Is Max Baer Jr. Just Boxing With His Ghost?

J.R. Moehringer’s chronicle of Max Baer Jr. struck me as a poignant portrait of a famous man’s son who is shadowboxing with his own ghost (“Mad Max,” Jan. 7). Although I admire the dedication and enthusiasm in defense of Baer Sr., the junior Baer is tragically, emotionally challenged. I could not help but wonder if he has numerous issues with his father that were never resolved. While his father’s congratulatory greeting on junior’s 21st birthday was warm, did he ever say “I love you”? I hope Max Jr. keeps his gun chambers empty.

W. Lee Miller Jr.

Inglewood

Having worked with Max Jr. for the past 14 or more years on his casino dream, I can tell you that Moehringer captured the quintessential Max Jr. in all his bluster and kind-heartedness. I’m glad I’m not the only one who can see through his right-wing rhetoric to the inner Buddhist he tries so hard to suppress.

Eva Andry

Venice

Moehringer makes the case that Ron Howard’s film “Cinderella Man” slanders Max Baer Sr. I am disappointed in Howard because he is one of the film producers I thought we could trust to be true to the facts and still create an interesting story.

However, I think Moehringer demonstrated equally unethical behavior in pushing the mentally unstable Max Baer Jr. to get him to explode--just to get some usable quotes for his story. Sad, because I think there is much unexplored real drama that could make a good film or story.

Lorraine Garafalo

Huntington Beach

What a great article. It shows that there is no justice in Hollywood. Instead of a great movie about heavyweight champion Max Baer Sr., we get Cinderella and Rocky Balboa for the umpteenth time.

Bob Ginn

Arcadia

Since our laws protect freedom of speech, and the dead cannot speak for themselves, the question that should have been asked of Max Jr. is simply this: “Why don’t YOU make a movie about your dad?”

John Fessler

Chino Hills

Lessons From Hollywood

I confess to an absolute delight in The Rules of Hollywood essays. Having once upon a time had a “meet” with a top Hollywood talent agency (as I recall, several people sat in on that weird event), a subsequent meeting at a Malibu condominium about adapting a screenplay from my book, “Runaway Wives”--all of which, I admit, came to naught --I adore sharing in some sense of schadenfreude and reading about the various and sundry mishaps of would-be, might-have-been and even successful screenwriters. I always look forward to this weekly, brief summary of Hollywood writers’ trials and tribulations.

Anna Sklar

Santa Monica