Here's Parry's letter:

A CAST MEMBER'S LETTER
What the April 4 and 11, 2003 release of "Better Luck
Tomorrow" really means.
Dear Friends,
In our lifetime, it is rare that we bear witness to an
event, much less be a part one, that might change
society. When the film "Better Luck Tomorrow" opens
on April 4, 2003; it will be one of those events. On
that day,"BLT" will be released in New York, Chicago,
Los Angeles and San Francisco. And open the
following week, April 11, in: Washington D.C., Boston,
Houston, Honolulu, Sacramento, San Diego, Seattle,
Portland and Minneapolis.
The release will set a benchmark for a number of
"firsts". 1) It is the first Asian American film ever
to be picked up at the Sundance Film Festival. 2) It
is the first film ever purchased and distributed by
MTV Films. 3) It is the first all Asian-American cast
to be widely distributed by a studio in a long time.
It is because of all these "firsts" that I am drafting
this memo, to shed light on just how essential it is
that our community support this film. The first 3
weeks' attendance will determine whether or not we'll
be setting a benchmark record for "firsts--and lasts".
I know it sounds extremely self-serving that an actor
in the film have the audacity to draft such a plea to
see his film. But it is because I have been so close
to the film through production and have personally
seen people from all ethnicities react so positively
to it; that I truly believe this event is exactly what
we as a community have been yearning to get behind for
years. Whether you are Asian or not. To send a
message to the world. It is not "just" a movie. What
hinges on the release is so much larger than the film
itself.
The power of cinema is colossal. Whether you realize
it or not, billions of people shape their outlooks on
life from what they see on film. Their beliefs. What
is important in life. Differences between right and
wrong. And when the world is exposed to the clichéd
images of Asians that currently occupy the screen,
these images subconsciously encapsulate for them what
Asian people are. The martial- artists practitoners.
The nerdy students. The exotic sexual prizes. The
guy that delivers the food to your door. And it
becomes a self-fueling process because audiences
continue to pay admission to see them. While
unfortunately, these are the only roles that are
available for Asian Actors to portray.
Fans of "BLT" and major film critics have all praised
the film for being an accomplished and engaging
universal story centered on teen violence. The film
is not a judgmental piece of the actions, but a
narrative of how real life teen violence is set in
motion. The film represents stories from headlines
that we've all read that just happen to be told by
Asian actors.
"Best and most provocative--a funny-sexy-scary
powerhouse."
-Peter Travers, Rolling Stone Magazine.
"Extraordinarily accomplished and thought-provoking."
- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
"Stylish and very well acted."
- David Ansen, Newsweek
"The hottest, most stylish and smartly twisted film."
- Duane Bygre, The Hollywood Reporter
"A damn fine movie."
- Harry Knowles, Ain't it Cool News
Phrases, such as how the film "broke all the rules in
Hollywood" and "after the first 5 minutes, I forgot
that the cast was Asian" are repeated over and over
again. For the first time, our true voices are being
heard and understood by the Hollywood decision makers.
That we're just regular people and we too, have
stories that all human beings can relate to. Where we
don't have to go around everyday, basically saying,
"Hey, I'm Asian" through our actions depicted on
screen.
MTV Films' vice president, Michael Cole summed it up
best, "You've got a universal story in terms of what
these guys are experiencing, and I think that's why
people respond to it so strongly. It's told from a
perspective that we haven't seen before and that we
often don't see." He observes, "I thought ["BLT"] was
incredible for our brand and for our audience. When I
saw the movie I just said: 'You know, we really need
to buy this movie. This movie is what we are.'"
I, as do MTV Films and other studios that bid for the
film, recognize that the film is on the cusp of a new
beginning in cinema that has yet to be tapped into.
Everywhere we've traveled across the country (and
Canada) with the film at festivals, Asian audiences
thank us for giving them a new voice on screen for the
world to see.
But this film needs a base -- legs to help it rise and
be heard. And your voice can only be heard through
the box office. Let's be frank, for the first few
weeks, a majority of the people that will be open to
seeing the film, based on face value alone, will be
Asian Americans. When non-Asian people see images of
the film or the cast, occasionally we hear them ask,
