In 1993, Ang Lee’s Oscar-nominated romantic comedy “The Wedding Banquet” hit theaters. Director Andrew Ahn (“Fire Island”) will be helming a remake of Lee’s film for Bleecker Street and Shivhans Pictures. The script is co-written by Ahn and James Schamus, who co-wrote the original movie with Lee and Neil Peng.
“The Wedding Banquet” remake will star Lily Gladstone (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), Bowen Yang (“Saturday Night Live”), Kelly Marie Tran (“Me, Myself & the Void”), Oscar winner Yuh-jung Youn (“Dog Days”), and Joan Chen (“The Heart”).
The movie tells the story of Min, whose boyfriend Chris rejects his marriage proposal. So he does what any reasonable person would, convinces his best friend Angela to marry him instead. The deal is, that he will pay for her partner’s IVF treatments since the marriage will allow him to get a green card. Things begin to unravel when Min’s grandmother makes a surprise trip from Seoul to throw the couple a wedding banquet.
A Lee-Approved Remake
“It warms my heart to see how my film from so many years ago has inspired a new generation to reimagine a new and different version,” Lee said in a statement. “I look forward to seeing what Andrew Ahn and his wonderful cast create.”
Co-writer Schamus will be producing with Joe Pirro under their Symbolic Exchange banner. Alongside producers Anita Gou and Caroline Clark of Kindred Spirit, and Jordan Hart. Andrew Karpen, Shivani Rawat, Kent Sanderson, Julie Goldstein, Sam Intili, and Daniel Bekerman will executive produce.
“I’m delighted to re-team with my longtime friend and colleague, James Schamus, on this inspired reimagining of a classic rom-com for the modern era,” Karpen, founder and CEO of Bleecker Street, said “Andrew Ahn is a force to be reckoned with and I’m very excited to see the new heights that he and James will take this story to.”
“The Wedding Banquet” is set to start filming in Vancouver this May. Bleecker Street and ShivHans Pictures are planning for a theatrical release sometime in 2025. We’ll keep you posted on updates about this project as they become available.
