MORE WHITE-WASHING:

-Jack Gyllenhal as the "Prince of Persia" (wtf?)

-Kristen Kreuk as a South Asian/Indian Muslim woman in "Partition" (this was last year, though)

-all-white version of "AKIRA" the 1988 Japanese anime film/highly popular manga series

-main white leads in "Dragonball," another Japanese anime cartoon show

What else am I forgetting here, folks???

Persians (iranians) are actually caucasian, so casting Jake is not out of the realm of reality.

Kristen Kreuk is actually half asian.

Most anime characters have uriously euro features anyway, so an all white version just continues the trend.

David Vaccari's statement is right, whether you want to believe it or not, so if black and Asian actors want to work, they better start making their own stuff. Denzel Washington, Will Smith and Forrest Whitaker have used their fame for the work in front of the camera to do great work behind it. I know Mindy Kaling recently directed something. I don't see a point in b-ing and moaning about it, especially since many of the people doing the whine thing are going to see said movies. I haven't watched any of the above films. I've read reviews for Iwo Jima. I guess I rent more things these days so I pick and choose. Everyone should do the same. I'm watching The Last King of Scotland tonight. I made a choice that made Forest Whitaker, Kerry Washington and stories about Africa and black people a tiny bit more bankable to the studios. They care about their bottom line. I care about seeing good movies with good actors, some who are POC. We all win.

Persian (Iranians)are not Caucasian they are middle eastern for some reason they consider themselves white but they are'nt they are not of european descent but are so self hating they want the rest of the world to see them as something they arent google the president of Iran does that look like a white guy to you?

Yup… follow the money. Why do u think Eminem and Justin Timberlake sell so well? I agree with Daria. If minorities want to be seen in movies, they need to start making them. Whites promote themselves, not us.

Um actually… middle eastern people are considered to be caucasian (genetically/anthropologically speaking).

"For anyone who is uncertain of what race "Iranians" are, I suggest they look up the meaning and description of "Caucasian" in an unabridged Webster's dictionary.

Caucasian (commonly referred to as White) race is a major ethnic division of the human species having skin color varying from very light to brown. These people are natives of Caucasus Mountains, which are in the SW region of Soviet Union or Northern region of Iran (depending on the time periods when the borders were established)."

Iranians are technically caucasian. But we are still a minority. I would never describe myself as white, though.

getreal, Middle Eastern people fall under the classification of Caucasian.

"The current U.S. Census definition includes white "people having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East or North Africa"

"The Caucasian race, sometimes called the Caucasoid race,[1][2] is defined by the Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English as "relating to a broad division of humankind covering peoples from Europe, Western Asia, parts of the Indian Subcontinent and North Africa" or "white-skinned; of European origin" or "relating to the region of the Caucasus in SE Europe".[3"

getreal-
"google the president of Iran does that look like a white guy to you?"

We don't all look like the Ahmadinejad. And he doesn't look "caucasian" to you because the word has taken on a new meaning.

Thanks, daria, that's a way better source.

I still think it is offensive that they are casting Jack Gyllenhal as the Prince of Persia. There are Iranian actors out there. Just because Iranians and Jake fall under the umbrella of "caucasian" does not mean that it's okay to not cast a minority actor.

The saddest thing about this is race is actually significant to the story usually. By taking out the racial aspect, they completely change the nuances of the story.

They even do it with light skin/dark skin. It was significant that the real life man depicted in Six Degrees of Separation was a dark skinned Black man who got over on the socialites of Manhattan by saying he was Sidney Poitier's son. (Dark skinned Black people don't usually get to play these con games with the very rich.) But Will Smith was cast to play him.

And Chris Gardner, the rags to riches stockbroker in The Pursuit of Happyness, is actually a dark skinned Black man who made it big. Who played him? Will Smith. Hollywood either lightens up the story or just wipes us out altogether. It's rare that you see a darker Black person as the lead or hero/ine. So self-serving.

@ilnazhad: again, it's all about the money.

Jake is bankable. I can't think of a Persian or Middle Eastern actor who is more bankable. Studios know Americans are not going to go see some movie about Persia unless Jakey Poo or some similarly popular actor plays the lead. At least Jake could possibly do the role justice. Serious. Colin Farrell in Alexander. WTF is that about?! Same race, yes, but um, no.

@J: Will Smith is bankable. Simple as that. Wesley Snipes would have been another alternative but he's less consistently bankable than Will. My hope is that at least the Wills, Halles, Angelas, Forests, the bankable black actors will actually start getting roles that were not specifically written for a black person. Halle got Things We Lost in the Fire which I know was written for a white woman. I don't know about the others. If these actors got such roles more often then I wouldn't really care if I saw a BANKABLE white actor playing a role written for a black person.

