Stand-up comedian Jo Koy who is best known for his jokes about his Filipino upbringing is heading to the big screen through the film Easter Sunday. It tells the story of struggling comedian and single father Joe Valencia, who reunites with his dysfunctional Filipino family to celebrate Easter Sunday.
Watch the trailer for Easter Sunday below:
If you’re planning to see Easter Sunday in theaters this week, then we’ve got some fun facts for you to check out! Here are some details about the new comedy film you might want to know about.
1. The Steven Spielberg produced the film out of love for Jo Koy.
Steven Spielberg, who brought life to some of the biggest movie franchises in cinema history such as Jurassic Parks, JAWS, and Indiana Jones just to name a few, produced the film because he loved Jo Koy’s performance in the Netflix special Comin’ in Hot.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the comedian recalled how he walked into Amblin and was told that the director loved him. Shares Jo Koy in the interview, “[Steven] wanted to know what kind of movie idea I had and I pitched this one. From the minute he said, ‘We’ll buy it’ to this day right here, he’s had his hand in every step of the way. I love you, Steven.”
2. It’s the first film with an all-Filipino ensemble produced by a major Hollywood studio.
While there have been other US films depicting the Filipino-American experience, Easter Sunday will be the first title produced by a major Hollywood studio, Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment, alongside Dan Lin’s Rideback. The latter is known for producing The Lego Movie franchise and the IT franchise. Amblin Partners and Universal Pictures share Easter Sunday’s international distribution rights.
3. Other stand-up comedians join Jo Koy in the new film.
Jo Koy isn’t the only veteran comic to star in the film, as other popular stand-up comedians join him on Easter Sunday. These include Brandon Wardell who plays his son, Joe Valencia Jr.; Tiffany Hadish who plays Vanessa, a police officer that Joe shares a history with; and Jimmy O. Yang, who stars as the hustler Marvin on top of being an executive producer for the film.
Speaking about producing the movie, Yang told Slash Film in an interview: “Of course, I’m like, ‘What about else I can do to bring value to help as an actor?’ And I wanted to play an even bigger part, but I couldn’t because of my schedule with Space Force, so I ended up, still able to do this cameo and was there on the first day of the shoot, which is very special.”
4. Even the director is a stand-up comedian.
The film’s director, Jay Chandrasekhar, is also a stand-up comedian and is best known for directing the Super Troopers film franchise, The Dukes of Hazzard, and episodes of Community and The Goldbergs. Aside from being in the director’s chair, Chandrasekhar is also part of the cast. In an interview with Collider, the director shared how he approached the movie.
“I’m a standup, [Jo Koy] is a standup. So I said to him, ‘We got to make a really funny movie because people are going to expect it to be …’ They’re not like, ‘Hey, Filipinos are in it, it’s great.’ They’re going to want to be a really funny movie. Then we’ll also have all these Filipinos in it, and then that part will advance the cause. So we agreed to just make sure we’ve made a full-on, funny movie,” explained Chandrasekhar.
5. Veteran Hollywood actors Lou Diamond Phillips and Tia Carrere are also part of the cast.
Also joining Joe Valencia’s Filipino cast in the film are veteran actors Lou Diamond Phillips and Tia Carrere. Phillips has starred in multiple movies and shows since the ’80s including La Bamba, Miami Vice, Criminal Minds, and Courage Under Fire just to name a few. He also voiced Mayor Sancho Santamaria in Netflix’s animated series Trese. Meanwhile, Tia Carrere has starred in films and shows such as Wayne’s World, True Lies, Rising Sun, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
“I’ve played Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, everything under the sun, including the silent Asian girl in the corner that looks lovingly at her white boyfriend and says nothing. It’s been a long road to where we get to be front and center,” Carrere told EW in an interview about the new film.
Also part of the cast are Eva Noblezada, Lydia Gaston, Elena Juatco, Rodney To, Eugene Cordero, Melody Butui, and Joey Guila.
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Easter Sunday opens in cinemas nationwide this Wednesday, August 31, 2022. Book your seats in advance and buy your tickets here.
