The Red Door: Production Notes

From day one, the success of "The Red Door" as a production has been about execution and focus on all levels, whether it was the actors nailing their lines or the crew staying on point. Ironically, the idea for "The Red Door" came about by accident. D.B. Cheng was contemplating whether he should call a Feng Shui Master for a consultation. Then the thought occurred to him that it would be quite funny if the Feng Shui Master didn't actually know Feng Shui. The concept for "The Red Door" was born. After some preliminary research on Feng Shui theory, D.B. started a treatment outline on the movie in November of 2007. By April of 2008, D.B. was ready to start production.

Learning from past experiences, D.B. knew that a strong cast and crew would be essential to shooting the movie, and key to helping him deliver a powerful, compelling story. Knowing that he could not do this alone, D.B. asked close friend, Elaine Mathews, to be associate producer. D.B. knew that she would be capable of organizing and aligning a dedicated production crew, and had an eye for set design. Elaine agreed to come on board and for the next two months, the two worked hard to lock down locations, find and create props, hold casting calls, and recruit production assistants.

Since the movie is about a Feng Shui Master, a series of homes were required as locations. In particular, the Feng Shui Master needed to live in a home that actually had Feng Shui implemented, so it was key to find a location that not only had the elements of Feng Shui, such as coins, plants, crystals, and chimes, and had furniture appropriately placed for "chi" to flow, but also had the appropriate kitchen for an aspiring chef. Once this location was locked in, research was conducted to understand how a home was actually assessed with Feng Shui. This included not only learning how to use a Chinese compass, but Feng Shui experts were tapped to understand the habits, mannerisms, and gestures that were characteristic of Feng Shui Masters in action.

"The Red Door" proved to be an interesting challenge from the beginning, especially for props. To obtain an authentic Chinese compass at the appropriate size for filming, San Francisco's Chinatown was investigated, but none there were quite right. Luckily, close friends were traveling to China and they were able to locate one after sending back cell phone pictures. Prop challenges were not over, though. A manuscript left behind by the Feng Shui Master's father also had to be created. It needed to appear a few decades old, with accurate Feng Shui drawings and sketches relating to key lessons meant to be passed along. Even more, there was a culinary school element to the movie.

The food in the movie had to be vibrant and worthy of a culinary school final. It needed to capture the nature of Thomas' character as he progressed during the movie. Jim Mathews was approached to not only create the art work for the manuscript, but to design the menus for the movie. He also became responsible for preparing all food on the set. His culinary expertise was used to train the main actor on cooking methods and preparation techniques.

When Jim was asked about his inspiration for the dishes, he said, "Because the shooting was taking place in July and August, I wanted something both appropriate to the heat of summer and vibrant enough to impress the viewer."

During auditions for "The Red Door", two actors stood out and had great chemistry together - James Lontayao and Ellen Ho. Both had positive attitudes and they fit in with D.B.'s vision of the "hopeless dreamer" and the "lively, energetic butterfly." D.B. knew they would be able to bring the characters in "The Red Door" to life. Similarly, Ceech Hsu (former member of the dance group Mind Tricks, today known as the Jabbawockeez as seen on MTV's "America's Best Dance Crew") was referred by Elaine to be part of the cast. He brought a strong sense of commitment to the production, and his "calm and cool", yet mentor-like, demeanor made him perfect for the role of Charlie.

It was through James Lontayao that Leo De Asis Jr. joined the crew as the director of photography. Leo's ten-plus years in TV and film proved to be invaluable and his laid back nature made him easy to work with. When asked what made him choose to work on this production, he commented, "…I told him [D.B.] that I would have to read the script. After reading the script, I enjoyed it and visualized everything, so I decided to help."

With the cast, crew, and locations in place, principal photography began on July 12, 2008 and ended on August 16, 2008. "The Red Door" was shot in ten days, only during weekends, thanks to the cast and crew tightly executing on every aspect of the movie from day one.

"It's amazing how well everything came together," said D.B. "It's definitely a testament to what this cast and crew can do."

Filming was typically an all-day process on both Saturdays and Sundays, where many days went as long as twelve to fifteen hours. Despite the long hours, the cast and crew remained focused. Not only did they work well together, the atmosphere was always light-hearted on the set. Timeless moments were caught on film and new friendships were made.

"Working on this production was like hanging out with friends and family; the kind that you like, not the annoying ones you see during the holidays. On days when we weren't shooting, I would find myself wishing we would be shooting, just because it was that much fun to be on set. Plus, the support everyone showed each other was amazing. I almost feel like at times I had too much fun making this film and I hope it shows, in a good way."

According to Ellen Ho, "This production was a lot of fun. D.B. told us exactly what he wanted, but also gave us space to explore the character and make it our own. Working with James was easy because we just somehow connect. We respected each other and worked together to make it all happen."

Overall, "The Red Door" was a great experience for both cast and crew. After six weeks of an intensive filming schedule, the cast and crew did not want any of it to end. A lot of hard work and dedication went into making sure each day of shooting was executed to the tee and it all came together so well. Perhaps some of it was hard work? Perhaps some of it was luck? Perhaps some of it was Feng Shui? Maybe it was all of the above. From its initial inspiration to final cut, "The Red Door" has been a whirlwind project, yet truly a labor of love.