"You are beau-tee-full in your wray-ath"

Worst miscasting ever: John Wayne as Genghis Khan.
-the thing is I saw that film years ago, for the curiosity factor, but also because I really like Genghis and wanted to see a good film about him and that happened to be on TV. I was disappointed. :(

Yes, it really happened and he was really as bad as you imagine him to be in that role. Really.

isukun
There is no reason to ever cast him in any movie you want to see succeed.

Like John Wayne, Keanu embodies a sort of elemental position in movies now: he IS the sci-fi guy.

That's why they have him in those sorts of movies. He's a big name and he represents Sci-Fi.
Wayne was a big name and he represented tough-guy historical action figures. That's how Hollywood works. It's not about what's right for the movie really, but what's the right way to capture public attention for it; how to sell it right...

Except for most people he doesn't represent sci-fi, he just represents "bad movie". If producers out here are thinking he somehow is synonymous with that genre in the eyes of the public, they are sorely mistaken.

I dunno Izzy. To me he's just a bit dull, but when I hear the name attached to a movie, I know what it's likely going to be about(sci-fi themed). Not that I could be bothered seeing it in any case...

But "bad" or "good", those are value judgements applied by a different, smaller group, not "the general public".

isukun
I don't think the ethnicity is an issue there, just the fact that Reeves couldn't act his way out of a paper bag. He's the most overpaid non-actor in all of Hollywood. I honestly don't know how he keeps getting cast in lead roles. He's not cheap and he isn't even considered a pretty face, anymore. He ruins 90% of what he touches. There is no reason to ever cast him in any movie you want to see succeed.

Amen.

They'd better not cast Miley Cyrus as Ed...

You know what they should do? Hire dedicated cosplay people. I mean, those guys really get into their costumes...this guy would make an awesome Spike:

The trouble is, I doubt the cosplayers could act better than Keanu. Most likely worse.

Besides, isn't there a bit of a "meme" in this "Keanu is a bad actor" stuff? Objectively, he's not really that bad an actor at all, but he's just not very expressive. That might just be by choice though, his technique.
I mean, Johnny Dep was never a great actor, but he's a very pretty man, and his fantasy characters that he's done have been very popular, so people love him. It's all just puplic perception.

Really "good" actors don't go for these sorts of parts and likely they'd never get them anyway. Besides, "good" actors and great directors don't always make great films: David Lynche's Dune didn't do too well and it had some of the very cream of the crop acting in it.

ozoneocean
Besides, "good" actors and great directors don't always make great films: David Lynche's Dune didn't do too well and it had some of the very cream of the crop acting in it.

This is true. :)

Hawk
I get the idea that it would be really hard to find actors of that specific race and age, AND have them look like siblings, AND speaking english, AND have them be half-decent child actors.

I agree.

How many Inuit child actors have any of us ever seen? I mean, you could potentially go with Native American's here, but the same question applies.

I also agree with Skullbie that the actors resemble the characters to a pretty good degree; the only difference being skin tone. But assuming the movie is good, I don't see that many people would really be that concerned with it. I mean, you could say that people might not watch it because they couldn't identify with it, but as someone who's never identified with anything cool on T.V., I find you can enjoy it pretty much the same. I still remember walking through the school and listening to all the conversations about what Gohan did to Cell.

Hakoshen
How many Inuit child actors have any of us ever seen? I mean, you could potentially go with Native American's here, but the same question applies.

This isn't as tricky as you'd think. t's not hard to find good Inuit child actors really. You think in 2009 it'd be hard? lol!

Back when they were first developing the medium of film they could find eskimo actors.

-I say Eskimo because actually using the "intuit" term to describe all Arctic peoples is like using Texan to describe all North Americans. -Big ego-boost for the Texans, not so for those who aren't. lol!

Whoa there. I've been told you should use Inuit and that calling them Eskimos is insulting to them.

Gotta agree with Ozone, there are literally thousands of actors representing just about every racial group, age range, and physical shape. I see casting calls for specific races all the time, so they ARE out there. And it's not due to acting ability that white people often get picked for these roles. It's lot easier to be cast in a movie if you have a background. Hollywood is all about who you know, not what you can do. There are a lot of actors out here who get by on their connections more than their acting ability. Most child actors are prime examples.

