Dark Matter (2008)

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TRIVIA

This is Chinese opera director Chen Shi-zheng's directorial debut.

COMMUNITY RATING

SPECS

• Project Phase: 
• Release Date: 2008-04-11 - NY and/or LA
• Distributor(s): First Independent Pictures
• Film Genre(s): Drama
• Country: United States
• 

SYNOPSIS

Written by Billy Shebar, inspired by a true story, set in the early 1990s, Liu Ye plays Liu Xing, a graduate student at an American university pursuing his Ph.D. in “dark matter,” an unseen substance that shapes the universe. Driven to compete against the highest echelon in his field, Liu Xing also tries to fit in with his community. At first, everything seems to go his way: he meets other Chinese students, sharing a cheap apartment together; flirts with a pretty American girl who works at a tea shop; and, with the help of a local church, is befriended by Joanna Silver (Streep), a wealthy patron of the university. When the head of his department, Jacob Reiser (Quinn), chooses him as his protégé, Liu Xing is convinced only hard work stands between him and a bright future. That is, until, his unique theories challenge Reiser’s own established work in the field. Excited that he could surpass his mentor, Liu Xing turns a deaf ear when he’s advised to “pay his dues” and not jeopardize the relationship. Instead, he clings to the idea that the American scientific community is a free market of ideas and American society is wide open to hard-working immigrants. But the choices he makes to get his work accepted leads to a downward spiral, both in terms of his standing at the university and within himself. Too proud to accept help from Joanna, and unwilling to return home to his parents, Liu Xing becomes a ghost-like presence at the university. Left alone with his shattered dreams, he explodes in a final act of violence.

RELATED NEWS

: 2008-01-16

This year’s spectrum section as a promising mix : 2007-01-18

  Myriad Pictures announced that Aidan Quinn has joined the cast. : 2006-06-29

  Variety reports that Val Kilmer has joined the pic. : 2006-01-27

  Variety reports that Myriad Pictures has acquired worldwide rights to the pic with Greg Kinnear joining the cast. The film is now slated for a spring production start in Utah. : 2004-11-03

 Variety reports that Meryl Streep and Chinese actor Liu Ye will star in the project. Ye plays the student. Production is slated to begin this fall in Utah. : 2004-06-24