Hollywood film highlights the White Terror period, Will Tiao spreads Taiwan's democracy

News Reporter: Shih Fangling, Taipei-Los Angeles Segment Report

(Translated from http://www.libertytimes.com.tw/2006/new/aug/30/today-show4.htm)

A movie highlighting Taiwan's White Terror period is now in the making in Hollywood. The movie, "Formosa Betrayed," under the direction of Taiwanese-American actor and producer, Will Tiao, aims to be the Taiwanese version of "Munich." The total budget for this project is US $12 to 15 million (about $.39492 to .49365 billion New Taiwan Dollars).

Exposing Chinese nationalist intimidation and threats to democracy

Born in Kansas to Taiwanese parents, Will Tiao has recently risen above many of Hollywood's hopeful new stars. His website, launched in July 2006, recently announced the production of "Formosa Betrayed," resulting in 20,000 visits in just three weeks.

Tiao said he was very surprised by the amount of enthusiasm created in such a short period of time. He has already raised 100% of the funds needed for the pre-production of the film. The story of "Formosa Betrayed," set in the 1970s and 1980s White Terror period in Taiwan, depicts the murder investigation of a Taiwanese-American professor who's pursuit for Taiwan's democracy and independence leads to his death. Through the eyes of the detective investigating the case, the story reveals many dark aspects of an autocratic regime.

Presenting Taiwan's democratization through film

Although the time period and storyline of the movie may lead people to assume that the story is about the murder cases of journalist Henry Liu and Carnegie Mellon Professor Chen Wen-Chen, in actuality the film's story is fictionalized, using Taiwan's history as a background. Nevertheless, Tiao doesn't deny that the motive behind shooting this movie is to let the world know the true struggle of Taiwan's pursuit for democracy.

As an overseas Taiwanese-American with many years of experience in politics, Tiao has extensive knowledge about Taiwan's status in the international community. He has found that, in recent years, foreigners learn about Taiwan not through politics, but through movies and pop-culture. For example, many foreigners have little knowledge about Taiwan-China relations, but many know that Ang Lee comes from Taiwan. For this reason, Tiao intends to make "Formosa Betrayed" as a great suspense movie, by using simple yet shocking approaches to present the story of Taiwan's democratization. The movie will be fast-paced, and very, very Hollywood. His goal for the movie, as mentioned, is for it to be a Taiwanese version of Stephen Spielberg's "Munich". Both movies are based on true events which took place in the past, but with fictionalized details. The movie will show events that are ultimately controversial, but which no one currently addresses. Furthermore, the events reflect salient issues that still affect the world today.

"Formosa Betrayed" looking for tri-lingual actors

Because many conversations in this movie will be conducted in English, the actors need to be able to speak Chinese, Taiwanese, and English. Actors to play the lead roles in "Formosa Betrayed," which include an American detective and a Taiwanese spy, have not been selected. Will Tiao, the Executive Producer of the movie, does not rule out the possibility of playing some role himself, but also said that he will come to Taiwan to search for talented actors.

Dominique Forma, a rising French director who has gained critical acclaim for his work on the suspense film, "Scenes of the Crime", will direct the film. "Formosa Betrayed" is expected to start shooting next year in both Taiwan and the US, and to be in theatres by 2008.

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