Crime Writers On...23 Okt 2023

Magnificent Jerk

When Maya Lin Sugarman was cleaning out her grandmother’s home, she discovered some screenplays written by her late uncle. Galen Yuen was in a Chinese street gang before becoming a small-time actor. Maya had no idea the script about his life story was made into the 1997 movie “Crazy Six.” By the time Hollywood was finished with the semi-biographical thriller about an Asian crack addict looking to rip off some Oakland drug dealers, it featured Rob Lowe trying to steal plutonium from Eastern European gangsters. The screenplays send Maya on a quest to uncover her uncle’s true life story, find the real people who inspired the characters, and learn how his movie got whitewashed in the first place.

The Apple Original podcast “Magnificent Jerk,” produced by Pineapple Street Studios, is the true story of the fake story of a real life. The host takes a journey into the colorful past of the uncle she thought she knew and finds a tale about identity, ambition, and family.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "MAGNIFICENT JERK" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 13 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

In Crime of the Week: Paying your debt to society.

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This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more.

About the show: Crime Writers On… is the original true‑crime review podcast, covering the best in true‑crime podcasts, documentaries, TV, film, journalism, and storytelling.

From Partners in Crime Media — creators of These Are Their Stories, the Law & Order aftershow and Netflix's You Can't Make This Up.

Keywords: true‑crime review, podcast review, documentary review, TV review, media criticism, pop‑culture commentary, crime documentaries, journalism, storytelling, Partners in Crime Media

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