A podcast co-produced by Gemma Chan that centers on the murder of Vincent Chin in 1982 is now available.
What you need to know: “Hold Still, Vincent,” which was announced in early April, begins with a table read of a feature screenplay by Johnny Ngo.
- Chin, a Chinese American engineer, was killed at his own bachelor party by two unemployed white men who reportedly thought he was Japanese and accused him of “stealing” their jobs.
- Directed by brothers Aaron and Winston Tao, the table read stars Remy Hii as Chin and Rosalind Chao as his mother, Lily, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
- David Harbour and Dane DeHaan will play Chin’s two killers, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter but were only sentenced to three years of probation and a fine of $3,000.
- Chan and Kelly Marie Tran will play attorney Liza Chan and journalist Helen Zia, respectively, who led the public appeal for a federal retrial of Chin’s case.
- Released by QCODE, the five-episode podcast includes interviews with cast members and other AAPI personalities, with John Cho moderating a Q&A panel.
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Why this matters: Chin’s case marked the first time the Civil Rights Act was applied for an Asian American person.
- “The death of Vincent Chin occurred during a dark time in America’s history with unsettling parallels to what we have seen happen over the past year with the stoking of hatred towards Asians and the scapegoating of Asians for COVID-19,” Chan said last month.
- The Tao brothers are attached to helm the movie that Chan and her fellow producers, A-Major Media’s Mary Lee and M88’s Phillip Sun, hope the podcast will evolve into.
- In December 2020, award-winning writer and activist Helen Zia was also reported to be developing a limited television series based on Chin’s murder.
Featured Images via American Citizens of Justice (left), Eva Rinaldi (right, cropped; CC BY-SA 2.0)
