The Motel (2005)

Director:

Michael Kang

Writer:

Michael Kang

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Out of Place in the Middle of Nowhere.

Plot:

Thirteen-year-old Ernest Chin lives and works at a sleazy hourly-rate motel on a strip of desolate suburban bi-way...

Plot Keywords:

Motel | Friendship Between Men | Asian American | Liar | Absent Father

Awards:

4 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Jeffrey Chyau	...	Ernest
Sung Kang	...	Sam
Jade Wu	...	Ahma Chin
Samantha Futerman	...	Christine
Alexis Chang	...	Katie (as Alexis Kapp Chang)
Stephen Chen	...	Gung Gung
Conor J. White	...	Roy
Jackson Budinger	...	Jess
Clint Jordan	...	Walter
Eleanor Hutchins	...	Gina
Ron Domingo	...	Hank
Jackie Nova	...	Shakira
Jake Holbrook	...	Toby
Ian Boyd	...	Jimmy
Glen Brackenridge	...	Cheap Ass Naked Man
Cheryl Campbell	...	Naked Woman
Douglas Bell	...	Big John
Alia Raza	...	Lola Legs
Melanie Sands	...	Hot Blonde
Olivia Kim	...	Asian Hottie
Albert Bramante	...	Little John
Fausat Lawal	...	Boomin' System Escort
Grace Lamb	...	Grace in Wedding Photo
David Keller	...	Married Discreet
Zeke Hawkins	...	Street Hustler
Heather White	...	Hank's Mistress
Matthew Mooney	...	Chop Suey Skater
Matthew Schimkowitz	...	Dumpling Skater
George Moss	...	Chinese Restaurant Guest
Diville Moss	...	Chinese Restaurant Guest
Vincent Danna	...	Chinese Restaurant Guest
Holly Juckett	...	Motel Guest
Tim Bennett	...	Motel Guest
Karen Conley	...	Motel Guest
Kimberly Juckett	...	Motel Guest
Nathan Juckett	...	Motel Guest
Andrew Beam	...	Motel Guest
Elisabeth Paesano	...	Motel Guest
Shawn Wheeler	...	Motel Guest
Harlan Cayetano	...	Motel Guest
Di Drago	...	Motel Guest
Steve Spehar	...	Motel Guest
Andria Kahler	...	Motel Guest

Directed by
Michael Kang

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Michael Kang

Produced by
Miguel Arteta	....	producer
Karin Chien	....	producer
Matthew Greenfield	....	producer
George Huey	....	co-executive producer
Gina Kwon	....	producer
Eden J. Shapiro	....	executive producer
Esther Shapiro	....	executive producer
Richard Alan Shapiro	....	executive producer (as Richard Shapiro)

Original Music by
Nathan Larson

Cinematography by
Lisa Leone

Film Editing by
David Leonard
Colleen Sharp

Casting by
Susan Shopmaker

Production Design by
Ernesto Solo

Art Direction by
Shane Valentino

Costume Design by
Sarah Beers

Makeup Department
Fabian Garcia	....	hair stylist
Leza Ann Rawlins	....	additional hair stylist
Leza Ann Rawlins	....	additional makeup artist
Leo Won	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Jamin O'Brien	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Heather Daniels	....	second assistant director
Christina Fontana	....	second second assistant director
Cecily Kaston	....	assistant director

Art Department
Marco Cousins	....	on-set dresser
Sarah Croot	....	additional art director
Gregory Kenney	....	property master

Sound Department
Leslie Bloom	....	foley artist
David Briggs	....	foley editor
Derrick Espino	....	adr recordist
Seth Granger	....	boom operator
Theresa Radka	....	sound mixer

Stunts
Manny Siverio	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Steve Briante	....	handheld camera
Chan Jeon	....	additional grip
Jeffrey Kim	....	best boy electric
Louise Lovegrove	....	grip
Pete McGill	....	gaffer
Ron Morales	....	electrician
John Romer	....	handheld camera
Perry Unjang	....	best boy grip
Jason Velez	....	key grip

Casting Department
Janice Ahn	....	casting assistant
Corinne Manabat	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
May Elbaz	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Chad Beck	....	assistant editor
Conor Guy	....	assistant editor
Anthony L. Jamison	....	assistant editor
Marta Alicia Masferrer	....	post-production assistant supervisor
Mark Scheib	....	additional editor
Adam B. Stein	....	additional editor

Music Department
Hal Oppenheim	....	composer: stock music
Margaret Yen	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Angela Beresford	....	office intern
Dario Camara	....	office intern
Brian Cantaldi	....	production accountant
Kenneth Chu	....	production assistant
Susan Chun	....	script supervisor
Winston Emano	....	publicist
Simon Hawkins	....	additional set production assistant
Zeke Hawkins	....	assistant to director
Ethan Hoyt	....	film runner
Jason Kim	....	production assistant
David Magdael	....	publicist
Michael Sledd	....	production coordinator
Ian M. Stratford	....	production counsel
Anne Stulz	....	publicist
Steven Wallace	....	publicist
Marisa Wu	....	location manager

