Shanghai Kiss (2007)

Directors:

Kern Konwiser
David Ren

Writer:

David Ren (writer)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Love needs no translation.

Plot:

An Asian-American actor, living in Los Angeles, is forced to reconsider his roots as well as the possibilities afforded him by his present situation after suddenly inheriting his grandmother's home in Shanghai.

Plot Keywords:

Shanghai | Actor | China | Female Nudity | Nudity

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Ken Leung	...	Liam Liu
Hayden Panettiere	...	Adelaide Bourbon
Kelly Hu	...	Micki Yang
Joel Moore	...	Joe Silverman
James Hong	...	Mark Liu
Kathleen Lancaster	...	Georgia
Lorna Scott	...	Casting Director
Spencer Redford	...	Jessica / Cute Blonde
Steve Connell	...	Casting Director (voice)
Brian Gardner	...	Young Handsome Guy
Timothy Bottoms	...	Adelaide's Father
Summer Altice	...	Virginia
Oliver Yan	...	Ling Ming
Byron Mann	...	Jai Li
Chen Li	...	Amy
Hu Qing Yun	...	Karaoke Madamme
Wenzai Gu	...	Taxi Driver (as China Gu Wen Zhai)
Michael Gleissner	...	Frank The Umbrella Man
Yun Xu	...	Bellhop
Sun Nian Sheng	...	Mr. Wu
Li Hui Xia	...	Mrs. Wu
Xu Tuo	...	Little Chinese Girl
Huimin Xie	...	Tea Egg Vendor
Cheng Ling	...	Noodle Shop Waitress
Qian Zuo Guo	...	Old Woman With Cell Phone
Zhang Zhang	...	Bartender
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ron Francis Cobert	...	French Teacher
Julius Callahan	...	Jeff Cleanpants (uncredited)
Cameron Markham	...	Movie Goer Guy (uncredited)
Carina Rhea	...	Bartender (uncredited)

Directed by
Kern Konwiser
David Ren

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
David Ren		writer

Produced by
Michael Gleissner	....	executive producer
Kip Konwiser	....	producer
Stephanie Kwong	....	co-executive producer
Brent Morris	....	line producer
David Ren	....	executive producer
Wang Wei	....	co-producer
Yu Bai Yang	....	line producer
Zhenyan Zhang	....	co-producer

Original Music by
David Kitay

Cinematography by
Alexander Buono

Film Editing by
Zene Baker

Casting by
Linda Phillips-Palo

Production Design by
Wenzai Gu		(as Gu Wen Zhai)
Ben Woolverton

Set Decoration by
Laura Evans

Costume Design by
Shawnelle Cherry

Makeup Department
Essie Cha	....	assistant makeup artist
Tanya Cookingham	....	hair stylist
Jennifer Greenberg	....	assistant makeup artist
Jennifer Greenberg	....	hair stylist
Lorna Reid	....	wig master
Richard Rodier	....	makeup artist
Edie Stanley	....	assistant makeup artist

Production Management
Jeff Carlson	....	production manager
Christopher Kulikowski	....	post-production supervisor
Yu Bai Yang	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Heather I. Denton	....	second assistant director
Tony Steinberg	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Susan Cho	....	art department coordinator
Briana Dorner	....	set dresser
Carol Lea Pike	....	property master
Michael Treveloni	....	set dresser
Lynny Warner	....	leadman

Sound Department
Willy Allen	....	adr editor
Garret Bever	....	assistant sound
Spencer Blair	....	post-audio assistant
Mark DeSimone	....	adr mixer: New York
Chris Elam	....	sound re-recording mixer
Adam Fike	....	post sound coordinator
Patrick M. Griffith	....	supervising sound editor
Steve McCarty	....	sound editor
Matthew Nicolay	....	sound mixer
April Tucker	....	sound post-production (as April Cech)
April Tucker	....	sound recordist (as April Cech)
Stacey A. Washer	....	boom operator

Camera and Electrical Department
Mark Brown	....	grip
Henry Canon	....	grip
David R. Casey	....	gaffer
Hugh Casey	....	best boy electric
Jesse Crusing	....	electrician
Patrick Farrell	....	dolly grip
Trish Herremans	....	electrician
William H. Hobson	....	best boy grip
Mark Hyde	....	key grip
Daniel Kauahi	....	grip
Tucker Korte	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Erwin Landau	....	Steadicam operator: Los Angeles
Dan Ming	....	first assistant camera
Jeff Pantukhoff	....	assistant camera
Rafael Peregrina	....	grip
Jay Pope	....	electrician
John Steur	....	grip
Chris Tonkovich	....	electrician
Sam Urdank	....	still photographer
Randolph J. Verdigo	....	grip (as Randy Verdugo)

Casting Department
Paul Palo	....	casting associate
Paul Palo	....	extras casting
Jessica Sonneborn	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kevin Ian Ackerman	....	set costumer
Tisha D. Nagel	....	key costumer (as Tisha Jahnke)

Music Department
Chris Robertson	....	music supervisor

Transportation Department
Corey Askins	....	transportation coordinator
Eli Lozano	....	driver

