“Race” is a social construct more than anything else. I can believe that while simultaneously believing that Hollywood has a significant problem casting Asian actors. For weeks now, there have been many, many complaints lodged against Aloha and Cameron Crowe for significant race problems. The film is set in Hawaii, one of the most racially diverse states in America, but the cast of Aloha is as diverse as a bar of Ivory soap. Bedhead covered the general complaints about the casting decisions (every major role is played by a white actor) previously.
But in the past week or so, people have been complaining specifically about Emma Stone and her character, Allison Ng. As you can probably tell from the name, Emma’s character is supposed to be mixed-race, one-quarter Asian and one-quarter Hawaiian. While it’s perfectly possible to have mixed-race ancestry and be a blonde and blue-eyed person, it also seems like Cameron Crowe quite literally white-washed a character. It would be like creating a character named Deepak Ravishankar Singh and casting Bradley Cooper (I just made myself laugh, but you know Hollywood would TOTALLY DO THAT). So, long story short, Cameron Crowe had to issue an apology/explanation.
From the very beginning of its appearance in the Sony Hack, “Aloha” has felt like a misunderstood movie. One that people felt they knew a lot about, but in fact they knew very little. It was a small movie, made by passionate actors who wanted to join me in making a film about Hawaii, and the lives of these characters who live and work in and around the island of Oahu.
Thank you so much for all the impassioned comments regarding the casting of the wonderful Emma Stone in the part of Allison Ng. I have heard your words and your disappointment, and I offer you a heart-felt apology to all who felt this was an odd or misguided casting choice. As far back as 2007, Captain Allison Ng was written to be a super-proud ¼ Hawaiian who was frustrated that, by all outward appearances, she looked nothing like one. A half-Chinese father was meant to show the surprising mix of cultures often prevalent in Hawaii. Extremely proud of her unlikely heritage, she feels personally compelled to over-explain every chance she gets. The character was based on a real-life, red-headed local who did just that.
Whether that story point felt hurtful or humorous has been, of course, the topic of much discussion. However I am so proud that in the same movie, we employed many Asian-American, Native-Hawaiian and Pacific-Islanders, both before and behind the camera… including Dennis “Bumpy” Kanahele, and his village, and many other locals who worked closely in our crew and with our script to help ensure authenticity.
We were extremely proud to present the island, the locals and the film community with many jobs for over four months. Emma Stone was chief among those who did tireless research, and if any part of her fine characterization has caused consternation and controversy, I am the one to blame.
I am grateful for the dialogue. And from the many voices, loud and small, I have learned something very inspiring. So many of us are hungry for stories with more racial diversity, more truth in representation, and I am anxious to help tell those stories in the future.
See, now I feel bad. The character was based on a real person under similar circumstances. I can understand that. It still feels awkward, but I get it. It also feels like Crowe is taking the hit for a much larger problem, as I said: that Asians and Asian-Americans are massively underrepresented in films and TV. That’s not just on Crowe.
Massive sidenote: I realized as I watched Lucy Liu play Joan Watson in Elementary how groundbreaking it is to have an Asian-American woman in that role specifically. It changes the Holmes-Watson dynamic in so many positive ways, and in other major ways, Liu’s casting is a non-issue. Meaning that the character works both as racially-blind and race-and-gender specific. I’d like to see more directors and producers figure out a way to do that.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Getty.
Damage control IMO.
If the film had not flopped, I really doubt he would have made an apology.
And if derided Mall Cop 2 with a 6% on Rotten Tomatoes can open in the $20 million range, then a Crowe movie with so many A list stars should have done better.
I saw the POS movie and besides the white-washing what bothered me was that a) all the main characters were white and b) Emma kept talking up her “native” heritage. A defining part of the character was their ethnic identity in this particular movie, it wasn’t exactly written as a character that could be played by anyone, so why on earth would you cast a lily-white girl? Why would you make a movie that is supposed to represent the spirit of Hawai’i and cast all white main characters when the Island is something like 60% AA. He had a big name star in Bradley Cooper, he could have easily been able to cast a not as famous star like Chloe Bennett (she’s half Chinese) or even someone like Olivia Munn.
