Ashley Liao falls for Ross Butler and Nico Hiraga in Love in Taipei first-look photos
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An aspiring dancer falls for two wildly different suitors in EW's exclusive first look at Love in Taipei, Paramount+'s upcoming movie adaptation of Abigail Hing Wen's best-selling YA romance novel Loveboat, Taipei.
Ashley Liao (Physical, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes) leads the cast as Ever Wong, a young woman whose summer takes an unexpected turn when her parents surprise her with a trip to Taipei, Taiwan for a cultural immersion program. It's not quite the educational program she envisions, but instead a summer free-for-all that locals and other students have dubbed "Loveboat."
The experience lives up to its name when Ever finds herself caught between two love interests: Rick Woo, a sports prodigy played by To All the Boys' Ross Butler, and Xavier Yeh, a free-spirited artist and heir to a tech empire played by Booksmart's Nico Hiraga. Between these two love connections, Ever must also find the courage to defy her parents' expectations and pursue her true passion of dancing.
Dragon 5/Paramount+ Ashley Liao and Ross Butler in 'Love in Taipei'
Dragon 5/Paramount+ Ashley Liao and Nico Hiraga in 'Love in Taipei'
Chelsea Zhang (Daybreak, Titans) also stars as Ever's friend and fellow Loveboat immersionist Sophie, while Cindy Cheung (The Sinner, 13 Reasons Why) stars as Ever's aunt and guiding force, Shu. Arvin Chen directed and Ace Entertainment produced with a screenplay by Charlie Oh and Mackenzie Dohr. EW can also reveal that Love in Taipei will debut August 10 on Paramount+.
Dragon 5/Paramount+ Chelsea Zhang, Ashley Liao, and Ross Butler in 'Love in Taipei'
"The first time I read the script, it made me emotional," Liao tells EW via email. "Ever sits at the crossroads between following her passion for dancing and the expectations her parents have for her. I knew I had to be a part of this film when I heard they were looking for a Taiwanese actress to play Ever. Her story felt like a reflection of my own life, where I felt I had to choose between attending my dream university and my passion for acting."
Fans of the novel can expect some slight changes in the script to help further expand the story, as the source material is, after all, the first of three books. (Loveboat Reunion is out now, while the forthcoming Loveboat Forever hits bookshelves Nov. 7.) "The film ends in a different place than the first book and will definitely leave audiences wanting more," Wen, also an executive producer on the film, teases to EW. "I would love for audiences to get to see the rest of the characters' journeys play out on screen."
Dragon 5/Paramount+ Cindy Cheung and Ashley Liao in 'Love in Taipei'
Dragon 5/Paramount+ Ross Butler in 'Love in Taipei'
Dragon 5/Paramount+ Ashley Liao in 'Love in Taipei'
For Liao, getting to work with Butler and Hiraga "was a dream." "Having an Asian American cast with Asian American love interests is incredibly special to me because I didn't see a lot of girls that looked like me on the screen when I was younger," she says, noting that her role as teenage Sasha in the Ali Wong and Randall Park rom-com Always Be My Maybe was especially formative. "There has to be something between Asian American romantic films and dumplings because I eat xiaolongbao in both films," Liao quips. "I am so incredibly proud to be Taiwanese American and honored to get to tell these stories."
The film, she says, is ultimately about "following your dreams no matter how much they scare you and, if you're Ever, having a little fun while doing it too."
Love in Taipei releases August 10 on Paramount+. Check out the first-look photos above.
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