*shuffles shoes*

[seriousfic]

I don't know if anyone's heard about this yet, but the Avatar movie has recast the part of Prince Zuko (supposedly due to scheduling conflicts), replacing Jesse McCartney with Dev Patel.

My feelings are kinda mixed on this one. I haven't seen Patel in anything but Slumdog Millionaire and that wasn't really an acting showcase, but still, I don't see how anyone can be a downgrade from Jesse McCartney. And he is a minority, which is nice (although I thought Fire Nation was always coded as Japanese).

But still, they decide to cast a minority actor in Avatar and it's the villain? Everyone's white except for the bad guy, and by extension his entire race? Yeah, ummm... not so smooth.

Comments

[bluespells.livejournal.com]

We-e-e-ll. I'm still hoping on cast-changes for everyone else, too, since the fans are going a little nuts. Which would take care of the most problematic aspect of this.

Guy looks like he can do Zuko well, because he's kind of dorky looking and Zuko is a tard. Works for me.

[derawr.livejournal.com]

Well, I haven't seen Patel in anything, but I absolutely hate the thought of Jesse McCartney playing Zuko so I'm happy.

At least Dev Patel is Asian, right?

Though, I really don't understand how they can't seem to find East Asian actors. Or actors with a darker shade of skin than printer paper.

They must be blind or something, because the West Coast is full of people who are Asian, Native American, Latino, Indian, mixed...

[trancer21.livejournal.com]

Scheduling conflicts... riiiiggghhhtttt.

While Patel is certainly a step or several flights of steps up from Jesse McCarthy, this still smacks of 'any brown person will do' type casting. Although, I will admit I think Patel would have been better as Sokka. Or maybe I just want Jackson Rathbone fired after his astonishingly stupid comment that the only research he needs to do to play the character is 'a new haircut and a tan'.

[seriousfic.livejournal.com]

While Patel is certainly a step or several flights of steps up from Jesse McCarthy, this still smacks of 'any brown person will do' type casting.

But it's not like there are any Asian actors in Hollywood! They'd have to go to Japan to find someone, and how can you expect them to find a Japanese actor who speaks English? It's not like they teach it in schools! [/sarcasm]

I'm still in a bit of open-mouthed shock/depressed disappointment that TPTB have started this huge racial controversy so they can have the starpower of Noah Ranger or whoever. I mean, as long as you're casting unknowns, is it really that hard to find unknowns that are actually appropriate to the source material?

[museofspeed.livejournal.com]

Zuko's not the villain! He's the emotionally conflicted character who ultimately redeems himself and is really, really hot for a cartoon! And I think that Patel could be awesome as Zuko. A dorky Zuko, but that's okay, Zuko's a dork.

[seriousfic.livejournal.com]

Yes, but Fire Lord Ozai is his father, and he is the villain. So, weird-case scenario, all of the Fire Nation is white/multiracial except for the ruling family... it's gonna look like the reason they're so evil is because they're ruled by brown people.

Shallow, I know, but I really wish they had cast someone like Rain for the part. Because imagine the Fire Nation with Asian actors. Jet Li as Ozai! Maggie Q as Azula! Sammo Hung as Iroh (I'd say Jackie Chan, but I don't want to be cliche)! Even aside from the cool racial stuff (and assuming the Gaang was equally diverse), just from a sheer dumb cracker audience member standpoint, that'd be something to see!

[museofspeed.livejournal.com]

I totally don't know who any of those people are, excpet Jackie Chan and possibly Jet Li, but still! Awesome! And that Rain person looks the part, definitely!

[seriousfic.livejournal.com]

You don't do who Sammo Hung is? Then you never watched Martial Law, which is only the best TV show to star Arsenio Hall which wasn't the Arsenio Hall Show? You were deprived.

And Maggie Q? Star of the best worse faux-lesbian kung-fu assassins flick Naked Weapon which I must warn you to stay away from because it was seriously that bad and not even Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly wrestling in the back of a Chevy could save it?

She also starred in Live Free Or Die Hard.

[seriousfic.livejournal.com]

Actually, Ken Watanabe would probably be better as Ozai. But Jet Li could still be Commander Zhao!

[museofspeed.livejournal.com]

I thought my complete lack of pop culture knowledge was no surprise by now!