The thing that bothers me the most is that these idiots that run the studio and do casting never even think “hm, maybe this isn’t such a good idea.” It’s like POC are invisible to them. And before people start going on about how hapas can look white or not-Asian, I’m hapa and I’m well aware of that….but it’s also highly unlikely that someone who is 1/2, not just a 1/4, would look like Emma Stone who is probably one of the whitest of the white starlets and this is more about a systematic problem in Hollywood and not the rare “exceptions” in real life.
wouldn’t it make sense in order to emphasize her mixed heritage to have more actors (main ones) to compare against? otherwise we would never make that connection. still whitewashing and his explanation is just crap
I am 1/4 Hawaiian. While I have brunette hair and brown eyes, I have two siblings that are blonde hair and blue eyes. We are exacrly the same amount of native Hawaiian. So stop with the race baiting and understand that with a lot of mixtures, races can come in all colors.
I’m going to refrain from my personal commentary that I’m pretty sure wouldn’t even make it past moderation. But please don’t refer to a real discussion about race and its portrayal in Hollywood as “race baiting”
In a movie that’s supposed to celebrate Hawaii, the three main roles are about as lily white as you get, with any native Hawaiians being relegated to background roles. Emma Stone’s role is supposed to be a quarter Chinese, a quarter Hawaiian, and a quarter Swedish – it is indeed possible for people of similar backgrounds to look a variety of different ways, but the choice to cast someone as unambiguously Caucasian as Stone feels ‘off’.
I think you should go for it, Bridget. These days, “race baiting” is apparently the new term for when someone legitimately points out racial disparities or inequities and someone else doesn’t want to hear all that complainin’. Seems to be rooted in the view that any outrage someone expresses is not legitimate, but its presence has been thrust into existence through some wholly external process. This is NOT the way to deal with a real issue, RandomChatter. I for one agree with Bridget’s point instead of dismissing it as a race-based hysteria and not a real problem.
In agree Bridget. I am going to throw in my 2 cents. My children are 1/4 Hawaiian, 1/4 Japanese and 1/2 Norwegian. My daughter has light skin, blue eyes and light brown hair. My son has dark skin, brown eyes and hair. Both are beautiful. 🙂 With that being said. Cameron Crown should have cast an asian actor for the part. There are so many hapa actors now and casting Emma was a stupid choice. The point isn’t of how “asian” a person that is 1/4 asian or 1/4 Hawaiian looks. Yes, some mixed children look 100% white. The point is that my kids are so proud of all the parts of themselves and it would be nice for Hollywood to portray mixed asian people that are actually mixed. It was a bad call.
The article said 1/4 Hawaiian, genius.
Why are you so salty? The character is only half Caucasian; she’s 1/4 Hawaiian and 1/4 Chinese. They should have hired a mixed race actress instead of filling the role with a white actress, period. The issue isn’t how she looks, I’m personally aware of how different Eurasians can look. My little sister is half white and half Thai, she doesn’t look fully Asian or white. I also have 2 friends who are 1/4 Japanese and most people would never guess, as they have light eyes and lightish hair. However I will say this, the facial structure of Emma Stone is too hard to believe any close Asian or Polynesian ancestry. Even with my friends with 1/4 ancestry you can see a difference in the facial structure, especially the noses. If someone wants to disagree with me there that’s fine, but I don’t buy for a minute that Emma Stone’s facial structure is passable as Asian ancestry. Or her blue eyes, in reality you need two sets of recessive genes for that so she’d have to have European ancestry on both sides. If she was playing 1/4 I’d buy it but no. Anyways, they still should have hired an actual mixed race actress. Hollywood has always been white washed and it needs to stop.
Just want to say to wonderwoman21 that that’s not exactly how eye color works. It’s much more complicated.
@ Amelia, sorry it won’t let me reply directly.
It’s my understanding that multiple genes are responsible for determining eye color but that one must receive two sets of the recessive mutation for blue eyes. Specific populations do not carry the gene for blue eyes but only brown, such as Chinese and Polynesian populations. Theoretically her Hawaiian/Chinese father would carry two sets of dominant genes for brown eyes (BB) and her Swedish mother for blue eyes would carry two recessive genes for blue eyes (bb). Therefore the child would receive (Bb) and be brown eyed. That’s been my understanding of it, but feel free to correct or add onto that.
The movie was awful. Honestly the white washing was just the tip of this awful movie. Next time cast a freaking half Asian actor (yes they do exist) instead of Emma Stone who is just a life sized human Labrador come to life.
Were they trying to be a drama? A black comedy? A romantic comedy? WTF was going on with Rachel McAdams character? I actually disliked her and her back and forth with Bradley Cooper’s character. Twelve freaking years and you guys have not spoken. And they all kept talking like Dawson Creek characters come to life! It was so annoying. The ending was awful.
