Time in USA with family

After living in China for 6 years, it is always nice to spend some time in the USA. Especially when my lovely kids are in the U.S. and I still live in Shanghai. I arrived home in Belchertown, Massachusetts on April 8 to freezing temperatures and chilling winds. Thankfully before I left I had some real spring weather and saw the cherry blossoms come out and heard the "peeper" tree frogs emerge and perform their spring serenade.

Speaking of serenades, my (former) sister-in-law Katerina Korolov lives with my kids currently and she has a lovely dulcet voice and is handy with a guitar, banjo and some other string instruments. 

Katerina Korolov plays guitar while singing a tune she composed

I guess that side of the family is responsible for the musical artisitry of my 14 year old Anastasia. Anastasia regaled me with her own musical skills. She has gone just a bit Goth on the fashion   but she is still primarily a sweet and lovely geek....

Anastasia Trombly provides musical accompaniment to her drama club musical play 

She is also playing musical accompaniment to the Belchetown middle school's drama club musical play.  I was honored that my teenager asked her director dad to help organize the show and assist the drama club teacher, Mrs. Edwards. It is an adaptation of the classic Peter Pan. Next stop: NeverLand....

Why is it almost all of Neverland's "lost boys" are girls?

My son was a delightful companion during the week of school vacation I shared with my kids. He is an active 11 year old boy. Always playing frisbee, hiking, biking, on the swing (or jumping from it) and swimming on the school swim team.

 Basil jumps off his swingset but is not as aerodynamic as Peter Pan

Took a nice day in Boston to visit the Boston Science Museum and saw the Omni-theater presentation Roving Mars about the Mars rover mission. We also visited Quincy Market in downtown Boston and the Boston Common.  

Richard and Basil Trombly hiking on Mt. Toby

Basil also accompanied my on a nice hike in Western Massachusetts on the fun climb up Mt. Toby to the summit. 

April 28 I parted with my sweet kids and boarded a plane ot China - 20 hours and a day lost over the international dateline later, I arrived in China.

 

Shanghai 2020 completes filming

19, April, 2009, Shanghai -- The Science Fiction action/adventure SHANGHAI 2020 wrapped filming today. The 20 minute short film is the brainchild or Meiwenti Productions founder Juan Vargas. This is a community film production using the resources of Meiwenti members and some creative but effective rundraising methods.

In a time when the entire economy is in a slowdown, Vargas and his Meiwenti Productions simply respond, "Meiwenti." This is Mandarin Chinese for "No Problem." That is the mindset that Vargas takes to film making.

The iconic  Shanghai 2020 "SWAT chicks" get ready for some action on set

The Meiwenti community approach to film making has allowed talented amateurs to connect with seasoned film professionals to rapidly produce quality film while providing essential cultural exchange between local Chinese and expatriate foreigners.

Even as this production wraps filming and prepares for postproduction by Meiwenti professionals, Vargas and Meiwenti are preparing for the next project. The independent feature film FATHER JOHN.

For more information please visit

www.meiwentiproductions.com

See more photos from the set of Shanghai 2020 at:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?page=1&aid=244651&id=741605563

"Father John" feature film casting now

I am preparing for directing the feature film, FATHER JOHN. A unique an spellbinding spy thriller much more in the Hitchcock style than a Bond 007 or a "Jason Bourne" action story. This is an independent film but we have great equipment, are attracting expert crew and are assembling a great list of credited professional actors.

Director: Richard@trombly.com

casting director: "Lola" Le Guan casting@meiwentiproductions.com

line producer: Juan Vargas juan@meiwentiproductions.com

to learn how you can get involved in this unique feature film project....

SYNOPSIS -- "Father John"

He is the nicest spy you could ever meet in London… He has just been re-assigned to Shanghai. His whole world is about to be turned upside down! 

"Father" John is aptly named for his gentle ways and reputation for always getting critical intelligence and "confessions" from even the hardest of sources. His style is uniquely suited to London, from polite society to the mean streets. He has it all - the respect of his office, a covert love affair and prospects for promotion after successfully unveiling a terrorist plot. That is, until one of his sources ends up dead, his cover is blown and a contract is issued on his life so John is reassigned – to Shanghai.

 

Shanghai is modern and international with a bright and shiny skyline, but there is a dark underbelly beneath it all. John finds a complex web of relationships and intrigue that takes him deep into the dark “long tang” lanes and the labyrinthine Xikumens of the real Shanghai. He must learn in this new environment to recognize his enemies from allies in this unfamiliar environment.

 

He starts out on the wrong foot with all the Shanghai office and gets beaten by a gang on the Shanghai streets. It seems his only friend is a dubious Russian named Yuri who claims to be in the shipping industry. Things turn around when he befriends  the office assistant everyone calls Susie and he cares enough to learn her native Chinese name, Fei Yuying. John enlists her aid to help him learn the ropes in Shanghai. She helps him make connections and unravel the levels of international deceit and deception. She also shows him some of the real China and its culture that the other foreigners miss as they travel only in the restrictive expatriate circles. 

