Emily Ting

[00:00:01] [SPEAKER_01] Hi, I'm Bramble Jam and I love Hallmark Movies

[00:00:05] [SPEAKER_02] I'm Dan and I despise Hallmark Movies

[00:00:07] [SPEAKER_00] And I'm Emily, I write Hallmark Movies

[00:00:11] [SPEAKER_02] And this is the Deck The Hallmark Podcast

[00:00:13] [SPEAKER_01] Deck The Hallmark, it's this podcast

[00:00:17] [SPEAKER_02] Friends host this podcast We hope you like this jolly podcast Yeah! Love it This is exciting It is exciting, Bramble Jam We've, over the last two years We've seen movies written by one Emily Ting And they're always good How often does that happen? Never

[00:00:46] [SPEAKER_02] Never And so we were like, who's this Emily Ting? And then it turns out, she also directs movies as well And we're like, well we gotta have her on And we made her write her somehow That was a long negotiation But we made her write her And now Emily Ting's here with us Emily, how you doing?

[00:01:01] [SPEAKER_00] Hi guys, I just want to say This is like a real pinch me moment Stop it Because I literally, I listen to you guys Every morning You're like my wake up call

[00:01:13] [SPEAKER_02] Oh boy Right?

[00:01:14] [SPEAKER_00] Like Sorry It's easy to wake up It's, you're very energetic

[00:01:18] [SPEAKER_02] Sure

[00:01:19] [SPEAKER_00] So, it's easy to wake up to And my husband could attest to that Like, oh my god, those guys again

[00:01:24] [SPEAKER_01] Those guys again That's fair Well, that's amazing And we'll get to, we'll get to all that In a little bit Yeah But

[00:01:31] [SPEAKER_02] Well, I was gonna say What's nice What's nice is You wanna hold hands? What's nice is We've had people on here And we just assume no one listens And then they will say I listened Or like Tamara Who was like I listened And Dan, you made me cry And I'm like Oh no That's not the intended result But I know the three movies you've written That we've covered And I don't have to worry about that Because I had good things to say about all three So this is nice for me too It's a pinch me moment for me I'm interviewing someone

[00:02:00] [SPEAKER_02] Where I've not disliked something that they were in So that's nice

[00:02:04] [SPEAKER_00] Good, good, good So far, yes

[00:02:06] [SPEAKER_02] So far, yeah We can

[00:02:07] [SPEAKER_00] We need some time

[00:02:08] [SPEAKER_02] Let's keep the door open Let's keep the door open for that possibility

[00:02:11] [SPEAKER_00] Sure, one of these days Homer will assign a, you know Travel to Europe Save a chocolate shop type movie

[00:02:18] [SPEAKER_01] Yes One of these times I'm just gonna have We'll do a podcast That only goes to your feed And it's not the real one But it's Dan just ripping Or moving apart You know what? Because I don't want you to feel left out We don't want you to feel left out Of course That's for sure Emily, let's go back to The beginning Of your life

[00:02:37] [SPEAKER_00] Wow, okay So I was born in Taiwan And I moved to the country When I was around 10 years old With my mom And we lived in Like Northern California And then moved to upstate New York When I was in high school And that's sort of like When I kind of discovered My love for film I started writing film reviews For the school paper Oh, nice

[00:03:04] [SPEAKER_02] Do you remember any of your early film reviews From high school? Like a distinctively bad or good movie You saw in high school?

[00:03:14] [SPEAKER_00] I think And this is gonna age me I think my first Review Was a movie called Was there a movie called Timeless?

[00:03:27] [SPEAKER_02] Yeah

[00:03:27] [SPEAKER_00] Or something about like a time traveling I think

[00:03:30] [SPEAKER_02] What was the movie with Justin Timberlake About time Where they had the time on the list? No, that was like much later There was like

[00:03:37] [SPEAKER_00] Some old movie in the 90s About some time traveling And it was like So not my jam And they assigned me Like I remember it was like Some sort of time traveling And that was like Beginning when I was like Just assigned these But then eventually I worked my way up To being like the editor So I got to choose more like A rom-com-y Like when I was Graham the 90s Like I wanted to be the next Nora Ephraim

[00:04:04] [SPEAKER_02] Of course

[00:04:05] [SPEAKER_00] That was my

[00:04:06] [SPEAKER_02] Of course What's your favorite Like rom-com of the 90s? It's like the best decade For you know Especially for folks around our age Like the best decade For the rom-com What's your favorite one?

[00:04:18] [SPEAKER_00] So when Graham and Sally Is my Go to comfort Watch And I've seen it A million times And We could talk about this later But like I'm currently working on something That's kind of an homage To when Graham and Sally So that's very much My like It's It's the ultimate So like to me Nora Ephraim Is someone that I Aspire to become So So It was during that time That I decided I want to go to film school And I

[00:04:46] [SPEAKER_00] Got into NYU film school Which you know Is a very good film school

[00:04:50] [SPEAKER_03] Yeah

[00:04:51] [SPEAKER_00] But My mom was like Ecstatic She was very excited for me My father Didn't see it that way He He thought I was Like Crazy That I wanted to become A filmmaker Because at the time You know In the 90s You didn't have Asian American Female directors Directing studio films That was There were maybe a few On the indie level But he was just like That is an impossible dream It is

[00:05:20] [SPEAKER_00] A crazy path To go down So You know We had a bit of Sort of conflict Over that But eventually He came around And he Let me go to film school And even paid for it And he did not When he Didn't support What I wanted to do But he did And I was like Oh great You know Dad Came around And Go to film school But like As soon as I Got out of film school He kind of came

[00:05:50] [SPEAKER_00] Collecting And was like Okay I let you have your fun Now I'm serious Like you're not Really going to be A filmmaker That's just Crazy So my father Has a Toy company In Hong Kong So we have a Family business