Agree; this movie was a complete mess. For starters: how do you screw up the cinematography in effin’ Hawaii???? Some of the most unremarkable shots ever.
And poor Emma Stone. She did what she could with a cartoon character mooning inexplicably, but boooooo to the direction and the dialogue there.
Yet after all those leaked emails between the director and Amy Pascal disparaging him, Bill Murray was truly the best thing about this misbegotten pseudo-cultural hash.
Div, I agree with you except for one major thing – I’m glad Munn wasn’t cast in this role because she should never be cast in anything, ever.
I’ve read that Cameron Crowe still cast a white actress to play the role of an Asian woman in an upcoming film of his, so I don’t know how much he gets it…
Eh… I have mixed feelings about this. I get that she’s not supposed to look Asian and, from what I understand, that’s part of the construct. But I’ve also heard that there aren’t many actual Hawaiians or other Asians or Pacific Islanders in the movie – Hawaii is only 30% Caucasian so it would seem casting really missed the mark in a more general way.
As a Native American with mixed ancestry and somewhat “ethnically ambiguous” looks, I do think they probably could’ve sourced several people who would’ve fit the bill better than Emma Stone…
Right – perhaps if the film was filled with Asian faces, then the character’s backstory and casting would make sense. But she’s supposed to be proud and overcompensating because she doesn’t look like everyone else, when in fact in the construct of the film, she *does* look like everyone else.
Crowe probably had an interesting story in there with that character but the execution on all fronts was a massive fail.
Yes, if the main character of this film as a Hawaiian who was not mixed and Emma played her/his cousin and was a supporting character who would be annoyed to explain that she and the main character are related I do not think people would have a problem.
The issue I have with casting Emma Stone is that there are many, many Asian and mixed Asian actors out there struggling to get work. Crowe could have just casted a real Hawaiian with mixed race Asian heritage. He did not have to cast someone who looked all Asian, but it just makes sense to hire real Hawaiian and mixed raced Asian actors and actresses to portray what Hawaii really looks like. I doubt anyone would complain had someone who is really 1/4 Hawaiian or Asian who looks predominantly white or black was casted in the role. At least there would be some authenticity in regards to the actor’s race and heritage.
While I buy the Emma Stone character, it does not explain the rest of the main cast.
Also, don’t the actors themselves bear some responsibility for this too. It’s not like most of these actors are hurting for money that they can’t see that they are not the right fit.
Audiences need to take part of the blame, Hollywood casts for profit reasons. If audiences don’t support minority actors by going and seeing those movies, studios and directors are not casting minority actors.
I don’t see Hollywood blaming white men when films starring them flop.
Fast and The Furious franchise has made more than a billion yet the default stars are still white males.
I haven’t seen any after the second one, but the only white male star is (was) Paul Walker. Are their new ones.
Actually Fast and Furious has one of the most diverse cast I’ve seen on screen. The only white protagonist is Paul Walker.
So Vin ‘Multifacial’ Diesel is suddenly white? He’ll be surprised to find that out.
Like everyone said, thr only white male was Paul Walker and the third installment that was set in Tokyo only had 1 white male actor (Lucas Black). For furious 7, it was reported that 75% of the audience was Nonwhite here in US and sti broke some boxoffice records.
I think that’s what Damn was saying – that Hollywood still casts white males as the default lead despite multicultural movies like the Fast and Furious series killing at the box office.
I get that Crowe wanted someone who looks white in the role – it’s part of the character. But even if that’s ignored, the rest of the casting is still way out of whack. If Emma’s character looking white is supposed to be odd, maybe make the other characters NOT white? Or at least line the roles up with the actual ethnic diversity of Hawai’i?
Argh. I love Emma. But this movie just sounds stupid. What happened to you, Cameron Crowe? It sounds worse than Elizabethtown.
The problem with this “answer” that I keep seeing is that Hollywood provides no such opportunities, even if people wanted to see movies like that-and I think the outcry over these issues lately proves that the public does in fact want to see movies with more POC.
The Sony hack proved that these idiots are completely out of touch.
What movies? People always say this, but Asians are very limited in what they can support because a lot of the representation is offensive.
