The Last Airbender casting war

[Graywand2]

All right people, apparently the Avatar: The Last Airbender fandom has taken leave of its senses after EW announced that M. Night Shyamalan has personally chosen the cast of Paramount's The Last Airbender.

Shyamalan personally discovered twelve year old Texan Noah Ringer to play Aang.

Niccola Peltz (Deck the Halls) to play Katara

Jackson Rathbone (Twilight) to play Sokka

and Jessie McCartney to play Zuko

They went nuts, loudly decrying that Paramount, and even M. Night, were racist and discriminatory in their casting, claiming that they were Asians and Native Americans and that they should be the ones playing the roles in the film. Though in actuality they live in an Asian and Native American like culture and in no way are actual Asians or Native Americans.

The truth is I personally believe if they're going to play the race card for a fictional universe than this movie shouldn't be made because American society isn't ready for it.

What do you think of this whole argument?

And if Star Trek fans can universally accept a Latino playing a Sikh Indian, then why can't this bunch except white people playing character for people who never existed in a land that never existed.

 

[Christopher]

Why start a separate thread for this topic when one already exists?

We can accept Montalban as Khan because 1) it was the '60s and such substitutions were standard then, but hopefully not anymore; 2) he at least looked somewhat right for the character's ethnicity, rather than being blond with blue eyes or something; and 3) he was really good in the role so we can forgive the weirdness of a Sikh with a Mexican accent.

But this is the 2000s, and it's just no longer appropriate to pass off white people as characters who are supposed to be Asian. There's no reason why a big-budget motion picture should be incapable of spreading its casting net wide enough to find actors who bear a reasonable resemblance to the characters they're supposed to be playing. It's not "playing the race card" to expect the live-action performers to resemble the original roles. There's a reason we've never had a blond Superman or Batman. On the contrary, if anything, it's the filmmakers who have apparently made an issue out of race by making what seems to be a deliberate choice to go for white leads even though that's obviously incongruous for the characters in question.

 

[Graywand2]

But they aren't supposed to be Asian. They live in an Asian based culture, that's all. Star Wars borrowed large aspects of Asian culture, and most people are cool with it. Th

And besides M. Night chose these people himself, and I find it difficult to believe he was being racist. Did it ever occur to people that maybe the actors he personally chose were what he considered best for the job? The official casting calls called for people of all races, and I doubt it was a mere formality. As a person of color it offends me deeply that they're acting like they never should've have been considered for these roles because they're white.

 

[OptimusPete]

Why start a separate thread for this topic when one already exists?

We can accept Montalban as Khan because 1) it was the '60s and such substitutions were standard then, but hopefully not anymore; 2) he at least looked somewhat right for the character's ethnicity, rather than being blond with blue eyes or something; and 3) he was really good in the role so we can forgive the weirdness of a Sikh with a Mexican accent.

But this is the 2000s, and it's just no longer appropriate to pass off white people as characters who are supposed to be Asian. There's no reason why a big-budget motion picture should be incapable of spreading its casting net wide enough to find actors who bear a reasonable resemblance to the characters they're supposed to be playing. It's not "playing the race card" to expect the live-action performers to resemble the original roles. There's a reason we've never had a blond Superman or Batman. On the contrary, if anything, it's the filmmakers who have apparently made an issue out of race by making what seems to be a deliberate choice to go for white leads even though that's obviously incongruous for the characters in question.

But they have changed the race of shakespearean characters for plays (both to and from black and white) and in films the Kingpin was black for example so there is a precedent for this type of thing.

 

[Graywand2]

My personal belief is racism is a disgusting charge to be laid against anyone, and if you're going to make that charge you'd better have some hard evidence. And the casting itself is not hard evidence, because I'm finding it hard to believe M. Night Shyamalan was being racist.

 

[JNG]

Best actor should get the part, not one who happens to most closely resemble characters as drawn. You're much more likely to end up with a solid film that way, and that's what would ultimately please the fandom.

(Isn't Avatar: the Last Airbender kind of a marginal property? How many people could really be bothered by this? Will the movie even primarily target existing fans of the property?)

 

[Graywand2]

Avatar is far from a marginal property, several times it was the best rated show in its timeslot on cable. These movies could catapult the series to the status of Star Wars, which I hope they will, but not if the internet race riots don't cool down.

 

[Technobuilder]

Okay, maybe I've just oblivious this week, but other than hearing the about the initial casting sides, where the heck has this 'fandom outcry' been coming from.

