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Post by captainhapa on May 15, 2010 1:56:36 GMT -5
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miss feli
Full Member
here kitty, kitty!
Posts: 315
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Post by miss feli on May 15, 2010 2:14:35 GMT -5
Yeah, I agree. What a cop out. In this case, it just sounds like he wanted to have his son play a role -- in my opinion is a conflict of interest. You should see "Avatar The Last Airbender" and see how "whited out" they made the cast, who were originally Asian and Native American.
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Post by jefe on May 15, 2010 2:29:12 GMT -5
Yes, it is a cop out -- There are hundreds of ethnic Chinese who could play this role. Excuse is lame.
However, I would accept another excuse. Can the guy truly play the actual person -- realistically convey a Chinese-born ethnic Chinese persona, and the other guy convincingly portray a Eurasian? I am not beyond accepting someone to portray someone other than their actual ethnic background (indeed, they have white actors play blacks, blacks play whites, Eurasians and Asians playing Latinos, etc.), but I want the guy to do it because he is indeed the best to do it, not falling back to lame excuses.
For example, I was not opposed in theory to Jennifer Jones playing a Eurasian in "Love is a Many Splendored Thing", but please do it convincingly!!!!!!! She was not convincing to me at all. For example, if they are playing a character born and raised in China, they should be able to speak fluent Chinese (even if they are Caucasian).
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palavore
Full Member
I put my pants on just like the rest of you -- one leg at a time. Except, once my pants are on, I make gold posts.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
Posts: 298
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Post by palavore on May 15, 2010 19:48:28 GMT -5
Show business is the same everywhere. "Hollywood is crazy. The Last Samurai starring Tom Cruise? He's the last samurai? Give me a break. That movie was offensive. Hollywood is crazy. First they had The Mexican with Brad Pitt, and now they got The Last Samurai with Tom Cruise? Well I've written a film. Maybe they'll produce my film: The Last Nigga on Earth starring Tom Hanks. How about that?"--Paul Mooney
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Post by Ganbare! on May 15, 2010 20:09:08 GMT -5
^Anyways just another terrible reason just like Jamie Foxx portraying a Caucasian character in the upcoming Kane and Lynch movie shown at Cannes.
Despite understanding your point palavore, your quote is factually erroneous as Tom Cruise's character is inspired from a French navy officer who fought for the last Shogunate after the Meiji restoration therefore the last samurai was indeed Caucasian!
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Papa Alpha
Junior Member
Not all those who wander are lost
1/4 pirate, 1/4 ninja, 1/4 cowboy, 1/4 rockstar
Posts: 102
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Post by Papa Alpha on May 16, 2010 3:18:45 GMT -5
^ Is that right? I guess the only rewritting Hollywood did there was stealing a French hero to make him American. I also noticed that in the terrible American remake of Godzilla, they passed the blame to the French for creating Godzilla, which.. Godzilla was clearly aimed at America as a "see what you did?" type of deal. I don't know what Hollywood has against France.
I've never heard of Billy Sing before, but he sounds like a hero. I'm sure he experienced plenty of racism in his day and wouldn't like his ethnicity to be "hidden" by film makers.
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palavore
Full Member
I put my pants on just like the rest of you -- one leg at a time. Except, once my pants are on, I make gold posts.
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
Posts: 298
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Post by palavore on May 25, 2010 17:35:10 GMT -5
'Prince Of Persia' & 'Airbender' Attacked For Perceived Whitewashing NEW YORK -- The hopes of many are resting on the shoulders of 12-year-old Aang.
Ever since he first came out of a block of ice in the Nickelodeon cartoon series "Avatar: The Last Airbender," the other tribes in his fictional, Asian-inspired world saw Aang and his power over the elements as their last chance for peace after a century of conflict.
Now Paramount Pictures and director M. Night Shyamalan also have high hopes for Aang: that he will attract audiences to see their big-screen - and big budget - version of "The Last Airbender," opening July 2.
Yet fans of the original TV series say whatever hopes they had for the live-action movie have been dashed by what is known as "whitewashing" - the selection of white actors to fill the main hero roles instead of the people of color they say the source material requires.
[...] Paramount defends the film's casting, noting more than half of the credited speaking roles were filled by people of color. Story continues below
"Night's vision of 'The Last Airbender' includes a large and ethnically diverse cast that represents cultures from around the world," Paramount said in a statement.
That doesn't impress the movie's critics, who claim most of that diversity is found among secondary characters and background extras.
They say "Airbender" casting is just the latest example of a long history in Hollywood of demeaning people of color - from having white actors in makeup portray minorities to sidelining them in second-tier roles to replacing them entirely, as they say is the case with "Airbender."
They point to examples like the 2008 film "21," which was based on a book inspired by the true-life story of a mostly Asian American group of card players, yet was cast with mostly white actors in the main roles.
They also note this weekend's release of "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time," a live-action adaptation of a video game that stars white actor Jake Gyllenhaal in the title role instead of an actor with a Middle Eastern background. Pic explains it all. Avatar: the Last Race-bender.
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