I don’t want to see a movie set in Asia with a bunch of Asians but the hero is a white guy. I don’t want to see a movie where the original character was fully Asian and s/he’s changed to mixed Asian (played by a fully white person). I don’t want to see a movie set in Hawaii with a fully white cast and Emma Stone thinking she can pass as ethnic.
I want to support movies about Western Asians who I can identify with, who aren’t exotified, who don’t play to stereotype. Those movies aren’t being made, so what evidence is Hollywood using to back up the notion that Asians and minorities in general aren’t profitable?
+1000!
We need film and television writers, producers, and directors, to step outside of their bubble and into the real world. The world is not white. Unless you move to a monocultured island, the current human experience is one of multi ethnic interaction. This film is ridiculous, but following the same archaic notion that the world only wants white actors/films stars. I love the commentary and suggest that the talented writers here – get to work writing projects for the real evolving world!!!
This is similar to what Rupert Everett recently said about posh British actors. Hollywood casts whoever they think will sell the movie, or whoever they think people want to see.
If people want to see more Asian/ black actors then they need to make a point to go and see every movie with actors of color, even if it sucks. Just like fans of actors do.
Movie studios only understand the language of money.
and next up: pan in august where rooney mara plays tiger lily, excited for the backlash it deservedly will get.
there were so many actresses that could’ve played the emma role, and even be more age appropriate given the romantic set-up with bradley (just think lucy liu, maggie q who also played the lead character in nikita that just like lucy’s watson was always played by a white actress before her, yunjin kim, grace park)
I agree with everything said about race, but in the specific case of Sherlock, if it says John H. Watson is an English man, married with Mary, why then making it an Asian woman? Just create a new story with new characters and names that represent that.
I wasn’t sure if I would like that either (big Sherlock fan) but it really works and gives it a fresh modern edge that differentiates it from the other Sherlock shows. there are plenty of ones that hold true to the bro dynamic, so what’s one new one that tries something new?
I think platonic bro dynamics can work in hetero-parternships just fine. It’s just every other filmmaker/showrunner insists on making them an item. It’s not the characters’ problem, it’s what the puppeteers choose to do with it. Hetero partnerships shouldn’t always have to end romantically, and same sex parterships shouldn’t have to stay chaste.
Agree with you, just create new characters.
I don’t have a problem with Watson as a woman. I think there already has been an British version with a female Watson. I also like the idea of a hetero bromance.
But I don’t like Elementary, it is just too American, I can’t take it, it spoils it for me.
I find this interesting; I want to see it now. My kids have red or blonde hair and pale skin. They look a lot different than me or my dad. But I do wonder about the other characters in the film.
I’m glad Emma started dying her hair again.
That’s no excuse. He could’ve still cast a white passing Asian. Crowe recently cast a white actress to play an Asian character in his upcoming TV show, so he hasn’t learned a damn thing.
MTE.
exactly! there are totally white passing half asians!! uggggh
Wow, don’t feel bad still. He basically has a bullshit excuse for not casting some less popular mixed actress. Dude just probably really wanted Emma Stone in one of his movies. It’s just lacking awareness to know this wasn’t going to blow up spectacularly in his face. Also, annoyed that Emma Stone wouldn’t read this script and basically think ‘I might get some shit for accepting a part wherein I play someone mixed race and it’s not outwardly explained to the audience I’m supposed to look white.”
That seems like a valid explanation for that particular character – I’m mixed race but look very very white and always feel the need to explain myself! However, that doesn’t explain the whitewashing of the rest of the movie
My children are a wonderful mix of Cuban, Native American and Hungarian. That said, my oldest daughter has blonde hair, blue eyes and “lily white” skin. Because of her appearance, should she be denied a chance to represent a mixed race character based on your opinion of what mixed race is “supposed” to look like? I’m not saying it’s right, I’m just saying casting is done based on profitability. Emma brings in the money. Of course there should be more representation of what our society actually looks like but unless we the people are actively spending money to see movies that cast diversely, they will continue to produce what sells. Emma sells.
The film tanked. So Emma did not sell enough.
No… I think the point is that someone like your daughter should have been cast…. a white appearing person with other racial heritages.
She didn’t in this case though. The movie was awful and flopped harder than Blake Griffin.
There’s a long history in HW of casting white characters in Asian roles. I think in Film School 101 books like Romance and the Asian Peril are on the prescribed reading list. It’s political and economics as well.
Well no, your daughter would have been playing a character with similar heritage. It’s not about looks – if Emma Stone was Hawaiian/Chinese and looked like she does I doubt there would be any outrage at all.
