‘Loveboat, Taipei’: Ashley Liao & Ross Butler To Topline YA Romance From Ace Entertainment
Ashley Liao (Physical, Fresh Off the Boat) and Ross Butler (Netflix’s To All The Boys franchise, Shazam!) have signed on to star in Loveboat, Taipei, a romance film from ACE Entertainment and 1 Productions Film Co., which will enter production in Taipei later this month.
The film from director Arvin Chen (Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?) is based on Abigail Hing Wen’s New York Times bestselling novel of the same name. It centers on Ever Wong (Liao), whose summer takes an unexpected turn when her parents surprise her with a trip to Taipei for a cultural immersion program. Ever is surprised to discover that she hasn’t signed up for homework and history lessons, but instead for a summer-long free-for-all the locals and other students call “Loveboat.” It quickly lives up to its name when Ever finds herself trying not to fall for two attractive, but wildly different boys who are vying for her attention, while at the same time finding the courage to defy her parents’ high expectations and pursue her true passion: dancing.
Butler will play the dashingly handsome Rick Woo. Embarrassingly nicknamed “Boy Wonder” by the smitten Ever, Rick is an infamous prodigy in both sports and scholastics who has yet to meet his match… until he meets her.
Nico Hiraga (Booksmart) and Chelsea Zhang (Daybreak) are also on board to star, with Hiraga playing Xavier Yeh, the free-spirited heir to an international tech empire who is more interested in making art than he is in making millions—until he finds himself falling for Ever. Zhang will potray the confident and clever Sophie, Ever’s best friend at Loveboat who partners with her on an epic summer of exploration, love, heartbreak, and growth.
Loveboat, Taipei draws inspiration from its author’s own participation in the Loveboat program as a teen. The novel was published in January of 2020 by HarperTeen, an imprint of HarperCollins Children’s Books. Matt Kaplan’s Ace Entertainment (To All the Boys, The Perfect Date) is producing the film adaptation, with Butler and Wen serving as exec producers.
(via Deadline)
