Race as a factor in casting roles

Morlar

Noticed this story :

http://irishexaminer.com/home/hobbit-embroiled-in-race-row-over-casting-restrictions-138065.html

Hobbit embroiled in race row over casting restrictions

By James Whitnell, Hamilton, New Zealand

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

PETER Jackson’s troubled Hobbit project has become embroiled in a race row after a would-be extra was told she was too dark to play one of the Tolkien creatures.

Briton Naz Humphreys, who has Pakistani heritage, attended a casting session in the New Zealand city of Hamilton last week, queuing for three hours only to be told her skin tone was not suitable, the Waikato Times reported.

"It’s 2010 and I still can’t believe I’m being discriminated against because I have brown skin," Humphreys told the newspaper.

"The casting manager basically said they weren’t having anybody who wasn’t pale-skinned."

The paper said video footage shows the casting manager telling people: "We are looking for light-skinned people. I’m not trying to be — whatever. It’s just the brief. You’ve got to look like a hobbit."

Humphreys said she was a huge fan of Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy and, at 5’ tall, had hoped for a bit part in The Hobbit.

"I would love to be an extra," she said. "But it just seemed like a shame because obviously hobbits are not brown or black or any other colour. They all look kind of homogenised beige and all derived from the Caucasian gene pool."

Humphreys has started a Facebook group called "Hire hobbits of all colours! Say no to hobbit racism!"

Jackson’s spokesman told the paper it was "an incredibly unfortunate error" the producers or the director were aware of: "They would never issue instructions of this kind to the casting crew. All people meeting the age and height requirements are welcome to audition."


Read more: http://irishexaminer.com/home/hobbit-embroiled-in-race-row-over-casting-restrictions-138065.html#ixzz16rzOWk7O

This seems reasonable to me on the part of the casting director but I can kind of understand how potential actors would be miffed. What say you ? Granted these are extras not main roles but the point remains a valid one in my view.

Should any role be open to anyone of any race ?
If so, then what about gender or disabled, tall, short etc ?

Does this instance fall under the category of accuracy to the novel or if it does not fit that category should the director be allowed to adhere to his own personal vision of the work ? (no orc, jokes, please).

robby^5

Middle Earth is based on North-West Europe. The native peoples of these lands were white not Pakistani, that's not racism that's just a reality.

mike65

If I was making a film about a race of mythical Amazonian Queens who were all 6 feet tall and looked like Angelina Jolie I would not cast Holly Hunter.

Otacon

Didn't stop Kirk Lazarus...

Morlar

Otacon wrote: »

Didn't stop Kirk Lazarus...

I think there is something a bit full retard about this story/potential lawsuit. It's an interesting area though.

sealgaire

exactly, sure if they need a black lad then they will need to cast a black lad for the role

AnonoBoy

robby^5 wrote: »

Middle Earth is based on North-West Europe. The native peoples of these lands were white not Pakistani, that's not racism that's just a reality.

I'm pretty sure Middle Earth isn't reality.

Morlar

AnonoBoy wrote: »

I'm pretty sure Middle Earth isn't reality.

Maybe he meant a reality within the novel ?

AnonoBoy

Morlar wrote: »

Maybe he meant a reality within the novel ?

I haven't read the books since I was a kid but I can't imagine it ruining the movie terribly if there were dark-skinned hobbits in it somewhere.

It's not like Lord of the Rings was a big racist allegory tale..... or was it? :eek:

Duggy747

Denzel Washington as a Hobbit :pac: He would've walked to Mordor and kicked everyone's ass at the same time!

I don't care what colour they are, just slap good actors there but leave the racist card out of it.

They're looking for light-skinned hobbits, end of.

liah

In fairness I'm sure lots of white people get turned down for roles meant for black/asian/whatever roles all the time.

It's not racist unless there's literally no reason for the person to be any specific race and they still get turned down for that reason alone.

I mean, they couldn't exactly cast a whole load of black people as the KKK, for example, or a bunch of white people as slaves in Louisiana plantations, no matter how much anyone may call it racist. It would just be factually wrong.

Though I suppose that's a bit different to fictional literature, but take the asian guy in The Walking Dead, for example. He doesn't really have to be Asian, but that's what he is in the comic, so that's what he is in the show. That means a white person couldn't've played that role for the sole reason they're white. Nobody called it racist then. Middle Earth is based on Europe, and Europeans are, historically, white. Not racist. Just how it is.

Mountain = molehill.

Kess73

Smacks of a person looking for attention and a payday to me.



Although it might explain why I did not get the leading role in Malcolm X.............

The guy

I think the casting director is in the right here.

Basq

Don't know... might work!

Dempsey

I'd say she's an attention wh0re, in terms of filmmaking I see no problem in rejecting an actor based on unsuitable ethnicity.

Not liking that Jackson spokesman is claiming that the casting call had height and age requirements, not ethnicity requirements. Basically, they are hanging out the casting director to dry in the event of any legal action.

krudler

liah wrote: »

In fairness I'm sure lots of white people get turned down for roles meant for black/asian/whatever roles all the time.

It's not racist unless there's literally no reason for the person to be any specific race and they still get turned down for that reason alone.

I mean, they couldn't exactly cast a whole load of black people as the KKK, for example, or a bunch of white people as slaves in Louisiana plantations, no matter how much anyone may call it racist. It would just be factually wrong.

Though I suppose that's a bit different to fictional literature, but take the asian guy in The Walking Dead, for example. He doesn't really have to be Asian, but that's what he is in the comic, so that's what he is in the show. That means a white person couldn't've played that role for the sole reason they're white. Nobody called it racist then. Middle Earth is based on Europe, and Europeans are, historically, white. Not racist. Just how it is.

Mountain = molehill.

A non-European looking hobbit just wouldnt work, itd just make an audience question why theres one hobbit of a different race in the cast and take you out of the movie. Its not a case of racial discrimination at all, its just looking for people to play the parts who would suit the characters appearance. Even though technically any fictional character could be played by anyone from any nationality, theres some you just associate with being white, like Superman, or black, like Shaft or Blade or someone. You wouldnt cast a non whie guy to play Jesus (even though itd actually be more accurate, fnarr :pac:) becaus western audiences wouldnt accept it.

stevenmu

From the books the Hobbits are a small race (in terms of numbers) and live in a very small geographical area (within a few days walk). Having hobbits of different races would make no sense and would go against the idea that they are such a small race living in such a small area, which is actually a reasonably important part of the film.

This is what annoyed me about the I Am Legend movie. In the book the character is described specifically as of English/German descent with blonde hair and blue eyes and who ends up playing him? Will Smith.

Yeah. Er. What?

I wonder if the same out cry would be heard if they had said that they were looking for dark-skinned people and turnign away white actors.

tony1kenobi

Ah now.Why didn't she go and audition for one of the baddie roles?All of the baddies in those books are black.....apart from their leader.

All the black baddies are controlled by an old white dude. He is their master.

Nothing racist about it at all.

She wants to cop on.

Isn't Morgan Freeman's character in Shawshank is s'posed to be Irish?

jaykhunter

Race should come into play for casting if it's from an already established material or a director's proper vision. Should they cast a mexican for Superman? Or a black guy being gandalf? It wouldn't work.

But for films such as The Other Guys for example, it wouldn't matter what colour they are. Same deal with any loosely adapted novel like already mentioned in the thread.

beans

Deleted User wrote: »

Isn't Morgan Freeman's character in Shawshank is s'posed to be Irish?

Irish != White