Touche. Using someone with a more ethnic background would have solved the problem and, honestly, I can think of several worthy candidates to fit the bill that would rival Emma. Maybe I’ve got my Cameron blinders on because I usually love his movies. Side note: I haven’t even seen one preview for this movie. I had no idea about it until this article. Surprising for such “big names”.
Mixed heritage looking Caucasian – that is not the point. They missed the opportunity of casting someone with Asian/Pacific Islander genes.
I still remember when stars and producers and directors were semi untouchable. Nowadays, with the Internet and instant mass commenting and even illegal stuff like hacking, they’re all apologetic and sorry about everything all the time. Casting Emma Stone in that role is a huge joke and we all know it.
Lucy as Watson is one of my most favourite TV characters ever. I love how strong she is, how she deal with issues, how she just directly says what she wants without being reduced to the typical TV biatch mode.
My favourite line of hers is when Sherlock is moaning about not having time to be someone’s sponsor, and she replies, deadpan “you get no one does, right?”
awesomeness. whoever writes her lines is fantastic.
(ok, I love the show, obviously)
This was not an apology, FWIW. He’s sorry that complainers didn’t ‘get it’.
To be fair, most of the people complaining hadn’t seen the movie and had no idea what the backstory of the character was. Probably hard to get yourself to apologize at all to people who have zero interest in the character other than to use her to make a point.
The backstory of the character has been revealed and the initial point only becomes more true.
Emma Stone is a white actress playing a mixed race character in a film bursting with white people contrasting sharply with the actual land that is 60% AA. In other words whitewashing per usual.
After seeing the trailers at “Age of Adaline”, my “movie buddy” and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes – the trailers were so bad I wonder anyone who saw them bought an actual ticket. That said, as I think I pointed out once earlier, how far do we take this kind of parsing assuming the film is even worth seeing? For example, Juanita Hall, who was a light-skinned African-American actress, played “Bloody Mary” a Tonkinese woman, in both the stage and screen versions of “South Pacific” (she won a Tony for the stage version) and the fully Chinese “Auntie” in the film version of “Flower Drum Song”. She was no more Chinese than I am but with artful makeup pulled it off. The two Chinese leads in the film were played by Japanese actors (Shigeta and Umeki), Helen Chow the seamstress was played by a Japanese-American actor, and in “South Pacific” the young Tonkinese girl was played by French-born France Nuyen, who was Euro-Asian, not Polynesian. Mexican actor Ricardo Montalban played the Japanese Kabuki star in James Michener’s “Sayonara”, so my question is: when nonwhite actors also cross lines (Adrian Lester played Henry V, a verifiably white king of England, just as many white actors have played Othello) and play characters from ethnic groups they don’t belong to, is the argument still No they shouldn’t?
Is this about opportunity or artistic verisimilitude? Just askin’ I think it’s an interesting debate. If a white actor has to “black up” to play Othello, why doesn’t a black actor have to “white up” to play Henry V?
All of which is to say, the instant case is kind of a bad place to start the debate because the film is so bad, Crowe is a jackass, and I’d rather have pencils stuck in my eyes than watch Stone play someone named Ng unless it’s her husband’s name and she went the traditional route on that . . . 🙂
So what’s the real answer if there is one when it’s a good movie and the actor does a terrific job? Juanita Hall kicked ass as Bloody Mary even though she wasn’t Asian, Adrian Lester (I think, it was quite awhile ago and I wasn’t on the scene so to speak) got rave reviews for Henry V just as Olivier got raves for Othello.
I’m not arguing that casting Stone wasn’t stupid – it was a stupid move in a stupid film and based only on beefing up box office with a known name. But what’s the view when crossing those lines works for actors, including “ethnic” actors? Should it always be strictly artistic verisimilitude?
I think the point here is that Emma Stone was only hired because she is a big name right now.
It has nothing to do with the level of suspension of disbelief, at all. He hired a big name thinking this would ensure box office receipts. It’s only my opinion, but the decision wasn’t made because she was the BEST actress to play the part due to competence, and better than any other actress to capture the part, in spite of heritage, but because of the draw. It didn’t work, the film looks like sh_t, and he is being called out for taking a Hollywood money making approach.
I think there are times where it can be justified in substituting an ethnicity or race for a role if the decision is based on the quality or ability of the actor. I believe that one ‘white’ role was played by
Denzel Washington, (I don’t recall which), but nothing was lost in the story because he is an amazing actor.