Thanks
Narhee Ahn	....	thanks
Jordan Allen-Dutton	....	thanks
Alice Arlen	....	thanks
Lynn Auerbach	....	in memory of
Henry Bean	....	thanks
Walter Bernstein	....	thanks
Kathryn Bigelow	....	thanks
Michael Bodie	....	thanks
Mark Bomback	....	thanks
Harlan Bosmajian	....	thanks
Kenneth Brecher	....	thanks
Michelle Byrd	....	thanks
Esther Chae	....	thanks
Curtis Chin	....	thanks
Kevin Chinoy	....	thanks
Jim Chu	....	thanks
Curtiss Clayton	....	thanks
Laura Colella	....	thanks
Christa Collins	....	thanks
Laurence Coriat	....	thanks
Alfonso Cuarón	....	thanks
Bianca D'Carpio	....	thanks
Joan Darling	....	thanks
Lydia Dean Pilcher	....	thanks
Anthony Drazan	....	thanks
Alli Farrell	....	thanks
Sally Field	....	thanks
Naomi Foner	....	thanks
Gyula Gazdag	....	thanks
Jodi Gibson	....	thanks
Peter Golub	....	thanks
Todd Graff	....	thanks
Erin Greenwell	....	thanks
Stephen Gyllenhaal	....	thanks
Jessica Hagedorn	....	thanks
Woody Han	....	thanks
Ed Harris	....	thanks
John Hill	....	thanks
Joan Huang	....	thanks
Timothy Huang	....	thanks
Anne Hubbell	....	thanks
Emily Hubley	....	thanks
Paul Juhn	....	thanks
Daniel Dae Kim	....	thanks
Jacob Kornbluth	....	thanks
Fran Rubel Kuzui	....	thanks
Neil LaBute	....	thanks
Scarlett Lam	....	thanks
C.S. Lee	....	thanks
Edmund Lee	....	thanks
Fay Ann Lee	....	thanks
Johanna Lee	....	thanks
Kevin B. Lee	....	thanks (as Kevin Lee)
Will Yun Lee	....	thanks
Michael Lehmann	....	thanks
Linda Lichter	....	thanks
Perry Lin	....	thanks
Joshua Marston	....	thanks
Jack Mayesh	....	in memory of
Ilyse McKimmie	....	thanks
Thomas Moon	....	thanks
Risa Morimoto	....	thanks
Chieko Murata	....	thanks
Greg Pak	....	thanks
Bertha Bay-Sa Pan	....	thanks
Andrew Pang	....	thanks
Alexander Payne	....	thanks
Jodi Peikoff	....	thanks
Todd Phillips	....	thanks
Wayland Quintero	....	thanks
Robert Redford	....	thanks
Bradford Reed	....	thanks
John Ridley	....	thanks
Sung Rno	....	thanks
Howard A. Rodman	....	thanks
Doug Sadler	....	thanks
James Saito	....	thanks
Michelle Satter	....	thanks
Susan Shilliday	....	thanks
Zachary Sklar	....	thanks
Yaphet Smith	....	thanks
Peter Sollett	....	thanks
Rich Song	....	thanks
Patrick Stettner	....	thanks
Sara Tanaka	....	thanks
Matt Tauber	....	thanks
Kevin Tent	....	thanks
Jon Turteltaub	....	thanks
Makoto Ueda	....	thanks
Jenna Ushkowitz	....	thanks
Yesim Ustaoglu	....	thanks
Eva Vives	....	thanks
Wayne Wang	....	thanks
Erik Weiner	....	thanks
Lisa Wiegand	....	thanks
Alice Wu	....	thanks
Jo Yang	....	thanks: end titles
Helen Yum	....	thanks
Perry Yung	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Flan de Coco Films

Distributors

• ImaginAsian Pictures (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
• Palm Pictures (2006) (USA) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• Gray Krauss Des Rochers  legal services
• Jeremy Walker + Associates  publicity

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

Cantonese | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Filming Locations:

Poughkeepsie, New York, USA

Company:

Flan de Coco Films

Quotes:

Sam:I know what you were thinking. I hope this guy speaks english.
Ernest:No, You walk like you speak english.

Movie Connections:

Features Happy Tree Friends: Volume 1: First Blood (2002) (V)

Soundtrack:

Oh My Dear (Falling In Love)

Third Act Lack, but Nice Kang Attack

I thought the movie was excellent, except for the conclusion. Like most independent films, the third act is lacking. Kang really told a great story, but it kind of fell flat at the end. I guess his mother reading the story is supposed to be the conclusion, but maybe having some sort of dialogue with the son would have made the third act more fulfilling.

Otherwise, can't say enough good things about this movie. I liked that there were no stars. I always find a movie more believable when I don't know anyone in the cast. Hey look, it's Denzel. Wasn't he killed in Training Day? The opening scenes with strangers coming in to have sex and the family having to clean up their mess was done very well. Brought the audience into a world it never sees.

I knew very little about Asian relationships from movies. The only other Asian film (besides Crouching Tiger and the like) that I have seen that has dealt with relationships is the Joy Luck Club. It was nice to see this dynamic from the viewpoint of a young male. Joy Luck Club was solely from the female perspective.

Can't wait to see more from Kang.