Vancouver is about to get a lot funnier with news that comedians Ali Wong and Randall Park have partnered on a Netflix feature film that will start shooting here in May.
Wong and Park, who work together ( he stars and she writes) on TV’s Fresh Off The Boat, have co-penned and will co-star in the romantic comedy about a celebrity chef who reunites with her childhood sweetheart, who is a struggling musician.
Wong became on a top draw on the North American comedy circuit following the enormous success of her 2016 Netflix standup special Baby Cobra. A favourite among Vancouver comedy fans, the 35-year San Francisco native had a triumphant three-night stand — with six sold-out performances — at the Vogue Theatre last May.
Park, meanwhile, spent some time in Vancouver in 2013 when he filmed The Interview with Seth Rogen and James Franco. Park portrayed Kim Jong-Un in the controversial comedy about the attempted assassination of the supreme leader.
After North Korea said the movie amounted to an “act of war,” Sony pictures shelved its wide release and chose to stream the movie online instead.
So, yes, he’s had some memorable times here.
Nahnatchka Khan, the showrunner behind Fresh Off The Boat, will make her motion picture directorial debut on the film which will begin production on May 29.
Chris Hemsworth received a Whitecaps jersey at BC Place on Saturday.
SOMEONE GET THOR SEASON TICKETS
A week after making an appearance at the Canadian Rugby 7s tournament, Chris Hemsworth returned to B.C. Place Stadium on Saturday to take in a Vancouver Whitecaps game.
The Thor star, who is in Vancouver shooting Bad Times at the El Royale with Jeff Bridges, Russell Crowe and Dakota Johnson, wasn’t treated to a thriller of a game — Vancouver and L.A. Galaxy slogged their way to a 0-0 tie — but he did leave the stadium with a spiffy new Whitecaps jersey.
DOGGYWOOD NORTH
From Air Bud to Marmaduke, Vancouver has a long and proud history of being a go-to location for canine-centric films.
Cats & Dogs and its sequel were also filmed here and so was the recently completed A Dog’s Purpose, directed by Charles Martin Smith, who helmed the original Air Bud but none of the lame sequels.
Now, Vancouver has collared yet another big-screen flea fest as The Art of Racing in the Rain, the film adaptation of Seattle author Garth Stein’s best-selling novel, will shoot here next month.
The Art of Racing in the Rain is a bitter-sweet story of love and loss told through the eyes of Enzo, a dog with a nearly human soul.
The movie treatment, which has bounced around since first being purchased by Universal in 2009 as a Patrick Dempsey project, is now being produced by Fox with Simon Curtis (Goodbye Christopher Robin) attached as director.
This is Us star Milo Ventimiglia is reportedly on board to play Enzo’s race-car driving owner Denny.
Actress Gina Carano is in Kelowna filming Daughter of the Wolf.
GINA CARANO IN KELOWNA
Mixed Martial Arts fighter turned action star Gina Carano is in Kelowna filming the thriller Daughter of the Wolf for Minds Eye Entertainment.
Carano, who also filmed Deadpool and the low-budget sci-fi flick Scorched Earth in B.C., plays a former military specialist who must rescue her son from a group of baddies led by a mysterious figure known only as “father,” who is played Richard Dreyfuss.
“Desperate to save her son, Clair captures one of the kidnappers and forces him to lead her on a perilous journey deep into the Alaska Mountains. With a winter storm approaching, the odds of survival begin to mount against Clair. To rescue her son, she must form an unlikely alliance with the kidnapper and survive the wild of the far North,” according a release from Minds Eye.
Brendan Fehr (Final Destination, Roswell) plays Larsen, the kidnapper turned hostage.