Lionsgate and South by Southwest Conference and Festivals announced today that the world premiere of “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Raya and the Last Dragon” screenwriter Adele Lim’s directorial debut “Joy Ride” will premiere at SXSW on March 17. The movie follows four friends as they take a wild trip through Asia.
“Joy Ride” stars “Everything Everywhere All at Once” Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu, “Emily in Paris” star Ashley Park, Sherry Cola and Sabrina Wu as four friends who, according to the official plot synopsis, “embark on a once-in-a-lifetime international adventure.” When Park’s business trip in Asia goes awry, she calls on her friends to salvage the trip and it turns into a much wilder excursion than they could have ever imagined.
The film was written by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao from a story by Chevapravatdumrong, Hsiao and Lim. It is produced by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Josh Fagen, Chevapravatdumrong, Hsiao and Lim. (Goldberg and Rogen have plenty of experience with the SXSW crowd; “Neighbors” debuted to a particularly animated response at the festival years ago.)
“’Joy Ride’ is a wild romp with so much heart – it’s the perfect match for the energy and crowd that makes South by Southwest so special,” Lim said in a statement.
And she’s right – there have been plenty of big studio comedies that have debuted at SXSW in recent years including Rogen and Goldberg’s “Sausage Party,” “Get Hard,” “Spy,” “Trainwreck,” “Blockers” and “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.” They seem to get a big boost of hype and enthusiasm that usually carries them through to their eventual wide release later in the summer.
Before her feature film scripts, Lim worked as a writer and producer on a number of shows including “Veronica Mars,” “Lethal Weapon” and “Reign.” (Her first job was as a script supervisor on “Xena: Warrior Princess.”) Seeing her finally direct her own feature is very exciting indeed.
“Joy Ride” opens everywhere on June 23.