So like I said, persians are caucasian.

The american view of what constitutes white, is just that….the american view. It always amazes me how supposedly educated people fail to realize the ethnic diversity "caucasians", and fall into the european trap.

Ahmadinejad looks white to me. Shave the beard off, lose the accent, and he could pass for my high school math teacher Mr Farmingdale.

"Persians (iranians) are actually caucasian, so casting Jake is not out of the realm of reality. Kristen Kreuk is actually half asian. Most anime characters have uriously euro features anyway, so an all white version just continues the trend."

I second everybody else on the Iranian comments, so I won't add anything new to that.

Secondly, just because an actress is half-Asian doesn't mean she can be casted to play a South Asian character. Get real. Have you seen her face? She's a white skinned, blonde, blue-eyed chick who looks NOTHING like East Indian/South Asian actresses. There are many talented South ASian actresses who were vying for that one role in that movie. and they all got pushed over for a Blonde, white girl. Disgusting.

Also, you are slumping "Asian" into one category. Do you have any idea how huge Asia is? Asia includes China, Korea,Japan, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Taiwan, etc. So just because a person is Asian (whether they're from the Far East or the South continent, etc) doesnt mean they're automatically qualified to play a character from a different Asian country.

thirdly, I don't really know what to say about the controversy of casting white people in movie adaptations of anime cartoons/manga books. There's still a lot of outrage about it expressed by many Asian Americans, though.

I think everybody needs to realize that Middle Easterns/Arabs aren't really a "race" but a large group of racially and ethnically diverse people, like Latinos. I've met as many brown and black Middle Easterns/North Africans/Arabs as I've met white Arabs, white Middle Easterns, and white North Africans.

I don't know about y'all, but I'm perfectly fine with them not casting the chick with the man in her windshield as black. They can have that one. I feel no loss.

"Ahmadinejad looks white to me. Shave the beard off, lose the accent, and he could pass for my high school math teacher Mr Farmingdale."

LOL!!!!

Kristin Kreuk has pitch black hair and hazel eyes if I'm thinking of the right person. She looks very visible "ethnic." Many South Asian women, especially the actresses, are fairer than she is. Since she isn't really very famous, it seems odd that they picked her.

It pissed a lot of Japanese people off when Chinese people played nearly all the geisha roles in "Memories of a Geisha." There will always be conflic

I don’t really know what to say about the controversy of casting white people in movie adaptations of anime cartoons/manga books.
Since awkward white teen boys probably make up most of the audience, I don't see a problem with this either. Throw the nerds a bone. It will give them hope that one day, they too will kick butt and make sexy time with Japanese girls with 34 DDD heaving bosoms dressed in dangerously short outfits.

Kristen Kreuk is not blonde, and there are many south asian women who have a similar look to her.

As Daria stated, there was a lot of controversy in the casting of chinese actors to play japanese in Memoirs of a Geisha, especially since the chinese and japanese have a long and bitter history.

Daria, I hear what you are saying about blacks needing to make their own pictures to tell their own stories without being whitewashed out, but the point that has been made in these posts is that it is about money. So if Hollywood does not cast us because they think we don't make money(which is moronic) how in the world are they going to greenlight, provide a budget and get distribution for a black film written by an unkown black person.

The people you mentioned earlier, Forest, Will and Halle…are all established superstars…what are the non established people supposed to do?

^^^Find a way to get connected w/ the established superstars, it's not what but who you know…

I don't think that the casting directors or producers of films are thinking that maybe I should consider casting someone of color in films because I want to have equal opportunity for all people. I think they cast people that look like them i.e. white. I have been on movie sets where I was the only person of color. There are films that feature actors of different races. You just have to look for it. You can find them online, film festivals, etc. Everyone in film wants their work produced by a major studio. It is extremely competitive. Many people don't want to admit it but whites have a foot in the door from jump.

Oh the irony of 'Stuck'… mainly black supporting cast and non-black lead!

What the hell?

"Many people don’t want to admit it but whites have a foot in the door from jump."

In this country, white people have a foot in EVERYTHING, period.

How come there are all these nuanced stories out there about us but consistently the only all Black movie casts are the usual 'Vivica Fox' straight to DVD kind of movies… I am not knocking those movies (Deliver us from Eva is one of my guilty pleasures)…but I wish we made different movies sometimes. I used to think that maybe the white mainstream would not be able to identify with an all-Black caste till I found out that everyone single person at my white college likes Love and Basketball….Perhaps if we make quality movies, others will want to pay to see them?

