We were joined on the Popternative show by Lana Condor (To All the Boys franchise, Moonshot) and Ross Butler (13 Reasons Why, Love in Taipei) who star in the new rom-com, Worth the Wait, which debuts today on Tubi. Directed by Tom Shu-Yu (Yen and Ai-Lee, The Garden of Evening Mists), Worth the Wait follows the lives of multiple Asian-American strangers that fatefully intertwine as they navigate budding love, confront profound loss, and encounter old flames.
The cast also includes Andrew Koji (Black Doves, Warrior), Sung Kang (Weekend in Taipei, Fast & Furious) Elodie Yung (The Cleaning Lady, Daredevil), Karena Ka-Yan Lam (Zinnia Flower, American Girl), Osric Chau (Blood and Water, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency), Ali Fumiko Whitney (Find Me Falling, All My Friends Are Dead), Ricky He (From, The Good Doctor), and Kheng Hua Tan (Kung Fu, Crazy Rich Asians).
In Seattle, a rideshare to the hospital fatefully brings together Kai (Ross Butler), Teresa (Karena Ka-Yan Lam), Nathan (Osric Chau), and Curtis (Sung Kang). Kai meets Leah (Lana Condor) upon arrival and immediately becomes smitten. The two have a magical first date, but because Kai lives in Malaysia, they must attempt a long-distance relationship. Meanwhile, Teresa and Nathan have a stillbirth, to their devastation. They grieve, seek healing, and eventually try to conceive again. Curtis has been busy raising his high school niece, Riley (Ali Fumiko Whitney), who is in love with Blake (Ricky He). The teens inspire Curtis to give dating another chance while they navigate the realities of young romance. Across town, famous actress Amanda (Elodie Young) discovers that her new director is none other than her former fiancé, Scott (Andrew Koji), whom she hasn’t seen in a decade. They confront the persistent “what ifs” of their prior relationship and whether time has truly changed who they are.
The rom-com genre is certainly not new terrain for the the two leads as they’ve both had roles in past popular projects. “In the rom-com space, because I’ve done rom-coms before, I am very well aware of what works, what audiences like to see. I do really take into consideration; the things that people have loved in the past. Nostalgia is a major major reason why the genre is so successful,” Lana says.
“I like playing the lost characters because I feel like I learn [something] from every character that I play and it’s a reflection of something that I’m dealing with on in the inside. So, with this movie it’s about not having to feel like you have to live up to your parents’ standards. I have felt that in the past and I’ve played characters like that before,” Ross adds.
Ross and Lana also discuss filming the various kinds of scenes for Worth the Wait: “There’s a scene where we’re on the steps with the monkeys and that was a crazy process. [Lana] is terrified of monkeys, and that was like a two minute scene or even less than that, and I was like ‘wow, that really went by,’ we spent all day on that,” Ross says.
Watch the full conversation with Lana Condor and Ross Butler below.
Worth the Wait is streaming on Tubi.
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