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[WaterAstro]

Wow her nose is big. I never noticed.

 

[Garrus Vakarian]

Well as long as they're swapping races; I think John Hurt would have been a good Aramaki.

 

[Soi-Fong]

It's sad that Origa passed away. Would have loved her music in this movie...

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

She would have totally been a perfect Puppeteer though.

 

[PatThePassive]

Well as long as they're swapping races; I think John Hurt would have been a good Aramaki.

I know! I cant believe they hired a person with a body instead of someone with an artificial body!

 

[PatThePassive]

She would have totally been a perfect Puppeteer though.

she would play both if they were loyal to the first movie

 

[Joyful]

Well as long as they're swapping races; I think John Hurt would have been a good Aramaki.

I was thinking the same thing earlier
mostly because of his hair in hellboy though

 

[Garrus Vakarian]

I was thinking the same thing earlier
mostly because of his hair in hellboy though

Yeah that was definitely something that contributed to it for me, and his voice.

 

[UrbanRats]

You didn't even need to go that far, she was already in a sci fi movie inspired by anime.

Jesus Christ these Rinko Kikuchi suggestions are silly.
Apparently she's the only Asian actress around.
Nevermind the fact that she is completely far removed from the major, Asian ethnicity aside, or that she speaks broken English.

This is like, in an hypothetical world where you needed more white people on screen, you cast Jesse Eisenberg as Conan the barbarian, cause it's the only white actor you can think of.

 

[SuperStiltzkin]

I then asked directly what they thought of casting a white actress as The Major.
Their responses all basically boiled down to this:

1) Hollywood is putting up the money so it up to them who to pick who they want and they appreciate that they care enough about the property to cough up the cash for a A-lister. If this were a domestically created movie they would take issue with picking a white actress, but that was because of the caveat that it would not have the budget to hire a good one.

2) The theme of GiTS makes it a non-issue at the core. The Major specifically has had to go through dozens of bodies throughout her life and taking issue with what one of them looks like is superficial and missing the point. One designer basically said if there is a universe where manga/anime is real The Major is probably looking down and laughing at people taking issue with something as minor as her skin color. Basically, she would be the last person to take issue with her appearance to that extent.

I honestly don't expect Japanese citizens, who are inundated with plenty of Japanese media and TV personalities and are surrounded by Japanese people everyday, to really understand the frustration of an Asian american living in America growing up with white dominated media.

People calling for more asian representation in Hollywood aren't the same people clamoring for a Japanese actress for 100% faithfulness to the source material. Again, you could have a canon, lore friendly excuse for casting a white actress, but at the end of the day it's still just that. An excuse.

 

[shattyboombatty]

Jesus Christ these Rinko Kikuchi suggestions are silly.
Apparently she's the only Asian actress around.
Nevermind the fact that she is completely far removed from the major, Asian ethnicity aside, or that she speaks broken English.

Huh?

This is like, in an hypothetical world where you needed more white people on screen, you cast Jesse Eisenberg as Conan the barbarian, cause it's the only white actor you can think of.

Ok so name some other Asian actresses you're prefer over Rinko.

 

[the black pearl]

I lost almost any hope for this when they announced it was Laughing Man story, and he's being played by Michael Pitt. But I hope I'm wrong.

 

[Aztechnology]

Huh?

I can tell you that won't fly with English speaking audiences.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Egt1L8Yqu8

 

[BudokaiMR2]

I honestly don't expect Japanese citizens, who are inundated with plenty of Japanese media and TV personalities and are surrounded by Japanese people everyday, to really understand the frustration of an Asian american living in America growing up with white dominated media.

People calling for more asian representation in Hollywood aren't the same people clamoring for a Japanese actress for 100% faithfulness to the source material. Again, you could have a canon, lore friendly excuse for casting a white actress, but at the end of the day it's still just that. An excuse.

I really don't understand arguments like this. The world is a lot more interconnected than you would expect. Hollywood dominates the entire globe, not just America.

I would argue that as one of the few non-Western countries with a long history of domestic filmmaking which has been totally eclipsed by Hollywood to the point where almost none of their movies are viable on a global stage it would actually make them more sensitive to topics like this.

Again, I stand with people like Shouta on this. It is sad that the lead is not an asian actress, but it's not enough to get me up in arms over it and claim it is disrespectful to the original work.

I will also just stand by my point that taking issue with race in a property that has transhumanism at its core is completely missing what makes GiTS special. It's not special because it features a hot asian girl doing badass martial arts.
It is special because it tackles the subject of whether the human condition can be bettered through the advent of technology.

