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Asian American Male Actors in Hollywood...or the lack of

post #1 of 70
4/5/08 at 9:46pm
Thread Starter 
Proves that the allmighty dollar runs these Studio Executives brains:

http://www.angryasianman.com/2008/04/more-21-talk.html

http://www-tech.mit.edu/V128/N15/21casting.html

http://www.cinematical.com/2008/04/0...s-of-its-char/

http://www.angryasianman.com/2008/04/more-21-talk.html

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=88591800

Until these stupid studio executives are convinced that casting Asian-American Males in any lead roles will make them a dollar or two this same shyyt will continue to happen. The one article is right, Denzel and the Fresh Prince draw all kinds of people to their movies.
Why can't an AA Male?
Are these crackers saying that they can't find ONE AAMale that's as talented or good-looking as Damon or Afleck or Stiller or Sandler or Ferrell?
That they have to import Oldheadz form overseas who can't speak "american" english?

I just hope that these punks don't try to do a remake of Enter the Dragon and cast someone like Stifler in the lead. Because then a whole lot of cans of whoopass will have to be opened.
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post #2 of 70
4/5/08 at 9:49pm
angry much?

being the smallest racial minority, what do you expect?
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post #3 of 70
4/6/08 at 7:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by hardeeharhar View Post

angry much?

being the smallest racial minority, what do you expect?

Also, there have been at least a few part- or half-asians in lead roles in film and television. The late Brandon Lee, Keanu Reeves, Russell Wong, were all given lead roles. One thing linked them all, however. Really piss-poor acting skill (well, not so much with Lee, but he's dead - conspiracy?). Had these actors been any better... perhaps more lead roles for Asians would have opened up. But they set a precedent that will eventually be overcome by someone who happens to be a good actor.

It's just going to take some time now that the damage has been done.
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post #4 of 70
4/6/08 at 7:53am
When he grows up, I say put him and Nick in a room and see who walks out!
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post #5 of 70
4/6/08 at 10:54am
If there was money to be made by casting Asian Americans, then the studios would attempt to make it, as every other industry attempts to improve its products. Does the OP think that the studios should cast Asian Americans in roles if they think it will make them LESS MONEY?
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post #6 of 70
4/6/08 at 12:48pm
Hollywood is the one place where they don't BS you about racial issues for the most part. Studio Execs would simply say that there's not a huge market for Asian leading men. I mean African Americans basically have Denzel and Will Smith and both of those guys are getting up there in age.

There there does seem to be a slight sea change coming. I thought Sung Kang played Han from Tokyo Drift with charisma. He's a future talent.

John Cho of ,Harold and Kumar, casts a likable character for young guys.

Stalwarts include Chow Yun Fat and Ken Watanabe.

The more Asian males that are cast in positions where they get to exude sex appeal and find success the more opportunities there will be. In Seattle I'm seeing more Asian male Caucasian female pairings which is a good sign.
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post #7 of 70
4/6/08 at 12:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by O-Mac View Post

Until these stupid studio executives are convinced that casting Asian-American Males in any lead roles will make them a dollar or two this same shyyt will continue to happen.

News flash: studios produce movies in order to make money.
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post #8 of 70
4/6/08 at 1:37pm
Why bitch about it now? Why 21?

I suspect that the main character in the movie is regarded as a hero among asian american males - possibly a person with whom they identify and believe that it represents them well - and, therefore, they believe it is not just for the role to be given in the movie to someone who's not asian.

Just speculating.
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post #9 of 70
4/6/08 at 5:05pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by soulcrusher View Post

Why bitch about it now? Why 21?

I suspect that the main character in the movie is regarded as a hero among asian american males - possibly a person with whom they identify and believe that it represents them well - and, therefore, they believe it is not just for the role to be given in the movie to someone who's not asian.

Just speculating.

A hero, my brother? No. this has nothing to do with hero's. This was a situation where the characters in this story (based on facts) were changed from Asian Americans to White Americans because the studio felt that the White face would appeal better to the larger audience.

