I’m a big fan of Lucy Liu, and not just from the days of Ally McBeal, but from such films as Payback and Cypher. She’s a talented actress that just hasn’t seemed to get a good enough role for her talents yet, and I’m not sure this new project will help, although it certainly has a lot of potential.
From Coming Soon there’s news that she’s going to be reviving the Charlie Chan series as the lead of the franchise.
TV executive-turned-screenwriter Dan McDermott will write an updated version of Charlie Chan for 20th Century Fox, says The Hollywood Reporter.
Producer Jennifer Klein also has joined the long-gestating project, which centers on the granddaughter of the fictional Chinese-American detective. Lucy Liu is attached to star and executive produce.
“It’s a reinvention of the franchise that credibly passes on the baton to Lucy Liu as the lead character and lead of the franchise,” McDermott said.
What do you think of this, has it got potential for her, or is it a bit of typecasting and perhaps not what she should be looking at doing? Mind you her current list of movies in production is quite long and diverse. Thoughts on Lucy Liu?
I have been following the ups and downs of this project for a couple of years now. While I feel on the one hand that there is much potential for disaster, here, on the other hand, I believe that there is also the potential for a new understanding of the original character.
In recent times, sadly, we have seen the maligning of Charlie Chan by a handful of very vocal, Asian pressure groups. Ironically, beginning with the stories penned by his creator, Earl Derr Biggers, and then in the movie series that began in 1931, it was Charlie Chan who, perhaps more than anyone before or since, did much to change the perceptions of an entire culture, if not much of the world, toward Chinese and other Asians. Prior to the advent of Charlie Chan, these groups were inevitably portrayed as devious villians. Keye Luke, the great Chinese-American actor who played Chan’s Number One Son, Lee, in many films himself once said, “We now had a Chinese hero!”
Perhaps Lucy Liu will will open a new chapter in the venerable saga of the Great Detective and his legacy. My fondly held desire is that, should her film be crafted with honesty proper consideration for the original character, that a much needed new understanding and reevaluation of Charlie Chan will occur. Although my faith in Hollywood in making a meaningful contribution in this regard is low, my hopes remain high, and maybe I and other fans of both Charlie Chan and Lucy Liu will be pleasantly surprised. We shall see what we shall see…
Does anyone have an email address or snail mail address to write Lucy?
I have to agree with Adam.
No more remakes!
Donna A.
Sounds kind of dull. I used to watch the Charlie Chan movies on TV every Sunday afternoon. They were fun movies but I just don’t see the point in this. I think anybody that was a big fan of the original Charlie Chan movies is going to roll their eyes and stay away. And everybody else is going to say “Who the hell is Charlie Chan and why do I care about his granddaughter?”