The Script
#9 of 1849
It was just another day for the Vulpinos, working their orchard, whichin time had developed into more than just apples, pears, and oranges into grapes and berries as well. With the gradual ending of the Great Depression, which Chan Vulpino likened to "winter turning into spring", he was able to, in typical California fashion, develop and brew his own wine along their picturesque home, which they bought for little during the Depression and with a steady infusion of jobs and money created by the New Deal, their beachside home appreciated in value each day. But what was it all good for, Chan thought, his once-vibrant red-orange fur now showing traces of gray as he was several years past fifty. The only one who had even a slight amount of youth left in his family, at least in that generation was Edna Vulpino, a vixen who moved to Los Angeles with her parents and sister before the 1906 earthquake. The last of Sheng and Clarice's grandchildren, she was referred to affectionately as the "baby sister" but now they envied her for her youth.
Which is why Chan and Annette could not help but feel a twinge of envy or schadenfreude when they received the letter telling them to drive to Los Angeles to meet her new boyfriend, who just happened to Ch'i Lin, a tiger who was also the only Chinese-American actor to have any reputation at the time. For playing a Chinese detective who when stumped by a case would respond with pithy sayings, allegedly from Confucius, before miraculously finding the crucial evidence that would lead to the perp's arrest, this tiger had become incredibly wealthy. He was playing a stereotypical stooge, a racist caricature with his broken English and overdone accent but it was the only way an actor whose parents were from China would ever get parts in American cinema.
In no time, Chan and Annette with their children, now fully-grown came along in a caravan to Los Angeles, as the instructions in the letter told them to bring along the entire Vulpino family for a "matter of great importance",as well as a record of their family's history. The road trip from San Fransisco to Los Angeles was long but beautiful and in no time, the grandchildren in the caravan had fallen asleep, enraptured by the forests giving way to wilderness and in turn giving way to the City of Angels. This city was viewed by the Vulpinos as a wondrous playground, filled with expensive homes, the beautiful and well-heeled people who created the movies that the nation enjoyed and sunny beaches. In short, the Vulpinos loved L.A. and with family who lived out there they would never have need for a flea-ridden hotel.
They stopped by Edna's home, a flat in the posh suburb of Beverly Hills and saw her come out decked out in a designer dress with her boyfriend, the aforementioned tiger wearing the uniform of the Holllwood actor in the summer, a pair of light pants, a button-up shirt and tie, minus the jacket and a fedora to shade his handsome face from the sun, his tail flapping in the cooling breeze.
"It is nice to see you", the vixen's somewhat high-pitched voice rang out as she greeted her family members with gifts which included props from movies- a Hollywood tradition it was for actors to take props after a movie had finished its filming for their own personal use. She had starred in some of Ch'i Lin's movies, playing the character of his wife, a role they both hoped she would reprise in real life.
"We're engaged. Who would have ever thought that me, a woman who you once said would die an old maid, would find the perfect man, even if I am 38? And don't worry, that pesky law about race-mixing was overcome on the strength of my Chinese heritage." Edna would say to Chan, as the Vulpino family and Edna's boyfriend ate at an inexpensive roadside diner to avoid the paparazzi who would hang around this C-list celebrity, hoping for a photo shoot. Chinese actors weren't as big as their American-born counterparts but still had a following in some circles.
"But there is one thing we still need to do," she said, motioning for Ch'i Lin to talk about his master plan for what was sure to be the biggest movie of 1940.
The tiger was a bit more interested in the meal- fried butterfly shrimp than he was in Edna's movie ideas but after he was caught a little off-guard, he began to explain while opening a suitcase filled with paper. "I am tired of playing this ethnic stereotype. 'You're under arresht' and 'Confucius say', it's offensive and degrading to Chinese people and now with enough money, I've been working on a movie which will portray what being a Chinese actor is really about, beyond the broken English and stereotypical behavior. I didn't go to an acting school just to play a stooge, you know", the tiger said, rifling through the papers.
"Here it is! This is what I needed! A script for a movie about the California Gold Rush. And it is based on the history of Edna's family-"
"Which is why we brought you here! We can't even begin this movie, even with confirmation from the executives and we're certain this might become an independent film. It'll be better than your average home movie but we need your help in giving us details about Sheng and Clarice, those two 49ers who started the Vulpino family," she interrupted her boyfriend.
"Well-" Chan and Annette excused themselves for a moment for a private discussion, the whispering not at all audible to their sister and future brother-in-law. The very thought of Edna marrying someone young enough to be Chan's son was confusing enough but a movie between the two, an independent film at that,was just too much for them.
"You will get walk-on roles, every single member of the family and my agent was strong enough to get the other stars in Hollywood to play minor roles, like Bronson Lohmiller, that vulture to play the heel who would keep Sheng, I mean, Ch'i and I from coming together. And we can even film at Colima, the old mining station where Sheng and Clarice first- well, you know, can't mention it at a restaurant."
Big-name talent, a chance to see the actual goldfield where their grandparents first met and a
chance to meet with one of Hollywood's most hated villains (in real life, he was as kind and approachable as one would hope to meet), all these things played into the equation as the Vulpinos sat and talked.
"If this film makes money", Ch'i spoke "and we do plan on placing it in theatres nationwide, we will give you all more than your fair share of the cash. Believe me, we have enough to live comfortably and I can't sit idly by while my lover's family goes without. That's not the Chinese, or American way to care for a lover. But what we need is an investment. If everybody here gives us $100 and the record of Sheng Lee we can make this film a reality."
$100 was a fortune at the time but the Vulpinos were willing to pay up, under the condition that filming would be completed in four months- their house on the beach in San Fransisco would be guarded and cared for as they lived in trailers for their roles as extras. Each of the Vulpinos signed a consent form but they would be paid twice the going rate for Hollywood extras.
For a while, Chan thought as his children did that they were being exploited by his sister and her fiancee but the fox knew that the world needed to hear their ancestors' story. He held the family record so he knew what Sheng did and the script would have to follow that record or it simply would not be filmed. And besides, they knew that in four months, when the scenes were finished, Edna the vixen and Ch'i the tiger would get married- not that they were going to rush things but there was a reward for everyone involved. Still, the repetitive work of soldering around on the set, building an imaginary railroad or mining for non-existent gold wore on the fox. But for the good of the movie, for the good of his sister, and the good of his now-deceased grandparents, Chan would keep his mouth shut and his mind open to committing their story to the silver screen.