Richard Linklater’s film version of Stephen Belber’s Tape has gotten a Hong Kong reimagining from director Bizhan Tong
Stephen Belber wrote his story Tape as a play back in 1999, so it was always intended to get multiple interpretations over the years, with productions that would take place in different locations, with different casts and directors. Productions of Tape have been performed in Louisville, Kentucky; New York City; Dublin, Ireland; London, England; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Williamstown, Massachusetts; Buxton, England; Orlando, Florida; Alexandria, Minnesota; and Tehran, Iran, among other places. In 2001, Richard Linklater directed a film adaptation of the story that starred Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard, and Uma Thurman. And now, Variety reports that Tape has gotten a Hong Kong reimagining. A trailer can be seen in the embed above.
Directed by banker turned film producer and director Bizhan Tong (Forensic Psychologist), the new cinematic take on Tape stars Kenny Kwan (The Legend of Luzhen), Selena Lee (Queen of News), and Adam Pak (A Guilty Conscience). The story explores the fallout from a traumatic event at a high school graduation party, forcing the three former friends to confront their past in a story that delves into themes of power, manipulation, and the subjective nature of truth. The remake transposes the story from the U.S. to Hong Kong, a region that has yet to fully reckon with the #MeToo movement, while adapting to today’s technology-dependent age. Traditionally, Tape centers entirely on three people talking in a hotel room, but the trailer for Bizhan Tong’s film reveals that this one goes outside of the hotel room. Tong, Lee, and Bonnie Lo wrote the Hong Kong adaptation of Belber’s story.
Tong and Lee produced the film, with Belber serving as an executive producer alongside John Sloss, Jaeson Ma, Kris Eiamsakulrat, Tenten Wei, and Andy Wang. Tong provided the following statement: “Bringing Tape to a Hong Kong setting has allowed us to explore a cultural dimension rarely touched upon in Asian cinema. The themes of the original resonate even more deeply in today’s context, and I’m excited to share this reimagined version with audiences around the world, in a further attempt to bridge East and West and support Hong Kong film.“
Variety notes that Beijing Sita Digital Technology has acquired the distribution rights for the film in China, and international sales are being handled by EST N8. Pre-release theatrical screenings will begin in Hong Kong on November 16th.
Richard Linklater’s Tape will always have a special place in my heart, because it was one of a group of films that I was watching on repeat during the weeks building up to my high school graduation, an event that happened long ago (the other movies in the rotation being Mission: Impossible, Mission: Impossible II, Vanilla Sky, and Linklater’s Waking Life). That movie is the only production of Belber’s story I have ever seen, but I’m interested in watching the Hong Kong reimagining.
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