Falling For Grace
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Falling for Grace'' is a 2006
romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...
film directed by
Asian-American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for ...
Fay Ann Lee, who also co-wrote the film with Karen Rousso, and stars alongside
Gale Harold Gale Morgan Harold III (born July 10, 1969) is an American actor, known for his leading and recurring roles on '' Queer as Folk'', '' Deadwood'', '' Desperate Housewives'', ''Grey's Anatomy'', '' The Secret Circle'' and '' Defiance''. He also star ...
. It debuted at the 2006
Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...
(as ''East Broadway''). ''New York'' magazine called the film one of the two best entries in the "New York, New York" competition that year.


Plot synopsis

Grace Tang (Fay Ann Lee) is an ambitious
Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...
investment banker Investment banking is an advisory-based financial service for institutional investors, corporations, governments, and similar clients. Traditionally associated with corporate finance, such a bank might assist in raising financial capital by unde ...
raised in New York's
Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...
. Though she has achieved financial success and stability as a
mergers and acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...
associate, Grace still yearns for social acceptance among the
Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by 96th Street (Manhattan), 96th Street to the north, the East River to the e ...
elite. 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 Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
, also named Grace Tang. Her efforts to correct the mistake lose some of their forcefulness when she is subsequently introduced to handsome Andrew James Barrington Jr. (
Gale Harold Gale Morgan Harold III (born July 10, 1969) is an American actor, known for his leading and recurring roles on '' Queer as Folk'', '' Deadwood'', '' Desperate Housewives'', ''Grey's Anatomy'', '' The Secret Circle'' and '' Defiance''. He also star ...
), who is dating committee-member Kay Douglas (
Stephanie March Stephanie Caroline March is an American actress and activist. She is known for playing Alexandra Cabot in the NBC crime drama series '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (2000–2018) and its spinoff media. She is also recognized for her act ...
). From a chance meeting in the street to dinner at a
Chinese restaurant A Chinese restaurant is a restaurant that serves Chinese cuisine. Most of them are in the Cantonese cuisine, Cantonese style, due to the history of the Overseas Chinese, Chinese diaspora, though other Chinese regional cuisine, regional cuisin ...
, the two begin to see more of each other, and Grace's personal, professional, and family interests become increasingly entangled and conflicting. Andrew, the son of a prominent attorney (
Roger Rees Roger Rees (5 May 1944 – 10 July 2015) was a Welsh-American actor and director. He won an Olivier Award and a Tony Award for his performance as the lead in ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (play), The Life and Adventures of Nicho ...
), works in the
New York State Attorney General The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has existed in various forms since 1626, originally established under the Dutch c ...
's office in
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, and has been passionately pursuing a case against a network of Chinatown
sweatshops A sweatshop or sweat factory is a cramped workplace with very poor and/or illegal working conditions, including little to no breaks, inadequate work space, insufficient lighting and ventilation, or uncomfortably or dangerously high or low temperat ...
— in one of which Grace's mother works. Grace, unable to extricate herself gracefully from what she saw initially as an innocuous white lie, finds herself pretending that her parents are an old couple whom she visits as a volunteer. Meanwhile, Andrew Sr. is helping to shepherd a fashion-company buyout at Grace's bank, with a company that exploits sweatshop works. Grace finds herself secretly caught in the middle. When her brother Ming (
Ken Leung Kenneth Leung (born January 21, 1970) is an American actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he has gained attention for playing Miles Straume in the ABC drama series '' Lost'' (2008–2010) and Eric Tao in HBO drama series ''Industry' ...
) inadvertently reveals the truth to Andrew, Andrew leaves the budding romance, of which Kay is unaware. With Grace's help, however, Andrew gets documents that prove the fashion company's sweatshop connection, which causes the company's and his father's downfalls. Andrew leaves Kay to move to
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
, where Grace has a new position with her company.


Cast

*Fay Ann Lee as Grace Tang *
Gale Harold Gale Morgan Harold III (born July 10, 1969) is an American actor, known for his leading and recurring roles on '' Queer as Folk'', '' Deadwood'', '' Desperate Housewives'', ''Grey's Anatomy'', '' The Secret Circle'' and '' Defiance''. He also star ...
as Andrew Barrington Jr. *
Margaret Cho Margaret Moran Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian, actress and musician. In her Stand-up comedy, stand-up routines she critiques social and political problems, especially about race and sexuality. She starred in the Ame ...
as Janie Wong *
Christine Baranski Christine Jane Baranski (born May 2, 1952) is an American actress. She received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Maryann Thorpe in the sitcom ''Cybill'' (1995–1998). Baranski is als ...
as Bree Barrington *
Roger Rees Roger Rees (5 May 1944 – 10 July 2015) was a Welsh-American actor and director. He won an Olivier Award and a Tony Award for his performance as the lead in ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (play), The Life and Adventures of Nicho ...
as Andrew Barrington Sr. *
Ken Leung Kenneth Leung (born January 21, 1970) is an American actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he has gained attention for playing Miles Straume in the ABC drama series '' Lost'' (2008–2010) and Eric Tao in HBO drama series ''Industry' ...
as Ming Tang *Clem Cheung as Ba * Elizabeth Sung as Ma *
Ato Essandoh Ato Essilfi Bracato Essandoh (born July 29, 1972) is an American television and film actor. He has appeared in numerous films and TV series, including a major role in the 2023 Netflix political drama series '' The Diplomat''. Early life and e ...
as Jamal Taylor *
Stephanie March Stephanie Caroline March is an American actress and activist. She is known for playing Alexandra Cabot in the NBC crime drama series '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (2000–2018) and its spinoff media. She is also recognized for her act ...
as Kay Douglas *
Lewis Black Lewis Niles Black (born August 30, 1948) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy routines often escalate into angry rants about history, politics, religion and cultural trends. He hosted the Comedy Central series ''Lewis Black's ...
as Rob York


Competitions

The original
screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...
, ''East Broadway'', by Fay Ann Lee, was a quarterfinalist for the 2003 Nicholl Fellowships (given by the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...
), a semi-finalist at the Chesterfield Writer's Film Project (run by
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
), and a finalist at the Asian American International Film Festival's Screenwriting Competition.


