The Farewell
Based on an actual lie.
Country
Production
Budget
$3 000 000
Box office
$23 076 657
Director
Actors
Awkwafina, Zhao Shuzhen, Hong Lu, Hong Lin, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin, Yang Xuejian, Becca Khalil, Jiang Yongbo, Han Chen
All actors and roles (10)
All actors and roles (10)
Scenario
Producer
Chris Weitz, Peter Saraf, Marc Turtletaub, Andrew Miano, Lulu Wang, Daniele Tate Melia, Jane Zheng, Anita Gou, Eddie Rubin
Camera operator
Composer
Alex Weston
Artist
Audition
Leslie Woo, Anne Kang
Editing
Short description
A headstrong Chinese-American woman returns to China when her beloved grandmother is given a terminal diagnosis. Billi struggles with her family's decision to keep grandma in the dark about her own illness as they all stage an impromptu wedding to see grandma one last time.
What's left behind the scenes
- Screenwriter and director Lulu Wang stated in an interview that she seriously miscalculated the amounts of fees she had to pay to actors from China. For example, Zhou Shuzhen, who played the role of Nai Nai, is very popular in China itself, and Wang had to personally persuade her to take on the role.
- At the table, they tell a joke about a dead cat and a mother on the roof. The same joke was told by Sam Waterston's character while climbing rocks in the desert in Peter Hyams' thriller "Capricorn One" (1977).
- In the scene where Billy, Haiyan, and Haibin rush to the hospital, they speak in Chinese, but no subtitles appear on the screen. This was done to emphasize the universal feeling of confusion.
- The film's idea is based on a real-life story from Lulu Wang’s life – as shown in the film, Lulu’s family once lied to her grandmother about a diagnosis that offered no hope. This was done in a futile attempt to prolong her life, even just a little. The plot element involving a wedding where all relatives gather, giving them another opportunity to see their grandmother, is also taken from real life.
- In searching for funding, Lulu Wang faced serious problems. American producers objected to the all-Asian cast and demanded she add characters of Caucasian descent to the plot. Chinese financiers believed the entire story was too American in spirit and also insisted on adding white characters to the plot.
- Screenwriter and director Lulu Wang stated in an interview that she seriously miscalculated the fees that had to be paid to the Chinese actors. For example, Zhou Shuzhen, who played the role of Nai Nai, is very popular in China, and Wang had to personally persuade her to take the role.
- At the table, they tell a joke about a dead cat and a mother on a roof. This same joke was told by Sam Waterston's character while climbing cliffs in the desert in Peter Hyams' thriller 'Capricorn One' (1977).
- The idea for the film is based on a real story from Lulu Wang's life—as shown in the movie, Lulu's family once lied to her grandmother about a diagnosis that left her with no hope. This was done in a futile attempt to prolong her life even slightly. The plot element of the wedding, where all the relatives gather, giving them a chance to see their grandmother one last time, is also taken from real life.
- Lulu Wang faced serious challenges while searching for funding. American producers objected to an all-Asian cast and demanded that she add Caucasian lead characters to the plot. Meanwhile, Chinese financiers felt the story was too American in spirit and also insisted on the inclusion of white characters.
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Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