[00:06:06] [SPEAKER_02] A toy company In Hong Kong

[00:06:09] [SPEAKER_00] Yes With a factory In China So that's like That's how my family That was my family Business And he's And that was what Helped pay for For film school And yeah I was like Fresh out of NYU film school I was in my early Twenties And then I Kind of got Summoned back To To go to Asia To go to Hong Kong And work for The family Business

[00:06:32] [SPEAKER_02] And I'm sorry I didn't mean to Interrupt you But I don't want To skip ahead Because you clearly Had a dream And then your dad Was like Alright I paid For your dream And now it's Time to face facts This is reality You gotta play With toys You gotta go Work in a toy Factory

[00:06:46] [SPEAKER_01] And do toys

[00:06:48] [SPEAKER_02] But you are A feature Filmmaker Like that is Not a title Bestowed upon You honorarily You are actually A feature Filmmaker You've written And directed Rom-coms For Netflix What's your dad When you When you made A feature film That was on Netflix Around the world Like what'd your dad Say

[00:07:10] [SPEAKER_00] I mean I think That was a 20 year journey Yeah You know I think Now Now he's very Proud and he's Like oh my god Or like direct Movies for Netflix But it took So long To get to this Point And that's Why I really I really like Telling my story Because I feel Like people should You know Like right out Of school If you haven't Made it When you're 22, 23 Don't despair Because someday You could turn 40

[00:07:39] [SPEAKER_00] And like Actually do the Thing that you Went to school For And that was Sort of My journey Like I went To Hong Kong And I spent All of my 20s Like working In Hong Kong For the toy factory I had given up I had like I was like Okay That life That I wanted For myself Was never Going to happen And I kind of Made peace With it I was like This is my Life now I live in Hong Kong I work For a toy Company And I'm Going to Take over

[00:08:08] [SPEAKER_00] When my dad Retires someday That was Kind of My life Laid out For me But On the eve Of my 30th Birthday As I Was Turning 30 I kind of Looked Back And was Like wow This past 10 years Of my Life All of My 20s I just Felt like I was Living a Life That I Didn't Choose For Myself And that Spark For that Filmmaking Dream Was still There

[00:08:39] [SPEAKER_00] And yeah I I remember Sort of Like as I was Turning 30 I was Feeling Kind of Depressed About Where My Life Was Just See A Therapist And she Was Like

[00:08:58] Don't

[00:08:59] [SPEAKER_00] Worry About What Your Family Want You To Do But Like If You Could Do Anything In This World Like What Would You Want It To Be And I Remember Then I Was Like Well I Will Want To live In Los Angeles And make Movies It Such An Impossible Dream So Why Even You Know Like Why And she's Like Why You Know You're Only 29 It's Too Early For You To Just Give Up So I Kind of Like Took That To Heart And Went To My Dad And We Worked Something Out Where I

[00:09:29] [SPEAKER_00] Need The Money I Need To Keep Working For You Before I Make A Career For Mys But I Want To To Los

[00:10:08] [SPEAKER_00] Continue 10 Years For Me To Actually Be Able To Make This Work You Know So It's Everything Is Is A Huge Journey Yeah

[00:10:20] [SPEAKER_02] What Was The Thing When You Were In Los Angeles Yeah Like So Many People That Go And Are Starving Artists For A Long Time Or Making Like Working Remotely Or Doing Bartending Or Doing Whatever They're Doing What Was The Thing That The First Your First Foot In The Door Like What Was It That Got You In The Door With A Movie Or A Show Or Whatever

[00:10:40] [SPEAKER_00] Right So When I First Moved To LA I Started Producing My Friends Like Micro Budget Indie Films For Free As Just A Way To Like Relearn The Process And The Industry And All Of That And I Had Produced This Micro Budget Film Called The Kitchen Which Had For Such A Small Movie It Had A Great Cast Laura Creepon Brian Greenberg Like We Put Together A Really Great Cast For Very Little Money

[00:11:10] [SPEAKER_00] And I Have To Say Like Brian Greenberg Is The Working On Next And At The Time I Had Written My Script For Already Tomorrow In Hong Kong And I Needed You Know It Was Written For An Asian American Female And A White

[00:11:40] [SPEAKER_00] Male And At The Time Jamie Chung Was Sort Of Like The Biggest Asian American Actress Who Doing Any Sort Of Studio Films And TV Shows And She Was Kind Of Like Who I Wanted For The Role But I Didn't Have Any Connections To Her I Didn't Know Her And Then Comes To The LA Premier Of The Kitchen Where I Was Talking To Brian He Asked What I Was Working I Told Him About The Script And How It Features An Asian American Female Going Back

[00:12:24] [SPEAKER_00] He He To Jamie And When I Sent The Script To Him I Said Look There's You Know A Male Role So If You Are Interested Maybe You Two Could Do It Together And Two Weeks Later Brian Emailed Me And We're In We're Going To Your Movie And

[00:12:54] [SPEAKER_00] In The Prior 12 13 Years Working For The Toy Company And We Were Able To Get That Movie Off The Ground And That Was Sort Of The Movie That Got Me My Agent And You Know Got Me Into The Festival Circus So That Kind Of Really Put Me On The Map And It's All Because Brian Said Yes And And Got His Girlfriend

[00:13:16] [SPEAKER_01] Wow That's Awesome

[00:13:27] [SPEAKER_02] Like I've Not Seen It We Have People In The Chat The Double Decker Chats The Only Way To Watch This Actually Live Bramblejam Plus Dotcom Saying That That's Their Favorite Indie Rom Com Wow Literally Before You Told That Story Someone Said Already Tomorrow In Hong Kong Is One Of My Favorite Indie Rom Com So Like Clearly Leaving a Mark That Movie 10 Years Old Now

[00:13:47] [SPEAKER_01] That's Amazing

[00:13:47] [SPEAKER_02] Clearly Leaving A Mark On People Which Is Fantastic And So Cool To Get In The Door So Like Obviously You've Got Three Other Feature Length Directorial Can I Ask A

