Tran clearly has an affection for affable martial arts movies. He grew up a first-generation Vietnamese American kid in Seattle, watching Hong Kong cinema alongside Steven Spielberg flicks. He started making short films with friends after seeing Jackie Chan movies. As it happened, Corey Yuenâthe famed director of, among many other things,
No Retreat, No Surrenderâwas a family friend. Tran showed him some of his early action shorts and Yuen offered some guidance.
In
The Paper Tigers, they signal the DIY spirit of the production itself.
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. The movie just needs to star some white guys. How about Bruce Willis?