The Last Airbender

[Jager X]

Cain sure as hell doesn't look white

you can easily tell he's got a little rick suave in him

Welling however, looks like a White Boy

Dean Cain definately look asian. If he bulked up a little more he would have visually been perfect as Captain Marvel imo.

 

[Rumpy Bulge Dubz]

still doesn't compute, kid was in a huge hollywood movie, anyone making fun of him for that can put a bullet to their dome cause they're flipping morons

 

[Rumpy Bulge Dubz]

Dean Cain definately look asian. If he bulked up a little more he would have visually been perfect as Captain Marvel imo.

agreed

as much as I love Lois and Clark, visually Dean Cain is NOT Superman, whatsoever. Whenever I watch the show I see a fanboy parading around in a Superman costume

but still a good show

and Cain still kicks ass

 

[carrrnuttt]

When they were hired I doubt the producers even knew they were part Asian or Native American. They probably thought they were just hiring another white actor.

LOL

You don't think that Dean Cain's real name or background would have come up in his interviews?

I know you shallow types would bring up the fact that they "look" white. The point is, they got hired for their looks, AND NOT THEIR "RACE." Otherwise, they'd both be out of the running if the goal was to "promote whitey over any other race."

 

[DorkyFresh]

so......anyway, there are some very important lessons to be learned from this film.

1: find the appropriate director for the adaptation. i wouldn't want to see David Fincher direct a Superman film, so given Shyamalan's previous films which were dark and brooding, i don't know why they felt he'd be a good fit for this film. the same mistake was made on DBE. they hired a director who is used to directing dark, brooding films but had no experience directing a bright, colorful movie. someone the likes of Brad Bird (Incredibles) or even Rob Minkoff (Forbidden Kingdom) would've fit this project much better. sometimes gambles really do pay off, but you should never gamble blindly...always make an educated decision.

2: semi-popular white actors in ethnic roles DOES NOT WORK! granted, i don't want to stir the racebending debate again but Hollywood needs to learn that America is becoming more and more accepting of racial diversity, especially the youth. is it a dealbreaker that Sokka and Katara are now pail-skinned instead of tanned? of course not, BUT we've seen with Dragonball Evolution and now the Last Airbender that placing more well-known white actors in leading roles that are inspired by foreign culture and visual appearances not only doesn't earn more money, it HINDERS the grand vision of the film. when was the last time we saw a white character with a name like 'Goku', 'Sokka', or 'Katara'? i wouldn't want to see someone who is obviously Hispanic or Asian play 'Boromir' or 'Aragorn'. Tolkien never flat out said that those characters are WHITE....but given that those characters are clearly influenced by EUROPEAN culture, i wouldn't want to see an obvious Asian or Hispanic play them. same for these characters...Goku, Sokka, Katara, and even Aang are heavily influenced by Asian culture, so at the very least (with the exception of Aang) they should've gotten actors who are racially ambiguous.

really what Hollywood is doing, by casting all these white actors in Asian influenced roles, is ignoring and spitting on Bruce Lee's legacy, which opened America's doors for not only Asian, but ethnic actors all over the world. DBE and TLA has proven that catering towards the racial majority of America does not work when selling the idea of a movie that is heavily influenced by foreign culture. the fact that they've cast Mickey Rourke as Genghis Khan in an upcoming movie shows that Hollywood has still yet to learn this lesson.

3: 3D DOESN'T ALWAYS MAKE MONEY, IN FACT IT OFTEN HINDERS THE EXPERIENCE!!! it's obvious that Hollywood is a fad ****e and the newest line of 3D movies is an unfortunate product of a fantastic idea. Avatar has shown us what 3D is like when used PROPERLY....Clash of the Titans has shown us what 3D is like when used POORLY! the Last Airbender certainly falls into the latter. movies like Avatar and Tron Legacy are prime for 3D because it envelopes you in rich worlds that we will NEVER be able to experience and on top of that, they were/are made with 3D in mind FROM THE START! post-production 3D just sucks....PERIOD! they need to stop exploiting this fad or it will truly become a gimmick. do we REALLY need to see Jackass or Harold and Kumar in 3D??? HELL NO! thank god there are influential filmmakers who have their own set of balls and have not yet given into this growing trend of 3D films. Predators does not need to be seen in 3D, nor does Batman. while it would be nice, i'd rather they put their efforts into enriching the MOVIE instead of enriching the EXPERIENCE.



unfortunately, Hollywood is probably the most hardheaded entity in the entertainment business as we are still seeing too many remakes that really don't need to be remade. i hope that some smart person who has some sort of pull in Hollywood will read this and realize that things need to be stirred up in Hollywood but i seriously doubt they'll learn from the mistakes made in 'the Last Airbender' anytime soon.

