producer coincidentally ran into him at an industry


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event in Los Angeles honoring Kathryn Bigelow. When I arrived for the event, Bill Paxton was speak-

ing. I thought, yeah, hed be fantastic as Donald. I emailed Daniel and said lets go to him.

Paxton plays the role with natural authority and ease. Anyone whos ever met Bill knows that

he can walk into a room and everyone will do what he tells them to do, says Hsia. Donald has been

in China for 20 years now, but hes one of the old-school expats. He doesnt wear a suit. He has a

very folksy manner. At the moment our story starts, he is realizing that the expat community is chang-

ing. Suddenly the city is full of young Ivy Leaguers who are getting sent over here by their companies

and he is struggling to adjust to the times.

The storys blend of humor, cultural insight and heart made it unlike any script Paxton had

previously read. I was reminded of the type of lm that Robert Altman used to make, says Paxton.

It is very contemporary, with a light humor that creeps up on you. It seems at rst like theres no deep

statement in terms of the themes, but by the time you get to the end of the movie, you realize it has a

lot more soul than you rst reckoned.

Added to that was the opportunity to visit Shanghai, a city about which he had always been cu-

rious. Paxton took full advantage of his downtime, visiting the citys museums and getting to know its

people. Ive been fascinated with the culture of China since I was a kid, he says. My grandfather did

business there back in the 1920s and my father told me wonderful stories about him and his travels.

Donald was one of the rst Western businessmen to come to Shanghai when it became open

to Western business again, Paxton says. He is the president of the American Chamber of Com-

merce, and serves as a liaison between Chinese and American businessmen. He tries to take Sam

under his wing, but Sam has his own ideas and causes a lot of problems for himself. And so he gets

sent down the rabbit hole and has to come back to my character for help.

Working with a partially Chinese cast and crew was both exciting and enlightening, he admits.

It was difcult in terms of language, he says. But I got to work with a lot of new talentChinese tal-

ent, American talent, people from all over. We are entering the real time of internationalism.

One of those Chinese actors is Geng Le, who plays Awesome Wang, an investigative reporter

who is also an all-purpose xer, the go-to guy for Americans with problems to solve in Shanghai.

Hes a fabulous actor, says Yang. Hes got that gorgeous voice, and he can play both Sams fan-


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tasy version of who he is, as well as the real version, and be extremely convincing as both.

Hsia concurs. From the moment I met Geng Le, we had a rapport, says the director. His

English is excellent and his Chinese is that perfect aspirational Mandarin. We knew that we wanted

the character to be a smart, well-educated journalist, but because hes named Awesome Wang,

Sam expects him to be some really cool guy in a leather jacket. In reality, he looks like a bookworm.

Theres a lot of fun to be had there again, by turning expectations on their heads.

After his rst reading of the script, Geng Le gave the lmmakers his feedback on the character.

I commented a lot, actually, he says. I was worried that the director might have lost interest in me

because of all my input, but he considered everything I had to say and worked it into the script. I think

it has a very American point of view and will ring true to Chinese people as well.

One of Wangs idiosyncrasies is that he always speaks Chinese, even when talking to foreign-

ers, a habit that confused Geng Le. It felt feel so weird at rst, but as the director explained to me, he

can understand Chinese and English. You use your own language and he uses his. It worked and it is

very funny.

Like many Chinese, Geng Le studied English, as well as some U.S. customs, as a child.

When I learned English in school, teachers told us a lot about American culture, he explains.

Theres an evident difference between East and West and sometimes they are completely opposite.

But many Eastern people live well in Western countries, and also many foreigners live well here, too.

All the gaps and differences come from lack of clarity. I think, from this lm, those who have never

been to China before will begin to learn about it.

He applauds the directors choice to make his ugly American character an American-born

ChineseABC, in the vernacular. Sam is a typical American even though he doesnt have blond hair

and blue eyes, says Geng Le. I enjoy the irony of that. Sam doesnt even think of himself as Chi-

nese. His impression of China is that it is still a large farm.

One of Chinas most popular and busiest performers, actress, singer, MTV-China VJ and

spokesperson Zhu Zhu plays Sams loyal but frustrated assistant, Fang Fang. Zhu Zhu is one of

these women that I meet in China more and more who combines a lot of the traditional and the con-

temporary, says Yang. She is very assured, she has a wide network of contacts, and shes lived a


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lot. But while shes sophisticated and worldly, shes still a very down-to-earth woman. We met a num-

ber of other actresses for the role, and nobody else even came close.

