Finishing the Game: The Search for a New Bruce Lee (2007)

Director:

Justin Lin

Writers:

Josh Diamond (written by) &
Justin Lin (written by)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Who will be

Plot:

Bruce Lee's shocking death left legions of stunned fans and a legacy of 12 minutes from his unfinished Game Of Death. Undeterred, studio executives launched a search for his replacement chronicled here through the eyes of five aspiring thespians who find out what the real game is. |

Plot Keywords:

Bruce Lee | Kung Fu | Audition | 1970s | Typecast

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Josh Diamond	...	Interviewer
Sam Bottoms	...	Martey Kurtainbaum
Jake Sandvig	...	Ronney Kurtainbaum
Roger Fan	...	Breeze Loo
Nathan Jung	...	Bob
Joseph McQueen	...	Leroy / Earl (as Joe McQueen)
Aiko Tanaka	...	Nunchuck Girl
Natalie Sesko	...	Ribbon Girl
Sung Kang	...	Cole Kim
Monique Gabriela Curnen	...	Saraghina Rivas
Daphne Rosen	...	Porn Star
Celestia Star	...	Porn Star (as Celestia Starr)
Carmel Moore	...	Porn Star (as Carmel)
Zoe Matthews	...	Porn Star
Scott Hobson	...	Porn Star
Wayne Brian	...	Porn Star
Ewan French	...	Porn Star (as Ewen French)
Ashley Anne	...	Porn Star
Cytherea	...	Porn Star
Nautica Thorn	...	Trombone Girl
Ron Jeremy	...	Peter Dowd (as Ron Jeremy Hyatt)
Mousa Kraish	...	Raja
David Collard	...	Victor (as Dave Collard)
McCaleb Burnett	...	Tarrick Tyler
Alden Villaverde	...	Elden (as Alden Ray)
M.C. Hammer	...	Roy Thunder
Dustin Nguyen	...	Troy Poon
James Franco	...	Dean Silo
Don Tai	...	Thug / Man #14 (as Don Tai Theerathada)
Jim Parrack	...	Jerry
SuChin Pak	...	Connie Popavich-Mosimoto
Michael Shamus Wiles	...	Police Officer Williams
Barbara Murray	...	Housewife #1
Mary Margaret Robinson	...	Housewife #2
Lauri Johnson	...	Housewife #3
Vail Bloom	...	Cassie
Meredith Scott Lynn	...	Eloise Gazdag
George Derek Huang	...	Franky
Bernardo Peña	...	Remi Nguyen
Jimmy Lin	...	Man #1
Daric Loo	...	Man #2
Elan Tom	...	Man #3
Davis Choh	...	Man #4
Nick Endres	...	Man #5 (as Nicholas Endres)
Leonard Wu	...	Man #6
Chris Kim	...	Man #7
Thomas Isao Morinaka	...	Man #8
Blake Kushi	...	Man #9
Jack Scalia	...	Agent #1
Micah A. Hauptman	...	Agent #2
Jacob Head	...	Agent #3 (as Jake Head)
Terry Becker	...	Breeze's Dad
Betty Murphy	...	Breeze's Mom
Amy Hill	...	Mrs. Tyler
James Isaac Barry	...	Ricky (as James Barry)
James Magedman	...	Allan
Cassidy Freeman	...	Shirley
Dennis P. Thomas	...	Louise (as Dennis Thomas)
Sarah Scott	...	Agency Receptionist
Brian Tee	...	Mac Chang
Brian Goodman	...	TJ
Jon Valera	...	Man #15
Leonardo Nam	...	Eli
George Takei	...	Man In Black (voice)
J.J. Yen	...	Man In Black (as JJ Yen)
Kathy Uyen	...	Kimberly
Kyle Wright	...	Kidnapper #1
Anant A.J. Jiemjitpolchai	...	Kidnapper #2 (as Anant Jiemjitpolchai)
