Jobs Movie

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Steve Jobs died in 2011 from pancreatic cancer. A movie about his life was made in 2013. At first, Sony was producing the movie. They had cast Christian Bale as their Steve Jobs. Aaron Sorkin, the movie screenwriter wanted Tom Cruise to play the role of Jobs. Danny Boyle, the film director was concern about age and didn't think that Cruise was right for the role. Bale had been given the role because of his star power.  Bale soon quit the film and Sony didn't get enough funding so they dropped the project. Universal later picked it up and finished it. Overall, the film was fulled with a lot of controversy.

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A Mighty Problem

Mariane Pearl, a journalist and author, wrote the memoir, “A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband Danny Pearl.” Her husband Danny Pearl was a journalist that was kidnapped and killed by terrorists in Pakistan in 2002. The memoir turned into a movie that was released in 2007. Overall, it told Pearl's experience after the death of her husband. Angelina Jolie was cast to play the role of Mariane Pearl. However, controversy quickly arose as people argued that Mariane Pearl is a women of color and Jolie isn't, so she shouldn't play the role. Jolie wore make up to make her skin appear darker. In addition, she wore a wig to resemble Mrs. Pearl's curly hair. According to the Seattle Times, the movie director, Michael Winterbottom, it was hard to find someone that had all of Mrs. Pearl's heritage background. Mrs. Pearl is French with Half cuban, Half dutch, and a quarter Chinese descendent. Winterbottom claims that it was hard to find an actress that fits these requirements. Honestly, there probably are people who fit these requirements, but the director himself said that there wasn't anyone else that can play the role like Jolie.

Angelina Jolie at the Nasen Awards in 2011.
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Barbie In Trouble

The Barbie doll has been around for quite some time. According to The Washington Post, Amy Schumer will be playing Barbie in the new upcoming Barbie film. A film that revolves around the idea that Barbie isn't perfect in Babieland and is kicked out into the  'real-world adventure.' Overall, it's about time that Barbie starts to teach girls that no one is perfect. It's going to go against what Barbie has been portraying over the years. This will be a phase that no one has seen before. Barbie has been teaching girls that the only way to be considered "perfect" is if you're skinny. That's what Mirror Mirror Eating Disorders said. This leads many women and girls to develop various eating disorders. The fact that she's not perfect anymore really engages the audience, making them want to see the movie. Amy Schumer was a good casting choice because she's not what Barbie portrays. She has a figure that isn't the figure that Barbie typically have: the skinny one. This will really be a good message to all females, that you can be just the way you are.

Barbie wearing a hand knitted sweater.

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The Ocean Waves Are Coming IN

As the year is coming to an end, producers are coming up with more ideas for new movies for 2017. Some are going as far and starting movies that will be released in 2018. Oceans 8, an original film that was released in 2001, will be remake into Oceans 11. This time, the cast will consist of only female. Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Sarah Paulson, Rihanna, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Mindy Kaling, and Awkwafina will be starring the movie.  It's fair enough that this cast should only consist of females, Oceans 8, had a cast of only male actors.  However, there are rumors that Matt Damon will be making a slight appearance in the new film. According to The Christian Times, there's a possibility that somehow the films will have a connection that will bring both of them to be part of the same time period. Making this connection between both movies will be amazing because it just adds more excitement to it.

Sarah Paulson at the Premier of 12 Years a SlavePhoto credit: GabboT via Foter.com / CC BY-SA

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Pretty Strange

Marvel's new movie, Doctor Strange, has been an ultimate success. Just coming out in the beginning of November, it is already nearing $400 million in the box office. The movie is appreciated for its great actors, special effects, and story of course, but one thing seemed to aggravate fans. One of the characters from the original comics was an old asian made known as The Ancient One; he was Strange's teacher. In the movie though, they cast him as a white woman. The creators of the show backed up this division by saying they wanted to move away from the stereotype of an old asian man always being the wise teacher; they said they wanted some diversity especially since there weren't many strong female roles in the movie. Some people still don't find this a good enough excuse saying that it is asian culture that a someone who is a teacher is supposed to be old and wise since it is a role of high respect.