An ambitious local, Fang Fang has hitched her wagon to Sams rising star, but his refusal to lis-

ten to anyones advice threatens her chances for success. Fang Fang seems to be a typical Shang-

hai girl, says Hsia. Then we nd out that she has many more layers hidden beneath that. Zhu Zhu

is very beautiful and very talented. Every time we talked about the character, we came up with even

more interesting details about who she is and where she came from and how she wound up at Sams

law rm.

Fang Fang reects a dichotomy seen in many modern women in China, according to Zhu Zhu.

Fang Fang has a personal dream that she wants to fulll, says the actress. On the other hand, it is

very important for her to honor and care for her family, so she has to work very hard. She represents

a lot of professional Chinese women today. They are very smart and theyre very good at what theyre

doing. And, at the same time, theyre a little bit lost because all these foreigners like Sam are com-

ing to China and it causes a lot of confusion. Fang Fang wants to help Sam to do the right thing and

be successful in his job so she can keep her job. Sam misunderstands her attention as romantic, but

shes a little bit too busy to have a crush on Sam.

In a romance that parallels Sam and Amandas, Fang Fang is also too busy to respond to the

overtures of her amorous co-worker, Guang. In the Western world, you have certain rules about dat-

ing and relationships, says Zhu. But Chinese parents have more inuence on their children. A lot of

people live with their parents until theyre in their late twenties and early thirties. Its not until Guang

acknowledges her family that she shows any interest in him.

Zhu hopes that the lm will provide Western audiences with an unprecedented look at life in

China. In the West, were sometimes seen as a real-life Kung Fu movie or as if we lived during the

Cultural Revolution, she says. They havent gotten a real picture of modern China. This is so real.

Its a lot like my life.

The lmmakers were pleasantly surprised by the depth of the pool of actors they had to choose

from in China. We didnt know how many people wed have to bring over from the States, says

Yang. We found that there are a number of Western actors residing in Beijing and Shanghai who are


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happily and busily working in China. The actors who play Brad and Jensen, the New York lawyers,

live there, as well as the darling actress who plays Amandas daughter. We didnt have to compromise

in any way by hiring local talent.

Hsia says his rst time directing a feature lm will be unforgettable for him, both because of

the location and the cast. These are characters Ive been living with for a couple of years now, says

Hsia. Having the chance to work with the actors gave me even more material. We came up with

better things together than I could ever think of on my own. Everyone is extremely talented and they

really brought these characters to life. Im looking forward to having more opportunities to work with

all of them again.


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FOUND IN TRANSLATION

Shanghai Callingwas set up as a joint Sino-American co-production, using cast and crew

from both nations, and shooting entirely on location in China. In 2001, Ang Lee made Crouching

Tiger, Hidden Dragonand created a new genre, something that was both uniquely Chinese, and very

commercial and international, says Yang. That genre has been handsomely feeding the lm indus-

try in China for the past decade. Our lm is on a smaller scale, and of a genre that has become very

popular in China and has always been popular in the Westthe romantic comedy.

This sort of co-production model was created by the Chinese, the producer continues. Its

not just that you see American actors and Chinese actors on the screen. It really is a blend of sys-

tems. I think everybody learned something along the way, because theres no superior system. Itworks because it brings investment and talent from both sides together, but allows it to be a Chinese

lm in the Chinese market, which is an advantage for us because we can bypass the quota for im-

ported lms.

With a billion people and a burgeoning economy, China is on track to become a major source

of lm revenue. I think that one of the strengths of Shanghai Callingis that it is not just an American

lm that we want to play in China, Hsia says. Its a lm about Americans and Chinese that takes

place in Shanghai. Its modern and timely and contemporary. I think that in the U.S. there are a lot of

people who have questions about what China is like and whats going on there. And hopefully

Shanghai Callingwill open a lot of eyes to this world.

Directing a rst feature is challenging under any circumstance, but for Hsia, setting and mak-

ing a lm in China sometimes magnied the complications, mirroring the lms story. The Americans,

including myself, came in expecting things to run a certain way and then our line producer, Jaguar,

would tell us, Thats not how it works here. You have to adjust to our way of doing it. Both sides

learned from each other and we eventually reached a middle ground, so the production ran some-

where in between the Hollywood style and the Chinese style.