What bothers me is that nobody cares that the Asian American Male is ALWAYS being left out of good roles. Harold and Kumar is the funniest shyyt but bottom line, they still played "Stoners."
ALL THE TIME.
Go to Apple Trailers and tell me if you see ANY Asian AMERICAN MALES in a lead role. So, you're telling me that in just California alone, Hollywood can't find ONE, ONE Asian American Male talented enough and good looking enough to cast in a major role (in TV or in FILM)?????

and who's the beotch that made the comment about being angry? why the he11 not? any fool who makes the comment to "get over it" most likely has their eyes closed and doesn't relate to the frustration and problems people feel about the misrepresentations. ESPECIALLY for those Asian American Male actors out there trying to make a living.

How would you feel if Ashton Kutcher played the role of the Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr.?
Sheeeee it, I'd be raising my eyebrows too.

Can you IMAGINE how Bruce Lee felt when he found out that the role he DEVELOPED, WROTE and PITCHED for himself to Hollywood was given to a WHITE GUY because some STUDIO EXEC felt that a guy that "LOOKED" chinese wouldn't be accepted on prime time TV? Tell me that's not the DUMBEST thing you ever heard? I'm surprised Bruce didn't go Charles Bronson on those Execs.
(Now, Kung Fu was a pretty good show and even :The Legend Continues was good but that doesn't make what those Studio Execs did to B.Lee right)
FYI, if you don't know who Bruce Lee is then you're an ignorant oldface)

What's really sad is that it's 2008. Almost (40) FORTY YEARS since the Civil Rights movement and this SHYYT is STILL going on. That there are studio people out in Hollywood who think like this. Sure it's all about the dead presidents but this just makes all that talk about DIVERSITY and MELTING POT sound hypocritical.

Watch the documentary The Slanted Screen. And keep an open mind.
http://www.amazon.com/Slanted-Screen...7526623&sr=8-1

http://www.slantedscreen.com/
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post #10 of 70
4/6/08 at 5:46pm
Rob Schneider is 1/4th Asian-American.

Can't you be happy with that?

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post #11 of 70
4/6/08 at 6:03pm
Thread Starter 
Rob Schneider is great!! The Schniedster...Schneidsteroni...

And if he could open the doors for more quality Asian American Male actors out there then he'd be even better.

and if he could get better roles than what Adam Sandler gives him once in a while then maybe people would be happy.

But until then....
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post #12 of 70
4/6/08 at 6:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by O-Mac View Post

and who's the beotch that made the comment about being angry? why the he11 not? any fool who makes the comment to "get over it" most likely has their eyes closed and doesn't relate to the frustration and problems people feel about the misrepresentations. ESPECIALLY for those Asian American Male actors out there trying to make a living.

That would be me...

Are you twelve?

Just wondering, because at no point in your rants have you made a cohesive statement as to why there needs to be an Asian-American leading man in Hollywood. Even your examples suggest your tolerance of pigeon-holing Asian-American actors into Kung-Fu roles etc.

So tell me, WHY does there NEED to be an Asian-American leading man?
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post #13 of 70
4/6/08 at 6:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by O-Mac View Post

Rob Schneider is great!! The Schniedster...Schneidsteroni...

And if he could open the doors for more quality Asian American Male actors out there then he'd be even better.

and if he could get better roles than what Adam Sandler gives him once in a while then maybe people would be happy.

But until then....

Oh stop. "Opening doors"...as if it's some kind of discrimination. Jesus.

There isn't a market for Asian-American male actors. The studio execs have to follow the market.
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post #14 of 70
4/6/08 at 6:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SDW2001 View Post

Oh stop. "Opening doors"...as if it's some kind of discrimination. Jesus.

There isn't a market for Asian-American male actors. The studio execs have to follow the market.

I wouldn't go that far, SDW...

There just isn't a market for Asian-American leading-man actors...

That being said, there are so few European-American leading-man actors, that I am not sure this complaint is justified...

There certain;y are Asian-American actors on the small screen, they are getting work...
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post #15 of 70
4/6/08 at 6:35pm
Thread Starter 
"Nanananananananananana Boo Boo" would be a twelve year old reply.

WHY does there NEED to be an Asian-American leading man? Why not? Maybe so young Asian boys in America could have someone to identify with?
You might as well ask why should there be any [insert ethnicity here] leading men.
They've had leading black, latino and white. Let's complete the circle!

