DIRTY ROTTEN TOFU
and THE GOHAN GIRLS
Filmed in the Spring of 2021
Semi-finalist Short Script Competition (2019)
One of Top Ten Best Western Short Scripts for 2019
introduction
1880 was a presidential election year. "Yellow Peril" or fear and hatred of the Chinese was reaching its peak. The xenophobia resulted in the killing and burning of entire Chinese sections of towns all over the West. Asians were seen as less than human and Asian women were considered property to be used and discarded.
The film brings together the Wild West, strong female action heroes and the influences of science fiction, anime and martial arts films that have become a part of American pop culture. Picture "Kill Bill" goes west with a young Michelle Yeoh shooting up serious bad guys at the Mos Eisley Cantina in "Star Wars." That's "Dirty Rotten Tofu and the Gohan Girls."
The film has a predominantly Asian cast and takes place in a Chinatown that is not just a side story. It is a unique and entertaining twist on the traditional western inspired by true events and characters.
short film SYNOPSIS
Log Line: In the Wild West, three Asian girls are forced to kick some major ass to defeat the Chinatown crime boss who wants them back "Dead or Alive."
Sushi, Mochi and Ume are on the run from Tofu, the Chinatown crime boss who imprisoned them as prostitutes. After the girls' escape, he puts a bounty on their heads. The girls decide the only solution is to kill Tofu. Sushi, the leader, takes off on this mission. Her two companions, Mochi and Ume, separate from Sushi to confuse their trails. In a standoff at Tofu's Rising Sun Saloon, Tofu learns Sushi is not the same girl he once imprisoned. Sushi realizes it takes more than guts and extraordinary sharp shooting to defeat a gang of hired thugs and one dirty, rotten sonavabitch.
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full lengtH feature film
The western short film is a proof-of-concept for a full length feature showing the back stories of each girl and their training in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.
They are taken under the wings of such western legends as Annie Oakley, Chief Sitting Bull, and a drunken Chinese master called Old Lard Bucket. Sushi, Mochi and Ume must overcome fears from brutal pasts in order to become the formidable fighters needed to gain their freedom.
Tofu, the bar owner, drug dealer and pimp must constantly maneuver both the white crime world and Chinatown to maintain his position against his competitor, Bok Choy. When his partnership with the white hustler, Soapy Smith, turns deadly, Tofu manaages to turn the tables. After several bounty hunters fail, he hires the infamous Bloody Espinozas to finish the job. The action escalates to the final show down, guns blazing.
Keep checkin' in and hang onto your hats to see how this action packed feature project develops!