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[Subpar Spatula]

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.

 

[lightskintwin]

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.

I still don't understand why this "guy" is stupid, he was being honest. I take Edward Zo at his word that he was told they weren't interested in Asians for this particular role. Why is that so hard to believe? That's literally how Hollywood works.

Asian actors were specifically excluded from the casting of Light, I'm pretty certain all other non White races were too.

 

[Subpar Spatula]

I still don't understand why this "guy" is stupid, he was being honest. I take Edward Zo at his word that he was told they weren't interested in Asians for this particular role. Why is that so hard to believe? That's literally how Hollywood works.

Asian actors were specifically excluded from the casting of Light, I'm pretty certain all other non White races were too.

Because if we're going to go on the assumption they specifically said no Asians allowed then we have to have something other than the grapevine (a game of telephone) and when he did try, they said no because they were in final negotiations for Nat. I get it, chances are they did go for a white guy but just the strong accusation of them actually saying no Asians allowed requires some form of evidence. It's why I want to see the blunder of a statement from the staff behind this.

 

[lightskintwin]

Because if we're going to go on the assumption they specifically said no Asians allowed then we have to have something other than the grapevine (a game of telephone) and when he did try, they said no because they were in final negotiations for Nat. I get it, chances are they did go for a white guy but just the strong accusation of them actually saying no Asians allowed requires some form of evidence. It's why I want to see the blunder of a statement from the staff behind this.

Assumption? Strong Accusation? Quit looking at it as negative. It's neutral. That's how casting works; some roles are open to a specific race/ethnicity, some roles are open to several race/ethnicities, and some roles are open to everybody all decided at the whim of the studio, producer, or director. Why would Edward Zo, a working actor in LA, lie about that. That's an easy way to get blackballed from the industry. Notice nobody making the film refuted the claim.

 

[Subpar Spatula]

Assumption? Strong Accusation? Quit looking at it as negative. It's neutral. That's how casting works; some roles are open to a specific race/ethnicity, some roles are open to several race/ethnicities, and some roles are open to everybody all decided at the whim of the studio, producer, or director. Why would Edward Zo, a working actor in LA, lie about that. That's an easy way to get blackballed from the industry. Notice nobody making the film refuted the claim.

I can't say if he's lying. All I know is the idea of the production saying no comes from Edward Zo learning from the "grapevine" that no Asians were allowed and when he did try for the role he was told they were in final negotiations with Nat.

If we want to go on precedence alone that Hollywood disregards Asians then sure, yeah, there's a bad history there. If we want to come at Death Note's production with "they said no Asians were allowed to cast" then we need something more than 1 actors word that he was told from a friend who learned from a friend that they said that. It's not technically fair and paints the entire project in a negative light. It's similar to the headline of "Cinemark sues for 700k from Aurora shooting victims": conversation is tilted toward something that isn't actually telling the truth.

 

[A Link to the Past]

But the issue becomes that there exists no reason to doubt his claim - it's not like it's a claim that doesn't fit within how the industry operates.

 

[Subpar Spatula]

But the issue becomes that there exists no reason to doubt his claim - it's not like it's a claim that doesn't fit within how the industry operates.

Why not doubt his claim? He heard it through the grapevine. No one actually told him and he doesn't have any sources, I'm all for Hollywood accepting more minority roles but at a point you have to ask, "so, who told you this?" If the answer is, "I heard it from a friend who heard it from a friend" then there's reasons to be skeptical even though the environment doesn't play well to minorities.

 

[SaviourMK2]

I'm curious to see if it'll be an original ending, the manga/anime ending or the movie ending

Spoiler

I don't know if I can bare to see L die again

 

[lightskintwin]

I can't say if he's lying. All I know is the idea of the production saying no comes from Edward Zo learning from the "grapevine" that no Asians were allowed and when he did try for the role he was told they were in final negotiations with Nat.

