Adrian Tomine & Randall Park + Jennifer Szalai: Shortcomings - A Screenplay

Join us for an in-person event with graphic novelist and writer Adrian Tomine and actor and director Randall Park for a discussion of Shortcomings: A Screenplay. Joining Adrian and Randall in conversation is the nonfiction critic at The New York Times Jennifer Szalai. This event will be hosted in the Strand Book Store's 3rd floor Rare Book Room at 828 Broadway on 12th Street.

Can’t make the event? Purchase a signed copy of Shortcomings: A Screenplay here. 

STRAND IN-PERSON EVENT COVID-19 POLICY:

Masks and vaccination checks are not required for entry.* Attendees are welcome to wear a mask if they choose. If you do not have a mask and would like one, The Strand will provide masks at the door.

*Please note this is subject to change any time before or during the event per the author’s request.

ACCESSIBILITY:

Strand Book Store is an ADA compliant venue. The event space is accessible via elevator. Please ask a Strand employee upon arrival for directions to accessible seating if preferred.

ASL interpretation is available for this event by request only. Please reach out to our events team at events@strandbooks.com by June 10th to request.

For further information on accessibility in this space, or to make a request, please contact events@strandbooks.com.

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The annotated and expanded screenplay adaptation of the landmark graphic novel

The major motion picture adaptation of Adrian Tomine’s beloved New York Times Notable Book debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and made its New York premiere at the Tribeca Festival to great acclaim. Written by Tomine and helmed by director Randall Park, Shortcomings was lauded by The New York Times for its liberating representation of Asian Americans in all their messiness and humanity.Tomine’s screenplay is presented here in its final “shooting draft” form, along with extensive annotations, commentary, and bonuses including deleted and alternate scenes. This gorgeously-designed volume is supplemented with film stills, behind-the-scenes photos, and also includes an introduction by Park and a new, original comic from Tomine. A perfect companion to the original graphic novel, Shortcomings: A Screenplay is a peek behind the curtain of a story’s progression from comic to script to film.For fans of Tomine and movie-making alike, Shortcomings: A Screenplay is a brutal, funny, and insightful read in its own right, as well as a fascinating document of the translation of Tomine’s expertly-crafted plot turns, subtle characterization, and irreverent humor from one medium into another.

Adrian Tomine was born in 1974 in Sacramento, California. He began self-publishing his comic book series Optic Nerve when he was sixteen, and in 1994 he received an offer to publish from Drawn & Quarterly. His comics have been anthologized in publications such as McSweeney’s, Best American Comics, and Best American Nonrequired Reading. Both his graphic novel Shortcomings and his memoir The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist were named New York Times Notable Books of the year. Since 1999, Tomine has been a regular contributor to the New Yorker. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and daughters.    

Actor, director, writer, and producer Randall Park is best known for his work as: Louis Hwang on ABC’s groundbreaking sitcom Fresh Off The Boat; Jimmy Woo in Marvel Studio’s Ant Man and The Wasp and Wandavision; Dr. Stephen Shin in the Aquaman franchise; and several other roles in tv and film.

Randall co-wrote, produced and starred in the critically-acclaimed hit Netflix romantic comedy Always Be My Maybe with his long time friend Ali Wong. His directorial debut, Shortcomings, premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, and was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics for nationwide theatrical release in 2023.

Jennifer Szalai is the nonfiction critic at The New York Times. She was previously an editor at The Book Review and a senior editor at Harper's Magazine.