@Backstage, exactly what sophistAKAted said. It sucks but really, that's how little-known white directors make it. They might be a bit less dependent on it but still.

I don't think they believe that blacks aren't bankable per se. They probably believe white actors are MORE bankable because white people make up a great chunk of their target audience. While I watch things with Asian main characters and pretty much all the Asian (Japanese-American, Korean-American, Chinese-American, Taiwanese and Indian) people I know LOVE "Girlfriends." I don't watch it consistently enough to follow what's going on so I can rely on them to get me up to speed. None of my white friends and roommates I have had ever stayed to watch it. My roommate asked if I could TiVo it so we could watch something else. They like seeing people who look like them just as much as we like seeing people who look like us.

@ilnazhad:

How did u feel about the "persians" in the movie 300. They looked black.

Why am I the only one feeling the need to comment on those Jamaica vacation cornrows that are supposed to make Mena Suvari "black"?

black monkeys! Kristen Kreuk is asian you morons! and they weren't trying to make suvari black idiots!

Oh no.. we've got a racist bigot on board (Frank).

"Jake is bankable. I can’t think of a Persian or Middle Eastern actor who is more bankable."

But why is he bankable? Because he's had the opportunity to audition for some lead roles in front of people who have a dude that looks like him in mind when casting — an opportunity that ME actors just don't often get, unless it's some "evil terrist villain" B.S.

That's the thing with labels; they often exclude/include those they meant to include/exclude.

Unless you are from the Caucasus, you are NOT Caucasian. It's the running gag with my colleagues, most of whom are Europeans and refuse to tick the "caucasian box" since none of them are from that region.

As for favouring white casting, it's deplorable. I remember seeing "The Lord of The Rings" with my siblings (big family of nerds) and we were so shocked. The idea that everyone was white never occurred to us. In the book, people are described as having different shades and hair textures.

p.s. Ms. Kreuk does look like she's from North East India. A nation of over a billion as every colour and every feature.

Frank, take that crap back to Perez Hilton where it's embraced, Kthxbye.

Because his mommy and daddy have connections

I get the feeling Jake doesn't have to audition for roles. I just imagine that they send him a script, he meets with the people and they decide whether it'll work.

There are plenty of incredibly talented attractive black and Asian (E and SE) actors who've had great roles in great films that didn't really do that well in the box office.

There are several actors who are of ME descent and they get roles as white people. Kathy Najimy for one. Jerry Seinfeld, Marlo Thomas, Shannon Elizabeth and Catherine Keener are half-ME. All these people generally "pass" as something else, generally some sort of Mediterranean. Same goes for white Latinos.

37 comments already. Maaaaaan, I'm late to this party.

getreal, I was thinking the same thing.

What the dictionary says and the way they are looked at in America are totally different.

BackStage, as a whole we are very wealthy people. If you take the amount of money that blacks in America make per year it's obvious we can make our own movies.

@Daria- Hallie's films are often flops. ME? Passing, can we add Jennifer Beals, Julianna Margulies,Shai Labeouf(?), the guy from Prison Break.

Jandi says- What did they think about Love Jones?Also jandi, the writer for The Wire said the reason why the show never garnered(tp) any awards was because its' cast was to "ethnic(?)"

The

Funny your outrage doesn't include the African parts that go to black Americans, could they not have found an African to play Idi Amin in Last King of Scotland, how about Morgan Freeman getting ready to play Nelson Mandela in a movie being directed by that wizened director that Spike Lee just dressed down. I swear some of you cannot see the forest for the trees.

It is time to stop complaining and do something for ourselves instead of forever expecting some else to do it. How many of you actually go out to support well made movies geared to the black community.

Daria (#14) I'm with DivergentDana (#34) … lol.. don't stop there. The question is WHY are they 'bankable'? Bankability is fluid. Who would have thought *any* Black actor could make hundreds of millions of dollars for a movie studio 50 years ago? By some polls, Will Smith is America's favorite actor.

But Will is only 'bankable' because he highly appeals to white people. And as whitefolks' taste range expands… (see Barack Obama)… so will the roles for Black actors.

We have to make our own opportunities AND support those of us making moves, i.e. NOT buying bootleg and coming out on opening night.

Thank you,

http://www.talulazoeapple.com

@ Chic Noir

Juliana Marguliies and Shia Labouf are passing as what? Both of them are white, and have white parents. Wentworth Miller and Jennifer Beals are biracial.

