Made in Chinatown

[GeneChing]

Tony Sirico, Vincent Pastore Join Mob Comedy 'Made in Chinatown'
9:53 AM PDT 6/4/2018 by Etan Vlessing


Left, Andrew Toth, right, Brent N. Clarke, both Getty Images

The martial arts mafia indie also sees Joseph D'Onofrio play Donny the Baker and Alfred Hsing as Vinny Chow.

The Sopranos stars Tony Sirico and Vincent Pastore and Joseph D'Onofrio (The Bronx Tale) have joined the martial arts mob comedy Made in Chinatown, from co-directors Art Camacho and Robert Samuels.

Sirico, who played Paul “Paulie Walnuts” Gualtiere in the HBO mob drama, and Pastore, who was Salvatore “Big *****” Bonpensiero on The Sopranos, will play mob bosses in the indie pic, set to shoot next month in New York City and Philadelphia.

They encounter Vinny Chow, played by Alfred Hsing, who grows up in New York City's Chinatown and wants to be a tough guy in the Italian mob. D'Onofrio will play Donny the Baker, a shop owner in Little Italy with a heart of gold and a big mouth.

Camacho and Samuels will direct Made in Chinatown based on a script by executive producer and screenwriter Mark V. Wiley. The indie from Tambili Films and R4 Films also stars The Sopranos alum Maureen Van Zandt and Tony Darrow.

Sirico is managed by Bob McGowan at McGowan Rodriguez Management, Pastore is repped by McGowan Rodriguez Management and Abrams Artists Agency. D'Onofrio is repped by The Lisa Lax Agency.

Alfred Hsing? Mark V. Wiley? I know those guys.

[GeneChing]

Interesting move for Tambuli. I wish them all the luck on this.

MADE IN CHINATOWN Casts Newcomer Jay Kwon To Star
By Lee Golden - June 12, 2018



This update comes from left field for me, but the word now is that up-and-comer Jay Kwon has been cast for the lead role of Made In Chinatown, from Tambuli Media and R4 Films L.L.C.. Martial arts stalwart and filmmaker Art Camacho (Half Past Dead 2) will helm the martial arts mob comedy with venerable H.K.S.A. member Robert Samuels (The Red Wolf) serving as co-director in addition to producing and co-starring.

Kwon, who replaces actor and martial artist Alfred Hsing in a robust, last minute recast, will make his feature acting debut in the role of Vinny Chow, an underdog Asian American living New York City's Chinatown. Chow's biggest goal is to be with the girl of his dreams, Michelle (Michelle Procida), and so with the help of a ragtag group of friends and the aid of his wise Sifu, he will rise in the ranks of the Italian mafia and become a "Made" man to do it.

Kwon has cut his teeth in both online as well as mainstream TV production; With select stunt performance credits that partly include FX series Lucifer, Marvel's The Punisher and Iron Fist, he has been an oft favorite here at our site having been featured in many a Hit List entry on Monday evenings with prolific appearances at Bryan Sloyer's YouTube channel, Sloyerstunts, and even in a Lumix GH5-shot action short from director Sam KJ titled Unmasked which you can view here:



Kwon will be joined by a bevy of screenfighting talents for Made In Chinatown including premiere Puerto Rican martial arts action sensation José Manuel, in addition to the local stunt performance talents at Team One Take who will be intergral in coordinating the action. Shaw Bros. legend and Ip Man franchise co-star Lo Meng further adds to the list of heavy-hitters next to Emmy Award-winning action director James Lew (Marvel's Luke Cage, Big Trouble In Little China, Timecop, The Perfect Weapon) and Hwang Jang Lee (Drunken Master, Magnificent Warriors, No Retreat, No Surrender II: Raging Thunder), as well as Eric Kovaleski and Chuck Zito (The Martial Arts Kid) and Grandmasters Norman Chin and Wai Hong to name a few.

Rounding out the cast of principles are Tony Sirico, Vincent Pastore and Maureen Van Zandt, Goodfellas and upcoming Brawler co-stars Tony Darrow and Artie Pasquale, and actress Shuya Chang (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny, Snakehead, Revenge of the Green Dragons). Screenwriter and magazine editor Mark V. Wiley wrote script and is executive producing.

[Jimbo]

Now that I see Hwang Jang Lee in the cast, I'm suddenly very interested in seeing this. Even though the guy is 73 and can no longer do the types of stunts he did back in the '70s and '80s, he's still amazing, and can still kick and punch with the best of them. At one point, Hwang was the number-one kung fu movie villain in HK cinema. His film credits listed in the article (except for Drunken Master) were among his lesser films/roles. He appeared in numerous classics as well as some junk, but his performances always elevated the films he was in above what they would have been without him.

[GeneChing]

The Martial Arts Mafia Movie Mash-up. READ Mark Wiley and Lo Meng on MADE IN CHINATOWN by Gene Ching