In a world where you can upload your brain to a cybernetic body, race becomes as fluid as your wardrobe.

That said, I don't really expect them to be able to tackle those issues successfully. However, we can't really make that judgement at this point with only a single screen to go from.

 

[shattyboombatty]

I can tell you that won't fly with English speaking audiences.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Egt1L8Yqu8

I was referring to the comment of being "completely far removed from the major". What does that even mean?

 

[cdyhybrid]

I will also just stand by my point that taking issue with race in a property that has transhumanism at its core is completely missing GiTS special. It's not special because it features a hot asian girl doing badass martial arts. It is special because it tackles the subject of how the human condition can be bettered through the advent of technology.

In a world where you can upload your brain to a cybernetic body, race becomes as fluid as your wardrobe.

One could argue that if a film were trying to make the point that race is nothing more than superficial, casting a white lead because they make more money would be a bit...self-sabotaging.

 

[vinnygambini]

It seems Production IG is on board as exec producer judging by Deadline's article. Cautiously optimistic.

Tetsu Fujimura and Mitsuhisa Ishikawa are exec producing. Ishikawa’s animation studio Production I.G produced the Japanese Ghost in the Shell film and television series.

http://deadline.com/2016/04/scarlet...orks-manga-classic-takeshi-kitano-1201737565/

 

[Aztechnology]

I was referring to the comment of being "completely far removed from the major". What does that even mean?

Oh I couldn't tell what was bolded on my desktop. My monitor color profile keeps resetting itself and making stuff hard to read. Your guess is as good as mine.

 

[BudokaiMR2]

One could argue that if a film were trying to make the point that race is nothing more than superficial, casting a white lead because they make more money would be a bit...self-sabotaging.

As others have said before, there is very little proof that name factor actually has a large affect on how much money a film can make. Plenty of films fail even though they have big name actors or actresses attached.

Maybe I am giving Hollywood producers and market research people too much credit, but I have a feeling that if some random posters on a forum can find proof to back up that claim there have to be a few people on staff at studios who understand that as well.

Is it really that hard to believe that ScarJo may have just had a really good audition?
I will admit I am biased as I do like her an actress, but she doesn't make the big bucks just because she is a pretty white girl. People don't come to see her because she is famous. People come to see her because they like her acting skills.

 

[SuperStiltzkin]

I really don't understand arguments like this. The world is a lot more interconnected than you would expect. Hollywood dominates the entire globe, not just America.

I would argue that as one of the few non-Western countries with a long history of domestic filmmaking which has been totally eclipsed by Hollywood to the point where almost none of their movies are viable on a global stage it would actually make them more sensitive to topics like this.

Again, I stand with people like Shouta on this. It is sad that the lead is not an asian actress, but it's not enough to get me up in arms over it and claim it is disrespectful to the original work.

I will also just stand by my point that taking issue with race in a property that has transhumanism at its core is completely missing GiTS special. It's not special because it features a hot asian girl doing badass martial arts. It is special because it tackles the subject of how the human condition can be bettered through the advent of technology.

In a world where you can upload your brain to a cybernetic body, race becomes as fluid as your wardrobe.

That said, I don't really expect them to be able to tackle those issues successfully. However, we can't really make that judgement at this point with only a single screen to go from.

You make the mistake in thinking that I place importance on the casting because I care about the accuracy of the source material. I place importance on the casting simply because I would like more asian roles opened up to Asian actors. And yes, someone living in Japan can still go to their theater and see that it's dominated by big hollywood blockbusters with white actors. But they also have their own domestic films, TV shows, anime, and their own celebrities and singers and idols etc. Their media exposure is so much more different than in the US where every aspect of it (TV, film, music) is still sorely lacking any Asian presence.

 

[cdyhybrid]

As others have said before, there is very little proof that name factor actually has a large affect on how much money a film can make. Plenty of films fail even though they have big name actors or actresses attached.

Maybe I am giving Hollywood producers and market research people too much credit, but I have a feeling that if some random posters on a forum can find proof to back up that claim there have to be a few people on staff at studios who understand that as well.

Is it really that hard to believe that ScarJo may have just had a really good audition?
I will admit I am biased as I do like her an actress, but she doesn't make the big bucks just because she is a pretty white girl. People don't come to see her because she is famous. People come to see her because they like her acting skills.

And as those same people have said, the fact that there's no definitive proof that a big-name actor makes a movie more money means nothing to the people financing the movie.

