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Video: Q&A Session Following the Screening of "Shanghai Calling"

Q&A session with producer Janet Yang following the screening of "Shanghai Calling," a romantic comedy about modern-day American immigrants in an unfamiliar land.

February 14, 2013
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Shanghai Calling was screened at the USC Ray Stark Family Theatre on February 8, 2013, followed by a discussion with producer Janet Yang.

 

This video is also available on the USCI YouTube Channel.

Synopsis
Shanghai Calling is a romantic comedy about modern-day American immigrants in an unfamiliar land.  When an ambitious New York attorney is sent to Shanghai on assignment, he immediately stumbles into a legal mess that could spell the end of his career. But with help from a beautiful relocation specialist, a well-connected foreign businessman, a clever but unassuming journalist, and a street-smart assistant, Sam might just save his job, discover romance, and learn to appreciate the many wonders Shanghai has to offer.

Janet Yang, Producer

Janet Yang is a prodigious Hollywood producer who has a long, deep relationship with China. Yang began her career in Hollywood when she represented Universal, Paramount, and MGM/UA in brokering the first sale of American studio movies to China since 1949. Yang has been named one of the “50 Most Powerful Women in Hollywood” by The Hollywood Reporter, and has been featured in articles in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Variety. She has appeared on numerous TV and Radio shows throughout the US and China, including CCTV and Beijing TV.

Yang’s previous productions include: Carl Franklin’s High Crimes, a military courtroom thriller starring Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman (20th Century Fox); The Weight of Water, directed by Academy Award-winner Kathryn Bigelow and starring Academy Award-winner Sean Penn (Lion’s Gate Films); and Zero Effect, a cult classic starring Bill Pullman and Ben Stiller. Yang executive produced and is a recipient of both the Emmy and Golden Globe Awards for Best Made for Television Movie for the HBO movie Indictment: The McMartin Trial. Yang was also executive producer of the groundbreaking film directed by Wayne Wang, The Joy Luck Club, based on the best-selling novel by Amy Tan and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures.

From 1989 to 1996, Yang served as president of Ixtlan, the company she formed with Academy Award-winning writer/director Oliver Stone. At Ixtlan, she produced The People vs. Larry Flynt, which won the 1996 Golden Globe Awards for Best Director and Best Screenplay, and garnered Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Actor.

Janet Yang holds a B.A. from Brown University in Chinese studies and an M.B.A. from Columbia University.  She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a member of the Committee of 100, and an advisory board member of Asia Society Southern California.

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