Josh Bissett	...	Boom Guy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Breon Ansley	...	Oliver (scenes deleted)
Bryan Azeoka	...	Bruce Lee Extra
Rhoda Baldwin-Bishop	...	Additional Extra
Cindy S. Benton	...	Additional Extra (as Cindy Benton)
Christina Blevins	...	Additional Extra
Georgette Brotherson	...	Additional Extra
Wilmer Calderon	...	Cesar (scenes deleted)
Masateru Chae	...	Bruce Lee Extra (as Mas Chae)
Tada Chae	...	Bruce Lee Extra
Eugene Cheung	...	Bruce Lee Extra
Melina Chiaverini	...	Marilyn Monroe
Carl Choi	...	Bruce Lee Extra
Kris Cruz	...	Bruce Lee Extra
Vu Dao	...	Bruce Lee Extra
Brandon Dumlao	...	Bruce Lee Extra
Melissa Farrow	...	Additional Extra
Sonja Fisher	...	Additional Extra
Salvador Gatdula	...	Bruce Lee Extra
Douglas N. Hachiya	...	Robert's Entourage
Julie Hough	...	Additional Extra
Lovensky Jean-Baptiste	...	Additional Extra
Jason Joven	...	Bruce Lee Extra
Jsplif	...	Bruce Lee Extra / Additional Extra (as Jae Choung)
John Kee	...	Bruce Lee Extra
Kevnish	...	Additional Extra (as Kevin Nishimura)
Shannon Knopke	...	Additional Extra
Luciana Lagana	...	Additional Extra
Ruffy Landayan	...	Bruce Lee Extra
Quentin Lee	...	Bruce Lee Extra
Tien Lee	...	Bruce Lee Extra
Eric Leong	...	Bruce Lee Extra
Leah Liang Lewis	...	Additional Extra (as Leah Liang)
Ann Lippert	...	Additional Extra
Simone Lotter	...	Casting directors assistant
Carlos Martin	...	Additional Extra
Michelle Mastrorio	...	Additional Extra
Matt Mercer	...	Additional Extra
Bobby Okinaka	...	Bruce Lee Extra
Carl Olson	...	Additional Extra
Stephen Oyoung	...	Bruce Lee Extra
Franklyn Passmore III	...	Additional Extra
Prohgress	...	Bruce Lee Extra / Additional Extra (as James Roh)
Aneliese Roettger	...	Medical Student
Talia Marin Saldana	...	Additional Extra (as Talia Saldana)
Jamie Santos	...	Additional Extra
R.J. Schines	...	Additional Extra
Parry Shen	...	Robert Chang (scenes deleted)
Derek Shizuto	...	Bruce Lee Extra (as Derek Kadota)
Cassidy Smith	...	Additional Extra (as Cassidy Marie Smith)
Norith Soth	...	Bruce Lee Extra
Brian Sounalath	...	Bruce Lee Extra
Bella Thorne	...	Additional Extra
Remy Thorne	...	Additional Extra
Jason Tobin	...	Toby Jackson (scenes deleted)
Tiffany Towers	...	Additional Extra
Jerri Tubbs	...	Additional Extra
Jerome G. Villarin	...	Bruce Lee Extra (as Jerome Villarin)
Charles Wang	...	Bruce Lee Extra
Jason Wu	...	Additional Extra
Tony Young Jr.	...	Additional Extra
Stanley Yung	...	Bruce Lee Extra
Daniel Zhao	...	Bruce Lee Extra / Additional Extra
Nick Rey Angelus	...	Paquero (uncredited)
Jake Elliott	...	Joey (uncredited)
Lyndsey Gayer	...	Angry Protestor (uncredited)
Cory Jacob	...	Office Worker (uncredited)
Melissa McKay	...	Receptionist (uncredited)
Joanna Sims	...	Shirley (uncredited)
Adi Spektor	...	Policeman (uncredited)

Directed by
Justin Lin

Writing credits
Josh Diamond		(written by) &
Justin Lin		(written by)