Someone mind pointing me to a link or six?

 

[Graywand2]

http://aang-aint-white.livejournal.com/646.html

http://forums.avatarspirit.net/index.php?board=15.0

(check out the threads M. Night Shyamalan's...Avatar: The Last Airbender and Who would play the characters in a live action movie. Check the posts that have only happened in the last week and you should find the battle.)

http://distanthorizons.proboards31.com/index.cgi?board=avmovie&action=display&thread=21082

and of course, under the original EW article itself

http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2008/12/shyamalan-casts.html

 

[exodus]

Avatar is far from a marginal property, several times it was the best rated show in its timeslot on cable. These movies could catapult the series to the status of Star Wars, which I hope they will, but not if the internet race riots don't cool down.

I like the show too but your giving it and M.NIGHT way, way too much credit.

Animated shows turned live action films rarely do great box office.
I'd just be thankful the show is on DVD and don't get your hopes up for too much more.

 

[Graywand2]

Actually that was what Nick president Cyma Zarghami suggested, and I think she may be right.

 

[Cutter John]

I'd much rather waste my energy bitching about turning a perfectly good animated series into a shitty live action movie.

So whats the thinking? That there are people who can't deal with animation who are going to be interested in a film set in a made up world with kids throwing around earth, air, fire, and water spells?

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Does Avatar take place on Earth? Are the inhabitants human or descendants of humans? Are their cultures explicitly linked to their ancestry, ie, the "Inuit"-dressing ones are presumed to be descendants of actual Inuits?

 

[Graywand2]

No, no it doesn't. It takes place on a fantasy planet with Asian and Inuit based cultures. They're human but this isn't Earth.

 

[Brikar99]

Why start a separate thread for this topic when one already exists?

We can accept Montalban as Khan because 1) it was the '60s and such substitutions were standard then, but hopefully not anymore; 2) he at least looked somewhat right for the character's ethnicity, rather than being blond with blue eyes or something; and 3) he was really good in the role so we can forgive the weirdness of a Sikh with a Mexican accent.

But this is the 2000s, and it's just no longer appropriate to pass off white people as characters who are supposed to be Asian. There's no reason why a big-budget motion picture should be incapable of spreading its casting net wide enough to find actors who bear a reasonable resemblance to the characters they're supposed to be playing. It's not "playing the race card" to expect the live-action performers to resemble the original roles. There's a reason we've never had a blond Superman or Batman. On the contrary, if anything, it's the filmmakers who have apparently made an issue out of race by making what seems to be a deliberate choice to go for white leads even though that's obviously incongruous for the characters in question.

We did have a blonde James Bond, however, and that turned out pretty well.

 

[Thespeckledkiwi]

BTW people have to realize, there is a MAJOR Asian community in Texas. *sighs*

 

[exodus]

BTW people have to realize, there is a MAJOR Asian community in Texas. *sighs*

Just like here in the NY tri-State area, however that doesn't help considering none of them are well known actors within the age range of the main characters nor do those little pockets of Asian communities dwarf the larger non-Asian ones.

 

[Gojirob]

Ethnicity in casting ought not to be of supreme, film-killing importance, but nor should it be handed over to people with 'neat ideas'. This film exists solely because of a devoted fanbase, and it should be listened to, even if not slavishly obeyed. Why MNS was handed this after a string of clunkers is beyond me.

One issue : Do we as fans now make so much noise that we are part of the background? Not so much a rant about 'whining' as me wondering if execs now say 'The fans will grumble, but they always grumble' and just drive around us for such objections.

 

[Thespeckledkiwi]

BTW people have to realize, there is a MAJOR Asian community in Texas. *sighs*

Just like here in the NY tri-State area, however that doesn't help considering none of them are well known actors within the age range of the main characters nor do those little pockets of Asian communities dwarf the larger non-Asian ones.

Come to Austin -- I think if you go downtown, Asians pretty much outpopulate anyone else ...

 

[exodus]

BTW people have to realize, there is a MAJOR Asian community in Texas. *sighs*

Just like here in the NY tri-State area, however that doesn't help considering none of them are well known actors within the age range of the main characters nor do those little pockets of Asian communities dwarf the larger non-Asian ones.

Come to Austin -- I think if you go downtown, Asians pretty much outpopulate anyone else ...

Maybe so but what we see in our communities doesn't represent the entire nation.