Yangs experience making American lms in China made her rst priority nding a capable line

producer to navigate the Chinese system with her. That person is Jiakun Jaguar Zhang, producer of

some twenty previous lms for Chinese and Western companies. Film may be a universal language,


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but the working styles and dynamics within and between departments are unique, Yang says. Jag-

uar and I had very similar views about what kind of people we wanted to have on our crew, even if we

differed in how to manage them. The most important thing was communication.

Jiakun Zhang knew Yang by reputation and was eager to work with her. From the earlier lmsI produced, I found every country has its own way of working, he says. Hollywoods production

techniques can be different from Chinese ones, so we had to adapt to each others working habits.

We came in with different expectations, but as long as you can keep communicating, you are able to

overcome that and the experience can be quite enriching culturally.

Hsia says he also got a strong assist in surmounting cultural barriers from the lms director

of photography, Armando Salas, who had shot two previous lms in China. He knew exactly what to

expect, says Hsia. He was familiar with the Chinese terminology for lenses and diffusions and lights

and stands. He would ask for a lighting setup completely in Chinese and then the translator would re-

translate, but the crew would say, he already told us.

Hsia was sold on Salass work after seeing a movie called Sophies Revenge. It was the most

visually kinetic, modern Chinese lm Id seen in a long time, the director says. Chinese lms have

their strengths, but a lot of them take place in the past. This was a very richly textured, well-shot

and well-crafted lm that took place in the modern day. When I met with Armando in L.A., he felt like

someone I could really get along with. We complement each other very well. We riffed off of each

other and came up with ideas that enriched each others work.

The pair had extensive discussions about how camera movement and color would dene both

the characters and the settings, according Hsia. At the start of the lm, Sam is in New York and his

life is very stable. We intentionally chose camera positions that were xed. As soon as he comes

to China, the camera starts moving around. His color palette is very cold: blue or gray or black.

Amandas colors are warmer, both in her clothes and her home. Over the course of the lm, Shang-

hai warms up color-wise. As Sam becomes more familiar with it, the colors start to pop out a little bit

more.

The director says that trying to balance the conventions of East and West has changed his per-

spective on many things, including his own cultural identity. In the U.S., I always thought I was more


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Chinese, says Hsia. As soon as I came to China, I realized that a lot of my sensibilities are more

American. Over the course of the lm, I was able to embrace both sides of my identity. I spoke to my

Chinese actors and Chinese crew in Chinese and understood where they were coming from. When I

dealt with Americans, I dealt with them in a very American way. I tried to help both sides adjust their

way of thinking a bit.

Hsia feels he has begun to understand the Chinese way of doing things a little more fully.

From an American perspective, theres an inclination to say, it would be so much more efcient if we

did it my way, he explains. But that can make you a little crazy, because China is a country of a bil-

lion people and Im not going to change the way things work here. What was best for my own sanity

and for getting the lm done was to state the way that I would like things done and then temper my

expectations. If we ultimately arrived at the same place, that was great.

Even for Yang, with all her production experience in China, the making of Shanghai Calling

was extraordinary. I have always enjoyed working there, says the producer. The people are ex-

tremely hard-working, both in general and specically in lm. They are eager to please, and in many

departments extremely experienced. There were some other challenges, but overall, Im highly appre-

ciative of the working conditions there.

On this lm, the camaraderie among cast and crew was extraordinary. I couldnt wait to get on

set each day, she adds. Thats what Im denitely going to remember most, as well as some of our

amazing locations in Shanghai. We were so fortunate to be able to shoot in some amazing locations

that nobodys ever shot before.

There were times when Hsia doubted the wisdom of making his rst project such an ambitious

undertaking. In pre-production, there was denitely a point at which I thought Id bitten off more than

I could chew, says Hsia. Why couldnt I have made my rst lm with two people in a room in Los

Angeles? Instead, we had ve main characters, seven supporting characters and it takes place in

Shanghai. We shot entirely on location, loading in, loading out, and never really having a place to call

home for the course of our movie.

But it came together really well, he says. We had incredible actors who gave excellent per-

formances. Our crew has been wonderful. They showed up early and stayed late and I cannot ex-

press enough gratitude towards everyone involved.