Production

The romantic comedy was supposed to be billed as the feature film directorial debut of acclaimed actor and Tony Award-winning B.D. Wong. Wong left the project at some point very, very late in production, citing “artistic differences” that grew between Wong and the producers.Fischer, Martha. "Tribeca Review: East Broadway". http://blog.moviefone.com Posted Apr 29th 2006, 5:32PM. He was replaced as director by Fay Ann Lee, the film's writer and star. Subsequently, Wong requested that his name be completely removed from the movie's credits, despite the fact that he plays a major supporting role. After Wong's departure, Lee re-wrote and re-shot over 60 pages of the script, mentored by Jim Taylor, the Oscar winning writer of SIDEWAYS.


Festivals

The film debuted at the 2006
Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...
(as ''East Broadway''). It has also screened at the following festivals: in 2007, the
Vancouver Asian Film Festival The Vancouver Asian Film Festival (VAFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia for about 4–5 days in November. Launching in 1996, it is Canada’s oldest Asian film festival, exhibiting films and videos by North Americ ...
, and the
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) – formerly known as VC FilmFest – is an annual film festival presented by Visual Communications (VC). It was established in 1983 by Linda Mabalot as a vehicle to promote Asian Pacific Amer ...
, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Award; in 2008, the
Phoenix Film Festival Phoenix Film Festival is a festival that celebrates feature films, documentaries, short films and their creators. Started in 2001, the annual celebration takes place in the city of Phoenix, Arizona. The Festival is run under the umbrella of the 5 ...
; and in 2009, the Reel Film Festival for Women in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, where it won Best Dramatic Feature, and the Delray Beach Film Festival, where it won the Best Feature Film Audience 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 Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
producer would allegedly only buy the script if Lee changed the heroine's ethnicity to
Latino American Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans who have a Spanish or Latin American background, culture, or family origin. This demographic group includes all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino, regardless of race. According to th ...
(for a star like
Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...
). Lee opted not to make the change, and decided instead to get it produced herself, raising the
production budget Production budget is a term used specifically in film production and, more generally, in business. A "film production budget" determines how much will be spent on the entire film project. This involves identifying the elements and then estimatin ...
over the course of 4 years. The film had its
world premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the film ...
at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. It was not picked up by a
distributor A distributor is an electric and mechanical device used in the ignition system of older spark-ignition engines. The distributor's main function is to route electricity from the ignition coil to each spark plug at the correct time. Design ...
. Filmmaker Lee said distributors told her a mainstream audience would not pay to see an
Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used fo ...
protagonist in an American romantic comedy. Lee released the film herself in cities outside New York and
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
She began by four-walling at the Sundance Kabuki theater in
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
. There, ''Falling for Grace'' averaged over $5,000 per screen for three weeks. Michael Coppola, owner of the Fleur Cinema in
Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...
,
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
, saw the film with his wife at the Camelview 5,
Harkins Theatres Harkins Theatres is an American movie theater chain with locations throughout the Southwestern United States. Harkins Theatres is privately owned and operated by its parent company, Harkins Enterprises, LLC. The company operates 35 theaters with ...
in Scottsdale,
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
. "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. ''Falling for Grace'' has been released commercially in California, in
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
,
Sausalito Sausalito (Spanish for "small willow grove") is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located southeast of Marin City, south-southeast of San Rafael, and about north of San Francisco from the Golden Gate Bridge. Sausalito's p ...
, Grass Valley, Grass Valley,
Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer to ...
,
Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...
, and
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
; in
Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...
; in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
; in Lakeside and
Scottsdale, Arizona Scottsdale is a city in eastern Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Named Scottsdale in 1894 after its founder Winfield Scott (chaplain), Winfield Scott, a retired Chaplain Corps (United States ...
; and in
Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
. The film was made available on
Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
in 2011


Austrian previews

In 2007 a tourist from Austria saw ''Falling for Grace'' in San Francisco and she lobbied successfully for the Austrian movie theater chain Cineplexx (part of
Constantin Film Constantin Film AG is a German film production company based in Munich. The company, which belongs to Swiss media conglomerate Highlight Communications AG, is a large independent German maker and distributor of productions. Constantin has releas ...
) and others to tour the movie as a sneak preview in nine theaters in Austria and one in Germany.


College speaking tour

Filmmaker Fay Ann Lee has addressed students across the country and in China regarding her experience making the film. She has been invited to speak at
Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...
,
Johns Hopkins Johns Hopkins (May 19, 1795 – December 24, 1873) was an American merchant, investor, and philanthropist. Born on a plantation, he left his home to start a career at the age of 17, and settled in Baltimore, Maryland, where he remained for mos ...
,
Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...
,
UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...
,
James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...
,
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
, Columbia,
Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
, UMass - Amherst,
Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...
,
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...
, the Wharton School of Business (Lee's
alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...
), and
Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (THU) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Constructio ...
in
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
, China. After Lee screened the film and spoke at Harvard University, she was invited to act as an official Harvard Guest Speaker at the 2010 Young Leader's Conference in Beijing.


References


External links

* * {{IMDb title, 0409301, Falling for Grace 2006 films Comedy films about Asian Americans 2006 romantic comedy films Films based on Cinderella Films about interracial romance American romantic comedy films Asian-American romance films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films English-language romantic comedy films