I'm sure a struggling Asian American Male actor in hollywood trying to get his big break would jump at the chance at a leading role to get away form playing delivery boys or zero-dimensional villains or the blurry restaurant patron in the background.

It all comes down to getting a chance to get somewhere my friend. And as you an I well know, when the doors close on your face, you're gonna get mad at some point. And at some point you're gonna rant and rave like a crazy noodlehead.

If I offended you by my non-sensical rant, "SO sorry..I go back to eating cat and dog now. No hanky my wanky.."

I say, "Can't we all just get along? And give that young Asian kid who flunked out of college a major role in a major motion picture because he can act! And he'll make us a LOT of money too."

Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee it
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post #16 of 70
4/6/08 at 7:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by O-Mac View Post

WHY does there NEED to be an Asian-American leading man? Why not? Maybe so young Asian boys in America could have someone to identify with?
You might as well ask why should there be any [insert ethnicity here] leading men.
They've had leading black, latino and white. Let's complete the circle!

Sorry?

I don't think that the standard bearers of minority actors got their chance at being leading men because someone on top thought there needed to be one to so to speak complete the circle. Maybe there just isn't any good Asian talent out there? Maybe those Asian parent's are pushing would-be actors into Medical School (my Hawaiian friend's parents are disappointed that he pursued a PhD in biophysics over medical school...)...

For whatever economic reason, there aren't Asian-American lead actors, but demanding one arises is a bit idiotic...
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post #17 of 70
4/6/08 at 8:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hardeeharhar View Post

Sorry?

I don't think that the standard bearers of minority actors got their chance at being leading men because someone on top thought there needed to be one to so to speak complete the circle. Maybe there just isn't any good Asian talent out there? Maybe those Asian parent's are pushing would-be actors into Medical School (my Hawaiian friend's parents are disappointed that he pursued a PhD in biophysics over medical school...)...

For whatever economic reason, there aren't Asian-American lead actors, but demanding one arises is a bit idiotic...

Bingo. There also aren't too many american rock stars of far-eastern heritage. I'm trying to think of some, and I can think of a few half-breeds and John Myung from Dream Theater. FWIW he plays the bass because it has the same number of strings as a violin.
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post #18 of 70
4/6/08 at 8:33pm
I am deeply concerned about the lack of white, male European leads in Bollywood flicks.
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post #19 of 70
4/6/08 at 9:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Splinemodel View Post

Bingo. There also aren't too many american rock stars of far-eastern heritage. I'm trying to think of some, and I can think of a few half-breeds and John Myung from Dream Theater. FWIW he plays the bass because it has the same number of strings as a violin.

Smashing Pumpkins' James Iha is asian.
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post #20 of 70
4/6/08 at 9:30pm
Many are missing the point.

If the original team was mostly Asian and Hollywood decides that that's not palatable in America then there "is" a problem.

These are the same people that get up and crow about how progressive they are at the Academy Awards. The question is. If they're so "accustomed" to changing things to deliver the most dollars then as a consumer I should be suspect of "any" historical portrayal Hollywood chooses to cover.

Integrity is a characteristic I'd like to see more of in Hollywood.
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post #21 of 70
4/6/08 at 9:36pm
O-Mac, you might want to learn something about making points in ways that don't make everyone want to disagree with you. You bring up a good issue about the dearth of leading, high-profile roles for Asian-American male actors in Hollywood. Asian-Americans make up 5% of all Americans, and I don't think I've seen 5 leading Asian-American male actors out of the last 100 movies made. I think most people here would agree that, you know what, maybe they are wrongfully underrepresented in the mass-media, and maybe they should get a few more roles than they already do. But you know, you approached it a little more hysterically than most people have the patience for. So think about that at least.
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post #22 of 70
4/6/08 at 10:38pm
I work on a field that has struggled for decades trying to bring non-white males into the discipline.
As a matter of fact I think it is possible to claim that, in the United States, the project to diversify the field of Physics (in terms of race and gender) has been a failure.

Why is this the case? Why has, for example, Biology done so well in bringing women and minorities into the field but Physics, which has tried similar programs, has failed so miserably?
There is no reason to believe that physicists are somehow more racist/sexist than biologists (James Watson anyone?), so what is exactly the problem?