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ABOUT THE CAST

DANIEL HENNEY (Sam) is an international heartthrob best known for his roles in X-Men

Origins: Wolverine, the CBS medical drama Three Rivers, the South Korean romantic comedy

My Lovely Sam-Soonand the Korean television series The Fugitive: Plan B, in which he starred

alongside international pop star Rain. Henney is already a household name in Korea. The 29-year-

old model turned actor is gaining popularity with audiences due to his gentle smile, chiseled features

and naturalistic acting style. He co-stars in the forthcoming action-thriller Last Stand, opposite Arnold

Schwarzenegger, for director Jee-woon Kim.

In Korea, Henney broke out as a star with his turns in the romantic comedy Seducing Mr. Rob-

inand the drama My Father, sweeping the nations major cinema awards for best newcomer to the

screen. He was the rst foreign-born actor to do so. He also starred in the last installment of famed

director Seok-ho Yuns Four Seasons miniseries, Spring Waltz.

Henney was born in Michigan to a Korean-American mother and a British-American father. He

attended Albion College on a basketball scholarship and studied business communications. Henney

is an active musician and has provided lead vocals and guitar for the underground rock band Avarice

for the last two years.

While living in New York City, Henney has appeared in Off Broadway shows and studied act-

ing at the Deena Levy Theater and studio. He has also been seen in commercials for leading brands

such as Olympus, Minute Maid, GM Daewoo, Nestl, Hana Bank and LG. He has modeled for Tommy

Hilger, Esprit, Banana Republic, Gucci and Giorgio Armani, among a dozen other major labels.

ELIZA COUPE (Amanda) is a gifted comedic actress whose talents have been recognized on

television shows such as Scrubs, Flight of the Conchords, Community, Happy Endings, Royal

Pains and Samantha Who? She was recently seen in the romantic comedy Whats Your Number?

opposite Chris Evans, Anna Faris and Aziz Ansari. Other lm credits include Chris Rocks I Think I

Love My Wifeand Soa Coppolas Somewhere.

Coupe won the Breakout Performer Award at the HBO Comedy Arts Festival in 2006.


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19

BILL PAXTON (Donald) is a highly respected actor and director who has starred in such

blockbuster lms as Twister, True Lies, Aliens, Tombstone, Apollo 13and Titanic. He will next be seen

in Steven Soderberghs action thriller Haywire, opposite Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas and An-

tonio Banderas. On the small screen, Paxton received three Golden Globe Award nominations forhis work on the acclaimed HBO drama series Big Love, starring opposite Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chlo

Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin. He will be seen in the 2012 History Channel series Hatelds & Mc-

Coys, starring alongside Kevin Costner and Mare Winningham.

Paxton works on both sides of the camera. He is currently executive-producing (along with

Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman) a miniseries for HBO that will commemorate the 50th anniversary of

President John F. Kennedys assassination. The miniseries is set to air on HBO in 2013.

In 2001, Paxton directed the gothic thriller Frailty, in which he also starred alongside Matthew

McConaughey. Frailtywas honored with the National Board of Reviews Special Mention for Excel-

lence in Filmmaking. In 2005, Paxton directed the sports drama The Greatest Game Ever Played,

starring Shia LaBeouf. Additionally, he served as a producer on the features The Good Lifeand Trav-

eller, in which he starred along with Mark Wahlberg and Julianna Margulies.

Paxton began his career as a set dresser on producer Roger Cormans Big Bad Mamain the

mid-1970s. After working in the art department on several features, Paxton moved to New York to

study acting with Stella Adler. Returning to Los Angeles in 1980, he met James Cameron while moon-

lighting as a set dresser on Roger Cormans Galaxy of Terror.

After gaining critical attention in the John Hughes comedy Weird Scienceand Camerons clas-

sic Aliens, Paxton turned in a performance as a small-town sheriff in Carl Franklins One False Move

that marked his emergence as a leading man. In 1998, Roger Ebert cited Paxton as his Best Actor

choice for his turn as Hank Mitchell in Sam Raimis A Simple Plan. That same year, Paxton received a

Golden Globe nomination for his performance in HBOs A Bright Shining Lie.

Other lm credits include U-571, Mighty Joe Young, Vertical Limit, Trespass, Indian Summer,

Near Dark, Boxing Helena, The Dark Backwards, Club Dread, The Evening Star, Streets of Fire,

Frank and Jesse, Navy Seals, Predator 2, The Vagrantand Pass the Ammo.

