Falling for Grace

All you want to know about Falling for Grace

Falling for Grace

Falling for Grace film poster
Directed by Fay Ann Lee
Produced by Fay Ann Lee
Michelle Botticelli
Susan Batson
Carl Rumbaugh
Stephanie Wang
Written by Fay Ann Lee
Karen Rousso
Starring Fay Ann Lee
Gale Harold
Margaret Cho
Music by Andrew Hollander
Cinematography Luke Geissbuhler
Toshiaki Ozawa
Editing by Michelle Botticelli
Distributed by Canal Street Pictures
Release date(s) Ongoing (2007-2008)
Running time 104 minutes
Country  United States
Language English, Cantonese


Falling for Grace is a 2007/2008 romantic comedy film directed by Fay Ann Lee, who also co-wrote the film with Karen Rousso, and stars alongside Gale Harold. It debuted at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival (as East Broadway), where it was a sold-out hit and had standing room-only screenings.[1] Logan Hill at New York Magazine selected the film as one of the two best entries in the "New York, New York" competition that year.[2]

Contents

Plot Synopsis

Grace Tang (Fay Ann Lee) is an ambitious Wall Street investment banker raised in New York’s Chinatown. Though she has achieved financial success and stability as a mergers and acquisitions Associate, Grace still yearns for social acceptance among the Upper East Side elite. But when she is finally invited to her first high-end soiree, a Junior Committee meet-and-greet for a prestigious opera company, she is accidentally mistaken for an heiress from Hong Kong, also named Grace Tang. Her efforts to correct the mistake lose some of their forcefulness when she is subsequently introduced to the city’s most eligible bachelor, Andrew James Barrington, Jr (Gale Harold).

From a chance meeting in the street to an intimate dinner over dumplings and jellyfish, the two begin to see more and more of each other, and Grace’s personal, professional, and family interests become more and more entangled – and conflicting. Son of a prominent banker and assistant to the Attorney General’s office, Andrew has been passionately pursuing a case against a network of Chinatown sweatshops – an interest that directly affects the livelihood of Grace’s mother.

Just as the romance and white lies reach a heady peak, Andrew and Grace’s worlds finally collide. Through heartbreak, humor, and forgiveness, Grace rediscovers the value of family, and finally learns to love and accept herself for who she is.

Cast

Competitions

The original screenplay, East Broadway, by Fay Ann Lee, was a quarterfinalist for the 2003 Nicholl Fellowships[3] (given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences), a semi-finalist at the Chesterfield Writer’s Film Project (run by Paramount Pictures), and a finalist at the Asian American International Film Festival’s Screenwriting Competition.

Festivals

Aside from Tribeca, Falling for Grace also screened at the 2008 Phoenix Film Festival,[4] the 2007 Vancouver Asian Film Festival,[5] and the 2007 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Award.

Distribution

After the East Broadway screenplay began to show well in competitions, producers started calling, interested in the commercial appeal of the story. One Hollywood producer would allegedly only buy the script if Lee changed the heroine’s ethnicity to Latino American (for a star like Jennifer Lopez).[6] Lee opted not to make the change, and decided instead to get it produced herself, raising the production budget[7] over the course of 4 years.

The film had its world premiere at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. But despite its highly popular reception there (see above), it was not picked up by a distributor. Once again Hollywood apparently showed interest in Lee as a writer of commercially viable entertainment, but arranged meetings only to discuss future projects. Lee asked why they didn’t pick up the movie she had already made, and says the reason given was the same as before – that a mainstream audience would not pay to see an Asian American protagonist in an American romantic comedy.[8]

Lee decided to put this theory to the test, by releasing the film herself in cities outside New York and L.A. She began by four-walling at the Sundance/Kabuki Theatre in San Francisco. Falling for Grace performed well there, pitted against midsummer blockbusters like The Simpsons and Ratatouille, averaging over $5,000 per screen for 3 weeks. Lee never had to four-wall again. As the word of mouth from that release grew, exhibitors in nearby cities began to hear about the film. Michael Coppola, owner of the Fleur Cinema in Des Moines, IA, found out about Falling for Grace in a more direct fashion - when he and his wife went to see a movie at the Camelview 5, Harkins Theatres' well-known indie house in Scottsdale, AZ. They picked Grace. "The minute I left the movie," said Coppola, " I looked at my wife and said, this is the movie I have to get." Falling for Grace opened at the Fleur Cinema in August 2008 as the No. 1 film there.

Background

  • Featuring the New York Chinese-American community, the film features a few scenes in a mixture of Cantonese and English.

Trivia

References

  1. ^ "Urban Rush Interview with Fay Ann Lee", Shaw TV (November 15, 2007). Retrieved on November 24, 2008. 
  2. ^ Hill, Logan (April 23, 2006). "Tribeca by the Numbers". New York Magazine, http://nymag.com/movies/features/16753/. Retrieved on 24 November 2008. 
  3. ^ "Official Website for the Nicholl Fellowships, 2003 Quarterfinalists". Retrieved on November 25, 2008.
  4. ^ Grady, Michael (April 2, 2008). "Movie Highlights Independent Filmmaker's Hope", East Valley Tribune. Retrieved on November 25, 2008. 
  5. ^ Zacharias, Yvonne (October 31, 2007). "Asian Film Fest Examines Many Themes", The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved on November 25, 2008. 
  6. ^ "San Diego 6 Morning Show Interview with Fay Ann Lee", The CW (November 7, 2008). Retrieved on November 24, 2008. 
  7. ^ Lapan, Tobin (posted on November 5, 2008). "FALLING FOR FILM: Guiding a movie from start to finish". signonsandiego.com, (The San Diego Union-Tribune). Retrieved on November 25, 2008.
  8. ^ "Studio 4's Fanny Kiefer Interview with Fay Ann Lee", Shaw TV (November 8, 2007). Retrieved on November 25, 2008. 

External links


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