There is not a single student or faculty member in the Princeton Physics Department that is black.
Black people make ~15% of the US population.

Does this mean that the department is actively discriminating against the black population? Quite the contrary, they do try to get as many minority students as possible, within reason of course.

The problem is that there are very few black people that have interest and are qualified to become a student/professor in Physics and therefore, this makes the task of diversification very hard.

So you ask, "can't they find one asian american male that is talented enough to have a leading role in Hollywood?"

Well, just in the same way that "Princeton Physics cannot find one african american that is talented enough to be a student/professor" the answer is that I would not be surprised if they couldn't.

Of course this does not mean that there are not great asian actors and black physicists out there - what it means is that in some fields certain minorities are so underrepresented, for cultural and historical reasons, that the task of diversification - without compromising quality - can be quite hard.

This problem needs to be solved - but it is definitely not as easy as simply giving leading roles to whichever male asian actor is out there.
It requires an entire revolution in the cultural mindset - it requires the asian community to start appreciating the arts as much as any other profession.
I will never forget the time that I asked one of my professors in college (a chinese female physicist) if she thought her son, who was very much into playing music and painting, would become an artist. She replied: "No, he will not be an artist." (from her tone I knew she actually meant "No, I will not let my son be an artist.")

You can go ahead and accuse Hollywood of being racist all you want (I won't stop you, I really do not regard highly the american film industry anyway) but maybe the better solution to end this serious underrepresentation is to start by teaching chidren - of all races and creeds - to learn to appreciate the arts and to regard them as worthy to be pursued as any other profession.
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post #23 of 70
4/7/08 at 12:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by soulcrusher View Post

This problem needs to be solved

The problem will solve itself, if there even is a problem.
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post #24 of 70
4/7/08 at 5:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by soulcrusher View Post

I work on a field that has struggled for decades trying to bring non-white males into the discipline.
As a matter of fact I think it is possible to claim that, in the United States, the project to diversify the field of Physics (in terms of race and gender) has been a failure.

Why is this the case? Why has, for example, Biology done so well in bringing women and minorities into the field but Physics, which has tried similar programs, has failed so miserably?
There is no reason to believe that physicists are somehow more racist/sexist than biologists (James Watson anyone?), so what is exactly the problem?

There is not a single student or faculty member in the Princeton Physics Department that is black.
Black people make ~15% of the US population.

Does this mean that the department is actively discriminating against the black population? Quite the contrary, they do try to get as many minority students as possible, within reason of course.

The problem is that there are very few black people that have interest and are qualified to become a student/professor in Physics and therefore, this makes the task of diversification very hard.

So you ask, "can't they find one asian american male that is talented enough to have a leading role in Hollywood?"

Well, just in the same way that "Princeton Physics cannot find one african american that is talented enough to be a student/professor" the answer is that I would not be surprised if they couldn't.

Of course this does not mean that there are not great asian actors and black physicists out there - what it means is that in some fields certain minorities are so underrepresented, for cultural and historical reasons, that the task of diversification - without compromising quality - can be quite hard.

This problem needs to be solved - but it is definitely not as easy as simply giving leading roles to whichever male asian actor is out there.
It requires an entire revolution in the cultural mindset - it requires the asian community to start appreciating the arts as much as any other profession.
I will never forget the time that I asked one of my professors in college (a chinese female physicist) if she thought her son, who was very much into playing music and painting, would become an artist. She replied: "No, he will not be an artist." (from her tone I knew she actually meant "No, I will not let my son be an artist.")

You can go ahead and accuse Hollywood of being racist all you want (I won't stop you, I really do not regard highly the american film industry anyway) but maybe the better solution to end this serious underrepresentation is to start by teaching chidren - of all races and creeds - to learn to appreciate the arts and to regard them as worthy to be pursued as any other profession.

These are all good points and true enough. But I think part of what the OP is trying to say, is that not only are AA men not represented in Hollywood, they are actively and demonstratively discriminated against in Hollywood. If Princeton actively rejected applicants soley because they were black, I think you might have a problem.