If we want to go on precedence alone that Hollywood disregards Asians then sure, yeah, there's a bad history there. If we want to come at Death Note's production with "they said no Asians were allowed to cast" then we need something more than 1 actors word that he was told from a friend who learned from a friend that they said that. It's not technically fair and paints the entire project in a negative light. It's similar to the headline of "Cinemark sues for 700k from Aurora shooting victims": conversation is tilted toward something that isn't actually telling the truth.

Why not doubt his claim? He heard it through the grapevine. No one actually told him and he doesn't have any sources, I'm all for Hollywood accepting more minority roles but at a point you have to ask, "so, who told you this?" If the answer is, "I heard it from a friend who heard it from a friend" then there's reasons to be skeptical even though the environment doesn't play well to minorities.

Bruh, you sound incredibly stubborn and refuse to see the obvious and easiest explanation. There's no reason to be skeptical when it's exactly how Hollywood operates. Do you not get that?

LOL @ "It's not technically fair and paints the entire project in a negative light." Hollywood has never been about "fair", It's a White elitist industry that's in the business of primarily telling White narratives and creating, cultivating, and capitalizing on White stars. Whether you view this specific project in a negative light for continuing this tradition is up to you. For me, it was expected, and if Asian Americans think that's going to change in the future then they better be prepared to be disappointed.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

I can't say if he's lying. All I know is the idea of the production saying no comes from Edward Zo learning from the "grapevine" that no Asians were allowed and when he did try for the role he was told they were in final negotiations with Nat.

If we want to go on precedence alone that Hollywood disregards Asians then sure, yeah, there's a bad history there. If we want to come at Death Note's production with "they said no Asians were allowed to cast" then we need something more than 1 actors word that he was told from a friend who learned from a friend that they said that. It's not technically fair and paints the entire project in a negative light. It's similar to the headline of "Cinemark sues for 700k from Aurora shooting victims": conversation is tilted toward something that isn't actually telling the truth.

You seem to, for whatever reason, not want to believe something that is very likely to be true and not surprising whatsoever.

 

[BLACK AMERICAN PSYCHO]

Hope it flops.

 

[lightskintwin]

Hope it flops.

Why? I hope it's good. We need an anime adaptation done right.

 

[Akainu]

Why? I hope it's good. We need an anime adaptation done right.

We don't need live action anime adaptations at all.

 

[sensui-tomo]

Why? I hope it's good. We need an anime adaptation done right.

Best one to date are the rurouni kenshin live adaptations, otherwise i've got nothing. And if you meant hollywood i still got nothing, well maybe besides that tom cruise movie, live die repeat.

 

[lightskintwin]

We don't need live action anime adaptations at all.

We don't need live action book adaptations, we don't need live action comic adaptations, we don't need live action TV adaptations, we don't need live action cartoon adaptations

Yet we have them.

 

[Inuhanyou]

the concept is so straightforward that its possible. They can, i guess, just erase the concept of shinigami as japanese tales and just make it some 'supernatural book' the kid happens to find...i guess can replace ryuk with some grim reaper type guy like in Final destination

"Hey you found my book!"

 

[Riposte]

Between Light or L you'd hope for at least one Asian male lead (Asian-American, British-Asian, etc).

 

[Inuhanyou]

Between Light or L you'd hope for at least one Asian male lead (Asian-American, British-Asian, etc).

that isn't what sells, man. Or something like that.(i've embarrasing arguments from the GITS movie thread)

Generally though, i find the concept empty if they don't go for Japanese actors. Its not adhering or trying to be faithful to the source material if they just go for any asian type person they can find just to say they have an asian.

 

[lightskintwin]

Between Light or L you'd hope for at least one Asian male lead (Asian-American, British-Asian, etc).

I still don't get this. Not to say I wouldn't have minded an Asian American lead and wish there was better representation in Hollywood. However this idea that Japanese manga/anime properties that get adapted to American settings require Asian leads is nonsense. We already have an authentic Japanese film adaptation.

 

[Grizzlyjin]

Honestly, I don't see a big problem in removing Ryuk from a film. Or having him appear later on. It messes up some things later on in the manga if you're doing a strict adaptation...but they're not. Ryuk (by his own admission) is a non-actor in all of the events. He helps Light like once very early on, and even in that instance they could come up with something new where Light figures out a solution on his own. But otherwise, Ryuk is just there to comment on Light's actions, and to bounce exposition off of. Literally that's his character for the length of the series.