Hollywood does this to real white people as well. They had a non white (Dwayne Johnson) play Bufford Pusser in the walking tall remake and they had the Rock play the coach in that movie with xzhibit. The truth was that he was a white man. The black janitor that taught the football player in Rudy was really white and not Charles S Dutton. Hollywood also does this with comic characters. They made commissioner Gordon black and they changed the bad arab character white, they have made some of the original Gi Joes black even though they weren't when the artist made it. Smallville made Pete Ross black, when he was white. I know whe would be outraged if they made Blade or black panther white. So, its not like hollywood si just doing this to minorities.

"How many of you actually go out to support well made movies geared to the black community?"

How many are there, really? Movies in general, for the most part, suck nowadays. As for me, I have tastes that are largely ignored by black movie makers — I don't blame them, because my tastes are weird and as a result, my needs are primarily met by foreign films — rom-coms and anything that's touted as "fun for the whole family" doesn't compel me to dig into my pocket… throw me the names of some historical epics with elaborate costumes, dramas where at least one of the main protagonists end up dead, musicals, or interesting biopics "geared to the black community" and I'd be more than happy to check it out, but I'm definitely not sitting through 2 hours of 'This Christmas' or 'Madea Goes to Jail' out of racial obligation. That, and a lot of stuff isn't widely available in my backwards area… I tried to check out "The Naked Option: a last resort" last week and came up hella empty-handed.

Are we going to be mad when a non deaf actor plays a deaf person. What about mentally handicapped people being played by Sean Penn and Johnny Knoxville. Should Cuba Gooden Jr played radio since he wasn't mentally challenged? This is just getting silly.

Melainie, I do not have a problem with a Swedish actor playing Bill Clinton instead on an American actor. Likewise, I do not have a problem with an African/black American playing the role of an c.African. Now there is movie about the Roman Empire and all of the actors and extras featured were tall blond haired blue-eyed Swedes, well, that would bother me.

No Solitaire, Julianna is biracial also. She does not talk about it anymore but early in her career she did. I seen her discuss it in interviews ( with my own eyes). I guess she became tired of talking about it and thought it may limit the amount of work she would receive in Hollywood. Some actors like The Rock and Vin Diesel, both biracial and racially ambiguous looking, must have a “don't ask about my racial background” clause when they grant interviews because it's very rarely mentioned.

I put the question mark after Shia Labouf's name because I think his sister is Sandra from the Cosby show. Can anybody clarify this for me.

Shia is not related to the chick from the Cosby show.

As far as Julianna goes, that's news to me. According to wiki, both her parents are jews, but the biracial thing is more interesting. Thanks for the info!

You know what, Larry? I'll totally buy your argument when Morgan Freeman and Edward Olmos get cast as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, respectively in a big budget, historically accurate (otherwise) movie about the early years of our fine republic. Until then, though… *thumbs down*

I have a problem when they try to "blacken up"-sorry, could not think up another word-a character by using cornrows, blackface, or slang. I am suprised to here a Mena Suvari is a big draw.

Your welcome Solitaire. I just find it intresting how Julianna stoped talking about it all of a sudden. I can also recall a few people highlighting the physical differences between Julianna and Gloria Ruben, who is also biracial. It seemed like writers were trying to say, this one can pass, and the other one can not.

No. 45,

I totally agree with you. And I agree with alot of the comments that are made. When it comes down to it in the business of film making, it IS about money. One problem that I have that has not been mentioned yet is the fact that 99% of the major studios that fund 99% of the films that actually get released, not just in theaters but on dvd are owned by white people. Its much bigger then, "making connections", and "us making our own movies", we are not key holders. As far as I know Tyler Perry and the Wayan brothers are the only blacks in the business with their own studios. But truth be told I cant stand TP's films, I don't wanna watch chitlin circuit films. No disrespect to TP, I respect him greatly for what he's doing but his stories ain't for me. Hollywood recycled the same stories to make money. And very few 'good', 'acclaimed' films that slip through the money-making cracks are made by white film school nerds. Truth is it's a harder bubble to crack when your black. Minorities will always be a guest at hollywood's table, as far as having a home, only time will tell.

I am going to go out on a limb and say that I think Wentworth Miller may have hurt limited his options in Hollywood as an actor by admiting he is part black.

You can look at Wentworth and tell he's part black, so denying it would be foolish. I think his being gay is what will really limit his options in Hollywood.

Chic Noir,

Can you get me a site or a source that says that Julianna is biracial or at least a video clip that shows that she admits that? Thanx.