I'm sure ScarJo had a great audition, I have nothing against her. I'm just saying let's call it what it is - they cast a white lead in a great opportunity to feature a non-white lead.

 

[Walpurgis]

It's sad that Origa passed away. Would have loved her music in this movie...

Have you seen the people behind this film? They're terrible. They would never know to use her.

 

[BudokaiMR2]

You make the mistake in thinking that I place importance on the casting because I care about the accuracy of the source material. I place importance on the casting simply because I would like more asian roles opened up to Asian actors. And yes, someone living in Japan can still go to their theater and see that it's dominated by big hollywood blockbusters with white actors. But they also have their own domestic films, TV shows, anime, and their own celebrities and singers and idols etc. Their media exposure is so much more different than in the US where every aspect of it (TV, film, music) is still sorely lacking any Asian presence.

Yes it is disappointing, but it is also an unfortunate catch-22 and will probably continue to be so for years to come. It is telling and sad that there really haven't even been many viable alternatives mentioned in this thread. I really do think Rinko Kikuchi would be a disaster. There is no way she could deliver the dialogue needed for the Major with her English ability.

And as those same people have said, the fact that there's no definitive proof that a big-name actor makes a movie more money means nothing to the people financing the movie.

I'm sure ScarJo had a great audition, I have nothing against her. I'm just saying let's call it what it is - they cast a white lead in a great opportunity to feature a non-white lead.

Hollywood is slow to change and audiences can be even worse. We still live in a society where bigoted idiots will still trash movies just because they have a female lead.

I would be a lot more critical of the movie if the entire cast were white-washed, but there is actually quite a bit of diversity in there. Even more than the actual source material would call for!
I don't know most of the cast, but someone posted pics of everyone a few pages back. Yes, they are not the lead but even positive supporting roles are rare for minorities.

 

[cdyhybrid]

Yes it is disappointing, but it is also an unfortunate catch-22 and will probably continue to be so for years to come. It is telling and sad that there really haven't even been many viable alternatives mentioned in this thread. I really do think Rinko Kikuchi would be a disaster. There is no way she could deliver the dialogue needed for the Major with her English ability.



Hollywood is slow to change and audiences can be even worse. We still live in a society where bigoted idiots will still trash movies just because they have a female lead.

I would be a lot more critical of the movie if the entire cast were white-washed, but there is actually quite a bit of diversity in there. Even more than the actual source material would call for!
I don't know most of the cast, but someone posted pics of everyone a few pages back. Yes, they are not the lead but even positive supporting roles are rare for minorities.

Makes it even harder to change when you don't try.

 

[Walpurgis]

Yes it is disappointing, but it is also an unfortunate catch-22 and will probably continue to be so for years to come. It is telling and sad that there really haven't even been many viable alternatives mentioned in this thread. I really do think Rinko Kikuchi would be a disaster. There is no way she could deliver the dialogue needed for the Major with her English ability.



Hollywood is slow to change and audiences can be even worse. We still live in a society where bigoted idiots will still trash movies just because they have a female lead.

I would be a lot more critical of the movie if the entire cast were white-washed, but there is actually quite a bit of diversity in there. Even more than the actual source material would call for!
I don't know most of the cast, but someone posted pics of everyone a few pages back. Yes, they are not the lead but even positive supporting roles are rare for minorities.

From what I recall, the important roles are all white and the team is diverse. That isn't enough, especially with the white washed protagonist.

 

[Lime]

This is so silly. Kusanagi is a cyborg with a super vague history. They even say in plenty of the shows she's just an average model so she blends in. Wasn't she in a plane crash, or some elite hacker "Firesomething", or that she can't even remember her childhood? She's just some hollow shell designed to deliver monotone exposition about life and shit. ScarJo can easily do that.

They should've just have Tom Hanks play the character then if body and looks are so irrelevant

 

[Subpar Spatula]

They should've just have Tom Hanks play the character then if body and looks are so irrelevant

They could. In an episode of Stand Alone Complex, Batou mentions to Kusanagi that she should think about getting a male body as it's stronger and more durable.

Her appearance is super fluid and that's one of the points the show makes.

 

[SuperStiltzkin]

Yes it is disappointing, but it is also an unfortunate catch-22 and will probably continue to be so for years to come. It is telling and sad that there really haven't even been many viable alternatives mentioned in this thread. I really do think Rinko Kikuchi would be a disaster. There is no way she could deliver the dialogue needed for the Major with her English ability.

