Interior Chinatown

Willis works his way up to a role as a special guest star on Black and White. The plot involves the death of an Asian man, and Willis is acting as an insider who speaks the language and can help the detectives with their investigation. Reality bleeds into the script on numerous occasions since most extras at the Golden Palace are Willis’s friends and neighbors. At one point, he speaks to his father, who is still in character as Old Asian Man. Mr. Willis seems disappointed that his son, a straight-A student, is mimicking a broken accent for the role. Seeing his father’s status saddens Willis. “Thousands of hours of work at something and then in a moment, the work gone. Kung fu master to fry cook, the easiest transition in the world. Change wardrobe, hair, a career forgotten. A lifetime repurposed” (89).

Willis makes snide comments to the black actor who plays Detective Turner about how difficult it is to find film work as an Asian person. They nearly get into a fight over which minority has it worse before the white female actress who plays Detective Green breaks it up.