Part of the problem is active discrimination. Part of the problem is that because asians make up a small, relatively quite minority in the west (especially the US), they are invisible to the Hollywood/media establishment. From a purely financial basis, you could easily argue that it is OK for the studios to avoid and reject AA leading roles. The average American has pretty deeply embedded stereo-types of of asians and they are accepted as completely ok to hold. Typically, I think, Americans think of asians as campy kung fu fighters, nerdy math geeks, Jerry Lewis caricatures, or passive, subservient wimps. Hollywood continues to use and portray these stero-types. If Hollywood only used black actors for roles as criminals, slaves, convicts, drug abusers and pimps, there would be vocal opposition. In fact, for the acceptance of black men in leading roles over the last couple decades, there is still a feeling that they have not fully broken through the glass ceiling, by some. Hence the media hype in 2001 best actor and actress when to African Americans...it was considered a break through. Asian Americans might never have a similar break through because they are not given the opportunity.

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post #25 of 70
4/7/08 at 5:48am
I believe a film studio, being a publicly owned business, has a duty to make as much money as it can... no?

Frankly I'm pissed by how much creative power is wasted and diluted to e.g. make worse remakes of perfectly good movies. But the viewers are far more at fault than the studios. If a large part of the viewership wasn't racist, confused by foreign cultural elements, unable or unwilling to handle normal subtitles to see a better overall movie, and in general avoiding everything "difficult", the studios wouldn't accommodate them.
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post #26 of 70
4/7/08 at 6:18am
Short round. He was pretty much the star of that movie.

Hey lady! You call him Doctajones!
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post #27 of 70
4/7/08 at 6:19am
Completely anecdotal, but Asian countries do make quite a lot of movies.

It's not unheard of here in Korea for Korean Americans to come over here and capitalize on their Americaness.

For example, I imagine that in America, Daniel Henney would be just another struggling actor, trying to make contacts and land roles or however they do it. But here in Korea, he's a star, more pay than anyone would think of giving such a junior actor in the states. All he's really got going for him is that he's good looking and can speak perfect "American" english.

From what I hear, it's also popular for Korean American singers, musicians, DJs, etc. to come over here and be far more successful than if they stayed in the states.

If the same sort of thing is popular amongst all Asian American artists (moving back to their home country where there is less competition) then that might explain the talent drain (if there in fact is one).
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post #28 of 70
4/7/08 at 6:40am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ShawnJ View Post

O-Mac, you might want to learn something about making points in ways that don't make everyone want to disagree with you. You bring up a good issue about the dearth of leading, high-profile roles for Asian-American male actors in Hollywood. Asian-Americans make up 5% of all Americans, and I don't think I've seen 5 leading Asian-American male actors out of the last 100 movies made. I think most people here would agree that, you know what, maybe they are wrongfully underrepresented in the mass-media, and maybe they should get a few more roles than they already do. But you know, you approached it a little more hysterically than most people have the patience for. So think about that at least.

LOLOL Hysterically yes, because no one seems to be listening. I know I'm not the only one out there who has the same thoughts as I do about this. But when you read people shoving off the topic like it's no big deal or a stupid point then yeah there is a reason to go all noodle about it.

in 2008 we shouldn't even be discussing junk like this. I'd much rather be talking about whether a movie was well acted or not or well directed or not instead of debating why asian amer. males are always represented poorly in hollywood.
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post #29 of 70
4/7/08 at 9:23am
Market driven-nothing more.
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post #30 of 70
4/7/08 at 8:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by O-Mac View Post

LOLOL Hysterically yes, because no one seems to be listening. I know I'm not the only one out there who has the same thoughts as I do about this. But when you read people shoving off the topic like it's no big deal or a stupid point then yeah there is a reason to go all noodle about it.

in 2008 we shouldn't even be discussing junk like this. I'd much rather be talking about whether a movie was well acted or not or well directed or not instead of debating why asian amer. males are always represented poorly in hollywood.

