LIVE. LOVE. EAT. Tired of being invisible in a bland marriage,
Emma moves in with her son Elliot, in his downtown LA loft.
Elliot is a chef at a lackluster Chinese restaurant facing
foreclosure. Also he is gay and Emma s distaste and denial over
this has made strangers of mother and son. But the two need each
other now more than ever, and as Emma indulges herself with the
encouragement of a saucy new friend, and Elliot confronts his
fears of intimacy, the pair find ways to communicate with food
where words fail. This auspicious directorial debut from David Au
offers a fresh take on life, love and food in the heart of Los
Angeles through a deliciously emotional and redemptive story
supported by an earnest cast led by Sharon Omi, Teddy Chen
Culver, Nicole Sullivan (MADtv) and a surprise moment with George
Takei.
Review
------
Independent Film Gems Have Encore Screenings After Thanksgiving
Kevin Thomas, Examiner.com On Thursday, Dec. 4, another Frameline
gem is screening in San Francisco - "Eat With Me." If you're
broke from holiday shopping, don't worry as this 7pm screening at
the Roxie Theater is free. This wonderful, funny and touching
film was well received at the Frameline Film Festival and the
buzz has not stopped. "Eat With Me" follows a trend of films in
2014 with food being one of the main focuses. Like "Chef" and
"The Hundred Foot Journey," this movie embraces food and should
appeal to everyone who is a foodie. It's the story of a man whose
Chinese restaurant isn't doing very well and then his mother
comes to stay with him and ignites a passion in him to make
better food, which inspires him to think outside the box. Oh, and
he's gay. Didn't mention it earlier as it's so refreshing that a
"gay" movie doesn't make the entire film about being gay. Being
gay doesn't completely define any of us - and it doesn't define
this movie either. Even fans of quality films that perhaps aren't
keen on a gay subplot might make an exception with this well-told
story. --Examiner.com
Finds from the Festival - Gary Kramer One of the highlights at
the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival this weekend is
writer/director David Au s Eat with Me. This undemanding,
low-budget charmer has Emma (Sharon Omi) leaving her husband and
moving in with her gay son, Elliot (Teddy Chen Culver). Emma is
reluctant to talk about her marital crisis with her son, which is
fine, because Elliot has trouble talking to his intense mother.
Over the course of this poignant comedy-drama, both Emma and
Elliot learn to drop their rigid defenses and each step out of
their comfort zones. She takes some ecstasy (albeit accidentally)
with Elliot s wacky neighbor (Nicole Sullivan) and befriends gay
icon George Takei (playing himself). Meanwhile, Elliot finds
himself attracted to Ian (Aiden Bristow), a handsome musician.
Eat with Me is not deep, but it is enjoyable and perfectly
suitable for sons and mothers. --Philadelphia Gay News
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About the Actor
---------------
SHARON OMI as EMMA SHARON OMI works in theatre, film, and
television, appearing in plays at the Ahmanson, Mark Taper Forum,
South Coast Repertory, American Conservatory Theatre, Berkeley
Repertory Theatre, and East West Players, among many others. She
most recently performed in ELEKTRA at The Getty Villa, NO NO BOY
at the Miles Memorial Theatre and BLOOD WEDDING at the Odyssey
Theatre. She had the good fortune of working with David Au in his
short film FRESH LIKE STRAWBERRIES and has also appeared in the
films REMOVAL, PROM, CONSTANTINE, SPIDERMAN 3, 50 FIRST DATES,
YELLOW, TERMINAL USA and ONLY THE BRAVE. Her television credits
include, MODERN FAMILY, THE BIG BANG THEORY, SECRET LIFE OF THE
AMERICAN TEENAGER, LOVE BITES, SOUTHLAND, BOSTON LEGAL, among
others.
TEDDY CHEN CULVER as ELLIOT Born and raised in the San Francisco
Bay Area, Teddy Chen Culver excelled in athletics before pursing
the Dramatic Arts. He passed on Collegiate Baseball Scholarships
to attend Cornell University, where he nurtured a passion for
acting, leading to starring roles in film and TV shows including
ABC s FLASH FORWARD , NBC s THE EVENT and LAW & ORDER: LA , FOX s
HOUSE and most recently recurring on ABC s "GENERAL HOSPITAL". As
Writer/Director/Actor, Teddy s film The Boxer (Co-Directed with
David Au) won the GRAND PRIZE for SPIKE TV s / CAPE Digital
Shorts contest for his film.
AIDAN BRISTOW as IAN Aidan was born in Preston, England, and
grew up in Perth Australia before making the US his home. He went
to the College of William & Mary where he studied Finance and
successfully got a job offer working on Wall Street with JP
Morgan Chase. Film and Cinema have always been a love for Aidan
as kid, and although he wasn t sure he wanted to be an Actor he
knew his path didn t involve working 100 hour weeks in a bank.
Upon coming to LA, he first interned in the finance department of
Revelations Entertainment where he worked on film budgets. All
the while, he pursued student films and went on auditions for
small films. He took it upon himself to get training and has
studied with David Giella, Larry Moss, Aaron Speiser, and at the
Aquila/Morong studio. Since moving to LA Aidan has put together
an impressive resume of feature films, and gotten to work on
films with impressive talent such as Sally Kirkland, Michael
Madsen, Sean Young, Don Stark, and Brad Blaisdale. He continues
to audition, train, and steadily work his way to being the best
at his craft.
GEORGE TAKEI as GEORGE Best known as Hiraku Sulu in the Star
Trek franchise, George is a vocal activist for LGBTQ and Asian
American issues. He studied architecture at UC Berkeley and
transferred to UCLA where he earned his MFA. He was a recurring
character on Heroes and has appeared on Psych, Hawaii Five-0,
Archer, The Simpsons, Futurama and Phineas and Ferb. Joined
project before principal photography, June 2013.
NICOLE SULLIVAN as MAUREEN Nicole Julianne Sullivan is an
American actress, comedian, and voice artist. Sullivan is best
known for her six seasons on the sketch comedy series MADtv and
five seasons on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens. She has played
a recurring character on Scrubs and voiced the villainous Shego
in Disney s Kim Possible. She had recurring roles on Family Guy
and voiced Franny Robinson in Disney s Meet the Robinsons. From
2008 to 2009, Sullivan starred in and was the lead of her own
Lifetime television series Rita Rocks. Currently she voices
Marlene in the series The Penguins of Madacar. Sullivan also
currently appears as Jules therapist, Lynn Mettler, on the comedy
Cougar Town.
About the Director
------------------
DAVID AU - Writer/Director/Producer/Editor David Au attended Los
Angeles Film School in 2002, where he wrote and directed, Fresh
Like Strawberries, that went on to play at film festivals and was
featured on LOGO s 2008 Click List and MNET s 2011 Short. He also
directed, The Boxer which was featured on MNET s 2011 Short
Notice. David is also a film editor. His credits include two
feature narrative films The American Dream, and August, which are
both on DVD & VOD now.. He recently edited a feature documentary
depicting the work of a famous sexologist, Betty Dodson, in NYC.
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