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Author Topic: Worse then The Last Airbender?  (Read 6620 times)

Rama

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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #1 on: Mar 28, 2011, 01:21:57 PM »
I'm becoming more and more against turning any comic or cartoon into a live action movie. Hollywood refuses to get it right.

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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #2 on: Mar 28, 2011, 02:15:26 PM »
What's worse is that when they do once in a blue moon get it right, then it flops. And these movies that get it all wrong do big money. Well some of the times. Last Airbender did bomb didn't it?

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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #3 on: Mar 28, 2011, 02:26:07 PM »
It's... it's almost as if...

But no! Is it even possible?

It's almost as if they're targeting a mostly white audience.

!!!

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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #4 on: Mar 28, 2011, 03:14:25 PM »

There's the trailer.
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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #5 on: Mar 28, 2011, 03:29:07 PM »

There's the trailer.

I was dreading clicking that link. Turns out, that was pretty okay.
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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #6 on: Mar 28, 2011, 06:35:33 PM »
Insurgency plans are already under way.

Good thing I don't care for Akira.
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IDE

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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #7 on: Mar 28, 2011, 10:43:36 PM »
If they want to make a movie loosely based on akira that's fine, but please don't call it akira.



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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #8 on: Mar 28, 2011, 11:00:33 PM »
Exactly.

Change all the names in fact. Instead of Tetsuo and Kaneda, how about something like Billy and Jimmy?

That's the ticket.

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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #9 on: Mar 28, 2011, 11:06:55 PM »
Please, no, not Billy and Jimmy! They already did a Double Dragon movie.
Political Correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical, liberal minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.

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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #10 on: Mar 28, 2011, 11:09:20 PM »
You know, I never did see that, although I heard it's truly awful.

And Scott Wolf is in it.

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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #11 on: Mar 29, 2011, 12:13:07 AM »
Re: OP article...  It's not "colorblind" casting.  There's no way anyone's gonna convince me that they didn't specifically target white dudes for those roles.  Colorblind casting would've brought in at least one contender that had obvious racial differences.  Also, colorblind casting wouldn't have been so goddamn awful.  Could they really not even get the ages right?

Oh, and I'll just put this here.  Basically Racebending's sound-off on this nonsense:  http://www.racebending.com/v4/featured/akira-adaptation-courts-white-actors/

When I first saw this topic, I thought it might've been about Sucker Punch given one review called it "The Last Airbender with bustiers."

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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #12 on: Mar 29, 2011, 02:01:47 PM »
They targeted the people they thought would bring in the most money.  End of line.

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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #13 on: Mar 30, 2011, 12:44:41 AM »
1.  It's still not "colorblind" casting.
2.  It's still racist.
3.  Why the eff is my link not clickable?  http://www.racebending.com/v4/featured/akira-adaptation-courts-white-actors/


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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #14 on: Mar 30, 2011, 02:59:24 AM »
Nope not racially motivated. 

If white people weren't the majority with the most money they would not have chosen white actors which means this is not racism.  Racism would be a black director making kaneda black despite the fact that white people are the majority with the most money.

And I don't know what the fuck colorblind casting means anyway.

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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #15 on: Mar 30, 2011, 09:35:33 AM »
It means that you're screwed if you're not black or white. Not that it works out for the former that often, either :P
« Last Edit: Mar 30, 2011, 09:37:43 AM by Rodent of Unusual Size »
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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #16 on: Mar 30, 2011, 03:35:34 PM »
And I don't know what the fuck colorblind casting means anyway.

The concept is picking the actor who makes the most sense for the role, regardless of race.

This would, of course, mean hiring Japanese people in this case.
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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #17 on: Mar 30, 2011, 07:47:08 PM »
Why? How do you know the movie even takes place in Japan?

I mean, as dumb as the situation already is, it would be even dumber if all these white dudes were running around in Tokyo as if they were actually Japanese.

Akira is a cool story. Hollywood wants to adapt that story. Hollywood has a hard enough time selling movies full of celebrities we recognize.

Not enough people are going to see some weird sci-fi flick full of Asian unknowns to make it a worthwhile monetary endeavor.

This must compute.

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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #18 on: Mar 30, 2011, 07:55:37 PM »
^

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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #19 on: Mar 30, 2011, 07:56:09 PM »
You know what? Somebody please prove me wrong. Give me your ideal cast list for the Hollywood adaptation of Akira. All actors must be of Asian descent! Look, I even made it easier for you, I could have said Japanese descent, but since even Japanese movies sometimes portray other Asians as Japanese, I think it's fair.

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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #20 on: Mar 30, 2011, 08:16:01 PM »
I think you missed my point. We are in agreement on how Hollywood works. I was explaining what colorblind casting must be, though I'm sure it's never happened in Hollywood. If they put a non-white actor in, it's because they want to seem like they give a shit, or the movie is targeted at a specific audience.
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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #21 on: Mar 30, 2011, 08:19:30 PM »
I wasn't calling you out. I'm saying, people who have a problem with this, tell me how you would fix it. Because I am genuinely interested.

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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #22 on: Mar 30, 2011, 09:07:11 PM »
Ah, well... yeah, I got nothing.
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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #23 on: Mar 30, 2011, 10:02:52 PM »
It's just a property that shouldn't see adaptation. If you have to pigeonhole casting to a certain race to retain authenticity, it shouldn't be made as it will limit the appeal. Whether you want to admit it or not, it's no less true. If you choose to offset this limitation by changing locations, situations, and/or names specifically so a broadened cast can make sense, it shouldn't be made because it will move from adaptation to something more akin to rewriting, repurposing, and revisionism.