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post #31 of 70
4/7/08 at 8:13pm
If someone was going to find a way for an Asian American to be a major character, I don't think it would start off with Hollywood movies. HBO has much more ability to create great characters. I could see them coming out with a show that makes an Asian a star, and then Hollywood following whatever mold HBO set.
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post #32 of 70
4/7/08 at 9:27pm
Off the top of my head and I don't track this kinda stuff but I do watch movies and TV:

Asian Cross Over Actors

Chow Yun Fat
Jet Li
Jackie Chan
Ken Watanabe
Jason J. Tobin

Asian American Actors

John Cho
Daniel Dae Kim
Russel Wong
Garret Wang
Brandon Lee
Jason Scott Lee
Michael Paul Chan
Al Leong (heh)
BD Wong
Victor Wong (Big Trouble!)
Dustin Nguyen
Dennis Dun
Justin Lin
Parry Shen
Sung Kang

Admittedly I had to google for some names like "Ensign Kim actor Star Trek" and "asian actor 21 jump street" but I remembered largely who they were.

Do asians americans have an actor of the caliber as Denzel? Nope. Chow Yun Fat I think is pretty damn good. And I've enjoyed every movie I've seen Ken Watanabe in (not many but a few). And Jason Tobin isn't old. A couple of the guys above probably weren't born here either.

Get over yourself. If you think it sucks then go to film school and write and produce your own indie films with asian american leads. Justin Lin did well with a nom at Sundance and a nom at Spirit.

Personally, I thought that film sucked but my wife dragged me to it at some art theater.

According to Gatdula its all about numbers:

Quote:
Gatdula said that during the pre-production of Finishing the Game, Lin had to go to marketing meetings with the distributors.

Basically, its a room full of people and they had a pie-chart of all the different slices of people who would watch the movie, he said. There was a Caucasian slice, a Hispanic [slice], and an African-American slice but there was no Asian category. They basically said that Asians have the same buying habits as Caucasians.

We [Asian Americans] are invisible in the heads of business people, he added.

http://asianjournal.wordpress.com/20...hing-the-game/

So tell your fellow asian-americans to have different buying habits. Asians are what? 4.4% of the population? That's not insignificant.
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post #33 of 70
4/8/08 at 2:53am
KILL WHITEY!!!! DOWN WITH WHITEY!!!!!
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post #34 of 70
4/8/08 at 9:00am
This has nothing to do with Anti White sentiment.

This has everything to do with taking a story based on real life events and modifying it beyond acceptabillity in the name of commerce.

What does that say about America's tolerance? We'll vote for a woman or black candidate for President but people won't go see a movie with 4 Asian actors??

I understand the frustrations coming from fans of the book I Am Legend when Will Smith was cast even though this was purely a fictional story.

For all the ballyhooing about how progressive Hollywood is they still make their missteps with alarming frequency.
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post #35 of 70
4/8/08 at 12:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by vinea View Post

Off the top of my head and I don't track this kinda stuff but I do watch movies and TV:

Asian Cross Over Actors
.....
Asian American Actors
......
Admittedly I had to google for some names like "Ensign Kim actor Star Trek" and "asian actor 21 jump street" but I remembered largely who they were.

Completely irrelevant.
When the studios go out of their way, not just to avoid asian leads, but to change the ethnicity of primary characters because 'Americans' are unable to relate to them, that is hardly related to a the number of asian actors you can name.

Quote:
Originally Posted by vinea View Post

Do asians americans have an actor of the caliber as Denzel? Nope. Chow Yun Fat I think is pretty damn good. And I've enjoyed every movie I've seen Ken Watanabe in (not many but a few). And Jason Tobin isn't old. A couple of the guys above probably weren't born here either.

I would argue Ken Watanabe is on par or perhaps a better actor than Denzel.

Quote:
Originally Posted by vinea View Post

Get over yourself. If you think it sucks then go to film school and write and produce your own indie films with asian american leads. Justin Lin did well with a nom at Sundance and a nom at Spirit.

What's the point? Unless he also goes out and buys his own studio, it is quite likely the leading characters might be ethically cleansed so they relate to the audience better.


Quote:
Originally Posted by vinea View Post

So tell your fellow asian-americans to have different buying habits. Asians are what? 4.4% of the population? That's not insignificant.

Will that change their skin colour?

"My 8th grade math teacher once said: "You can't help it if you're dumb, you are born that way. But stupid is self inflicted."" -Hiro. Sometimes it's both.

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"My 8th grade math teacher once said: "You can't help it if you're dumb, you are born that way. But stupid is self inflicted."" -Hiro. Sometimes it's both.

