Usually, remakes are Asian to the American market. However, Tape was the other way around; it was a remake of a Richard Linklater movie from 2002. The main thing about this remake of Tape was that it is a different type of movie for Asia.
At first, I was sceptical about it; however, I will admit when I’m wrong…which is never! No, I was wrong about Tape, the movie is very good, you can read my review here.
I had an interview with one of the stars, Adam Pak, who was really nice. I also had the chance to interview the director of Tape, Bizhan Tong. Bizhan is the founder of Phoenix Waters Productions and, from the site, he:
…is a British-born Chinese filmmaker, producer, and entrepreneur with almost 20 years of experience creating genre-driven stories that bridge East and West.
It was nice to talk to someone with a British accent. He works in London and Hong Kong, and Tape was a passion project for him. It wasn’t just ‘another remake’, it was aimed at a market that changed the story for another culture.
Enough from me, here is the interview and Bizhan passionately talking about Tape.
Again, sorry about my audio…all future interviews will have it fixed. So far, all of the interviews I’ve done with people have been fascinating! Bizhan is the same; he was a genuinely passionate director, and his version of Tape is worth checking out.
Also, I have a lot of admiration for him as he joined the conversation about Tape when we first had the trailer. Good for him for coming to the defence of his movie, and as I said, I was in the wrong about this one.
We will keep an eye on Bizhan’s future, as I asked him to mention the Last Movie Outpost when he wins his first Oscar.
