Oh, I think you heard that!
----- Original Message -----
From: "Martin Baxter" <truthseeker...@lycos.com>
To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com
Cc: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, "Cinque3000" <cinque3...@verizon.net>
Sent: Saturday, March 7, 2009 3:31:04 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: [RE][scifinoir2] Airbender: Shyamalan looking for his Earth Kingdom in
Virginia.
"... in Virginia..."
Martin (waiting for Keith to begin screaming)
---------[ Received Mail Content ]----------
Subject : [scifinoir2] Airbender: Shyamalan looking for his Earth Kingdom in
Virginia.
Date : Sat, 7 Mar 2009 11:11:01 -0800
>From : "Tracey de Morsella" <tdli...@multiculturaladvantage.com>
To : <scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com>, "'Cinque3000'" <cinque3...@verizon.net>
Airbender Casting Update
Shyamalan looking for his Earth Kingdom in Virginia.
by Christopher Monfette
March 5, 2009 - According to the
2088.html> Washington Post, casting directors are currently bounding about
Northern Virginia and Arlington searching through the local population of
Mongolians for roles amongst the Earth Kingdom in M. Night Shyamalan's
live-action adaptation of The
Last Airbender. With no
real model for what a member of the Earth Kingdom should look like -
described only as "exotically Asian" - casting director DeeDee Ricketts
comments, "Night doesn't know what it is he wants, but he'll know it when he
sees it."
Citing concerns over the predominance of white faces in a largely ethnic
story, the article states:
"In December, the lead Airbender characters of Zuko, Aang and Sokka were
filled by a trio of young white males: pop singer Jesse McCartney, newcomer
Noah Ringer (a karate whiz from Texas) and Twilight star Jackson Rathbone.
Those character names again: Zuko, Aang and Sokka. Played by a Jesse, a Noah
and a Jackson.McCartney jumped ship last month -- 'scheduling conflicts with
his music tour' -- and was replaced by Slumdog Millionaire star Dev Patel, a
Brit of Indian heritage. The fan base kept simmering. The switch of just one
cast member 'reeks of tokenism'."
"When you take a beloved story that has a fan base, you'll never be able to
make everyone happy," Ricketts responds. "There's been some talk that we're
casting authentic Asians as a response to the backlash, which is totally
wrong because our world is multi-ethnic and the Avatar world will be
multi-ethnic.'"
We'll see just what kind of face Shyamalan ascribes to the world of The Last
Airbender when the film releases in July of 2010.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQdwk8Yntds
