Extremely Unique Dynamic

RYAN and DANIEL, two childhood best friends and aspiring actors, spend one final weekend together before RYAN has to move to Canada with his fiancé. Wanting to create one lasting memory, they decide to make a movie... about two guys making a movie.. about two guys making a movie. Along the way, they unpack their decades-long friendship and prepare for the next chapters of their respective lives.

  • Ivan Leung
    Director
    Tender Bar (SAG Nominated, George Clooney), SKILLHOUSE, Sex Lives of College Girls, The Goldbergs, Superstore
  • Harrison Xu
    Director
    9-1-1, Shameless, Grey's Anatomy, Warped!, Young Sheldon
  • Katherine Dudas
    Director
    Juniper
  • Ivan Leung
    Writer
    Tender Bar (SAG Nominated, George Clooney), SKILLHOUSE, Sex Lives of College Girls, The Goldbergs, Superstore
  • Harrison Xu
    Writer
    9-1-1, Shameless, Grey's Anatomy, Warped!, Young Sheldon
  • Katherine Dudas
    Writer
    Juniper
  • Ivan Leung
    Producer
    Tender Bar (SAG Nominated, George Clooney), SKILLHOUSE, Sex Lives of College Girls, The Goldbergs, Superstore
  • Harrison Xu
    Producer
    9-1-1, Shameless, Grey's Anatomy, Warped!, Young Sheldon
  • Noel Do-Murakami
    Producer
    Skillhouse (2024 ) Produced by 50 cent and Ryan Kavanaugh
  • Ivan Leung
    Key Cast
    "Danny"
    Tender Bar (SAG Nominated, George Clooney), SKILLHOUSE, Sex Lives of College Girls, The Goldbergs, Superstore
  • Harrison Xu
    Key Cast
    "Ryan"
    9-1-1, Shameless, Grey's Anatomy, Warped!, Young Sheldon
  • Hudson Yang
    Key Cast
    "Hudson"
    Fresh Off The Boat ( Title Lead )
  • Nathan Doan
    Key Cast
    "Dan"
    3+ million on youtube
  • Valerie Yu
    Key Cast
    "Kathy"
    Yellowstone, Lucifer, This is Us
  • Lucas Liu
    Key Cast
    "Young Ryan"
  • Jason Sun
    Key Cast
    "Young Danny"
  • Kelly Lynch
    Key Cast
    "Harper"
  • Genres:
    Comedy, Drama, asian, asian american, gay, lgbt
  • Runtime:
    40 minutes 54 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 18, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English, Yue Chinese (Cantonese)
  • Shooting Format:
    Arri Alexa Mini (Digital)
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Ivan Leung, Harrison Xu, Katherine Dudas

Making their directorial debuts, Harrison and Ivan have both worked extensively in the entertainment industry for over 12 years.

Harrison has appeared on award-winning shows such as Shameless, Grey's Anatomy, 9-1-1, and American Horror Stories. He is also an accomplished voice actor, most recently dubbing the leads in the hit Netflix shows All Of Us Are Dead, The Glory, and Sweet Home.

Harrison has also worked as a marketing executive for studios like MGM, Open Road Films, Hulu, Blumhouse, and A24. Being both an experienced marketer and actor has given him a unique perspective on what it takes to create and market a successful product and has helped numerous projects open to #1 at the box office and win both Emmys and Academy Awards.

Ivan is best known for his work in both television and feature film, appearing in All American, Atypical, Superstore, Good Girls, Grey’s Anatomy, Superfly, Sex Lives of College Girls, SAG-Award nominated film - The Tender Bar (in which he co-starred with George Clooney and Ben Affleck) and lead of the upcoming film - SKILLHOUSE (Produced by Ryan Kavanaugh and 50 Cent of G-Unit films). Ivan is also known for his comedic rapping and the viral hit “Taco Loving Asian guy” and signed to Liquid Culture Records.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

As first-time filmmakers who have been professional actors the past 10+ years, we’ve seen tremendous growth in Asian-American and queer representation; however, we’ve rarely seen two Asian-American men leading a film, especially one featuring a gay and straight best friend. Under this unique lens, we wanted to tackle certain taboo conversations head-on, featuring regular dudes – not just stereotypical character types or super ripped leading men. Thus, Heroic Impact was formed to mark our filmmaking debuts.

We set out to make a genre-bending film that resonated with us, playing heightened versions of ourselves in a meta-movie to discuss tough conversations. In real life, Harrison (like his character) is grappling with the realities of moving to Canada and leaving his best friend behind and Ivan (like his character) is dealing with opening up about his sexuality. We wanted this film to be as truthful as possible, which often lead to extremely personal and vulnerable situations depicted on screen, but by leaning into the meta-ness of the story, we were able to openly discuss these topics.

There have also been numerous films about creating films (i.e. The Disaster Artist, The Fabelmans, etc.), but there has yet to be a movie about people making a movie… about people making a movie... about people making a movie. Our goal in making this film was to celebrate the joy of indie filmmaking by fostering a collaborative and inclusive production, and we hope that same sentiment spills over into our characters and their meta film(s) as well.

While on the surface this may seem like a pure comedy, it’s a comedy with a lot of heart; we explore sensitive matters truthfully with the intent of leaving a touching, lasting impact on all audiences. We hope that we rekindle our audiences’ sense of childlike wonder and inspire people to go out and make art. And most importantly, we hope audiences can relate to these characters and realize that while this dynamic may seem extremely unique, there are many of these stories out there that are just waiting to be told.