The Critics of The Lighting Thief

Alexandra Daddario, plays the role of Annabeth Chase
in The Lighting Thief movie
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Many fans were excited when it was announced that The Lightning Thief, a novel by Rick Riordan, would be made into a film. Both the film and the novel take place in the famous Camp Half-Blood. According to the website, IMDb, the film didn't include many details that are described in the novel. The most pointed error was the fact that in the book, Annabeth Chase is described as having blond hair, but in the movie Alexandra Daddario, plays the role of Annabeth with brown hair. Many other things are changed in the movie, making the movie differ from the novel. Many of the things that were changed were quite important to the plot because it makes the story more interesting. The fact that Percy Jackson and Annabeth aren't 12 years old in the movie, really takes the humor out of everything. Overall, the movie doesn't reflect what's described in the novel. This really upset many fans who were expecting their imaginations come to life. Should movies be like the novel or should they be different?

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Apocalypse of Angry Fans?

American superhero film X-Men: Apocalypse based on characters from Marvel comics dealt with controversy over their billboard. Many found the billboard offensive, as it shows Mystique played by Jennifer Lawrence being on a chokehold by the main villain, Apocalypse. Those who found it offensive believe that this billboard portrays and approves violence against woman, according to this article. Fox came out with an apology statement saying that they would never condone violence against women. However, many also agree that this billboard is not offensive at all, in fact, it shows how women can take the lead role of playing the victim. 

White-Washing

Hollywood has been known for, "white-washing," its movies. Also referred to as," race-bending," whitewashing happens when most, or all of the characters in movie, or television show, are portrayed by white actors. From Elizabeth Taylor playing Cleopatra in 1963, to Joseph Fiennes playing Micheal Jackson, white-washing has been a problem for a long time. Recently, Lions Gate Entertainment released "Gods of Egypt." The movie focuses on the ruthless battle between the god of darkness, Set against a mortal named Bek, and powerful god Horus. Each character is supposed to be an Egyptian native, but almost all of the actors were far from, "Egyptian." A mixture of, French, Danish, Australian, and English actors, who were white, bombarded the cast, upsetting millions of viewers. Realizing that they had upset a lot of people, Lionsgate released an apology saying," We recognize that it is our responsibility to help ensure that casting decisions reflect the diversity and culture of the time periods portrayed. In this instance we failed to live up to our own standards," as well as, "We have, can and will continue to do better."  Movies should reflect diversity, not only to create an accurate depiction of the time period in the movie, but  also to reflect the audience watching the movie. Giving people the opportunity to see people that look like them on a large screen is important, because it shows them that they are capable of doing big things as well.  

Mu-Lyin

Disney was about to make a Mulan live action movie with a white male lead. This news angered many people since the main focus of Mulan has always been a Chinese female who disguises herself as a man to save China. The alleged first draft mentioned a European trader who comes to China and falls in love with Mulan while protecting her and saving her empire, but Disney now mentioned that this draft will not be any part of the live action film. They stated that they will keep Mulan as the main character as well as include an all Asian cast. This big statement relieved many people's worries about Disney casting white actors to play Chinese roles.

Fans Hunger a Real Character

Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

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As The Hunger Games'  novel series became so popular, many fans were excited when they heard that the series would be made into a film. Many were against the decision of Jennifer Lawrence playing the role of the main character, Katniss Everdeen. According to Screen Rant, many fans argued that Lawrence didn't resemble Katniss the way that it was described in the novel, the one with "olive-skinned [and] dark-haired tomboy." In this case, it does matter how the person playing Katniss looked because even though there are not a lot of physical traits that are given about her, there are some. For example, the person playing Katniss should at least have brown hair because there is no excuse for this. The fact that Lawrence changed her hair color for the role shows how much she valued this character and this was a big plus for her. Overall, this casting decision impacted the film in a way that no one can replace her. Why do you think Suzanne Collins only provided a few physical traits about Katniss?