[00:13:58] [SPEAKER_01] Quick Question Because It Relates To Writing That Your Break Before Going To LA And Beginning To Write And Do Some Other Creative Stuff

[00:14:24] [SPEAKER_00] I Was Always Trying To Write On The Side I Made A Documentary During That Time Which Was Basically Just A Glorified Home Video So The Spark Never Went Out I Just Was Not Doing Anything Professionally I Would Write You Know On And I Tell People Today I Feel Like Ironically If I Hadn't Gone To Hong Kong

[00:14:54] [SPEAKER_00] During That Ten Year Period I Might Not Even Be A Filmmaker Today Like If I Stayed In New York I Probably Would Have Ended Up Being Like On The Corporate Side Because That's Kind Of About My Experiences During That Time And I Was Able To

[00:15:23] [SPEAKER_00] Pay For My First Movie With The Money That I Made At That Other Career So You Know I'm Very Grateful Like Looking Back I'm Like I Ended Up Where I Was Always Supposed To End Up I Just Took A Round About Way And A Detour So You Know Orange Mar Honka Was Not The I Got Made And Produced

[00:15:51] [SPEAKER_01] Yeah And So You Self Fund That You Make It And Then Where Do You Go From There Like How Do You Know What To Do With A Movie Once You Have A Movie Yeah

[00:16:00] [SPEAKER_00] Well I Mean That Did The Very Kind Of Like Usual Indie Route Which Is We Did Film Festivals We It You Did It You Got It But For Two Years Even Though I Had A Manager And An Agent Which Is Already Like A Step Above A Lot Of

[00:16:48] [SPEAKER_00] Okay One And Done There Were You Know It's Like You Put All Your Resources In One So Luckily For Me Already Tomorrow In Hong Kong Was A Modest Hit Like We Actually Made Our Money Back And A Little Bit Of Profit Which For Indie Film Is Really Big

[00:17:08] [SPEAKER_01] Deal Yeah

[00:17:08] [SPEAKER_00] Big Deal How Long Did That

[00:17:10] [SPEAKER_01] Take To To Make The Money Back

[00:17:12] [SPEAKER_00] I Mean We We're Like We're In

[00:17:47] [SPEAKER_02] We've Got Us And We Were In Reno Where All Great Films Are Made

[00:17:52] [SPEAKER_00] So I Went Back I Doubled Down I Put The Money We Made From The First Movie And

[00:18:18] [SPEAKER_02] Go Back To China And Work For The Family Toy Business Oh Wow You Know I Didn't I Didn't Call you Spoiled I Didn't I Didn't He Didn't But That's What That Said

[00:18:28] [SPEAKER_00] Toy Factory Stuff That's All

[00:18:31] The

[00:18:32] [SPEAKER_00] Spoiled Rich Girl Has You Know She Have You You To You

[00:18:52] [SPEAKER_02] Can You Yo What Things And We

[00:19:12] [SPEAKER_01] Them Ideas

[00:19:13] [SPEAKER_02] To Write That's

[00:19:14] [SPEAKER_01] Right That's You One Day Maybe He

[00:19:16] [SPEAKER_02] You can write a movie about a spoiled rich girl. Autobiographical. So you do those two, and obviously Netflix is going to hire you to do a couple movies that you did not write, which we can talk about a little bit later. But you still haven't done anything for Hallmark writing-wise by the time Go Back to China is released. So what was the feedback of the reception of Go Back to China, and then how do we get to Hallmark?

[00:19:46] [SPEAKER_00] Yes. So Go Back to China got into competition at South by Southwest.

[00:19:52] [SPEAKER_02] Oh, wow. Awesome.

[00:19:53] [SPEAKER_00] That was my level up. The fact that I got into South by, because after Sundance, South by is really the biggest film festival. And then I was able to get new representation, new agents out of that, because my old agents didn't really do anything for me for two years. I made a new movie, signed with a new agency. And that's really when things started happening. And it was concurrent.

[00:20:19] [SPEAKER_00] So they were sending me out on a lot of meetings, but a lot of pitches. So I just was pitching for about a year on, you know, like I pitched at Disney. Like, these are directing for higher jobs. So all of this. And then I got Tall Girl 2 at Netflix, just through like going through rounds of pitching. And I, at the time, had only done two indie films. And I was really a nobody in the studio movie world. And they gave me a chance.

[00:20:49] [SPEAKER_00] And then concurrently, which has nothing to do with me booking a Netflix job. But around the same time, my manager, so this was Golden Dragon. So this was like, before I booked Tall Girl 2, my writing partner and I, at the time, just on the wind. You know, we've been writing together for a long time. And every year, we sit down in January. And we're like, what are we going to write this year? We write one spec a year. And we just sat down and we were like, what did you do for Christmas?

[00:21:18] [SPEAKER_00] It's like, oh, I ate Chinese food. I ate Chinese food too. And then we just started talking. We're like, how come we've never seen a Christmas movie set in a Chinese restaurant? When so many people we know eat Chinese food for Christmas. So we kind of just like wrote it for fun. We didn't have any like agenda. Like, hey, did you know Hallmark puts out 40 Christmas movies? I had no idea. Like we just wrote a Christmas movie that we liked and we enjoyed.

[00:21:48] [SPEAKER_00] So around this time, while I was like pitching on studio movies to direct, my manager was sending the script out. And I guess he went to college with Alex Koskis from Timeless Pictures.

[00:22:03] [SPEAKER_03] Okay.

[00:22:03] [SPEAKER_00] They do a lot of these, you know, like Hallmark movies. And Alex now tells me the story, which I didn't know at the time. They were at like a friend's 40th birthday party. And my manager's like, yeah, my client wrote this Christmas movie. I have no idea what to do with it. And he's like, send it to me. And like, literally, he just sent him the script like on his phone. And Alex read it, loved it. And like zooms with me and my writing partner.