Emma Stone is not Hawaiian or part Hawaiian and she isn’t the most astounding actress ever, so the selection was a cynical approach to audiences. IMO.
I feel like you’re getting overly literal here, but I am going to point out that it many Asian Americans actually do consider it a big deal that those ‘classic’ roles were played by non-Asian actors.
And Othello loses some pretty important subtext if played by a white actor. It’s one of the few Shakespearean roles where race is explicitly a factor (I’d also say that Shylock being another one), where a Henry V is obviously historically a white man, race doesn’t play into the subtext at all. By that logic, the role should only be played by an Englishman.
I actually didn’t offer any “logic” I only asked the question. But isn’t “literal” exactly the question being asked? Re Othello – in my view, the gender/cultural subtext is as powerful as the racial one: female chastity as the center of all honor (I have a friend in NYC who won’t go see the play because it’s all he can do not to jump up onstage and kill Othello for his medieval views of honor)! And the play was written by a white Anglo-Saxon male. Why would the play lose any of its subtext if Othello is played by a white man playing a Moor – are not the words and meanings the same? Does, e.g., the ballet “Giselle” which is set in 1830 or so in the Rhine Valley with music by a European composer and choreography by a European master, lose subtext if danced by a black ballerina – does it lose subtext when the notable Carlos Acosta dances the role of Albrecht? Re Henry V, having him played by a black actor, it could be argued, is an erasure of English history. Porgy & Bess was written by a white American man of Russian-Jewish descent – Gershwin left strict instructions in his estate that only a black cast could sing the roles (I’m not sure if that applies to recordings, as well – I think so but am not sure).
Recently, in the debate about Idris Elba playing Bond, black actor Yaphet Kotto startled everyone by coming out and saying he thought black men should stop hankering to play roles written by white men for white men and start writing great roles for themselves. I hadn’t ever stopped to think about it that way.
All I’m trying to point out is that the lines can get quite murky, and not just if you’re just getting way “literal”. It’s a very multiculti world out there, and yet people also want to reserve cultural artifacts of their own and there’s a great deal of discussion about cultural appropriation.
I think the problem is one of opportunity, which is the real crux of the issue. In that, I think I come out where wonderwoman21 does. If there had been more sharing to start with, there would be more will to share now.
I’m not trying to insist anyone come out on any one side of a line, just trying to follow the threads, which don’t stop conveniently in one place.
Ethnicity in roles wouldn’t be such an issue if 1. Hollywood didn’t have a long, ugly history of systematically denying nonwhite actors the few roles that exist for nonwhites 2. If Caucasian wasn’t the default setting for characters in 2015, the racial demographic of American films is incredibly skewed 3. If the nonwhite they did hire didn’t have to be ‘white washed’. The act of white washing is choosing nonwhite actors that are lighter skinned, mixed race with white (such as Halle Berry, Jessica Alba), and those with more European-looking facial features and possibly dyed blonde hair for a racially ambiguous look.
4. Stop giving people of color negative stereotypical roles, like being maids and criminals. And start giving speaking roles.
I am going to ask this since I haven’t seen anyone else ask – what the Hell was Emma Stone thinking in taking the part?!
To the mixed-race character, I do get it if that’s was the approach (is mixed, loves her heritage, but no one can tell she’s mixed). My husband is half white (German lineage is in there somewhere) and half Mexican. No one would guess that a drop of Mexican blood runs through his veins. He’s fair-skinned, green-eyed, has red hair in his beard and has freckles. He does have a Hispanic surname though.
Re: what Stone was thinking when she took the part – The same thing she was thinking when she signed up to work for Woody Allen twice after Allen’s daughter wrote the article about being sexually abused by Allen. Stone doesn’t care about the ethics so long as she thinks that the role will help her career.
It really does make me question Emma’s choices in film roles. She continues to work with Woody Allen, now she does this role where she is clearly a questionable choice. What’s next Emma – Playing a black woman for Roman Polanski?
Thanks for your replies. She is so adored in Hollywood but she’s doesn’t come off as that great of a person. I don’t buy what they’re selling regarding her. I did like her in Zombieland but that’s all I really remember her in.
I am actually not impressed with her film roles. I think she could have any role she wanted in any movie at this point and she picks Aloha, really?
How does it help her career? The same with Woody Allen movies. If she wants to advance she needs to pick blockbusters and some edgy movies with a bite. Not some average run of the mill stuff.