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The Great Obstacle

Matt Damon at the Jason Bourne Premiere in Japan

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Another American actor will be playing the role of an Asian man. Matt Damon will be part of the best force to defend The Great Wall of China against a monster in The Great Wall, a fantasy movie that takes place about 1,000 years ago. Lately, many people have started to trash-talk about this casting decision. According to International Business Times, actress Constance Wu, argues by writing "...We like our color and our culture and our strengths and our own stories." She doesn't think that Damon is the best person to play this role. She isn't alone, as many other Asian-Americans also express their feelings about this outrageous decision. It seems like Hollywood is struggling with overcoming this obstacle of starring people that are from a different ethnic group than the role they portray. This film is directed by Yimou Zhang, a Chinese film director and producer.  It is set to release in February 2017.

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They Will Never Be Satisfied

The hit Broadway musical, Hamilton, enjoyed by all age groups, ranging from teens to seniors, is known for its hip-hop genre and its diversity among the cast. Lin-Manuel Miranda, known for his former role as Alexander Hamilton and the mastermind behind this production chose to have a cast of nonwhite actors to play the Founding Fathers of our history. Although, the multicultural cast of this musical entertained millions of people since it first started playing, there's controversy that sparked among those who are against African Americans and Hispanics playing the lead roles.

Netflix Has No Chill

Netflix is releasing a live-action film, based on the popular anime series and manga Death Note, that will premiere in 2017. Manga is a Japanese comic book and anime is a Japanese tv animation series. Death note is one of the most popular animes in the anime world and it has spread from Japan to the United States and many other parts of the world. The creators of the live action though have decided to change a few things as one would do in an adaption, but one of the most impactful modifications made is that they've casted a white male as the main character. The original series was voiced in Japanese by Japanese actors so fans expected that the live-action would cast Japanese American actors but this was not the case. Out of the actors casted for the six main roles, only one of them was Japanese, one was African American, and the rest were white. This has stricken anger and controversy in the Death Note fanbase.

Domination of Western Ideology

Scarlett Johansson as Major in Ghost in the Shell
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Ghost in the Shell, a Japanese manga and anime series is currently being made into an adapted film. It is a science fiction film where the main character Major, a cyborg policewoman faces criminals who she must bring down. Major is being played by Scarlett Johansson, an American actress. The Verge website states that this film is being “westernize,” while the original series has a Japanese foundation. A Japanese actress should take her place because the whole point of filming is to bring the movie to life and this is not the way that fans visualize Major.  Will this film have success with an actress that's from a different ethnic group?

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Straight Wrong

Straight out of Compton, released in 2015, quickly became a popular hit. The film depicted the lives of the infamous rap group, N.W.A. The film was extremely well done, and made viewers feel as though they were actually apart of 1988, and its casting was spot on. A casting call for the movie was released prior to the movies debut, it was looking for girls to be extras in the movie. The casting call was asking for women from ages 18-30 who could play " A, B, C, and D girls," depending on their physical appearance. The A girls had to be pretty, any race was accepted, but they had to have real hair, the B girls needed to be "light-skinned," the C girls needed to be,"medium to light skinned with a weave." While the D girls needed to be,"poor and not in good shape." The casting call was extremely upsetting to people because it was insinuating that lighter skin is more beautiful, and that darker skinned women look "poor." Things like this are the cause of several girls' low self esteem and self hate, all women are beautiful, but when popular platforms say otherwise, young girls will start to believe what they hear. https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=0ahUKEwjXzdDcjrrRAhXF6SYKHQDRBx0QjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fartvlive%2F20461067786&bvm=bv.143423383,d.eWE&psig=AFQjCNGfDpaeNS2BUdOORehh9DFjOoUa0Q&ust=1484224870751265&cad=rja

Controversial Casting: the platform in which high school students share their ideas about the world of role casting.