[00:22:33] [SPEAKER_00] And they wanted to take it out. And I think they send that script to like a lot of places, not just Hallmark.

[00:22:40] [SPEAKER_03] Yeah.

[00:22:41] [SPEAKER_00] But, you know, like the Netflixes, they pass. But in the end, I think it came down to Hallmark and Lifetime. And they were like, they both want the movie. And we're like, Hallmark.

[00:22:50] [SPEAKER_02] Wow. Bidding war for it. I love it.

[00:22:53] [SPEAKER_00] Well, I don't know if it was a bidding war.

[00:22:55] [SPEAKER_02] I'm going to say it's a bidding war. Yeah, it was a bidding war. And before we, I don't want to talk about that movie. But like concurrently, like you said, Netflix is hiring you as a director for hire. Before they hire you as a director for hire, the two feature films you've directed are written and directed by Emily Ting. And now you're on a project that you've not spent the time writing.

[00:23:16] [SPEAKER_02] Can you just walk me through or just tell me about the difference between writing a movie that's your baby that you've self-funded versus Netflix going, here's a paycheck. Direct this movie. Make it good. You're in charge. Can you just talk me through what the difference is and like the experience?

[00:23:31] [SPEAKER_00] Yeah, I can tell you, like my two indie films feels like my babies because I did everything. When you are a director for hire on something you didn't write, it feels a little bit like a stepmom. Like you're raising someone else's child. And then now I have written things that I don't direct with all the Hallmark movies.

[00:23:50] [SPEAKER_02] Exactly. That was going to be my next question.

[00:23:52] [SPEAKER_00] Yeah. They're a little bit like you give birth and then you give them up for adoption. You have no control on how they turn out. So it's very different. And since my two indie films, I have not sort of been able to marry, you know, writing and directing on one project yet. But it is very different. However, I will say like all the films I've ever had a hand in, whether I'm the writer only or the director only.

[00:24:22] [SPEAKER_00] You know, they're all my babies in a sense. Maybe I don't love them as much as my fruit. But I feel a sense of none of them has ever been like, whatever. I'm just a writer for hire or a director for hire. I, you know, they've all felt very personal and meaningful to me. I'm very proud of all of them. But yeah, there are certain things when you're a director for hire, they ask you for your thoughts on the screenplay. But like it goes through.

[00:24:51] [SPEAKER_00] Like when they asked me for script notes on Tall Girl 2, like it was for the producers and then went through Netflix. Like they make notes on my notes. Like they had to pick what notes they agree with to send to the screenplay. Like you don't get to say your piece. And then at the end of the day, whether it's Hallmark or Netflix, like they have a brand. They know what they're looking for.

[00:25:15] [SPEAKER_00] Or ultimately you're trying to, you know, deliver on like what fits within their brand. So, yeah.

[00:25:28] [SPEAKER_01] Now with Christmas of the Golden Dragon and your other Hallmark movies, does Hallmark know that you direct? Yeah, that was my next question. I feel like they're really missing out on something.

[00:25:39] [SPEAKER_02] Future film director. Could we get her in there to direct a movie she wrote? What gives?

[00:25:45] [SPEAKER_00] Yeah, talk to Hallmark. Okay, so.

[00:25:47] [SPEAKER_02] Oh, we can. We'll get that campaign going. We'll talk to Johnny Hallmark.

[00:25:51] [SPEAKER_00] Okay, so I think the issue with that is they shoot these up in Canada.

[00:25:55] [SPEAKER_02] Yeah. Yeah.

[00:25:56] [SPEAKER_00] Right? So I'm not Canadian. And there's a whole task. Yes. I could, I should just immigrate to Canada.

[00:26:04] [SPEAKER_01] There you go.

[00:26:06] [SPEAKER_00] And I think it's like they have a point system. And if you, if a writer took certain of the slots is American, then like the director has to be Canadian. I believe. So ironically, I might be able to direct one that I didn't write because the writer is Canadian.

[00:26:24] [SPEAKER_02] Yeah, it's a tax thing.

[00:26:27] [SPEAKER_00] It's a tax credit.

[00:26:28] [SPEAKER_02] Yeah.

[00:26:28] [SPEAKER_00] And I mean, you know, they hire DGC directors, like directors of Canada directors, but I'm DGA. So, you know, like I feel like Golden Dragon, sealed with a list. These were all movies that we wrote for me to direct. And, but at the time they were like, look, to get these made, we can't hire you as a director. And I just wanted to get these movies made. And I'm like, fine, I will step aside.

[00:26:59] [SPEAKER_00] It's okay. For the good of the project to like have them make it on Hallmark, I cannot be the director. And now I'm fine with it. They shoot these things like in 15 days. I'm like, I don't even know if I could deliver. Like it's a special type of skill to be able to move that fast. And yeah.

[00:27:20] [SPEAKER_02] Do you, you know, it sounds like you're at peace with it, but you, you write these scripts. And if I'm not mistaken, Christmas at the Golden Dragon, sealed with a list, yours from the beginning, Christmas with the Sings, story by someone else. And then you wrote the screenplay. Is that correct?

[00:27:35] [SPEAKER_00] Yeah. Okay. Christmas with the Sings was different. That was a for hire job.

[00:27:39] [SPEAKER_02] Okay. Got it. So with Christmas, the Golden Dragon and sealed with a list, when you watch the, the locked cut, like you don't, you know, we know we've talked to other writers. You don't get to make notes on this cut. They just, you get a lot cut. But is that nerve wracking to watch? Or is that just like, you know what? I did what I could with it. And now it's theirs. They can do what they want with it.

[00:28:01] [SPEAKER_00] It was so weird. The first time when I watched Golden Dragon, because I had, that was the first thing I've ever written that I didn't get to direct. And also it was my first Hallmark movie. Like I had a lot of Hallmark movies before that. So I just didn't know what to expect. And that was very nerve wracking. But, and with all of these movies, even with Christmas with the Sings, now that, you know, I've done, that was my third one. I have to watch all of these movies twice.