I don’t know why but I have this feeling that Aloha was one of those movies that was shot awhile ago and was just now getting a release. I don’t know if thats the case but thats the vibe I got.
There was a minor outrage years ago when Memoirs of Geisha only had one Japanese in the main characters, the Chairman. You know – all Asians look alike. At least they didn’t cast Scarlet Johanssen put her in a kimono, colored her hair black and pulled her eyes ala Mickey Rooney in BaT.
Speaking of Johanssen, look forward to her playing Asian cyborg cop Motoko Kusanagi in the upcoming Ghost In the Shell film. I’m sure she’ll become Michelle Kissinger and maybe she’ll have an Asian sidekick or an old Asian mentor.
It’s funny how just hearing Scarlett’s name now and thinking about that upcoming film can COMPLETELT raise my blood pressure. But hey I guess these actresses “Don’t see race! Theres only one race!” as long as they get work they don’t care about the actresses who would actually fit those roles who are shut out.
This reminds me of a frequently glossed over part of those Sony emails where Aaron Sorkin flat out refuses to work on ‘Flashboys’ the latest book by *Michael Lewis on the grounds that the lead character is an Asian.
* Michael Lewis also wrote ‘the big short’ currently being filmed with Brad Pitt, and ‘Lair’s Poker’ which was the source material for WALLSTREET and ‘Moneyball’ which became MONEYBALL starring Brad Pitt.
Thanks LAK, interesting.
I’m disappointed about all of this news. I saw the trailer in the theater and really wanted to see the movie. But I guess it’s crappy and whitewashed. Too bad, there are some of my favorite actors.
Thinking of Hawaii makes me want to go watch some Magnum PI on Netflix. All the background characters are usually Hawaiian.
His next movie is “The Life and TImes of Harriet Tubman” starring Gwyneth Paltrow.
That is all kinds of wrong….but pretty damn funny.
That would be the pie.
Goop would also probably cross market with Gwyneth’s “healthy” versions of soul food
My eyes… Rolling.so hard…. It hurts
You joke, but in that Lincoln Vampire Hunter film they cast a very light-skinned woman to play Harriet Tubman…because the woman who played Tubman is half white.
My two nieces are 1/4 asian, and 3/4 euro-ancestry canadian. They (and their father) are often mistaken for aboriginal Canadians. go figure. I only point it out to highlight that the mixed race people in my family are a.) automatically categorized and b.) people get their assumptions wrong.
Hahaha!
I haven’t been able to sit through a Cameron Crowe movie in years. He’s the patient zero of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl.
Applause!
his films are fairly stinky from the start and age horribly.
maybe i’m misunderstanding the info but the movie isn’t based on real life or real people.
he’s just covering his but by saying they really tried to flesh her character and her angst out.
What is up with all these roles being taken up by white or black people. Honestly, throw in more mix in there. We need to see more diverse cast in Hollywood. America has more than two colors.
I get that the character was supposed to look more white than asian, but Im sure there are real life actors out there who are mixed and would have been more appropriate to be cast.
Just showing up for Lucy Liu and Elementary. Great show, great lead actress, great remix of the Sherlock Holmes universe. Johnny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu have amazing chemistry and their dynamic is so strong that I (a massive fan of the ACD Sherlock Holmes stories/novels since I was little) don’t care that so many elements have been reworked. In fact, I love the reworkings, they make the stories really fresh. I consider it a huge victory for women of color that Liu plays the lead on this show, and that her character’s ethnicity is referred to occasionally, but that she’s not “just” Chinese American. She’s a specific ethnicity, but she’s not reduced to her ethnicity.
I’m a mixed WOC. I’ve been identified as every ethnicity you can think of. I’ve dealt with more than a few strangers accusing me of misrepresenting myself or correcting me about my own background. And I agree that we’re all basically from one race, at the end of the day.
Here’s my issue with Hollywood: For generations, casting directors have always used the excuse that there were just virtually no roles for actors of color. But as soon as a great role for a character of color shows up – Presto change-o! We’re all one. Race doesn’t matter. Because the actor playing the role will be white. And anyone who complains is “racist.”
I’m so sick and tired of that sick and tired logic. Even if they still aren’t the most enlightened, the people who are paying attention are realizing that “minorities” aren’t really the minority. And, contrary to stereotypes, they actually have quite a bit of coin to spend. I think people of color are even considered a more valuable marketing target than baby boomers these days.
