White Frog

Last updated
White Frog
White Frog film.jpg
Cover art
Directed by Quentin Lee
Written byFabienne Wen and Ellie Wen
Produced by David Henry Hwang
Kevin Iwashina
Ellie Wen
Christopher Lee
Joel Soisson
Starring Booboo Stewart
Harry Shum, Jr.
B.D. Wong
Joan Chen
Gregg Sulkin
Tyler Posey
CinematographyYasu Tanida
Edited byMatthew Rundell
Music bySteven Pranoto
Production
companies
Wentertainment Productions, Chris Lee Productions
Release date
  • March 8, 2012 (2012-03-08)(SFIAAFF)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1 million [1]

White Frog is a 2012 American comedy-drama film directed by Quentin Lee and written by Fabienne Wen. The film's plot follows neglected 16-year-old Nick Young, played by Booboo Stewart, a teenager with autism spectrum disorder whose life is changed forever when tragedy strikes him and his family. [2] The film also stars Harry Shum, Jr., B.D. Wong, Joan Chen, Gregg Sulkin, and Tyler Posey.

Contents

White Frog premiered at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival on March 8, 2012. [3]

Plot

Nick Young (Stewart) is a high school freshman with autism spectrum disorder who idolizes his perfect older brother Chaz Young (Shum). While riding his bike to a friend's house, Chaz is hit by a group of guys driving recklessly and dies. The crash leaves Nick fighting to overcome his grief while feeling misunderstood by his distraught parents (Wong and Chen), who are left trying to preserve the memory of their "perfect son".

One of Chaz's friends, Doug (Posey), takes Nick under his wing and has Nick take Chaz's place in a weekly poker game with their friends Ajit, Cameron and Randy (Sulkin). Randy baffles the group by being hostile to Nick's face while defending him when he's not around. Doug and Randy bring Nick to the LGBT community center that Chaz volunteered at, which confuses Nick. Just as Randy begins warming to him, Nick stumbles upon pictures of Chaz and Randy suggesting that they were more than just friends. Randy confirms that he and Chaz were gay, shattering Nick's worldview and driving him into despair.

Nick eventually confronts his parents, who refuse to accept Chaz's sexuality. Nick runs away from home, and his parents go to the shelter to look for him. While there, they learn that Chaz's voice might be heard on a video presentation to be played that night, and proceed to call a lawyer relative to try to halt the proceedings, leaving Doug to search for Nick. Randy gets his father to help him stop the Youngs' lawyer, coming out to him in the process. Nick, meanwhile, discovers a video message that Chaz had made as a way of coming out to Nick. Hearing the confession in Chaz's own words inspires him to return to the shelter and give a speech about acceptance, reconciling himself, his parents, and Randy with Chaz's memory.

Cast

Pre-production

White Frog was written by the mother/daughter duo Fabienne Wen and Ellie Wen. Ellie Wen's mentor, David Henry Hwang, was an executive producer. Principal photography was completed in August 2011. [4]

Score and soundtrack

The score to White Frog was composed by Steven Pranoto. The soundtrack features David Choi, CriBabi, Gowe, PaperDoll, Shin-B, IAMMEDIC, and Booboo and Fivel Stewart.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaz Bono</span> American writer, musician and actor

Chaz Salvatore Bono is an American writer, musician and actor. His parents are entertainers Sonny Bono and Cher, and he became widely known in appearances as a child on their television show, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour.

<i>The Empress Dowager</i> 1975 Hong Kong film

The Empress Dowager is a 1975 Hong Kong historical film directed by Li Han-hsiang and produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio, starring Lisa Lu as Empress Dowager Cixi.

<i>Avalon High</i> 2005 fantasy novel by Meg Cabot

Avalon High is a young adult novel by Meg Cabot, published in 2005 targeted for age 12 and up. The book merges a high school setting with elements of medieval fantasy, namely Arthurian legend.

Quentin Lee is a Hong Kong-born Canadian-American film writer, director, and producer. He is most notable for the television series Comedy InvAsian and feature films The People I've Slept With (2009), Ethan Mao (2004), and Shopping for Fangs (1997), which he co-directed with Justin Lin.

<i>Hells Wind Staff</i> 1979 Hong Kong film

Hell's Wind Staff is a 1979 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by Lu Chin-ku, and also written, produced, storied and directed by Tony Wong based in edition of a comic book 龍虎門 made in hong kong, starring Hwang Jang Lee, Meng Yuen-man, Mang Hoi and Kwan Yung-moon.

<i>The Sun Also Rises</i> (2007 film) 2007 Chinese film

The Sun Also Rises is a 2007 film directed, produced and co-written by Chinese director Jiang Wen starring Joan Chen, Anthony Wong, Jaycee Chan, and Jiang Wen himself. This movie is the polyptych of interconnected stories in different time-zones, shifting between a Yunnan village, a campus, and the Gobi Desert. This movie was screened in competition at the Venice International Film Festival and nominated for Golden Lion but lost to Ang Lee's historical thriller Lust, Caution. This film also premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, and was nominated for Achievement in Cinematography at the 2007 Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

<i>The Emperor and His Brother</i> 1981 Hong Kong film

The Emperor and His Brother is a 1981 Hong Kong wuxia film based on Louis Cha's novel The Book and the Sword. Produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio, the film was directed by Chor Yuen and starred Ti Lung, Jason Pai and Lo Lieh in the leading roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyler Posey</span> American actor and musician (born 1991)

