Jimmy (Hiroshi Watanabe, LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA) loves dinosaurs and sleeps on the top bunk. Unfortunately, Jimmy is 40 and shares that bunk with Bob (Justin Kwong), his 10-year-old nephew. Freshly divorced, Jimmy lives with his sister Aiko (Japanese Academy Award winner Nae) and her family while boldly searching for a new wife. His brother in-law, Tak (Mio Takada, "Late Night with Conan O'Brien") thinks he’s a disaster. And although Jimmy may lack social grace, he is convinced the best years of his life are just beginning.  His plan seems like it’s all falling into place when Tak’s beautiful niece Ramona (Lynn Chen, SAVING FACE) moves in. But once Jimmy sets his sights on stealing her from his best friend Tim (James Kyson Lee, “Heroes”), he sees his intentions go hilariously awry. 

 

Hilarious and heartwarming, White on Rice "Hits every comedic beat with surgical precision." (AsianWeek)

HIROSHI WATANABE (JIMMY):
Hiroshi began his career in theatre in Tokyo, and soon ventured to Hollywood where he played numerous supporting roles, including a memorable comic scene in The Last Samurai opposite Tom Cruise. He previously worked with director Dave Boyle on Big Dreams Little Tokyo. In 2006, Hiroshi was chosen by Clint Eastwood to play the loyal Lt. Fujita in Letters from Iwo Jima. The film was an international hit and was nominated for multiple Academy Awards including Best Picture.

NAE (Aiko):
Nae (known in Japan as Yuki Nae) began her career as a pop singer, and made a succesful transition to film, winning a Japanese Academy Award for her role in Yoji Yamada’s popular film Gakko (A Class to Remember). Since then, she has kept busy with numerous roles in features and on Japanese television. Nae relocated to Hollywood, and played the female lead role in Letters from Iwo Jima and a supporting role in David Lynch’s “Inland Empire.”

MIO TAKADA (Tak):
Mio began his career in the arts as a concert violinist, and performed on film soundtracks. He joined the cast of “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” portraying such diverse characters as “Protected from 3-inch Bees Guy” and “God.” Recently, Mio has kept busy with supporting roles on NBC’s “Heroes” and many national commercials.

LYNN CHEN (Ramona):
Lynn is best known for her role as Vivian in the Sony Pictures Classics release “Saving Face,” for which she won the Outstanding Newcomer Award at the 2006 Asian Excellence Awards. She recently appeared in Lakeview Terrace opposite Samuel L. Jackson.

JAMES KYSON LEE (Tim):
James rocketed to fame starring as Ando Masahashi on the smash-hit NBC series “Heroes.” He recently appeared in the horror remake “Shutter,” and in the Sci-Fi Channel original film “Star Runners.”

JUSTIN KWONG (Bob)
Provo, Utah native Justin Kwong makes his acting debut in White on Rice. An aspiring architect and filmmaker, Justin is also a talented pianist. On set, he also served as 2nd Assistant Camera on many occasions.

DAVE BOYLE made his feature film debut as a writer/director with Big Dreams Little Tokyo, which was loosely based on his experience learning to speak Japanese while working as a missionary in a Japanese community in Australia. After premiering at AFI Fest in Los Angeles, the film became an audience favorite on the festival circuit and was picked up for distribution by Echo Bridge Entertainment. Big Dreams Little Tokyo was released on DVD in 2008. The film has been hailed as “Brazenly original and intelligent” (Home Media Magazine) and “Sweetly Quirky.” (USA Today) and has a growing cult following. Alongside Michael Lerman, Boyle is also a founding member of Tiger Industry Films, and served as Executive Producer on the 2008 film Natural Causes, which premiered at the SXSW Film Festival.

DUANE ANDERSEN (Producer/Editor) is the founder of Brainwave Film Group, a film finance and production entity dedicated to original director-driven films. He first collaborated with Boyle as the Producer and Co-Editor of Big Dreams Little Tokyo. Prior to that, Duane recieved an MFA in painting from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and taught college level art for a number of years. He directed an award winning short film, “Shooting People,” and an adaptation of Daniil Kharm’s surrealist classic “The Old Woman.”

DOMINIC FRATTO (Producer)was a co-founder of 6 Shooter Productions (now M6 Marketing), a multi-dimensional marketing, production and advertising agency. At 6 Shooter, Dominic produced more than 60 commercials for local and national companies. He founded Malatova Productions in 1999, which specializes in film and television marketing, along with feature film script development.

MICHAEL LERMAN (Producer) is Manager of Acquisitions for the Film Sales Co, an international sales agency based in New York. He also serves as a programmer for the Woodstock Film Festival and frequently contributes to indieWire. In 2008, he made his directorial debut alongside fellow Tiger Industry filmmakers Alex Cannon and Paul Cannon with Natural Causes, which premiered at the SXSW film festival. The trio is currently directing their follow-up feature.

MEGAN BOYLE (Co-Producer/Production Designer): Megan is the sister of director Dave Boyle, and served as a producer on Big Dreams Little Tokyo. Megan is an accomplished cellist, with a studio of over 40 students. She also is the founder of Petals and Blooms, a floral design studio.

JOEL CLARK (co-screenwriter) was an original member of the Bard College based comedy troupe “Olde English,” where he first met producer Michael Lerman. A gifted comedy writer, Joel makes his feature film debut with White on Rice.

BILL OTTO (director of photography) got his start shooting 16mm film of world reknown punk bands such as Circle Jerks, DOA, UK Subs and Motorhead at local live music venues in his native San Diego. After earning an MFA in cinematography from the American Film Institute, he first collaborated with Dave Boyle on Big Dreams Little Tokyo.

MARK SCHULZ (composer) began his career playing guitar and writing songs for Public Image Ltd (PIL). Since then, he has scored several movies including All the Boys Love Mandy Lane and Big Dreams Little Tokyo.

MICHAEL MCDONOUGH, M.P.S.E. (sound design) has created the soundtracks for 22 IMAX and Large-Format 70mm documentaries, and numerous films including The Black Cauldron, Forever Strong and the upcoming indie comedy The Jerk Theory. He has been a contributing sound designer on such films as Star Trek: First Contact and Demolition Man.