[00:28:28] [SPEAKER_00] Because the first time watching is always like, oh, that's not how I imagined it. Like it's so distracting. But then the second time is more like I could just sit back and enjoy.

[00:28:42] [SPEAKER_02] Did you have any idea, you talked about representation, how your dad saw that there weren't any Asian American filmmakers, Asian filmmakers, any of that. Did you have any idea when you wrote Christmas with the Golden Dragon and you were watching that cut, that the idea of a Hallmark movie with a love actually level number of plots. And with a cast that's almost entirely Asian or Asian American, how rare that was. Did you know that at the time?

[00:29:10] [SPEAKER_00] For sure. That's why we were very surprised that it went to Hallmark. Yeah. Because for a long time, it's like, you know, Christmas so white. It's like every couple you see, it's the same. And I guess we got in at a good time when they were starting to be more inclusive and diverse. And there were like two Chinese American Christmas movies that season. Us and the other one, the big fat family Christmas.

[00:29:38] [SPEAKER_02] Yeah. Yeah. I remember that one. That one not as memorable.

[00:29:44] [SPEAKER_00] Well, I love the people who made it. So. Yeah.

[00:29:46] [SPEAKER_02] No, of course. We can say that. You cannot. That's fine.

[00:29:50] [SPEAKER_00] Yeah. Like, so for us, and I remember when the poster came out and they had like, Kara, like front and center.

[00:30:00] [SPEAKER_02] It's a great poster.

[00:30:01] [SPEAKER_00] Like an Asian American female is front and center on a Hallmark Christmas movie. I have that poster framed like in my office. Like I, I'm in a way, like, like I know I've done like bigger Netflix movies, but to me, I was like, we got golden dragon on air on the Hallmark. Like that to me felt like such an accomplishment because I know they've never done one with a Chinese family.

[00:30:27] [SPEAKER_02] Yeah. It's huge. It's a, it's a huge deal. And for it to not just be a Chinese family, but for the risk of the plot structure, I think those two things together. Heather, I mean, that's a huge, it's monumental for Hallmark in 2022. So I mean, fantastic. And it's your first time writing for them. So that's pretty impressive too.

[00:30:48] [SPEAKER_00] Yeah. I think we benefited because we were not writing it for Hallmark.

[00:30:53] [SPEAKER_03] Yeah.

[00:30:53] [SPEAKER_00] We didn't even realize at the time how revolutionary it is for Hallmark. Cause I hadn't seen a lot. So we're like love actually, but I didn't realize then that they have never really done anything like that.

[00:31:06] [SPEAKER_01] No. Um, and then you direct tall girl too. Now I haven't seen tall girl. One or two. I understand the general girl who is tall. She's tall. But tall girl one was a big deal for Netflix. I remember seeing the poster everywhere and being like, wow, that girl's tall. Um, directing your first Netflix movie and it being a sequel of a movie that was a pretty good success for, uh, Netflix. Was that like double, double intimidating?

[00:31:36] [SPEAKER_00] Yes. So I still can't believe I got that job on it. Cause like, you know, for Netflix team rom-com, like that was a franchise movie.

[00:31:47] [SPEAKER_03] Yeah.

[00:31:48] [SPEAKER_00] Like it spun two movies and the first one was a huge success. And Zynga who drew the first one, like went on to bigger and better things. So she was not available when the second one came out, uh, came around. And I somehow just through like rounds of pitching got in. I got on my set. Now, prior to that, I had made go back to China, which was a movie made for like $400,000.

[00:32:13] [SPEAKER_03] Uh-huh.

[00:32:14] [SPEAKER_00] Tall Girl 2 was a $20 million. Oh, wow.

[00:32:18] [SPEAKER_03] That's a little different.

[00:32:20] [SPEAKER_00] I was like, what in the world? Like how did they just hand me this $20 million movie franchise? And I had never done anything this big before, but obviously they surrounded me with like really experienced producers and DP. Yeah.

[00:32:39] [SPEAKER_02] You can't keep it if you don't use it. You got to spend, you got to spend all that. You got to spend all that money. Right.

[00:32:46] [SPEAKER_00] Oh yeah. So it was definitely very nerve wracking, but I think having done Tall Girl 2, when I got on the set of Girl Hunt's Boy, it being my second, you know, studio movie of that size, it was definitely a much easier experience. But yeah, I was definitely scared out of my mind every single day.

[00:33:07] [SPEAKER_01] Yeah. Was the food good? Good crafty? Oh my God. It's $20 million. Better than $20 million. Do you get-

[00:33:13] [SPEAKER_00] They're feeding me like every fight. Like, what do you want to eat? What do you- I had a trailer. I was like, what is-

[00:33:19] [SPEAKER_01] Yeah. It was unbelievable. A trailer.

[00:33:21] [SPEAKER_02] Have you been on the set of any of your Hallmark movies while they're filming?

[00:33:25] [SPEAKER_00] So I, this is a set of Seal with a List.

[00:33:28] [SPEAKER_02] Okay.

[00:33:29] [SPEAKER_00] In 23. And you know what? I have to say, I know my Hallmark was like low budget, da-da-da-da. But I got on the set, I was like, wow, this looks like a real movie. They had trailers. They had like, you know, it's like a big traveling circus. It's just, they shoot it in 15 days.

[00:33:47] [SPEAKER_03] Right.

[00:33:47] [SPEAKER_00] But like, 12 or two, I have 33 days.

[00:33:50] [SPEAKER_02] Yeah.

[00:33:51] [SPEAKER_00] But like, it's the same amount. Like, I think-

[00:33:54] [SPEAKER_02] Yeah, it's the days is where you save all the money.

[00:33:56] [SPEAKER_00] It's the days. But like, they don't really skimp on the other stuff. Like, I think I saw a crane one day. Like, they have the production value, but it's just, but like, they have to cover eight to 10 pages a day. So you don't-

[00:34:11] [SPEAKER_02] This is crazy.