"Is it subtitled?" or "Is it like a Jackie Chan
movie?"
When I hear those comments, I realize they're not
intentionally meant to be malicious, but it goes to
show what has been established in the minds of the
public when they see Asian faces on a movie poster.
And it's that mentality which illustrates the very
reason why we need to support good films with Asian
casts; whether we agree with the films or not.
I know in my heart that we as a community are large
enough of an audience to overwhelm Hollywood; make
them do a double take and realize there is a market
they have not been catering to. Hollywood's eyes will
be tracking the opening of the film very carefully
because it loves a trend. So we beat them at their
own game--make it impossible for them to ignore the
numbers. They will be forced to make similiar
projects based solely on a fiscal point of view.
They'll jump on that bandwagon to repeat a successful
formula that has been established by "BLT". But this
will only happen if we want it to by coming out in
full force.
In turn, three-dimensional Asian characters that
audiences genuinely care about as people and not just
as functional props, will emerge and slowly change
narrow Asian perceptions. The Black community's
current successes in cinema stemmed 20 years ago
because they were passionate about the films Spike Lee
and John Singleton were making. Films that were true
to their communities. Hollywood took notice to the
box office numbers and it led to more projects which
told of the African American experience besides being
a slave or living in the ghettos.
For the past decade, my schooling and acting has
exposed me to hundreds of Asian American organizations
at colleges across the country. I've been witness to
sooo many China Nights, Asian club meetings, ECASU,
ACAASU, APEX conferences, panels by Amy Tan, Ronald
Takaki, Jude Narita all discussing and theorizing the
same topics of assimilation and perceptions--all those
years have finally culminated into something tangible:
This is that "something" we can get behind and will
have a huge impact. And it's a very simple thing to
do--just see the film. That is your vote. Tell
people about it and have them do the same.
The Details:
April 4th 2003, "BLT" will open in:
New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco
The following week on, April 11, it will expand into:
Washington D.C., Boston, Houston, Honolulu,
Sacramento, San Diego, Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis
You should be seeing MTV FILMS running our trailer in
theatres and playing them on their channel shortly.
Based on the box office attendance after the first 3
weekends, the studio will then see if it is worth
rolling out into more theatres across the country, the
same way "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" did. Once it
rolls out nationally, others unlikely to see the film
will have then heard the buzz/acclaim and go to just
see a good movie. And they will tell others and so
on.
Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that as many
people see the film during those first 3 weekends to
get the momentum going. If you do not happen to
reside in the initial cities, spread the word to those
you know who do live there. And with a bit of luck,
it will make its way to your hometown after week 3.
If the "I'll wait to watch it next week" mentality
occurs with this film, chances are there won't be a
next week. Every person helps.
Since this is an unprecedented film, I can see it
doing great things in terms of changing the way
America thinks and opening doors for similar projects.
But unfortunately, I can also see it easily just
dying and going away if we allow it, just like we did
with Margaret Cho's "All American Girl".
Many planets have aligned for a project with
Asian-American lead characters to come this far, and
if this opportunity slips away, you can be certain it
won't happen again for a long, long time. As I said
before, Hollywood loves to jump on a successful
formula but it will stay away from a scarcely attended
"Pluto Nash" like the plague. If you've read this
far, I sincerely thank you for your time. Please pass
this letter on to inform others. It's an exciting
time for us all. Let's keep the momentum going!
Sincerely,
Parry Shen
"Ben" in "Better Luck Tomorrow"
Visit www.betterlucktomorrow.com or www.parryshen.com
for more details on the film and how to help.


At 06:20 AM 3/4/2003 +0000, so_cali_girl2001 <minestrone_soup@...> wrote:

this just in- the opening weekend for BLT will be APRIL 11th, not
the fourth.

there are also new pictures and articles on the official website.
http://www.betterlucktomorrow.com

did a lot of you get Parry's letter emailed to you? we should post
it here, if anyone would volunteer to do that.


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