Other crew
Cecilia Cardwell	....	studio teacher
Carol A. Compton	....	script clearance
Cynthia Garcia Walker	....	production accountant
Shannon Kenny	....	script supervisor
Arron Kinser	....	key set production assistant
Jim Lau	....	adr voice
Mareo-Ahmir Lawson	....	production assistant
C.J. Longhammer	....	production assistant
Danny Muscoplat	....	production coordinator
Jess Nunez	....	payroll accountant
Eric Pilarcik	....	location manager
Eduardo Ricketts Jr.	....	location manager
Cindy Swartz	....	set medic
Rosana Tomas	....	office production assistant
Ron Yuan	....	voice

Production Companies

• Bigfoot Entertainment
• China Film Group (with the assistance of)
• Konwiser Brothers
• Shanghai Kid Films

Distributors

• Starz Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Avalon  payroll services
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  dollies
• High Technology Video (HTV)  HD digital mastering
• Hollywood Rental Company  lighting and grip equipment
• IndieClear  script clearance
• Mountaintop Studios  score recorded at
• Pacific Soundwaves  sound re-recording
• Post Force Inc.  sound design & editorial
• Rocky Mountain Motion Pictures  cameras & lenses
• Title House Digital  titles and opticals
• Truman Van Dyke Company  insurance (as Truman Van Dyke Co.)

Also Known As:

The Shanghai Kid (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

106 min | Argentina:100 min | Germany:100 min (European Film Market) | Turkey:91 min (TV version)

Country:

USA | China | Hong Kong

Language:

English | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

Argentina:13 | USA:Not Rated | Singapore:NC-16 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Bigfoot Entertainment

Trivia:

In the scene where Liam and Micki are watching a movie, Liam mentions how The Rock sounds like Richard Simmons and Micki asks 'Who is the Rock?'. Kelly Hu starred in The Scorpion King (2002) with Dwayne Johnson (The Rock).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Joel returns to the table he is clearly seen holding a single serving butter pack in his left hand as he sits down, but as we switch to a different camera angle, he is holding a fork.

Quotes:

Joe Silverman: Listen to yourself, man! You're moving to Shanghai for a girl! A *Chinese* girl for Godsakes!
Liam Liu: This is not just about the girl.
Joe Silverman: Then what is it?
Liam Liu: It just -- it *feels* right! I'm Chinese. I gotta go back to my roots.
Joe Silverman: [scoffs] All right, slow down, Kunta Kinte. You don't even speak Chinese. What the hell are you gonna do? What, drive a rickshaw?
Liam Liu: I can learn Chinese.
Joe Silverman: Learn Chinese?! Liam, you barely speak English!
Liam Liu: Don't call me Liam. Liam's my slave name.
Joe Silverman: Cute.

Movie Connections:

References "The O.C." (2003)

Soundtrack:

The Dreaming

Powerful film!

This movie wasn't what I was expecting at all when I sat down to watch it. It looks like they're marketing this as a light romantic comedy, which it is in a way: it's very very funny and romantic. But behind the comedy, there's layers of sadness that reminded me of Woody Allen at his best. Ken Leung's Liam might be the most complex character since Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver. Here's a guy who can't really emotionally connect to anything - his family, his Chinese heritage, women, maybe the world. All he really has is his friendship with a free-spirited girl named Adelaide (Hayden P) who tries hard to get him to emotionally open up. Except she's only 16 and he can't be with her anyway. His father (Lo Pan), who he blames for his mother's death, calls him one day and tells him that his grandmother left him a house in Shanghai. So he decides to go their to sell it and make some bank.

That's the basic set up, which is conventional enough, but what is intriguing is every decision Liam makes throughout the rest of the movie. He's impulsive, impetuous, and relies solely on Al Pacino/Scarface type gut instincts. Even though he intellectualizes throughout the film, it's as if he doesn't trust himself nor his conclusions.

For example, there's a scene towards the beginning where he's drinking with a buddy of his. His buddy points out a cute girl at the bar, and Liam completely blasts her, calling her fake. Then at last call, when he's lost his buzz and the emptiness and loneliness of life has crept in, he starts to talk to this girl, whom he takes home. Later, she's lying next to him, making small talk and a tear runs down his face. It seemed shocking to me at first, but after a moment I knew exactly why he has crying. The scene was handled very delicately and very few actors could've pulled it off. This is such an interesting character that you can watch him eat a meal for an hour and not get bored.

Hayden is cute and charming. Her character is a dichotomy of maturity and playfulness, often at the same time. There's a scene at the end with her that's almost heartbreaking. J D Moore is hilarious as a writer who's fascinated by the opposite sex. I guess the weak link here is Kelly Hu, who's perfectly satisfactory, but her performance lacks depth. Also, her Chinese accent seemed to go in and out at times.

The best part of the film is the dialogue, which I guess is the thing that made me compare this to Woody Allen.

The movie is not without flaws. As mentioned: Kelly Hu's performance, the subplot with Byron Mann's character at the end (I won't spoil it) seemed contrived, some stilted dialogue by the river (or where ever they were), the scene where they first meet is slightly unbelievable (Beverly Hills teenager taking the bus?) although their relationship was developed well.

I'd say this is love or hate type movie. You will love it if you liked: Lost in Translation, Garden State, old Woody flicks, Little Miss Sunshine and other quirky indie comedies like that. Few things in the plot may not be believable for some, but I doubt anyone would say this isn't entertaining.