The only way I could see this one working is for a Hollywood studio to help plan, fund, and provide resources for a Japanese filmmaker's attempt. Otherwise, I can't see it working.
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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #24 on: Mar 30, 2011, 10:15:24 PM »
That's the problem right there...

Why adapt? Create something original with inspiration from the things that came before. Stupid Hollywood.
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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #25 on: Mar 30, 2011, 10:38:16 PM »
Call it Ground Zero, set it in america let the guy who directs dark knight handle it and I'll go see it.

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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #26 on: Mar 30, 2011, 10:44:01 PM »
Here's the thing. Most people don't know, or give a fuck, about Akira. If they go and see this movie, they might actually enjoy it for what it is.

Kind of like what I did with Constantine before ever reading a single issue of Hellblazer.

Of course now that I'm familiar with Hellblazer, I know that Constantine is an unmitigated piece of shit, instead of just another mediocre Keanu flick.

But I don't think we have to worry about the American moviegoing masses educating themselves of the lore of Akira anytime soon.

I mean, you could take this even further down the line, where people are saying, "Man, Akira the anime is garbage! The manga is where it's at, bro!"

I've never read the manga. I liked the anime just fine. You see what I'm getting at?

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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #27 on: Mar 30, 2011, 11:47:03 PM »
LONG-ASS POST TIEM!!11dlk


And I don't know what the fuck colorblind casting means anyway.

The concept is picking the actor who makes the most sense for the role, regardless of race.

This would, of course, mean hiring Japanese people in this case.

You're right on the first but I'm not sure on the second point.  We had a non-Japanese Sulu and Chinese Memoirs of a Geisha, they wouldn't have to be Japanese although it'd be nice if they were.  Colorblind casting in this case would have at least had a couple of non-white choices and would have had younger men in the roles instead of some of the fogies we ended up with.  If they were totally disregarding race, the males leads could be completely different races yet they didn't even try this.



Nope not racially motivated. 

If white people weren't the majority with the most money they would not have chosen white actors which means this is not racism.

Duuude, how the hell is that NOT racially motivated when you went and brought in race as a reason?  The majority excuse is crap.  By that logic, there shouldn't be movies featuring other races at all.



Not enough people are going to see some weird sci-fi flick full of Asian unknowns to make it a worthwhile monetary endeavor.

This must compute.

What do you base that on?  To my knowledge, NO ONE HAS TRIED THAT.  Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon made $128 million over here and it was a Chinese wuxia flick.  It had NO RELEVANCE to an American audience and it still made money.  Make an awesome, localized sci-fi flick starring up-and-coming Asian-American actors?  That shit can totally be done, my man.



You know what? Somebody please prove me wrong. Give me your ideal cast list for the Hollywood adaptation of Akira. All actors must be of Asian descent! Look, I even made it easier for you, I could have said Japanese descent, but since even Japanese movies sometimes portray other Asians as Japanese, I think it's fair.

I believe it would really have to be up-and-coming unknowns for the two leads since they should be older teen boys and they want to cast it too damn old.  Unlike young white American males, Asian-American males are severely under-represented and there just isn't a strong known pool of them.

Kei could be Crystal Yi-fei or even Ellen Wong.  It should be easier to cast the females.

If they cast it older, there are plenty to choose from here (just toss out the Indians, ha ha) as well as John Cho and James Kyson Lee. http://www.asiaarts.ucla.edu/090501/article.asp?parentID=107812


Racebending's pleas to Warner Bros. make a good point:

Quote
"Because Asian Americans are present in every major city in the United States, there is no need to change the ethnicity of the main characters while resetting this story to Manhattan. One out of ten Manhattan residents are Asian American and at 41% of the population, Asian Americans are the largest racial group in Lower Manhattan. Casting white actors for Asian lead characters will reinforce a glass ceiling and reduce opportunities for Asian American actors."

"Actors like Robert Pattison and Andrew Garfield have the privilege of playing iconic white characters that Asian American actors would never be considered for,” said Racebending.com co-founder Marissa Lee. “When white actors are also asked to play iconic Asian characters, Asian American actors lose their shot at starring in anything.



But I don't think we have to worry about the American moviegoing masses educating themselves of the lore of Akira anytime soon.

Yeah, no one really cares.  But it would nice if they could make a fair and awesome movie anyway.  The Last Airbender and Dragonball chickened out and that was no great success.  They didn't lose any money over it but no one wants to shell out $150M and $30M and only see a 50% return.  And none of those people who starred were very known either.

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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #28 on: Mar 31, 2011, 03:35:23 AM »
It's not racially motivated because it's monetarily motivated, like me and Joe said. 

Calling it racism is bad science.

Race is the false cause.  The true variables to measure here are who has the money and how can they get it from them.

Oh one in 10 people are asian in manhattan? Clearly lets market to them!

Come on you're smarter than this.

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Re: Worse then The Last Airbender?
« Reply #29 on: Mar 31, 2011, 03:54:20 AM »
This the part where aDam replies well then the audience is racist.

And then I reply I don't care about the audience I'm talking about the motivation of the film makers, who even if they were asian themselves would realize that this shit will flop nasty if they didn't recast it.

And if you want to call the white audience racist that's fine with me they're no more or less racist than the black or latino audiences.