I'm also against Rinko Kikuchi. Yes, she fills the quota of being Asian and even more so by being Japanese. But that's exactly my problem with her suggestion. She just fills a quota, not a role because her acting and english chops aren't really up for it.

The new Suicide Squad movie has an unknown America-Japanese actress playing a pretty big role as Katana. Suicide Squad is the only thing on her imdb page. That's a good sign of things, but not necessarily if Suicide Squad is the only thing that remains on her imdb page for the next 10 years.

 

[webkatt]

They should've just have Tom Hanks play the character then if body and looks are so irrelevant

http://www.cc.com/video-clips/8erio6/chappelle-s-show-mooney-on-movies---uncensored
Tom Hanks
1:30

 

[SuperStiltzkin]

They could. In an episode of Stand Alone Complex, Batou mentions to Kusanagi that she should think about getting a male body as it's stronger and more durable.

Her appearance is super fluid and that's one of the points the show makes.

Wow that's great. If the movie is successful enough to be a franchise you could have Scarlett Johansen be her in one movie, Michael Fassbender be the Major in another movie, and then Jennifer Lawrence in another one. But just no Asians. They can't helm a major movie.

 

[Timbuktu]

Wow that's great. If the movie is successful enough to be a franchise you could have Scarlett Johansen be her in one movie, Michael Fassbender be the Major in another movie, and then Jennifer Lawrence in another one. But just no Asians. They can't helm a major movie.

Unless it's made in Asia. I wouldn't say movies by like... Stephen Chow, aren't major movies just because they aren't in Hollywood. If you want an Asian who can speak English and act, Gemma Chan with a bit of training would be good.

 

[BudokaiMR2]

Makes it even harder to change when you don't try.

I honestly believe that with the way society is progressing things will get better. Seeing the Oscars get pressured to the point of having to publicly address the issue was a big deal.
Even with the bigots making a bunch of noise, female leads are becoming more and more prevalent which was not the case in bug budget movies even 15 years ago.

From what I recall, the important roles are all white and the team is diverse. That isn't enough, especially with the white washed protagonist.

Wait, really? I thought only Batou and the Major were white and every other member of Section 9 was a minority actor? I do think it is too early to make a judgement like this.
The actor who plays Togusa could completely steal the show.

Spoiler

Not gonna happen but I can dream. <3 Togusa

I'm on mobile atm and can't find the post with all the pictures though.

 

[cdyhybrid]

I honestly believe that with the way society is progressing things will get better. Seeing the Oscars get pressured to the point of having to publicly address the issue was a big deal.
Even with the bigots making a bunch of noise, female leads are becoming more and more prevalent which was not the case in bug budget movies even 15 years ago.



Wait, really? I thought it had only Batou and the Major were white and every other member of Section 9 was a minority actor? I do think it is too early to make a judgement like this.
The actor who plays Togusa could completely steal the show.

Spoiler

Not gonna happen but I can dream. <3 Togusa

I'm on mobile atm and can't find the post with all the pictures though.

Hope springs eternal.

 

[a.wd]

I keep wanting to give this the benefit of the doubt, but the closer it gets the grosser I feel.

 

[Razgriz-Specter]

I have a question for everyone about the movie we are getting not the one we would hope for, would you rather:

A - Motoko is/was a White American female.
B - Motoko was Japanese but is using a White body because of the context of the movie
C - Motoko is mysterious and the movie doesn't fully explore it.
D - Something else.

 

[Chariot]

I have a question for everyone about the movie we are getting not the one we would hope for, would you rather:

A - Motoko is/was a White American female.
B - Motoko was Japanese but is using a White body because of the context of the movie
C - Motoko is mysterious and the movie doesn't fully explore it.
D - Something else.

Well, A then. Don't pretend ScarJo is japanese or half-swedisch half japanese. Just make her another character altogether who is like the Major, but isn't.

But... the hair speaks against my faint hope.

Let's face it. We get another crappy anime adaptation and people will blame anime for failing, not the americans who picked the source material and couldn't handle it between trying to keep bits of it to appeal to the fans and to shift huge things to appeal to the masses. In the end no one is happy.

 

[BudokaiMR2]

I have a question for everyone about the movie we are getting not the one we would hope for, would you rather:

A - Motoko is/was a White American female.
B - Motoko was Japanese but is using a White body because of the context of the movie
C - Motoko is mysterious and the movie doesn't fully explore it.
D - Something else.

E- Anime waifu body

Make it a running joke with greasy nerds walking around with their own ScarJo-bots.

 

[Comfort Jones]

I really cant see how this is going to even come close to capturing what the original did right.