Tyler Garcia-Posey is an American actor and musician. He performed in his early years in a number of children's film and television roles, for which he was twice nominated for a Young Artist Award. He was known for his roles as Raul Garcia in Doc (2001–2004) and Ty Ventura in Maid in Manhattan (2002). As an adult, he is known for playing the central character Scott McCall in the MTV series Teen Wolf (2011–2017), although he has since been cast in a number of film roles and has also performed in voice acting roles. In late 2011 to 2012, he won a number of youth acting awards, including a Teen Choice Award, and was nominated for several others. He was active for several years in the band Lost in Kostko, which he co-founded in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Fan (actor)</span> Hong Kong actor and martial artist

Louis Fan Siu-wong is a Hong Kong actor and martial artist. He is best known worldwide for his starring role as Ricky in Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (1991) and as Jin Shanzhao in Ip Man (2008) and Ip Man 2 (2010), as well as roles in numerous television series produced by TVB.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Booboo Stewart</span> American actor (born 1994)

Nils Allen "Booboo" Stewart Jr. is an American actor, musician, and visual artist. He is known for playing Seth Clearwater in The Twilight Saga, Warpath in X-Men: Days of Future Past, Jay in the Disney television film franchise Descendants, Luca in Good Trouble, and Willie in Julie and the Phantoms.

PaperDoll is an American indie rock band from New York City, consisting of Teresa Lee (vocals), Patrick Moloney (guitar), Jack Koch, and Will Haywood Smith (drums).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Shum Jr.</span> American actor (born 1982)

Harry Shum Jr. is an American actor and dancer. He is known for his roles as Mike Chang on the Fox television series Glee (2009–2015), Magnus Bane on the Freeform television series Shadowhunters (2016–2019), and Benson Kwan on the ABC television series Grey's Anatomy (2022–present). He was nominated for six Screen Actors Guild Awards for best ensemble performance in Crazy Rich Asians, Glee and Everything Everywhere All at Once, winning for the latter two. Shum won The Male TV Star of 2018 award in the E! People's Choice Awards for Shadowhunters.

<i>The Green Hope</i> 2000 Hong Kong TV series or program

The Green Hope is a 2000 Hong Kong television drama produced by TVB under producer Tsang Kan-cheong and starring Bowie Lam, Stephen Fung, Yoyo Mung, Joey Yung, Melissa Ng and Cathy Tsui.

<i>Ocean Heaven</i> 2010 film by Xue Xiaolu

Ocean Heaven is a 2010 Chinese-Hong Kong drama film starring martial arts superstar Jet Li in his first full drama role. It also co-stars Taiwanese actress Gwei Lun-mei, who previously starred in Jay Chou's Secret. The movie was filmed in Qingdao at the Qingdao Polar Ocean World and received promotion from the Qingdao council.

<i>Beauty Knows No Pain</i> Hong Kong television series

Beauty Knows No Pain is a 2010 Hong Kong television drama. Produced by Lam Chi-wah and co-edited by Suen Ho-ho and Chan Kam-ling, the drama is a TVB production. The show premiered on July 26, 2010, and is slated to air for 20 episodes five nights a week. The drama follows the lives of three women — Mrs. Cash, Jackie and BiBi, portrayed by Michelle Yim, Maggie Cheung Ho-yee, and Joyce Tang respectively — who work in the same cosmetics production company, Paris Donna San-Malo Donna (PDSD).

<i>Clans of Intrigue</i> 1977 Hong Kong film

Clans of Intrigue is a 1977 Hong Kong wuxia film adapted from Fragrance in the Sea of Blood of Gu Long's Chu Liuxiang novel series. The film was directed by Chor Yuen, produced by the Shaw Brothers Studio, and starred Ti Lung as the lead character. It was followed by Legend of the Bat (1978) and Perils of the Sentimental Swordsman (1982). There's a 1993 Hong Kong movie of the same genre and title directed by Chan Muk Chuen and starred Mang Fei and Yang Guan Guan..

Boston Asian American Film Festival (BAAFF), a production of the Asian American Resource Workshop (AARW), includes a program of independent cinema highlighting recent, significant works by and/or about Asian Americans and the Asian diaspora. BAAFF is New England's largest Asian American film festival. The festival takes place in the month of October in Boston at Emerson College's Bright Family Screening Room in the Paramount Center and opening night in Cambridge at the Brattle Theatre. The 4-day film festival features special premieres, exclusive Q&As with filmmakers and various co-sponsored events around Boston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">31st Hong Kong Film Awards</span>

The 31st Hong Kong Film Awards presentation ceremony took place in Hong Kong Cultural Centre on 15 April 2012. The hosts for the awards ceremony are Eric Tsang, Bowie Tsang, Gordon Lam, Ronald Cheng and Angelababy. TVB, Now TV and RTHK Radio 2 were the live broadcasters of the ceremony, with other networks airing simulcasts around the world.

Janet Liang was a prominent health advocate and activist who advocated for ethnic minorities in the United States to join the national marrow registry, the National Marrow Donor Program. In 2011, she was selected as one of Asian Pacific Americans for Progress's Unsung Heroes. In 2012, Liang won the City of Pleasanton's 2012 Juanita Haugen Community of Character Awards.

<i>Guang</i> (film) 2019 Malaysian Mandarin-language drama film

Guang is a 2018 Malaysian drama film by Quek Shio Chuan. The film tells the story of an autistic young man with a hidden musical talent who struggles to find a job, and his relationship with his brother.

References

  1. ↑ "Twilight's Booboo Stewart takes the lead in indie White Frog". Oh No They Didn't!. 10 July 2011. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
  2. ↑ "White Frog Info (facebook)". White Frog Official Facebook. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
  3. ↑ "Announcing the SFIAAFF30 Opening Night Feature!". CAAMedia. 30 January 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
  4. ↑ "White Frog". Wentertainment Productions. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.