Why is racism such a big deal? Racism is rampant nowadays, especially in youth. I thought people would be used to it by now.

It's not a big deal, but I would like to see the characters in 1 of my favorite shows portrayed accurately.

I mean... look at DBZ. You think anyone who likes DBZ actually likes that movie?!

Y'know, I always thought that Sokka and Katara looked Mulatto, but maybe that's just me.

Anyway, I'm of the mindset that you should get whatever actor's going to play the part best, and not get too hung up on appearance. Sure, they should resemble the character to a degree, but still, don't get obsessed with it. Case in point: The Kingpin. In the Daredevil movie he was played by Michael Clark Duncan, because all of the white actors who applied for the role (mostly wrestlers) just did very poorly. Now, that was a pretty bad movie, but one of the highlights was Duncan's performance as Kingpin. He didn't get much screentime for being the main villain (which went to Colin Farrel, who did a pretty entertaining job as Bullseye without really looking that much like the character), but it wasn't his performance everyone was complaining about. It was fit, handsome Ben Affleck, who aside from the lack of red hair, was a great match for Matt Murdock. Of course, his on-screen sabotage wasn't nearly as devastating as Jennifer Garner (again, a very good match for the character she was cast as) and her fervent attempts at acting.

What I'm saying is: there are some things way more important than appearance.

This is reminding me of a popular complaint, regarding Brandon Routh, getting the part as Superman in the movie Superman Returns based on the grounds that he resembled Christopher Reeve. Many critics didn't like him playing that part because they thought he looked too young.

Puff_Of_Smoke
Why is racism such a big deal? Racism is rampant nowadays, especially in youth. I thought people would be used to it by now.

Racism is everywhere, so everyone should just be used to it and ok with it?

you sir, are an idiot.

I mean... look at DBZ. You think anyone who likes DBZ actually likes that movie?!

Anyone who likes anything doesn't like that movie.

Anyway, I'm of the mindset that you should get whatever actor's going to play the part best, and not get too hung up on appearance.

Somehow I get the feeling these actors WERE chosen based on appearance, just not based on how accurately they represent the characters racially. At least, I find it very hard to believe Nicola Peltz was picked for her acting ability. I don't really feel like wading through the crap Jackson Rathbone's been in just to evaluate his acting ability. Judging from his face, though, I'd wager he wasn't picked for his ability to bring the animated character to life.

isukun
I don't really feel like wading through the crap Jackson Rathbone's been in just to evaluate his acting ability. Judging from his face, though, I'd wager he wasn't picked for his ability to bring the animated character to life.

Which is a darn shame because I really like the character, Sokka. If this individual ends up having the personality of a tree stump in these movies, I will be seriously ticked.

NickGuy

Puff_Of_Smoke
Why is racism such a big deal? Racism is rampant nowadays, especially in youth. I thought people would be used to it by now.

Racism is everywhere, so everyone should just be used to it and ok with it?

Where in my post did I say that?

I said I thought people would be used to it by now. You're the one adding on to my post. Yeesh.

I don't see it as that big a deal because most of the broadcasting world is racist. And we all know that society always wins over the minority that isn't okay with it.

Puff_Of_Smoke

NickGuy

Puff_Of_Smoke
Why is racism such a big deal? Racism is rampant nowadays, especially in youth. I thought people would be used to it by now.

Racism is everywhere, so everyone should just be used to it and ok with it?

Where in my post did I say that?

I said I thought people would be used to it by now. You're the one adding on to my post. Yeesh.

I don't see it as that big a deal because most of the broadcasting world is racist. And we all know that society always wins over the minority that isn't okay with it.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess you're white, under the age of 30, not American and for the most part largely uneducated in social theory or history.

Yeah, he's a Canadian boy :)

-------------
Racism/racialism is a weird thing. It was much worse in the past. I'm just now reading "Flashman's Lady" by George MacDonald Fraser. It's a book written in the 70's about the 1840s... An action comedy novel.
He captures the awful, endemic, thoughtless, racialism of the time perfectly.

-Most importantly there is this sense from the English characters that they're just naturally superior because of their skin tone and that all others want to be like them, but never really can because they're born of inferior "stock". This idea that the "white man" is the natural leader and his ways are naturally, self evidently superior... And they use language as well as actions to keep others in their place.