I don't care about whether or not she's white but I always felt like Motoko in the original movie was sorta masculine and even in the nude wasn't really sexualized (unlike in the anime series lol). I just don't see this director getting that right.

 

[UrbanRats]

Ok so name some other Asian actresses you're prefer over Rinko.

But that's the whole point, i'm not a casting agency, and this is not about getting a big box office name (otherwise you'd justify their reasoning to go with ScarJo, just because she's a big name).
What they have to do is get an Asian American (because the film is in English) actress who can interpret the Major, who's a relatively muscular and imposing woman, without a baby face, and make that person big(ger) through the movie.

Is this just about slapping a random Asian actor in there, or this about giving Asian American actors opportunities to grow (career-wise) WHILE making the best film possible?

I was referring to the comment of being "completely far removed from the major". What does that even mean?

It means that Rinko Kikuchi is a petite woman with a soft and young looking face.
Even in Pacific Rim they have her play the young character.
The Major (in her best rendition, the 95 movie) is a military woman with a very dry look, sharp features, and imposing demeanor.

Actors have range, but you can't go that far out of your physical domain.
Hence why i made the Jesse Eisenberg as Conan comparison.

 

[JPLMD]

Honestly it doesn't bother me as much that she is playing the role. I agree that given the context of the movie and series she technically doesn't have to be Asian. Nevertheless I do feel this is a lost opportunity to have a good Asian American female actress step up and take on the role. But given budgets and whatnot fair enough.

I think at this point I'm just so used to Hollywood not giving two shits about Asians that I've just been desensitized to it. Nothing will change any time soon and I can almost guarantee in 10 years we will still not have an Asian American male or female take on a significant role in a big budget movie by Hollywood.

 

[Massive Duck. C.M.]

I have a question for everyone about the movie we are getting not the one we would hope for, would you rather:

A - Motoko is/was a White American female.
B - Motoko was Japanese but is using a White body because of the context of the movie
C - Motoko is mysterious and the movie doesn't fully explore it.
D - Something else.

Her name is now Molly Kullen and she's a hacker in Neo Manhattan

Use whichever attractive white woman pans out for the best sales projections

 

[Lime]

it's erasure and a symptom of white supremacy once more, pure and simple. You can't rationalize it away with some arbitrary reason within the narrative.

 

[ThoseDeafMutes]

Did we ever get word on what the setting for this one is, btw?

 

[Chariot]

What would be nice would be to see more Asians in Hollywood in general, preferably as perfectly normal characters (or even leads) in perfectly normal movies (generic categories - action, comedy, romance, drama, etc).

Yeah. Even the little roles eastern asians have are mostly the cliché martial artists, ninjas, samurai and these strange wise old men.

Did we ever get word on what the setting for this one is, btw?

Nope. Could still be Japan, the USA or the Outback.

 

[JPLMD]

Just wanted to quote this again.

A lot of times, when there's an Asian American response to something, people try to defend it with "Well Asians in Asian country don't see think it's a problem."

It's always extremely baffling.. because why the fuck does it matter what some Asian in some other Asian country think about Asian American issues in America? How would they POSSIBLY have any idea about what it means to be an Asian American? Do nonAsian people just assume that because both people are the same ethnicity, that they will also share culture and have the same experiences, despite the fact they are literally countries apart?

Why the hell are y'all asking Asians in Asia to speak for Asian Americans in America? Why do you represent Asians in Asia's viewpoints as if they somehow have equal or "merit" when it comes to Asian Americans talking about Asian American issues?

Like seriously, don't use Asians in Asia to try and shut up Asian Americans in America. That shit makes no sense.

TBH I don't really care that ScarJo was cast in this movie, and I'll probably see it. I'd actually prefer for anime adaptions to be made with white people, which will hopefully remove the sting of the label "FOREIGN" regarding anime.

What would be nice would be to see more Asians in Hollywood in general, preferably as perfectly normal characters (or even leads) in perfectly normal movies (generic categories - action, comedy, romance, drama, etc).

Yea this is a great point. I love it when some white guy living in Japan or China is like "but my friends here told me they don't mind that X is happening in Western countries!" Yea like they would even know anything about the social climate that goes on halfway across the world right?

It has little to no impact on them. They probably aren't even aware of half the things that go on here just like I don't know half the issues that are ongoing in those countries. Why would I get the opinion of an American about the significant social issues ongoing in Japan? Makes no sense.

 

[True Savior]

I don't think a lot of Ghost in the Shell fans have read the source material or understand the meaning behind it all.

