Chinese-American cult film star Bai Ling is at AFM this week talking about her directing debut My Quarantine Romance With Toilet Paper to the industry, poolside at market hub, Le Meridien Delfina.
Bai, whose acting credits include Red Corner starring Richard Gere and The Crow with Brandon Lee, self-funded the completed film that began shooting in Beverly Hills in August 2020. She says her inspiration came from her experience of the pandemic after returning to Los Angeles following a trip to Kazakhstan. “I have many fans on Instagram, and they wanted to meet me. I asked, “Do you have toilet tissue?” If you have toilet paper, I will meet you. “
Here she got the idea to create a film about an online pandemic woman who meets 12 males and convinces them to give her a roll of toilet paper in exchange for sexual favors. “It is a love story,” confirms Bai. [to use]Bai found her 22-strong cast via Craigslist and social media. Bai is the star, wrote the script and the soundtrack, and produces the film through her US-based company White Spirit.
“This is a language of new film.” Bai describes herself as a female Quentin Tarantino.
She’s now looking for theatrical distributers and would love to see it turned into a Broadway production. “Streaming has transformed the industry.” It has opened up the industry to more people. She beams, “I’m excited about my life right now.”