Produced by
Julie Asato	....	producer
Tada Chae	....	associate producer (as Tadayoshi Chae)
Carl Choi	....	associate producer
Salvador Gatdula	....	producer
Jeffrey Gou	....	executive producer (as Jeff Gou)
Candi Guterres	....	co-producer
Anson Ho	....	associate producer
Joan Huang	....	executive producer
Evan Leong	....	co-producer
Justin Lin	....	producer
Angela Sostre	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Brian Tyler

Cinematography by
Tom Clancey

Film Editing by
Greg Louie

Casting by
Brad Gilmore

Production Design by
Candi Guterres

Set Decoration by
Kurt Meisenbach

Costume Design by
Annie Yun

Makeup Department
Jaime Serene Kelly	....	key makeup artist
Akiko Matsumoto	....	key hair stylist
Keiko Wedding	....	assistant hair stylist (as Keiko Sakamoto)

Production Management
Evan Leong	....	post-production supervisor (as Evan Jackson Leong)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Archie Hernandez	....	first assistant director
Evan Leong	....	second unit director (as Evan Jackson Leong)
Angie Pop	....	second assistant director
Dennis P. Thomas	....	first assistant director: second unit (as Dennis Thomas)
Jerome G. Villarin	....	second assistant director: second unit (as Jerome Villarin)

Art Department
Chris Barber	....	construction coordinator (as Christopher K. Barber)
Seth Chandler	....	lead person
Patrick Cortez	....	set dresser
Lisa Coto	....	first assistant props
Kelley Sean Crawford	....	property master
Sharon Dang	....	additional graphic artist
Aaron Sean Donovan	....	set painter
Von Do	....	graphic designer
Chris Hanke	....	art department intern
Beau Heggen	....	set carpenter
Mitsuhara Isa	....	set carpenter (as Isa Mitsuhara)
Aleksandra Landsberg	....	assistant set decorator (as Aleksandra 'Ola' Landsberg)
Austin Lovell	....	on-set dresser
Ben Minty	....	set dresser
Paul Morgan	....	set carpenter
Anthony Prado	....	lead person
Matthew Zachary Rosen	....	art department intern (as Matt Rosen)
Allesandra Ralston T. Said	....	lead set painter
Allesandra Ralston T. Said	....	scenic-en-charge
Zack Shaw	....	set dresser (as Zach Shaw)
Donny Tran	....	second assistant props
Rena Tsukamoto	....	set painter
Jamie Jo Hoang	....	art production assistant (uncredited)

Sound Department
Josh Bissett	....	boom operator
Peter Brown	....	supervising sound editor
Curtis Choy	....	production sound mixer (as Curtis X Choy)
Joe Dzuban	....	sound re-recording mixer
Tim Farrell	....	dialogue editor
George Pereyra	....	sound effects editor

Visual Effects by
Robert S. Douglas	....	digital intermediate colorist
Brandon Flyte	....	DI graphics
Bob Gill	....	DI colorist (as Robert Gill)
Ken Locsmandi	....	digital intermediate colorist
Sean Main	....	digital intermediate producer
Russ Sueyoshi	....	digital artist

Stunts
Tsuyoshi Abe	....	stunts
Robert Alonzo	....	stunts
Yoshio Iizuka	....	stunts
John Koyama	....	stunts
Don Tai	....	stunt coordinator (as Don Tai Theerathada)
Aaron Toney	....	stunt double
Jon Valera	....	stunts
Mike Wilson	....	stunt performer

Camera and Electrical Department
Nathan Antunez	....	generator operator
Ben Chananie	....	rigging crew
Eugene Cheung	....	grip PA
Kris Cruz	....	grip PA
Anson Ho	....	videographer
Ken Kokka	....	second assistant camera
Drew Lauer	....	electrician
Drew Lauer	....	second assistant camera: second unit
Eric Leach	....	director of photography: second unit
Eric Leong	....	best boy
Rashaad Lewis	....	rigging crew
Justin P. Lyles	....	rigger
Dominic Mainl	....	first assistant camera: second unit
BJ McDonnell	....	Steadicam operator
Steve Mulcahey	....	key grip
Feldo Nartapura	....	rigger
Jeremy Noggles	....	electrician
Mark Robinson	....	first assistant camera: second unit
Jared Rosen	....	video playback supervisor
Sebastian Sokolowski	....	first assistant camera
Sergei Sorokin	....	first assistant camera