Major Kusanagi is a cyborg with multiple backgrounds who questions life and life as a cyborg. This isn't a Japanese thing, Japan is the setting. The themes are universal and can be applied every where.

You could write this about most stories. They exist within context, they explore it but their themes are transcendental to the physical location.

GITS has a defined geopolitical situation (less in Shirow's original manga, more in other works), it has established Japan as a superpower, there is an obvious self-congratulation of japanese capacities with technology (the so called Miracle), several episodes are based on Japanese past occurrences, there is a look to the past of japan, the JGSDF and how the country distanced itself from wars, and if the second season of sac serves as an inspiration, the entire plan of Gounda is the return of the Japanese colonial empire. It's very much a Japanese story.

I have a question for everyone about the movie we are getting not the one we would hope for, would you rather:

A - Motoko is/was a White American female.
B - Motoko was Japanese but is using a White body because of the context of the movie
C - Motoko is mysterious and the movie doesn't fully explore it.
D - Something else.

I would prefer that there would be talented people involved and if the decision was to relocate, then it would be preferable a fictionalized world-order and Motoko could be whatever it was needed (which I think might be the case). I do find baffling the bizarre insistency that GITS isnt Japanese or that she doesn't look japanese.

 

[dity]

Ehhhhhh Evolution in the Shell.

I'm on the Rinko bandwagon here.

 

[patapuf]

it's erasure and a symptom of white supremacy once more, pure and simple. You can't rationalize it away with some arbitrary reason within the narrative.

Adapting foreign works locally isn't something specific to "whites". It's something that's done everywhere. Even series with very general concepts between similar cultures like "the office" have their own local adaptions in the UK, US, Germany, ect.

The japanese don't fear their own culture being "erased" because american movie studios make an amerikanised adaption. Of course, part of that is because the japanese have their own successful media landscape and they also like adapting foreign stories into japanese settings.

That's not to say Hollywood doesn't have issues with representations of their own, american, minorities, or that, due to it's size, it couldn't branch out an try to adapt stories in non-american contexts.

But it's a bit harsh to call an american studio, adapting foreign works for americans "white supremacy".

 

[BudokaiMR2]

Just wanted to quote this again.

A lot of times, when there's an Asian American response to something, people try to defend it with "Well Asians in Asian country don't see think it's a problem."

It's always extremely baffling.. because why the fuck does it matter what some Asian in some other Asian country think about Asian American issues in America? How would they POSSIBLY have any idea about what it means to be an Asian American? Do nonAsian people just assume that because both people are the same ethnicity, that they will also share culture and have the same experiences, despite the fact they are literally countries apart?

Why the hell are y'all asking Asians in Asia to speak for Asian Americans in America? Why do you represent Asians in Asia's viewpoints as if they somehow have equal or "merit" when it comes to Asian Americans talking about Asian American issues?

Like seriously, don't use Asians in Asia to try and shut up Asian Americans in America. That shit makes no sense.

TBH I don't really care that ScarJo was cast in this movie, and I'll probably see it. I'd actually prefer for anime adaptions to be made with white people, which will hopefully remove the sting of the label "FOREIGN" regarding anime.

What would be nice would be to see more Asians in Hollywood in general, preferably as perfectly normal characters (or even leads) in perfectly normal movies (generic categories - action, comedy, romance, drama, etc).

I 100% agree with your last statement. Casting an Asian-American as a sexy hacker/martial artist lead isn't going to move the industry forward in any real way.

Don't really follow you on the other parts though. I was sharing some anecdotes from creators who work in a related industry and have years of experience creating stories and characters.
I was not trying to 'shut you up' or whatever you are implying and I don't think my post was framed in that way.

If anyone is trying to shut someone up through reasoning here it is you. And with some bullshit logic as well.
The first part of your post basically boils down to "Just because we share an ethnicity doesn't make their opinion meaningful but it's now an Asian-American issue because we share an ethnicity."

That sort of insular thinking is exactly why Hollywood is so damn behind the times.

 

[Skinpop]

Am I the only one who thinks anime characters who are Asian generally look Asian? If you look at white characters in anime (ex: Dan Eagleman in Guilty Crown, that white guy in Azumanga Daioh) they are clearly drawn differently.

Anyways I'm probably skipping out on this movie unless it has rave reviews. Feel like it'll be hard to live up to the original.

yeah they absolutely do. it's telling that so many assume they are supposed to be white...

this movie shouldn't be made. there's a 0.1% chance it will be half decent.