 

[The Squirrel]

Anyone else feel that they should have gotten the guy who directed Narnia to direct this? He already has experience of a fantasy film with kid actors under his belt.

 

[blksuperman2]

anger leads to hate, hate leads to...suffering! i sense much anger in you...hehe

i didn't see/hear anything particularly *****ey. he kept mocking those who kept teasing him about playing Anakin by calling them "intelligent" but i don't see how that's being a *****e. there's bound to be SOME sense of bitterness from someone in his kind of situation. despite his horrid performance in TPM and his now pudgy appearance, judging from this short video i actually found him quite likable.

Maybe *****e isn't the right word. I'm just saying, the last thing I'd be ashamed of is my acting when I was 9 yrs old. He could of easily focused his energies on something else rather than worry about some people teasing him in High School and College.

I know if it were me I'd let those "intelligent" guys mock me all they wanted while I focused gettin' w/ the ladies.t: (Or some other positive activity). Just looked like he let his bitterness eat away at him which seems pathetic to me.

 

[blksuperman2]

Anyone else feel that they should have gotten the guy who directed Narnia to direct this? He already has experience of a fantasy film with kid actors under his belt.

You may have a point there.

 

[Doc Ock]

Anyone else feel that they should have gotten the guy who directed Narnia to direct this? He already has experience of a fantasy film with kid actors under his belt.

Anything is better than M. Night Shalaymawhateverhislastnameis, well...almost anyone.

 

[Alchemyst]

Anything is better than M. Night Shalaymawhateverhislastnameis, well...almost anyone.

damn son.......

 

[Antrax255]

I wonder if Nicola did the casting couch since M.Night could not make the movie without her.

 

[TNC9852002]

You may have a point there.

Well, I dunno. The kid from Unbreakable was pretty good, as well as the kids from Signs...and we already know that Haley Joel Osment was awesome in The Sixth Sense..

So, maybe talent had a lot to do with it here and these kids just didn't have the experience?

 

[DorkyFresh]

Anyone else feel that they should have gotten the guy who directed Narnia to direct this? He already has experience of a fantasy film with kid actors under his belt.

he would've been alright, but while his action sequences are solid they leave something to be desired. Narnia also misses the sense of 'fun' and 'adventure' that a fantasy movie like 'Willow' had. i had fun watching the 1st two Shrek's but i'm honestly not a fan of Andrew Adamson.

however, now that i mentioned 'Willow' i think Ron Howard would've been great for this franchise...despite his lack of Asian influenced movies.

 

[Doc Ock]

damn son.......

Sorry....I forgot how to spell his last name and...well....got carried away.

 

[Jager X]

You know what grinds my gears, what really pisses me off on these boards? That instead of people learning how to spell SHYMALAN's name right, they just make it that much more complicated by adding unecessary insults in it. It is not a problem if you can't spell. Hell, I am not good at math but when you sit there and write 'shymalamadingdong' or whatever then you just look even more stupid then if you just spelled his name wrong by mistake.

 

[Doc Ock]

You know what grinds my gears, what really pisses me off on these boards? That instead of people learning how to spell SHYMALAN's name right, they just make it that much more complicated by adding unecessary insults in it. It is not a problem if you can't spell. Hell, I am not good at math but when you sit there and write 'shymalamadingdong' or whatever then you just look even more stupid then if you just spelled his name wrong by mistake.

Sorry....

 

[FaT_tONle]

Shymalamabobamamifimobamalamamesa TATA!!!

 

[Hunter Rider]

You know what grinds my gears, what really pisses me off on these boards? That instead of people learning how to spell SHYMALAN's name right, they just make it that much more complicated by adding unecessary insults in it. It is not a problem if you can't spell. Hell, I am not good at math but when you sit there and write 'shymalamadingdong' or whatever then you just look even more stupid then if you just spelled his name wrong by mistake.

Maybe you should make your angry posts after your gears have stopped grinding as you just spelled his name wrong as well.

 

[Jager X]

Maybe you should make your angry posts after your gears have stopped grinding as you just spelled his name wrong as well.