Casting Department
Hanna Azboy	....	casting assistant
Stephen P. Greim	....	extras casting
Pam Lavallee	....	casting assistant
Michelle Mastrorio	....	nude extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ryan Lennon	....	set costumer
Kiersten Ronning	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Anson Ho	....	post-production assistant

Music Department
Ernesto Foronda	....	music supervisor (as Ernesto M. Foronda)
Sheri Ozeki	....	music editor
Keith Power	....	technical score consultant
Brian Tyler	....	music mixer

Transportation Department
Brandon Dumlao	....	transportation driver
Anant A.J. Jiemjitpolchai	....	picture car captain (as Anant Jiemjitpolchai)
Eric Leong	....	transportation driver
Evan Leong	....	picture car coordinator (as Evan Jackson Leong)

Other crew
Joe Aranda	....	caterer
Evan Ball	....	extras on-set coordinator
Kelsey Bauman	....	location intern
Angela Boisvert	....	extras coordinator
Masateru Chae	....	key assistant location manager
Tada Chae	....	location manager
Eugene Cheung	....	production assistant
Cory Chu-Keenan	....	production assistant
Kristoffer Cruz	....	production assistant
John David Denison	....	extras coordinator
Winston Emano	....	publicist
Nina Gortinski	....	production assistant
Chris Hanke	....	production assistant
Adam Hennessey	....	extras production intern
Katie Ann Hodgkins	....	script supervisor (as Katie Hodgkins)
Ray Lin	....	assistant location manager
David Magdael	....	publicist
Michelle Mastrorio	....	extras on-set coordinator
Mark Alan Miller	....	photograph coordinator
Shana Siobhan Mora	....	craft service
Kellyn Parker	....	production assistant
Josh Thrower	....	production assistant
Jimmy Tsai	....	accountant
Jerome G. Villarin	....	craft service (as Jerome Villarin)
Steven Wallace	....	publicist
Jason Wu	....	location assistant
Daniel Zhao	....	location assistant
Anne Stulz	....	publicist (uncredited)

Thanks
Brad Altman	....	special thanks
Rowena Arguelles	....	special thanks
Asato Family	....	special thanks
Lorette Bayle	....	special thanks
Mark Borman	....	special thanks
Bill Broderson	....	special thanks
James D. Brubaker	....	special thanks (as Jim Brubaker)
Jason Brush	....	special thanks
May Chew	....	special thanks
Troy Craig Poon	....	special thanks (as Troy Poon)
Bill Duke	....	special thanks
Jacqueline Eckhouse	....	special thanks (as Jackie Eckhouse)
Gatdula Family	....	special thanks
Lin Family	....	special thanks
Bob Gill	....	special thanks
Evan Green	....	special thanks
John Hui	....	special thanks
Leslie A. Ito	....	special thanks (as Leslie Ito)
Kimberly Jaime	....	special thanks (as Kim Jaime)
Ken Kokka	....	special thanks
Susan Loewenberg	....	special thanks
Linda Mabalot	....	in memory of
James Marquez	....	special thanks
Tracy Morse	....	special thanks
Brad Muramoto	....	special thanks
Jae Min Park	....	special thanks
John Peterson	....	special thanks
Fred Raskin	....	special thanks
John Sloss	....	special thanks
Russ Sueyoshi	....	special thanks
S. Forest Swartout	....	special thanks
George Takei	....	special thanks
Clayton Townsend	....	special thanks
Mia Trachinger	....	special thanks
Alex Uceda	....	special thanks
Alice Wong	....	special thanks
J.J. Yen	....	special thanks (as JJ Yen)

Production Companies

• Barnstorm Pictures (uncredited)
• Cherry Sky Films (in association with)
• Trailing Johnson Productions