...Of course in the book Harry Flashman behaves that way, but finds himself made a slave by Madagascan royalty, so there's a good bit of turn-about there in many, many ways as he well and truly gets his comeuppance.
---------

But the thing is that even though such behaviour is disgusting and dehumanising, it still goes on today. In obvious and subtle ways:
Subtle, like in the casting of this movie. It's NOT just a creative choice, there IS bias and racialism here and it's disappointing.

Well, the best I can do is wait for the preview and hope it's so OMG AWESOME! that I'll love it regardless.

Yes, racism is not news, but I guess the reason ppl are more annoyed by it being in Avatar TLA, is because the animated show itself is a step forward in multiculturalism. So the movie is a step backward.

-- The show is about non-European characters in a 100%-non-European world.
-- The show does its research. There are no gibberish Asian words that make no sense, like in 90% of other Asian-themed cartoons. There are no Chinese characters dressed in kimonos with pseudo-Japanese hairstyles.
-- The story's theme is about the world coming together in harmony, both socio-politically and in a spiritual sense.

There are so few people of color in TV and movies (relative to the number of what characters), so to take some of the few non-white/non-villain characters and whitewash them is sad.
The characters do look like a cross between Asian/Inuit/something else. But what they don't look is white. For once, we had a show without any white people. And it did fine. Why would they remake this with white actors?
So the characters have blue eyes. Instead of getting white people to play them, give the PoC actors blue contacts! And I'm sure there are non-white actors who could do just as good an acting job as the white kids they hired.

The erasure of minority visibility is a serious thing.

megan_rose
So the characters have blue eyes. Instead of getting white people to play them, give the PoC actors blue contacts! And I'm sure there are non-white actors who could do just as good an acting job as the white kids they hired.
The erasure of minority visibility is a serious thing.

Exactly. I'd like to know why eye color is more important than skin color in this case.

I'm thinking it's less about racism and more about selling the movie. 2 of the 4 main characters were cast as teen-sensation pretty boys originally.

They could have started out getting Jason Rathbone as Sokka, because he was big from the twilight movies (which will be playing at the same time as the first Avatar movie...that's a nice little advertisement). Once they got him, Katara would have to be white, as well as their Grandmother. The choice of one actor could have affected the rest of the family

For anyone interested in seeing some of the actors in their getup, he're a first look:

http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2009-05-21-airbender-first-look_N.htm?csp=34

One interesting thing to note is that the kid who plays Aang had been called "Avatar" for years because he apparently looks so much like Aang. From the picture they provide he does seem like a reasonable likeness.

Zuko's interesting. It looks like they're not giving him the screwy hairdo.

This is my first time seeing a good pic of noah, huge likeness to aang alright. Patel also looks awesome it'll be great to see him in a role that's not 'mouth agape slumdog' for 1hr 45minutes. I do think he's a good actor though ;O

I hope the special effects in this film are good though :/ God i downright cringed while watching twilight, and I know everything can't be terminator 3 or wall-e quality, but i cringed.

Woah. Noah Ringer sure does look like Aang. It's pretty cool that both Ringer and Patel are black belt in Tae kwon do (what are the odds?). That should mean that it'll be relatively easy for them to learn those bending moves.

I'm curious though. This is supposed to be a trilogy that they're filming, right? Each movie representing each season. If they're gonna be faithful to the original story then it should take approximately 1 year for Aang to do his thing and save the world. I'm gonna assume that they're gonna film one movie at a time and release each film approximately one year apart from each other. If that's the case then they're gonna run into similar problems and complaints that the Harry Potter franchise is currently facing (which is that the actors is growing up faster then the characters). Ringer is only 12 so we're going to see a noticeable chance in his physical appearance in three years time. It would be hard to accept that he's only one year older in the third movie. If they pull a lord of the rings film shoot and film all the 3 movies at the same time, they could circumvent it.

Considering that they've already transformed this movie into another Dragonball Evolution, it wouldn't be very difficult to change the script so that Aang saves the world in 3 years.
At least this way Aang will be 15 before he starts trading saliva with Kitara.

mlai
It wouldn't be very difficult to change the script so that Aang saves the world in 3 years.
At least this way Aang will be 15 before he starts trading saliva with Kitara.

...fair enough.

The first minute and half says all that needs to be said about that subject.