Bingo.
“Complex reports that Crowe has selected an actress named Jacquelyn Byers to play Natalie Shin in the upcoming Showtime comedy, Roadies.” Hmmmm…
http://www.asamnews.com/2015/06/02/complex-cameron-crowe-casts-another-white-actress-to-portray-asian-american/
He’s thick, this one.
Given that only 27% of Hawaii’s population is white, the fact that ALL the main characters in this “film about Hawaii” basically tells you all you need to know.
Maybe if it weren’t primarily about people stationed there in the military and not locals.
By that logic, at *least* one in every three main characters should be an ethnicity other than Caucasian. Military population in general is slightly more than 2/3 ‘white’–Hawai’ian military demographics even less so. Plus National Guard units (co-located in many cases on those sacrosanct bases) are largely Hawai’ian/Polynesian.
There’s a perfectly good market based solution to what is a market based problem. Go see films showcasing minority actors. Tyler Perry continues to make films that make a ton of money because the black community supports them; it’s the reason Perry has no problem getting financing.
People who make movies do so as an investment, not as a means to change or reflect society. Prove you’ll support them and they’ll get made. Spend your money on comic strip movies showcasing white actors and that’s what you’ll get.
Thank you for being the perfect example of the age old excuse.
I appreciate that there’s still somebody banging out the ol cliched suggestions. “Work hard enough and your skin tone won’t matter! Support minority actors/directors/producers and it will make all the difference!”
Except it doesn’t and hasn’t, those in power hold the keys but it must be comforting to cling to those fantasies. Still, it’s quite interesting to see how these repeated decisions (to write poor scripts, to shut out minority actors) are really starting to bite individuals right in the wallet. It’s quite nice.
Like several people pointed out – the studios are interested in the bottom line. But are any of these “movie stars” big enough to REALLY affect box office?
It seems like what it means to be a “movie star” has really been watered down in the last several years.
Who IS big enough to open a film nowadays based on name alone? A non-Marvel film. A non-young adult franchise film.
I’m sorry but the answer is NOT Bradley Cooper or Emma Stone.
I think the days of the great movie stars may be over.
I actually like Emma Stone alot and think she’s a terrific actress but my point is: I disagree with the idea the studios HAD to cast her in the role to help box office.
I strongly suspect they could have been just as well off casting an actress with a more accurate racial background. And I’m SURE they could have found one with the acting chops to pull it off. There are plenty of great undiscovered actors out there.
Is it possible we don’t have to browbeat the studios into engaging in more racially diverse casting using moral/ethical arguments? Maybe it’s in their financial best interest long term to do so if they’d open their eyes to the untapped consumer markets out there. I suspect they are like many people in large organizations and lack creativity and are very very risk averse. It’ll take someone with guts to lead this shift but I think it’ll pay off for them in the long term.
There’s also another tangentially related problem though: It’s simply hard to get pictures like Aloha financed nowadays right?
Alejandro Inarritu mentioned it a few months ago in an interview:
“When you put $100 million and you get $800 million or $1 billion, it is very hard to convince people. You tell them, you will put in $20 million and you will get $80 million. Now, that is a f–king amazing business, but they say, “$80 million? I want $800 million.”
To me that makes the “We must cast these white actors in these roles to help the bottom line” argument weaker in some respects. They aren’t going to make the big bucks off these mid-sized features anyway. Perhaps the future in film is blockbuster franchise films and prestige Oscar baity type films.
Just some random thoughts.
From what I’ve heard studios are making effort to not create ‘big’ celebrity actors like they have in the past.
It makes it easier to replace them if they become addicted, less trouble to soothe them if they become trouble, their egos can’t get too big because they know their replacement is just waiting on the assembly line. Of course like you said this also has the effect that people won’t rush to movies even if a slightly more popular actor is in them. Of course this movie also seemed like a huge stinker just from the commercials so there’s also that.
Plus we need to admit minority individuals have money and it wouldn’t be wrong to appeal to their finances. Instead of creating movies that don’t feature any individuals that they can see themselves in why not show them a fantasy world more relevant to the real one? But I think we can also admit this is somewhat less about what’s financially smart and more about the fears and dreads of white studio heads who can’t or won’t adapt to a changing world.
Olivia Munn was the first to pop into my mind. Maybe he was going for quality actress instead of the superficial. Just saying. Can we not give him credit regarding acting abilities?