![]() The team wanted to keep their vision without changing the cast or story. He also mentioned that, "at the end of the day, we wanted to tell a fun, entertaining story that depicted our experience honestly." Tran included both experiences in his director's statement as part of the movie's press kit, which can be found on the slider on Well Go USA's website. In addition, there can be developed Asian-American characters in a martial arts film, which is not typically seen in American media. Tran emphasized having more representation and nuances, implying that there can be different perspectives of Asian-American storytelling. While Tran is aware of the history of Asian caricatures in the U.S., this story was based on his and the producers' personal experiences growing up as well as their love for martial arts. Those who opposed wanted to advocate for different stories for Asian Americans instead of a martial arts film, which is often considered a stereotype. The team also had resistance from some other Asian Americans when seeking funding outside of major studios. Tran mentioned that Hollywood usually sent their mid-level executives who were also POC to be the messengers of whitewashing. They were also asked to write a role for Nicolas Cage. When the film project was pitched to Hollywood producers, they were offered $4 million with a caveat that there would be no Asian lead character and suggested a white lead character to be played by Bruce Willis instead. The Paper Tigers team knew that it would be challenging to find studio support for the film as they wanted to cast people of color (POC) and diverse actors in the project as opposed to fall to the trend of whitewashing in film. Tran had a male Asian-American main character in mind with a minority leading cast. The inspiration for the movie came from his classmates and friendships when he studied martial arts. The director Bao Tran began writing the film treatment for this concept in 2011. The film was created due to director and producers' strong admiration of martial arts and old school, fun martial art films. Ken Quitugua as Zhen Fan, a disgraced student of Sifu Cheung.Matthew Page as Carter, The Tigers' jealous rival who wants to be better than them.Roger Yuan as Sifu Cheung, The Tigers' Sifu.Joziah Lagonoy as Ed, Danny and Caryn's son.Jae Suh Park as Caryn, Danny's ex-wife who wants to keep the family alive due to their divorce and custody battles.Mykel Shannon Jenkins as Jim, a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu trainer and one of The Three Tigers.Ron Yuan as Hing, Danny's best friend and one of The Three Tigers.Alain Uy as Danny, also known as Danny Eight Hands and leader of The Three Tigers.If you’re the kind of person who really enjoys watching middle-aged men try to do things they have no business trying, you’ll have a lovely time. As usual with comedy, your mileage may vary. And while this isn’t laugh-out-loud funny, it is consistently entertaining. The main cast are both funny and heartfelt, which really sells the story’s morals. I think, on balance, the important personal messages come across louder than the canned plot elements. Added to which, it has some fun fight scenes. On the other hand, it is very focused on themes of personal responsibility, honor, and learning how to apologize. If you’re familiar with basic storytelling, you’ll be more than equipped to guess every beat of this story after the first ten minutes. I have a hard time organizing my thoughts on this movie. But time has taken its toll, and none of the fighters are what they used to be…hopefully, the skills they still possess will be enough to complete their quest. Determined to uncover the truth, the former Tigers set out to avenge their teacher. Danny knows better: he believes Sifu was killed by a secret kung fu technique. The erstwhile fighters only find each other again after Sifu Cheung’s death from an apparent heart attack. Life has other plans, however, and the Tigers and their teacher are estranged for nearly fifteen years. ![]() ![]() As they mature and learn more of the martial art, they come to be known as The Three Tigers, some of the fiercest fighters anywhere. ![]() Sifu Cheung (Roger Yuan) is a great kung fu master, even though he only teaches three students: prodigies Danny (played as a teenager by Yoshi Sudarso, later by Alain Uy), Hing (Peter Adrian Sudarso, Ron Yuan), and Jim (Gui DaSilva-Green, Mykel Shannon Jenkins).
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