Dear Virginia,

I think it would be wonderful if Layne Tom, Jr. could play Charlie Chan, Jr., the father of Liu's character, in a potentially good Chan "remake." Just think of the "liniage" tie-in that this would bring! As Lucy Liu is supposedly going to be "Charlie Chan," the only way that "our" Mr. Chan could be shown would be through flashbacks. In this way, a Chinese actor could now be cast as the detective, possibly mending a fence or two, and perhaps building a bridge to more Chan possibilities in the future.

Hearing nothing lately regarding the Lucy Liu "Charlie Chan" movie, I have doubts as to whether or not this one will ever come to pass. Of course, it is my profound hope that if it ever does that she will go a bit against the current Hollywood drift and actually make something worthy of the Chan legacy. Last year I tracked down the address of her agent and, through that office, sent her a letter expressing my thoughts on the project. Predictably, I never heard anything, and it is probable that she did not even receive my fairly lengthy epistle.

I firmly believe that a worthy Charlie Chan movie CAN be made, but I have grave doubts if one of any value ever WILL be filmed. The spirit in Hollywood today is not, in my humble opinion, conducive to any real creativity and chance-taking, both of which will, I feel, be necessary for a Chan movie of any quality to result. Still, we can hope against hope...

Sincerely,
Rush

I'll agree with you on this, Rush. I just recently read the article about the Chan movie attempt in 1997 and without any success there, it's my belief that it will never come about even with a full chinese actor in the lead role. Too many people are still outraged at the notion of a white actor playing the lead back in the 30s and 40s. Look how long it took for black people to be accepted in general society and even today there is still racism against them. Although I don't want to believe it, I feel that there will never be a Chan movie made today.

Chris M.