[00:34:12] [SPEAKER_00] The actors don't get a lot of takes. It's like, you do two takes and you move on. That's where it kind of gets really crazy.

[00:34:19] [SPEAKER_03] Yeah.

[00:34:20] [SPEAKER_00] But they have very similar amount of toys.

[00:34:23] [SPEAKER_03] Wow.

[00:34:34] [SPEAKER_02] Briefly, let's talk about Seal of the List because it's a great movie. It's a really, really great movie. And when you wrote it, I mean, the dialogue in this movie has a pretty zippy quality to it. You know, it has a very back and forth bantery quality to it. And for my money, the best at that on Hallmark is Katie Finley. So you're writing this. I'm assuming you're not writing it for Katie Finley. You're just writing it.

[00:35:00] [SPEAKER_02] When you watch it and you see Katie Finley, is that what you envisioned? Or were you like, man, I was really lucky that they got Katie Finley to do this?

[00:35:10] [SPEAKER_00] Honestly, I think the actors elevated that material. Because when I saw Katie and Evan, like going back, I was like, whoa, because they left her hand. That banter.

[00:35:20] [SPEAKER_02] You're right.

[00:35:21] [SPEAKER_00] Right. Like it's all about the delivery. And I think Katie and Evan has such great chemistry in that movie. It like, I think it elevated.

[00:35:33] [SPEAKER_03] Yeah.

[00:35:33] [SPEAKER_00] It made so many people's top 10 lists that year. And I really think it's everything. And then I thought like Lucy's directing Lucy Guest was so great. Like so many people shoot in like Martini Town for New York City. But she like really made it feel New York. Like I was very impressed. Again, you're not supposed to choose your babies. But I feel like out of all my Hallmark movies, I still with the list was the one that I was

[00:36:01] [SPEAKER_00] happiest with in terms of how it turned out. I remember after I saw, I called Alex. I was like, this feels like a Christmas movie if Emily Teen had directed it. Like it felt very much like my sensibility. So now I'm always like, go to Lucy first. You know, she's something. I think she did an amazing job with that one.

[00:36:24] [SPEAKER_01] Was this one after the Hallmark saw Christmas of the Golden Dragon, did they call you for this one? Or was it the same basic thing? You guys take it in Hallmark's like, we like it.

[00:36:36] [SPEAKER_00] So Sealed with a List was a movie that we've written. It was the first script that my writing partner and I wrote. So we've had that script for like 10 years. Oh, wow. As soon as like one of the earliest things we wrote when I moved to LA. And that movie went through so many iterations. At one point, like, you know, we were going to attach Aubrey Plaza as the lead. That checks. It became a Chinese company in China.

[00:37:06] [SPEAKER_00] Optioned it and wanted to make it. And that never got made. So it just got so close to getting made and then like never happened. And it just sat in our drawer or sat on our computer. And then when Golden Dragon was a success, Alex came to us. Was like, do you guys have anything else? We're like, well, we have this New Year's Resolutions one that takes this in December. We didn't write it like a holiday movie, but it could be a holiday movie. So he took it, showed it to Hallmark.

[00:37:33] [SPEAKER_00] Three weeks later, they have not worked this fast since.

[00:37:38] [SPEAKER_01] I was about to say, nice to know that they can do things in three weeks. That's crazy. It's crazy.

[00:37:43] [SPEAKER_00] By the time we sent it to Alex, yeah. And then him calling us saying Hallmark wants to buy it. It was only three weeks. And we're like, whoa.

[00:37:50] [SPEAKER_02] That's unbelievable.

[00:37:51] [SPEAKER_00] But that happened very fast.

[00:37:52] [SPEAKER_02] So we talked to, we have dear friends of the show, Nina Wyman Swift, Julie Sherman Wolf, who are writers for hire. Yes. They do have some of their own scripts, but by and large, Hallmark buys scripts. And then they get a treatment from someone that knows the Hallmark brand. And Christmas with the Sings, it appears that you have become a trusted name in the Hallmark writer sphere, because that is what happened with Christmas with the Sings. Yes?

[00:38:18] [SPEAKER_00] Yes. Okay. Patricia has sold, I guess, the movie to Hallmark in 2022. Wow. So it was like, you know, a two-year process. She wrote the treatment. I think she wrote the first two or three drafts. Because I was brought on, I think, in like May or June of 2024.

[00:38:39] [SPEAKER_02] Wow.

[00:38:40] [SPEAKER_00] Pretty late in the game. And I'm like, oh, you guys are shooting. And they were like shooting in July or something.

[00:38:47] [SPEAKER_03] Oh, my gosh.

[00:38:49] [SPEAKER_00] They wanted to shoot. But I think they didn't end up shooting until like September. But when I was brought on, they were like, yeah, we want to shoot this this summer. But we need help. We need someone to like Hallmark-fy it. And at the time, I've only ever done original scripts that we wrote as spec. Like, we've never been rewriters, like, for hire. So, you know, I was very flattered. But I was also very scared. I was like, oh, I've never written someone else's work before.

[00:39:19] [SPEAKER_00] So I'm not sure. But let me take a look at the script and see. And I really resonated with the story. Like, I think if this was another just typical, you know, girl goes to Belgium and saves. Chocolate shop.

[00:39:35] [SPEAKER_02] We really. Chocolate shops are catching strays this episode. And I'm here for it.

[00:39:40] [SPEAKER_00] They will assign me a chocolate shop.

[00:39:45] [SPEAKER_02] Emily Ting's untitled chocolate shop movie. Yes, of course.

[00:39:49] [SPEAKER_00] But I really resonate because, you know, I have a very tough Asian father. I'm in an interracial marriage. Like, there were so many things that I loved about it. And, you know, I was a little bit concerned that obviously I'm not Indian. Like, I don't want to step on any cultural things. But also, let's be honest. They don't have a lot of Asian writers.

