Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival 2008

 
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Long Story Short
Christine Choy 2008
Categories: Feature Presentation
5 pictures Pictures
Run time: 90 min. | USA | Language: English
LONG STORY SHORT

Awards: Winner of the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Audience Award and Jury’s Honorable Mention for Best Documentary

Long Story Short is the latest film from Oscar-nominated filmmaker Christine Choy (Who Killed Vincent Chin?) and features the struggle of one Asian American family’s multi-generational attempt to break into mainstream show business. Narrated by long-time character actor Jodi Long (the mother on the ill-fated Margaret Cho sitcom All American Girl as well as numerous guest roles in television and film), Long Story Short delves into the past successes and failures of Jodi’s parents in order to understand her own experiences in the entertainment business.

Through the 1940s and 1950s Jodi’s parents, Larry and Trudie Long, performed the Chinatown and nightclub circuit as “The Leungs” (which they felt sounded “more Chinese”), a song, dance, and comic act that at times both evoked and broke stereotypes of Asians. Their rise would result in an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, a performance that Larry and Trudie Long always remembered bombing despite never having seen the episode. Another big break comes when Larry is considered for a leading role in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Flower Drum Song, the first all-Asian American musical on Broadway. On talent alone Larry seemed the perfect fit, but at the time, fighting for the only mainstream opportunity for Asian-American performers would not only be about talent. Ultimately, Larry does not perform on Broadway, contributing to his disenchantment with show business and the eventual dissolution of the Long family.

Born into entertainment Jodi Long takes on the family business as an actor and traces her own trajectory on stage, television, and film. When David Henry Hwang’s updated Broadway revival of Flower Drum Song is being cast, Jodi has the opportunity to fulfill her father’s Broadway aspirations more than 40 years later. In the process Jodi sees a chance to reconcile her parents’ disappointment and resentment towards each other and the business. Through personal anecdotes, performances, archival photos, and a rediscovered Ed Sullivan Show, Long Story Short presents the challenges of an American showbiz family that resonate with our own multi-generational experiences of setbacks and big breaks.

- Aram Siu Wai Collier

Christine Choy (AKA Chai Ming Huie) was born in Shanghai, China. Choy was a professor and the Chair of New York University’s Graduate Film/TV Program and is presently helping set up New York University in Shanghai. Choy has received over sixty international awards, including a 1989 Oscar nomination for Best Documentary for Who Killed Vincent Chin? Her works have been broadcast on HBO, PBS, Sundance Channel, and many other stations. Her works have also been featured in festivals around the world including Berlin, Cannes, and Pusan.



COMMUNITY PARTNERS: Fu-Gen, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival
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3:45 PM     Sat, Nov 15
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About the film
Cast & Crew
director
Christine Choy
writer
Jodi Long
 
executive producer
Rose HyeJung Han
producer
Rose Hyung Han, Patricia Richardson, Christine Choy, Jodi Long
cinematographer
Jens Sturrup
Ku-Ling Siegel
Sally Nemeth
Cast
Larry Long, Trudie Long, Jodi Long,Tzi Ma and David Henry
Audience Buzz
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From the blog
A big surprise at the LA Asian Pacific Film Festival!!!!!
We made our Los Angeles debut at the LA Asian Pacific Film Festival and we were red carpet ready!



Sally Nemeth, our Associate Producer and I gam it up at the Festival's opening night at the Directors Guild of America Theater in West Hollywood. The opening film was Jessica Yu's charming comedy PING PONG PLAYA www.pingpongplaya.com


A couple of days later it was our turn to debut at the big DGA theater and the house was filled with friends, fans and devoted crew members.



Sally and I are standing by the LONG STORY SHORT poster designed by Teresa Woo Murray of Woobabie Design woobabie@sbcglobal.net

The DGA theater required the film to be shown in HD. So we upconverted, and wow! Us, in High Definition. The audience laughed, they cried, they loved it! Afterwards at the reception, I got to spend time with many old friends and colleagues.



Here's me and actor James Hong www.jameshong.com who played my father in the job that got me my SAG card! Thanks Dad.

And James, who is that hunky guy? Why it's James Kyson Lee from NBC's Heroes! Introduce me!



We look so serious! What could we have been talking about!




Alvin Ing, the man who holds the record for the most productions of Flower Drum Song and still counting! After the audience Q&A, he grabbed the mike and reminded all of the upcoming 50th Anniversary Celebration of Flower Drum Song this fall at East West Players in Los Angeles. Thanks Alvin!

And now it's time to drink!



Our heroic editor, Douglas Cheek. We spent more hours together than most married couples.



Sally Nemeth and one of our camermen, Dean Chamberlain, who is better known as a musician. www. myspace.com/deanhchamberlain



Here I am talking to Angela Lee, producer of ZOMBIE STRIPPERS and her dad, the illustrious C.Y. Lee, who wrote the original novel FLOWER DRUM SONG and who does the cha-cha with me in the movie.



You may know her as Jill in HOME IMPROVEMENT, but to us she's one of our executive producers, Patricia Richardson, who gave great advice and bailed us out in the eleventh hour more than once.

BUT our big surprise was at closing night of the festival. The organizers called to make sure I was going to be there, they said they were taking a photo with all the filmmakers. But when I arrived, no group photo. Huh?



But I did get photographed with Jimmy Tsai, the co-writer and star of PING PONG PLAYA. Yo! C-Dub in da house!



One of the Festival's sponsors, the Screen Actors Guild was represented by Sumi Haru and Jack Ong.

But enough of the non group photos, obviously I was lied to. Why would they do such a thing?

BECAUSE THEY WANTED ME THERE TO ACCEPT THE JURY'S HONORABLE MENTION FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY AND ....THE AUDIENCE AWARD!!!! WE WON!!!! TWICE!!!



You won't believe how many people I had to crawl over to get to the stage! I was truly stunned. And honored.

Now, we're on to the Asian American International Film Festival www.asiancinevision.com in NYC July 9-19, 2008. Come see us!
Posted May 23, 2008 at 11:44 AM by

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