OUR STORY - by Breeze Loo
Hello and welcome ...
... Thank you for taking the time to visit and getting to know us. Hopefully you'll consider joining our group and becoming a part of the BETTER LUCK TOMORROW & FINISHING THE GAME Family.
We are excited to announce that FINISHING THE GAME will be coming out in theaters this OCTOBER 2007. After our world premier at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, we have chosen our distribution partner. Our "official" announcement is only a few days away, but I figure I'd leak it hear first. OK, it's IFC FILMS! : )
It's been 5 years since BETTER LUCK TOMORROW. FINISHING THE GAME marks the return of director, Justin Lin, to his independent cinema roots as well as the reunion of many of the original BLT cast and crew. And this time, we're back with a 70's comedy!
A lot has happened since MTV/Paramount made their historic purchase of BLT at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. But before we talk about our future, I think it's important that we briefly reflect upon our past. BETTER LUCK TOMORROW made a significant mark in American cinema by Asian Americans. But it was not easy. Though we had a big Hollywood studio backing the film, the real success of BLT came from all of us, the Asian American community. In many ways, BLT was the first time Hollywood was able to see that Asian Americans (and African, Latino, & Caucasian Americans) wanted to see and support a film made by Asian Americans and starring Asian American actors. Hollywood was scratching their heads wondering how the heck it was possible that BLT had the highest per screen average of any film in the country their opening weekend (+$30,000) with virtually no marketing budget. But more importantly, where did all these Asian Americans come from? Truth be told, it was by all of us working together (via the internet, email campaigns, word of mouth, group buyouts of screenings, etc.) that we were all able to collectively take part in making our mark in American history. So thank you all for being a part of the BETTER LUCK TOMORROW family.
Our journey continues into 2007 and we're aiming to take it to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL! This time it's about carving out our own piece of the American Pie. Asian Americans and Asian American cinema is here to stay! There are so many world-class Asian American films that are not being seen in theaters. Not because they are not good, but because Hollywood doesn't think there's an audience for it. Our goal with FINISHING THE GAME is to prove that there's not only a devoted audience for Asian American film, but also shatter the existing paradigm and redefine our cinema as "mainstream". We know it's a tall order, but we hope FTG can be one of several vehicles to make that our reality.
We have been and will continue to be traveling across the country GrassRoots style with FINISHING THE GAME, reuniting with old friends from the BLT days and also meeting a lot of amazing new folks along the way. We would love to connect with you, your friends, and your community. Please feel free to contact us if you wish to have us come visit your group or organization and for any speaking engagements. We'll try our best to accommodate.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. We hope you'll consider being a part of the BLT/FTG family and join us on our journey.
sincerely,
- Justin Lin, Roger Fan, Sung Kang, Julie Asato, Sal Gatdula & the entire FTG/BLT Family
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