[00:40:13] [SPEAKER_03] Yeah.

[00:40:14] [SPEAKER_00] I was like, who is the closest?

[00:40:17] [SPEAKER_03] Close enough.

[00:40:19] [SPEAKER_00] Close enough. No, I'm very grateful for this opportunity. But, like, there was a part of me that was like, why didn't they just find another Indian writer? But, oh, maybe.

[00:40:26] [SPEAKER_02] Maybe that wasn't possible. Yeah.

[00:40:29] [SPEAKER_01] They've only been at it for two years, Emily. Their stables can only get so big in a couple of years.

[00:40:35] [SPEAKER_02] I would hate to think that someone in Hallmark was like, China, India, same thing. But I also think that might have happened to someone somewhere. And that stings.

[00:40:45] [SPEAKER_00] Well, look, I'm grateful. Because they were not entirely off the mark. Because I was like, yes, I have a wife husband. Like, I, you know, like, I could do this. Like, I resonated. I love the father-daughter relationship. So, I was like, yes, let me take a stab at it. So, that was sort of like, yes, she wrote the original script. But having now myself done a few Hallmark scripts, there are certain beats you need to hit.

[00:41:14] [SPEAKER_00] The number one note is always more Christmas. What? So, you know, it's like a lot of the things that I'm kind of used to. And this was Patricia's first script for Hallmark. So, they kind of just needed someone to like, you know, like certain conflicts need to happen by certain acts, commercial breaks. So, I went in and I did that and like punched up all the dialogue.

[00:41:36] [SPEAKER_00] And I also like inserted a lot of personal things just like between my father and me, the whole, you know, different career path thing. That was inserted based on my own experience. So, yeah. Like, even though that was not a project I originated, I'm very proud of that film and really grateful that I got to be a part of it.

[00:41:56] [SPEAKER_02] How do you think Minoj Sood did?

[00:41:59] [SPEAKER_00] Amazing.

[00:42:00] [SPEAKER_02] Yeah.

[00:42:00] [SPEAKER_00] Yeah. Yeah. I love him. Yeah. And I know you guys really loved him too. And it's funny because like, as you saw, there were other Mean Parents movies.

[00:42:09] [SPEAKER_03] Yeah. Yeah.

[00:42:10] [SPEAKER_00] All over this last season. And we came out all due to his performance because he could have taken it.

[00:42:18] [SPEAKER_02] The tone is so important.

[00:42:20] [SPEAKER_00] Yes. In an extreme way. And then people would have hated him like Barbara. Like Barbara is a great actress, but also that character, which is harder to come around to. That's right. It's a fine balance between what's on the page and how the actors, you know, deliver it.

[00:42:36] [SPEAKER_01] That's right. And I guess it's The Girl Haunts Boy, your other Netflix movie. I imagine that came out of Tall Girl 2 and them seeing that and being like, you got what it takes. Let's do another.

[00:42:51] [SPEAKER_00] Sort of. But that movie also had its own backstory. That movie was not commissioned by Netflix originally. It was commissioned by HBO Max.

[00:43:01] [SPEAKER_03] Okay.

[00:43:02] [SPEAKER_00] So HBO Max did call me in for a general meeting because of Tall Girl 2.

[00:43:07] [SPEAKER_01] Okay.

[00:43:07] [SPEAKER_00] Because they were building their own live action teen rom-com slate. And they were like, she just did Tall Girl 2 for Netflix. Let's have her come in. And they gave me the script. And at the time, they were like, look, we have the script. Would you be perfect for it? But we're like going into hard prep in two weeks. Like we are supposed to choose our director like yesterday. So, but we love you and we want you to like pitch on it. If you want to, you have, this was like Friday. They're like, you have Monday.

[00:43:37] [SPEAKER_00] We're like a week. Oh my God. And I usually take like minimum a week, preferably two to like craft a vision for a movie. And you got to do a pitch deck and all of that. So I just, and I really wanted to work with HBO Max because who doesn't want to have HBO on their resume? So I just worked throughout the weekend. I did my pitch and they gave me an offer like that afternoon. They were like, you're going to fly to Jersey in two weeks.

[00:44:05] [SPEAKER_00] So that whole thing happened super fast, great experience. But then when I was in post, David's ass law for work and they kind of killed their entire 2020.

[00:44:19] [SPEAKER_01] You almost got, you got, what was it? Batgirl? Batgirl. You almost got Batgirl.

[00:44:23] [SPEAKER_02] Batgirl.

[00:44:24] [SPEAKER_00] Yeah.

[00:44:24] [SPEAKER_02] Unbelievable. Wow.

[00:44:26] [SPEAKER_00] We did. And I was like, what? Like I left my family for three months. I went to Jersey. Like, you know, it was a huge, we all got paid. Like we finished the movie, but still like.

[00:44:37] [SPEAKER_02] You want to see your. You want to.

[00:44:39] [SPEAKER_00] Yeah. This was a very lovely movie. So it kind of just died. And I'm like, okay, well there. Welcome to Hollywood. But then like earlier this year, early 2024, like January, 2024. So earlier last year, my producer called was like, we got the rights back and Netflix is going to put it out. I'm like, what? Like I assumed it was dead because HBO Max wrote it off their taxes. Wow.

[00:45:08] [SPEAKER_00] But because this was not as high profile as Batgirl, it was, you know, much lower budget. They were like, just give it back to the producers. Let's not delete this one from the server. Like somehow we were.

[00:45:20] [SPEAKER_02] Man, you got, you got to break there.

[00:45:23] [SPEAKER_00] Yeah. And Netflix bought it and now it's, it's a Netflix.

[00:45:26] [SPEAKER_01] Wow. We've been trying to buy a Batgirl for a while. We've been trying to buy Batgirl for a while. Oh, really? Yeah. It's. Yeah.

[00:45:33] [SPEAKER_02] That and the Looney Tunes one.

[00:45:34] [SPEAKER_01] I want to see.