Distributors

• IFC Films (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• IFC First Take (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Genius Products (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• IFC Films (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Transformer (2008) (Japan) (DVD)
• Weinstein Company, The (2008) (USA) (DVD) (as The Weinstein Company Home Entertainment)

Other Companies

• Alex Gourmet Catering  catering (as Alex's Gourmet Catering)
• Arowana Films  post-production facilities
• Atwater Village Studios  sound stages
• Barnacle Brothers  set construction
• Cinetic Media  sales
• Film 940  sound stages
• Filmworks/FX  digital intermediate
• Hasbro  special thanks
• Hollywood-DI  HD screening services
• Pixel Clinic  additional graphics
• Screen Actors Guild (SAG)  special thanks (as Screen Actors Guild)
• Sloss Law Office  production counsel (as Sloss Law)
• Soundtrack  trailer
• TC:DM & Associates  publicity
• Visual Communications  special thanks (as Visual Communications Staff)

Also Known As:

Finishing the Game (USA) (short title)

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:R21 | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Atwater Village Studios - 3018 Carmel Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Barnstorm Pictures

Quotes:

[first lines]
Interviewer: Mr. Kurtainbaum, why did you decide to continue production on The Game of Death?

Movie Connections:

References Tang shan da xiong (1971)

Soundtrack:

Master the Past

A Nutshell Review: Finishing the Game

"You've offended me, you've offended my family!" I just cracked up so hard that my tears just rolled out of my eyes. If I were to tell you that this is one of my best experience at the SIFF to date, then you would probably think I'm out of my mind, unless of course, you've watched this movie. Actor Dustin Nguyen was on hand to introduce the movie since he had a bit part and is one of the invited guests to the festival for the Vietnamese film The Rebel, he shared that this film is actually director Justin Lin's labour of love. Those of us in Singapore would be familiar with Justin's previous movie, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (admit it, you have the Teriyaki Boyz set as your ringtone), and is now currently in production with FF4 (with the return of Vin Diesel and most of the original cast).

Finishing the Game sets itself in the wake of Bruce Lee's death, where the production of The Game of Death got hung up, pending how to move the film forward. As we now know, old footages of Bruce from previous movies, and stand-ins were used to try and complete principle photography so that it could still be released and audiences could lap it up when it is all Bruce Lee the master himself taking care of things up along the pagoda. So herein lies the premise for Finishing the Game, as a mockumentary looking for the next possible Bruce Lee stand in.

And the process of doing so is genuinely hilarious, playing to various stereotypes and a throwback to the cheesiness (in hindsight of course) of the 70s with the diverse group of actors and actor wannabes turning up for casting and auditioning. In fact, every character featured has a likability factor, and you can't help but to laugh along, and laugh at them. The major favourite of mine is Breeze Loo (Roger Fan), a two-bit Asian actor who's a dead ringer for Lee, and the name being a mimicking of the various "Bruce Lee" incantations that erupted in the video-movie market with Lee's demise, each starring in various action movies copying Lee's signature movements.

Watching the "spaghetti" type productions starring Breeze Loo, never fails to bring on rip-roaring laughter from the audience, and the thing is, it's pretty fun! Sung Kang stars as a happy-go-lucky, always smiling Cole Kim, a struggling actor who can't shake off his smiley face, and Raja (MOusa Kraish), who thinks he's half/Chinese. Dustin Nyugen's own role in the movie, Troy Poon, is yet another actor in a fictionalized spoof of 70s detective movies. His role in Golden Gate Guns has to be seen to be believed, and that one-liner of his about doing other people's laundry, makes him a one-liner hit wonder.

But it's not all fun and laughter throughout the movie, as underlying it is a very keen look at the Hollywood of the 70s, where "coloured" folk often get sidelined, or cast to play the villains, bit roles, supporting characters and the likes, I mean, a television series like "Kung Fu" with David Carradine in the lead, speaks volumes It's not all that serious actually as it skirts around these issues, but you get the point real quickly, about discrimination and unequal opportunities.

All in all, it split my sides good enough for me to warrant a DVD purchase once it's out (has it?). And oh yeah, see if you can spot rapper MC Hammer in it too!