Comic-Con International: San Diego is less than two weeks away with the days winding down and with all the guests and attendees plotting their panels and presentations. This especially goes to the production team behind award-winning runaway independent martial arts comedy hit, The Paper Tigers, who will be on hand for fans during the one-hour panel event, “Kung-fu in the Age of Marvel and John Wick”.
“To go to THE Comic-Con representing ourselves and a film we built from the ground up is certainly something special and will undoubtedly be unforgettable.” producer Al’n Duong tells FCSyndicate. “This cast and crew are near and dear to our hearts. Not all film sets are created equal, but The Paper Tigers set was family. We all have branched out to do bigger and badder things since our premiere, and we’re happy to finally be able to get everyone under the same roof again. This will be a great reunion.”
The panel will be held on July 23 in Room 26AB where the cast and crew – actors Alain Uy (Marvel’s Helstrom, Station 19), Ron Yuan (Disney’s Mulan,
The Monkey King), Mykel Shannon Jenkins (Undisputed 3: Redemption), Matthew Page (Enter the Dojo), Ken Quitugua (Unlucky Stars), Andy Le (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), and Brian Le (Everything Everywhere All at Once), director Bao Tran and producers Michael Velasquez, Yuji Okumoto and Duong – will join fans to cover the 10-year journey the filmmakers endured to make the film a reality.
Featuring fight choreography and stunt coordination by Kerry Wong, Sam Looc and co-star Quitugua, The Paper Tigers centers on a trio of kung fu brothers, long fallen from grace with old age, who are forced to re-cram their skillset once more in order to confront their fractured past in the wake of the sinister killing of their gung-fu master at the hands of a deadly hitman. Tran and his team launched the project in 2015 with a short film proof of concept called The Challenger, featuring Andy Le opposite Quitugua, in an effort to drum-up momentum and fan support for an independent martial arts comedy with some key messages and a ton of heart to boot.
That journey, which Duong says “included battling the Hollywood machine, the pandemic, and the rise of Asian hate in America”, led to crowdsourcing, and the production and subsequent presentation of a ten-minute preliminary clip to share with the markets to help garner interest and support. Eventually this led to the film’s completion along with more support from fans and donors alike, prior to drawing waves of fan favor around the country and select global audiences upon its acquisition by Well Go USA for its domestic release five years later.
“Trends have a two-week shelf life, and stories are forever,” says Duong of the film’s national screenings tour, including in New York City last May. The film is also set for a Japan screening at Cinema Qualite in Shinjuku, Tokyo between now and early August.
“The script that Bao wrote around 2010 had been untouched by the time we started shooting, but it still resonated with us.” Duong adds. “The characters and dialogue were full of potential. We just needed the actors to give it life. We bet on ourselves when others didn’t get it, and it paid off. To hear people recite lines from the movie is like hearing someone sing the lyrics to your song. It’s a magical experience and a reminder of why we make films.”
The Paper Tigers made its
theatrical debut in August 2020 and landed in the top-ten lists on Apple TV, iTunes, Amazon, and Netflix movies. The film is 98% Certified Fresh, the #1 rated action comedy, and was named the #6 Best Asian American Film of All-Time by Rotten Tomatoes, among many other accolades. Naturally, the film’s success with audiences has led to talk of potential sequel which remains relevant among fan the chatter to this day.
“Sequels are tough! With the first movie being such a classic, we want to make sure a second one can stand on its own.” says Duong. “What I can say is that during our movie tour in the past year, it was very flattering to hear the demands for a sequel. We’d love to get the band back together again, but we don’t want to rush the process. Story first!”
The Paper Tigers is currently on all digital VOD platforms and
Netflix.