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post #36 of 70
4/8/08 at 12:34pm
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Originally Posted by Tulkas View Post

I would argue Ken Watanabe is on par or perhaps a better actor than Denzel.

I was going to respond to this, and then my brain melted, so now all I can say is that you should have this put on a t-shirt.
Gangs are not seen as legitimate, because they don't have control over public schools.
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Gangs are not seen as legitimate, because they don't have control over public schools.
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post #37 of 70
4/8/08 at 2:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tulkas View Post

Completely irrelevant.
When the studios go out of their way, not just to avoid asian leads, but to change the ethnicity of primary characters because 'Americans' are unable to relate to them, that is hardly related to a the number of asian actors you can name.

And the last time this was prevalent was when? Kung Fu? The King and I?

Are we looking at this from a historical perspective or the state of the industry now? Because as far as I recall the male lead in Anna and the King was Chow Yun Fat. Not a bald Russian guy.

As I said, I don't follow this very closely but I do note many more asian american actors today than I did growing up.

Quote:
I would argue Ken Watanabe is on par or perhaps a better actor than Denzel.

Except he isn't asian american...and it's hard to say really. I think that Denzel has had far more varied roles.

Quote:
What's the point? Unless he also goes out and buys his own studio, it is quite likely the leading characters might be ethically cleansed so they relate to the audience better.

Yes, because Justin Lin completely failed in getting more asian americans actors into movie roles because he didn't go out and buy a studio...and yeah, Better Luck Tomorrow was ethically cleansed and didn't address the issue of a "model minority" at all.

Mkay.

Quote:
Will that change their skin colour?

Do you need it to? Or do you simply want the asian-american demographic not to be clustered in with the caucasian one so you end up with 4% of the lead actors in hollywood?

While there's still a bit of asianploitation with kung fu roles and asian comedy with Li, Chan, etc if the trend holds true then young directors like Lin may be able to push asian films like Spike Lee and John Singleton did for african-american film making in the 90s.

That the african-american community shows up as a seperate demographic certainly didn't hurt. The same needs to occur for the asian-american community for there to be real monetary benefit for more asian male leads.

But what the heck, if you want role models, asian film making is vastly better than it was a decade or two ago. I may be a little odd in actually watching sub-titled movies but I've seen decent Korean, Chinese and Japanese films with strong asian leads.

4%, while a significant number, is still smaller than the other two major minority groups in the US. You want something to happen, you go make it happen. There's at least ONE Asian American role model that has succeeded into breaking into directing and producing.

I'm sure there's more if you look closely. But proving a market exists in the indie film market is a good first step in getting the majors to change. Where there's money, they'll cater to it.
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post #38 of 70
4/8/08 at 4:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by vinea View Post

And the last time this was prevalent was when? Kung Fu? The King and I?

Are we looking at this from a historical perspective or the state of the industry now? Because as far as I recall the male lead in Anna and the King was Chow Yun Fat. Not a bald Russian guy.

This year's number one movie, 21, was based on a story of a group that was mainly asian. They were cleaned up for the move version.

"My 8th grade math teacher once said: "You can't help it if you're dumb, you are born that way. But stupid is self inflicted."" -Hiro. Sometimes it's both.

Reply

"My 8th grade math teacher once said: "You can't help it if you're dumb, you are born that way. But stupid is self inflicted."" -Hiro. Sometimes it's both.

Reply
post #39 of 70
4/8/08 at 4:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tulkas View Post

This year's number one movie, 21, was based on a story of a group that was mainly asian. They were cleaned up for the move version.

Cleaned up? They changed the story. Period. The end.

In other news, Ben Kingsley to play Gandhi!

In other other news, Naveen Andrews to play an Iraqi!

In other other other news, Hispanic dude to play Asian dude!

In other other other other news, Asian dude to play Hispanic dude!
Gangs are not seen as legitimate, because they don't have control over public schools.
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Gangs are not seen as legitimate, because they don't have control over public schools.
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post #40 of 70
4/8/08 at 5:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tulkas View Post

This year's number one movie, 21, was based on a story of a group that was mainly asian. They were cleaned up for the move version.

Ah, my bad. I thought the book had all western names?

In any case, that doesn't change my position. Rather than whine about it, make an indie version and tell the real story.
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