And how does this change the point of my post even in the slightest? I know I missed an "A" but I did not bother to change it. Re-read what I wrote m'am, I take no quarrel with those who misspell his name but those who make intentionally riddle his name with insults. If you can't spell his name then that's fine, but you look plain stupid when you type something like "shamalamlskdjfsdljfdsljflsd" and then say you typed it like that because you can't spell his name.

 

[Hunter Rider]

And how does this change the point of my post even in the slightest? I know I missed an "A" but I did not bother to change it. Re-read what I wrote m'am, I take no quarrel with those who misspell his name but those who make intentionally riddle his name with insults. If you can't spell his name then that's fine, but you look plain stupid when you type something like "shamalamlskdjfsdljfdsljflsd" and then say you typed it like that because you can't spell his name.

Jesus dude, you need to be less serious.

 

[Jager X]

I am a lot less serious than you think. But we all have our hangups, mine is the topic at hand and yours is big assed chicas in tiny thongs in the celebrity thread.

 

[Hunter Rider]

I am a lot less serious than you think. But we all have our hangups, mine is the topic at hand and yours is big assed chicas in tiny thongs in the celebrity thread.

Clearly you need more research.

 

[Jager X]

Ooooh, I smell a challenge.

 

[mr. peasant]

2: semi-popular white actors in ethnic roles DOES NOT WORK! granted, i don't want to stir the racebending debate again but Hollywood needs to learn that America is becoming more and more accepting of racial diversity, especially the youth. is it a dealbreaker that Sokka and Katara are now pail-skinned instead of tanned? of course not, BUT we've seen with Dragonball Evolution and now the Last Airbender that placing more well-known white actors in leading roles that are inspired by foreign culture and visual appearances not only doesn't earn more money, it HINDERS the grand vision of the film. when was the last time we saw a white character with a name like 'Goku', 'Sokka', or 'Katara'? i wouldn't want to see someone who is obviously Hispanic or Asian play 'Boromir' or 'Aragorn'. Tolkien never flat out said that those characters are WHITE....but given that those characters are clearly influenced by EUROPEAN culture, i wouldn't want to see an obvious Asian or Hispanic play them. same for these characters...Goku, Sokka, Katara, and even Aang are heavily influenced by Asian culture, so at the very least (with the exception of Aang) they should've gotten actors who are racially ambiguous.

really what Hollywood is doing, by casting all these white actors in Asian influenced roles, is ignoring and spitting on Bruce Lee's legacy, which opened America's doors for not only Asian, but ethnic actors all over the world. DBE and TLA has proven that catering towards the racial majority of America does not work when selling the idea of a movie that is heavily influenced by foreign culture. the fact that they've cast Mickey Rourke as Genghis Khan in an upcoming movie shows that Hollywood has still yet to learn this lesson.

Do not mistake correlation for causation. There have been several other reasons for DBE and TLA's poor critical reception; poor production quality for the former and poor pacing/directing for the latter. In addition, there are examples that have been well received despite characters being changed to be Caucasian. Earthsea comes to mind. Also, Jesus.

 

[DorkyFresh]

Do not mistake correlation for causation. There have been several other reasons for DBE and TLA's poor critical reception; poor production quality for the former and poor pacing/directing for the latter. In addition, there are examples that have been well received despite characters being changed to be Caucasian. Earthsea comes to mind. Also, Jesus.

seriously dude???? every time i mention race in a board you're on me like a 13 y/o girl on Justin Bieber. nevermind the REST of my post, you only comment on the one thing that you constantly seem to disagree with me on.

on top of that, you seem to have missed the point of my observation. the point of the 'racebending' observation was not to point out that any and all movies that utilize white actors in foreign inspired roles will fail ultimately because of said casting. the point was to show how 'racebending' does not help the overall cause. i'm not saying it's a deal breaker, but if Hollywood is to evolve then it must get past casting white actors in roles that are clearly meant to be played by a person of foreign descent. again please understand that i'm not saying that 'racebending' causes movies to fail. i'm just saying that it damages the grand idea of the film.

as for your examples...i'm not familiar with Earthsea, but Jesus being portrayed as an anglo saxon-type Caucasian has become QUITE unpopular in recent years. the more i talk to believers in Jesus the more people i find that believe he should've looked more like the image of Jesus depicted as a typical Jew of that age. this is actually a good example of how people are getting tired of obvious depicting Caucasians in roles that are meant to be portrayed by non-Caucasians.

edit: if i'm not mistaken, you said that you, yourself, are of Asian decent...but the more you argue against my views on this particular matter the more i doubt your word...............actions speak louder than words, friend.