Paxton, a native of Ft. Worth, Texas, now resides with his wife and children in California.


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ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

DANIEL HSIA (Writer / Director) is a lmmaker and experienced comedy writer. He has

worked as a writer for such television comedies as Psych, Andy Barker, P.I., Rodney and Four

Kings. He has also sold original pilot screenplays to Sony Pictures Television, ABC and USA Net-

works. Hsia wrote and directed the short lms How to Do the Asian Squatand Generation Gap.

Hsia is an alumnus of Stanford University and USCs graduate program in lm production. He

currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Mary, and their dog, Jetpack.

JANET YANG (Producer) is an accomplished Hollywood producer with a long, deep relation-

ship with China. In recent years, Yang was hired by Disney to spin off its highly coveted High School

Musical franchise for Chinese audiences. Previously, she produced the acclaimed drama Dark Mat-

ter, starring Meryl Streep and Chinese star Liu Ye. The lm premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film

Festival and won the prestigious Alfred P. Sloan Prize for Best Narrative Feature.

Previous credits as producer include Carl Franklins High Crimes, a military courtroom thriller

starring Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman; The Weight of Water, directed by Academy Award win-

ner Kathryn Bigelow and starring Oscar -winning actor Sean Penn; and Zero Effect, a cult classic

starring Bill Pullman and Ben Stiller.

From 1989 to 1996, Yang served as president of Ixtlan Corporation, the company she formed

with Oscar-winning lmmaker Oliver Stone. At Ixtlan, she produced Milos Formans The People vs.

Larry Flynt, which won Golden Globes for Best Director and Best Screenplay. The lm also garnered

Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Actor. Yang was also executive producer of

Wayne Wangs groundbreaking lm The Joy Luck Club, based on the bestselling novel by Amy Tan.

Yang shared in the Emmy Award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie won by HBOs

Indictment: The McMartin Trial, which she executive-produced. The telelm also won the Golden

Globe for Best Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for TV.

Prior to her association with Oliver Stone, Yang got her start in production by working closely

with Steven Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment on their historic production of Empire of the Sun,

which lmed in China.


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Yang began her career in Hollywood when she represented Universal, Paramount and MGM/

UA in brokering the rst sale of American studio lms to China since 1949. Before joining MCA/Uni-

versal, Yang served as the president of World Entertainment. During this time, she gained the distri-

bution rights to lms produced in mainland China, including those of such internationally prominent

lmmakers as Yimou Zhang and Kaige Chen.

Yang holds a B.A. in Chinese studies from Brown University and an M.B.A. from Columbia

University. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as well as the Com-

mittee of 100. She is an advisory board member of Asia Society Southern California.

Yang has been named one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Hollywood by The Hollywood

Reporter and featured in articles appearing in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Wall

Street Journal and Variety. She has appeared on numerous television and radio shows throughout the

U.S. and China, including CCTV and Beijing TV.

Yang is uent in Mandarin Chinese. She currently splits her time between Los Angeles and

China.

ARMANDO SALAS (Director of Photography) won the prestigious American Society of

Cinematographers (ASC) Heritage Award in 2002. His credits include Cocaine Cowboys, an Ofcial

Selection of the 2006 TriBeCa Film Festival; Dark Mirror, IFCs top on-demand lm of 2009; Sailsh,

and the hit Chinese romantic comedy Sophies Revenge. His music video credits include Katy Perry,

Jason Mraz, and Josh Groban. Shanghai Callingis the third feature lm that Salas has shot in

China.


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KLAUS BADELT (Composer) is best known for his franchise-dening score to Disneys

Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, as well as his lm score work for directors Wolf-

gang Petersen, Michael Mann, Richard Donner, Francis Lawrence, and producer Harvey Weinstein.

In 2008, Badelt was honored to be the only western composer invited to write music for the opening

and closing ceremonies of the XXIX Olympic Games held in Beijing, China.

In addition to working on large-scale projects, Badelt also routinely works with independent

lmmakers such as Werner Herzog, Kaige Chen, and John Madden. A truly global lm composer,

Badelt main recording studios in Paris, Beijing, and his home of Santa Monica, California. Having a

variety of places to work out of allows Badelt to always be close to the lmmakers with whom he is

collaborating. Its not just about the music, says Badelt. I see myself as a lmmaker. I just happen

to write music.

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