Ya'll must have better "blackdar" than me, because I couldn't tell from looking @ him.

No. 47 Chic Noir says:

Melainie, I do not have a problem with a Swedish actor playing Bill Clinton instead on an American actor. Likewise, I do not have a problem with an African/black American playing the role of an c.African. Now there is movie about the Roman Empire and all of the actors and extras featured were tall blond haired blue-eyed Swedes, well, that would bother me.
*******************

There lies the problem. Africans hardly get any roles and the few that there are go to Black Americans, is that not discrimination? Marianne Pearl is not an American, she is of Cuban/dutch/afican/chinese descent and yet the black community has been complaining since last year about the casting for that movie ignoring the fact that the woman chose her friend whom she believes understands the essence of who she is.

When Marianne lost her husband, I did not see black community embracing and supporting her as one of their own, no black person bought the rights to the book. Where was Oprah, Halle, surely, either one of them could have afforded the $150,000 that it cost. We cannot continue complaining when those blacks that are in a position to do something do not. There is racism in every aspect of our lives, we have known that but it will serve us better to be doers instead of always complaining.

I do not like the Tyler Perry movies or the Wayans brothers, but movies like the Best man, Love and basketball and Brown sugar, those I can support. So where are the black writers that can write good screen plays because if it is good, it will get done even if the road to getting it done will be rough. I am sick of the complaining.

Wentworth stays bald or "peach fuzz" so that he can get other parts besides the tragic mulatto. His hair is an indicator that he is not just white. I have been a fan of his for a while. I always thought he was black when he was in Popular.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/2.....183334213/

All I'm seeing here is an ambiguous wave pattern, albeit in a very dark minority-esque color… I was thinking it was going to be some Corbin Bleu-type hair.

Here, Margulies attests to being a visibly multiethnic white person.

"Incredibly, Julianna Margulies' unusual pedigree (a mix of Austrian, Hungarian, Romanian, and Russian) was once a career impediment. "I was told by both an agent and a casting director that I'd never work in television," she recalled. "They said, 'People don't know what to do with you. What are you?'" Her answer? "I said, 'I'm an American.'"

Maybe if people like Tyler Perry started making GOOD, QUALITY movies instead the Medea crap, we'll have more movie options for our black actors and actresses.

I hope this has not turned into the one drop spotters club.

solitaire, he could easily say wentworth he is Jewish which is what a lot of whites who have negriod features are. Wentworth is not the only gay man in Hollywood; as long as he does not come out and keep his lovers hidden, he will be okay. I look at Justin Timberlake and find it hard to believe that he does not have a few drops in his blood.

Karrie, I tried to find an article last night but after a few pages, you find nothing but p.orn on Julianna.

DivergentDana- His hair gave it away for me. Its part of the reason I think Justin Timberlake may have a few drops also.

Melainie- I don't think I made a big deal out of this issue but…. Ghana and Nigeria have a thriving movie industry. Nigeria's movie industry is number three in the world actually behind Bollywood. Sohia Okonedo(Nigerian&British) could of played the part of Mrs. Pearl. There are African actors who do well in Hollywood in terms of quality movie roles, look up Chiwetel Ejiofor ,Djimon Hounsou and Sophie Okonedo.

Furthermore, British actresses are often cast in the better quality American films

Tyler Perry's movies are much beter than the Waynes brothers. The Waynes brothers make films that are high on a coonery and low on thinking.

@Chic Noir

Sorry, but I think Julianna is just a multi ethnic white woman. Neither of her parents are black according to her bio.

As far as Wentworth goes, he could have called himself jewish, but in this age that would never fly. Google is a friend and foe. In terms of his sexuality, I always say open honesty is the best policy. The closet is not a happy place, and why should he have to deny any part of humself for a career? It's not like he's gonna have Will Smiths' career anyway.

But even when we have some power we do not seem concerned about each other. Please tell me why the creator of Grey's Anatomy is a Black woman but the focal character in her show is Ellen Pompeo

@Solitaire-I forgot to mention Carly Simon and you can indeed find her ethinic makeup on line.

Julianna said years ago that her dad was black or part black.

Jandi- Because that's what sells.

I'm hella late on this one! I somewhat remember the same thing happened with a possible movie about King Kamehameha of Hawai`i with Dwayne Johnson in the lead. Some didn't like it because he was Samoan which really irked me because how many Polynesians actors are out there? Who would people have been happy with - Keanu Reeves who is mixed with Hawaiian. It should have been made regardless so the story could be told.