 

John begins to master the situation is Shanghai, but he finds he is up against the Russian mafia, Korean crime lords and the same terrorist organization that he faced in London. Will he be able to navigate these turbulent waters, bring down the terrorists and save London before they can carry out their contact on his life?

Visiting my kids, birthday party

I am about to wrap on the filming of Distance Runners, so after a quick trip to Hong Kong I will drop my stuff in Shanghai, pay my rent and pet my dogs, and desert them yet again. (a friend and a maid care for my dogs during my frequent travels)

One of my dogs, Xingxing ("star") 

The reason I am running to America without taking a break from running non-stop since preproduciton for Distance Runners is that I have not seen my kids in 4 months!!!!!!!! 

I visited my kids and my dad in the fall of 2008

But I get to go home and see them for 3 weeks while i work on the initial preproduction on the film Father John that I will be directing in May and June.

My daughter is having a birthday party for her 14th birthday. She is an amazing young lady. She is a programmer with Linux installed on her computer and is programming in PHP, Wordpress and a few other programming languages and she has some business clients. She is a lovely and beautiful young girl.... AND a self-professed "nerd" (like her dad), a devoted reader of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaimon, and a devoted Dr. Who fan.

Anastasia has her own unique style.

 Oh yeah, she now plays electric violin in a garage band too. :-) 

Anastasia Trombly plays her (non-electric) violin last Christmas when i was in USA at Christmas

My son Basil is a creative young artist. He is an engineer at heart I think. He is always designing things like space stations and vehicles and when he was younger made amazing worlds in a wondrous land of Lego blocks. He is now 11 1/2 and eagerly awaiting the chance to spend Spring holidays hiking and boating with his dad. He is also quite a swimmer and a member of the "stingray" swim team at his school. 

Basil's 11th Birthday party

While I am excited to get on to my next film project in China, nothing is better than some time with the family, the kids that I love.

Distance Runners films in Kunming College

March 26, 2009, Kunming -- Distance Runners spent 3 days filming in various locations within the Kunming College of Science and Technology, Oxbridge College Campus. This served as hospital, therapist offices, training grounds and more.  

Andrew Edelson plays Dr. Alistair Crane the doctor and mentor that helps Li Shan overcome his injuries after a crippling accident. 

"Alistair"  shares his wisdom with "Li Shan" 

The charming "Xu Mei" (singer Li-Tong Hsu) played the role of a traditional Chinese medicine doctor skilled in accupuncture and Eastern philosophy. This doctor team brings about the physical and spiritual recovery of Li Shan. 

Of course there is always some fun on the movie set.

"What is the diagnosis, Doctor?"

"Dude, you are like sooooooo crippled - ha, ha, ha..."

After wrapping the Oxbridge Campus location, we started looking at filming the ultramarathon scenes. We had a day off while director Robert Vicencio visited key locations for filming the ultramarathon race featured in this film. 

Camer a operator He Yun uses the RED ONE camera on a Steadicam unit

Filming running scenes is difficult and a marathon is not about speed and fast-paced competition, so the challenge for the director is to keep up the excitement with great cinematography, fast-paced editing, and a gripping story. Obviously we needed to use vehicle shots, steadicam and lots and lots of extras to film a race.

Nearly finished shooting Distance Runners film in Kunming, China

April 3, 2009, Kunming -- 

The race phase of the Distance Runners film shooting schedule is finished after a long week of shooting. Even though this is not generally the rainy season in Yunnan, the weather was not always on our side. This is largely due to the week of rain induced by Kunming government "cloud seeding" to make it rain. 

While the scenes in the rain helped to give the feeling of a grueling and arduous race, it is no fun filming in the rain. And even in Yunnan, where the weather is temperate, the wind and rain can get pretty bone-chillingly cold. 

"Josh" and "Katsuro"  battle for the lead

The actors and the crew were relieved to have some sunny days to shoot in as well. There are some beautiful locations in Yunnan. We are fortunate to get a chance to shoot out in such a beautiful region of China.

"Josh" is an arrogant British runner who seeks victory at any cost

Director Robert Vicencio has combined his unique dramaturgical mastery and the amazing RED ONE camera to make the most of his vision with a dramatic road race traversing the rugged countryside of Yunnan while lead character "Li Shan" has flashbacks of insight into his troubled past.

Lead actor Shao Wen puts on the speed and passes another competitor

"This film is intented to portray a spiritual journey," says scriptwriter and associate producer Richard Trombly.  "As Li Shan travels through the 188 km endurance course, we see flashes of the past that led him to undertake such an extreme challenge."