The entire thing actually becomes way more straight forward if you remove direct Shinigami influence. I think the manga lost its bearing when it started

Spoiler

doing all the Death Note swaps and trades.

 

[Slaythe]

Wait a second....

There are TWO Japanese adaptations ?!

The one I saw was dog shit.

There's a good one ?!

Edit :

And all the FBI agents were Asian in the jap version so.... Yeah.

 

[Inuhanyou]

I still don't get this. Not to say I wouldn't have minded an Asian American lead and wish there was better representation in Hollywood. However this idea that Japanese manga/anime properties that get adapted to American settings require Asian leads is nonsense. We already have an authentic Japanese film adaptation.

And that. Its like Godzilla. Its not as if Japan is not making movies on their own, this is just an fully American spin people can forget about if its shit and stick to the source material or better adaptions.

If its GITS or other anime or manga properties that have never had a live action adaption in Japan, its much more personal because your directly comparing the source material to the western adaption, instead of a basic summary of a franchise at large

 

[lightskintwin]

Wait a second....

There are TWO Japanese adaptations ?!

The one I saw was dog shit.

There's a good one ?!

There's actually 4 films, The 4th hasn't come out and the 3rd is a spin off.

Edit :And all the FBI agents were Asian in the jap version so.... Yeah.

To be fair, The Japanese film industry is in a country that's homogeneous racially/ethnicity wise and their market is much, much smaller than the worldwide market Hollywood plays too.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

I still don't get this. Not to say I wouldn't have minded an Asian American lead and wish there was better representation in Hollywood. However this idea that Japanese manga/anime properties that get adapted to American settings require Asian leads is nonsense. We already have an authentic Japanese film adaptation.

And we have Asian people in the US and it'd be nice to have them take leading roles in movies and not be white washed out. Yes, this is an American adaptation, but what would have stopped it from still having an all Asian cast if they really wanted to? We have tons of movies with majority white casts and no one bats an eye.

Wait a second....

There are TWO Japanese adaptations ?!

The one I saw was dog shit.

There's a good one ?!

Edit :

And all the FBI agents were Asian in the jap version so.... Yeah.

You guys need to stop this shit. It's disingenuous and you know it. 0.6% of the Japanese population are non-Asian. Literally only around 770,000 people, with the vast majority of them being other Asians. Compared to 14.7 million Asians in the US

 

[lightskintwin]

And we have Asian people in the US and it'd be nice to have them take leading roles in movies and not be white washed out. Yes, this is an American adaptation, but what would have stopped it from still having an all Asian cast if they really wanted to? We have tons of movies with majority white casts and no one bats an eye.

Of course it would've been nice, and they could have casted an all Asian cast if they really wanted to.... but it's obvious they didn't want to. Hollywood is not a business built off giving leading roles to minorities out of the kindness of their hearts. It's a predominately White male dominated industry.

There's a lot of reasons Asian Americans are going to have a hard time getting leading roles in major Hollywood films. Part of the reason is there are no Asian American superstars in any artistic or entertainment medium impacting American Pop culture. This unfortunately leads to them being invisible in American media. Hollywood knows how to use superstars regardless of their race.

Asian Americans are going to have to follow the African American model and buck the system if they're ever going to see any change . Create your own films, cultivate your own audience, and ultimately you'll create your own stars and Hollywood will notice.

The other part is changing the system from within. I can put out a list of successful Asian American/Asian Western film directors and producers whose body of work consist of major Hollywood films with no Asians in leading roles, such as this film here.

I guarantee if I put out a list of successful African American/Black film directors and producers the majority of their body of work will have Blacks in leading roles in their films.

Why would a White director and producer be concerned about casting an Asian American/Western in a lead role of their movies if Asian American/Western directors and producers aren't concerned about doing it in theirs?

If anything, they reinforce this type of casting to be the right decision.