Subpar Spatula
Banned
Why would the producers admit publicly they weren't interested in Asian actors for Light? Almost all producers have an idea of either who they want for the part or at the very least what gender/race/ethnicity. This is a part of the business. Every working actor in LA knows this. Why waste time auditioning unknown Asian actors if they already know what race they envision Light in this western adaptation.
It's not that Hollywood doesn't like Asian leads, it's that they don't think about them at all unless they're already bankable international stars like Jackie Chan and Jet Li.
Because people seem to believe they actually did say they weren't interested (see below), I'm interested as well because I want to see how stupid the guy was that said it. My Google-fu isn't the greatest so I need a hand.
Not interested. Not even just because of the whitewashing, but also because Asian actors were specifically excluded from the casting of Light.