Collaborating With Daniel For My "Land of Origin" Film Project
Dear Daniel:
I am not sure if you have the time to read these forum posts, but in the spirit of your brilliant ingenuity in devising the idea behind "Alive Not Dead" to foster inter-connectedness between a community of artists, I would like to use this amazing network to reach out to you to describe to you a film idea that I feel would be perfect for you as an actor, writer, producer and/or even director.
The story melds an Asian-American narrative (that takes place in Los Angeles) with an Asian narrative (that is set in Kaohsiung, Taiwan). The story is based on a short story I wrote called "Land of Origin" that won Second Prize in the prestigious Playboy College Fiction Contest this year -- I am developing it now into a full, feature-length screenplay, and I have been approached by several film production companies and producers willing to finance it and make it into a feature-length film. I would love for either your production company to get involved or for you yourself to get involved, as I have always imagined in the main protagonist role - I also feel this is an incredible chance to break into an Asian American role with wide, international appeal that occurs for the first half of the story.
The basic narrative arc involves a protagonist who is a Chinese American or Taiwanese American lawyer who works in Los Angeles as a Public Defender or District Attorney and who also lives a pretty empty life:he is engaged, and tries to push his career and political aspirations but ultimately he is lonely and a bit lost. This may mirror an experience that many Asian Americans growing up in the States feel, the pressure they are under to conform to a certain career path: perhaps even Asian American actors feel this way when they first try to make a big break stateside. You may have also felt this at a point in time of your life or career. I even named the protagonist "Daniel", maybe unconsciously inspired by your acting work and your mastery/transition between the American and Asian worlds. The protagonist then gets a job in Taiwan, which eventually leads him to the city of Kaohsiung in Taiwan. There, he gets mixed up with betel nut girls (bing lang xi shi), falls in love with a betel nut girl named "S" (who I imagine can be played by a large range of actresses), and is taken under the wing of Brother Lin, a rising figure in the Taiwanese gangster underworld (who I imagine can be played by any leading Taiwanese actor, I am picturing Chang Chen but also others fit the bill). A senior crime boss makes his return (who I imagine can be played by Tony Leung Chiu-Wai or Tony Leung Ka-Fai or others may fit the bill) and there is a struggle of power. Eventually, the protagonist is mired so deep in this criminal underworld that there is really no escape, and he realizes the true power he has in becoming a leader in this criminal world, ending up on the polar opposite side (and on a different side of the law) then he was at the beginning of his journey. This invokes also very much a Joseph Campbell - Hero's Journey arc in a way.
If you would be interested in reading the story or talking more, you can contact me at timothytau at gmail dot com. And for Daniel's fans on this message board, wouldn't you all like to see Daniel take on a role that has him show-case his Asian American personality and have him break into something that will make him extremely successful Stateside? I feel that this film would not only have U.S. appeal but also international appeal and would be directed at Western as well as Eastern audiences because the story is universal and it crosses continents. Have an exceptional day, all of you!
-Timothy Tau
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