[00:45:36] [SPEAKER_02] Emily, what can we, what news can we break about what you're working on right now that you want to announce to everyone?

[00:45:42] [SPEAKER_00] Well, I am working on a new movie for Hallmark for 2025. Love to hear it. Not for Hallmark if all goes well. I don't know if I'm supposed to say much about it, but the title is on IMDb. It's called Merry Friendsmas.

[00:45:57] [SPEAKER_02] Merry Friendsmas. Okay.

[00:45:58] [SPEAKER_00] That's right when Harry met Sally Omar.

[00:46:01] [SPEAKER_02] Ooh. Awesome. Stop selling. That's what I'm talking about. Brand, do we have time for a little rapid fire?

[00:46:07] [SPEAKER_01] I think we got rapid fire. We got time for rapid fire. We're just going to ask you three questions as quick as we can, and you can answer as quick as you want to. They can be about anything. Anything at all. Dan?

[00:46:16] [SPEAKER_02] Emily, the best Chinese food in Los Angeles. Wow.

[00:46:19] [SPEAKER_00] Oh, my God. Oh, my God. I should be better at this. Hold on. We're about to go out for Chinese food for Lunar New Year.

[00:46:32] [SPEAKER_02] Yeah, tomorrow. Yes.

[00:46:34] [SPEAKER_00] So we're going to. So actually, I'm going to plug a restaurant that I haven't even been to yet. But it's supposed to be a really, really good restaurant. It's called Array 36. My friend loved it. So we just booked a big banquet table. So we're going to have our Chinese New Year celebration there. It's supposed to be like the hot new Chinese restaurant.

[00:46:53] [SPEAKER_01] Hot new trendy Chinese restaurant. I love it. If you played professional sports, what number jersey would you wear?

[00:46:58] [SPEAKER_00] What? 88.

[00:47:03] [SPEAKER_02] Good answer.

[00:47:04] [SPEAKER_00] I have a lucky number.

[00:47:05] [SPEAKER_02] You can only write or direct the rest of your life. Which is it?

[00:47:11] [SPEAKER_00] This might sound surprising, but right.

[00:47:14] [SPEAKER_02] Wow. Okay.

[00:47:16] [SPEAKER_00] It's just a much easier schedule on my family. Fair. I love that.

[00:47:21] [SPEAKER_01] Yeah. That's fair. Where is somewhere in the world that you haven't been that you want to go?

[00:47:26] [SPEAKER_00] Ooh. You know, I really wanted to go to Croatia. Oh. I mentioned it because we were just talking about it for our family trip this summer. And I was like, I've never been to Croatia. I really want to go. So that's like in contention. There you go.

[00:47:44] [SPEAKER_02] If you could write or direct a movie that wasn't a rom-com or you were, what genre would it be? Or what director would that be modeled after?

[00:47:53] [SPEAKER_00] Well, that's a good question. I have always wanted to try like a psychological thriller, not horror, psychological thriller, just because it's so outside of my comfort zone.

[00:48:12] [SPEAKER_02] I like it.

[00:48:13] [SPEAKER_00] I think that could be interesting in terms of director. I have to think about it.

[00:48:20] [SPEAKER_02] That's a David Fincher movie is what that is.

[00:48:22] [SPEAKER_00] Oh my God. Okay.

[00:48:24] [SPEAKER_02] Right? Like David, that's when you said it. Yeah.

[00:48:26] [SPEAKER_00] It's a movie, right? Who wouldn't want to watch that?

[00:48:29] [SPEAKER_01] Yeah. Fair. Last one. If you were, if you could be a contestant on any reality competition show, which show would it be? How do you think you would do?

[00:48:41] [SPEAKER_00] Well, if this is the alternate universe, maybe the golden bachelorette. Oh. I'm sold for the regular. I don't believe that.

[00:48:51] [SPEAKER_01] No way. I don't believe that for a second. Yeah.

[00:48:54] [SPEAKER_00] I don't watch those competition shows, but I do watch those dating shows.

[00:48:58] [SPEAKER_02] There you go. Fair. There you go. Emily, we end every episode with a charity shout out. Our guest brings a charity. Charity shout out. Is that a new thing we're trying? That's a new thing. Our guest brings a charity. They talk a little bit about them. Then we donate some money and tell everybody else to do the same. Emily, what charity did you bring to us today? Yeah.

[00:49:15] [SPEAKER_00] Yeah. So as you know, LA just went through this very devastating fire. Luckily, my home and my family are safe, which we're very grateful for. But a lot of other people were not as lucky, including a lot of personal friends and people we know. So yeah. So today I just want to highlight the Wildfire Recovery Fund by the California Community Foundation.

[00:49:39] [SPEAKER_00] And they kind of funnel donations to all the organizations in need in the LA fires. Love it.

[00:49:47] [SPEAKER_02] A great cause. Absolutely on the forefront of a lot of our minds. And we will be donating and would ask all of our listeners to do the same. Emily, you have been an absolute delight. This has been wonderful.

[00:49:58] [SPEAKER_00] It's been so fun. Thank you guys so much.

[00:50:01] [SPEAKER_01] You got it. We can't wait to see what she got coming up next. We're very excited about it. And we'll talk to you soon. And until then, maybe we're the first to wish you a Merry Christmas.

[00:50:10] [SPEAKER_02] Deck the Hallmark is a Bramble Jam podcast is produced by Aaron Shea. What? For more information on Deck the Hallmark, you can go to deckthehallmark.com. For more information on the Deck the Hallmark family, you can go to bramblejamplus.com. Deck the Hallmark is presented by Philo TV. For a free trial of Philo, go to philo.tv slash dth.

[00:50:36] [SPEAKER_01] You're about to hear some ads that help keep the lights on here in the old studio. Thanks for listening or don't listen. It's really up to you at this point. It's at the end of the show. I mean, you're listening to me. Hi. But here they come. I promise they're coming. Yep. Here they are. Happy day.