glockgal: AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER

NO KILL I (

glockgal) wrote,
@ 2009-01-22 15:47:00

Entry tags:

avatar, avatar: the last airbender

AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER - PHILADELPHIA!!
Breaking news, from the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Be in an M. Night movie
Director-writer-producer M. Night Shyamalan is casting for The Last Airbender, a live-action film from Paramount and Nickelodeon based on the Nickelodeon animated series, shooting here from mid-March through July....

....Casting folks are looking for extras to play soldiers, martial artists, dancers, gymnasts, athletes and families - specifically physically fit people from 18 to 65 years old. The open call will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Bullies restaurant at the Wachovia Spectrum. You're asked to dress casually or in the traditional costume of your family's ethnic background. Info: lastairbendercasting@gmail.com or 215-574-7878.

- PLEASE refer first to aang_aint_white to find out WHAT YOU SHOULD AND SHOULD NOT DO in order to have a valid voice. I plan to leave a polite, brief email and voice mail.

- Interesting to note: they don't once mention that Avatar is an Asian-based world. Isn't that just....interesting.

LET'S MAKE OUR PRESENCE KNOWN! OH PEOPLE! Gather, phone or email - politely - and if we can get press to cover the story live, even better! If anyone in Philadelphia can attend this Casting Call, leave a comment at

aang_aint_white so you can join others in a peaceful gathering.

AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER - MORE GREAT LINKS
Derek Kirk Kim has not only written a great essay on the white-washing of the Avatar movie, he's also put a call out for signatures from people on the art industry - writers, illustrators, 3D artists, animators - anyone in 'the biz' who can add their louder voice to the fan outcry. Please consider signing!

FPS Magazine has also mentioned the Avatar casting as faulty whitewashing.

I wanna go to Philadelphia.

(44 comments) - (Post a new comment)

	-i-m prolly just tired so excuse me but _inbetween_ 2009-01-22 11:54 pm UTC (link)
	"You're asked to dress casually or in the traditional costume of your family's ethnic background." has sudden image of lederhosen and dirndl-wearing families (clogs, felt hats) showing up to that casting call Edited at 2009-01-23 12:01 am UTC (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: -i-m prolly just tired so excuse me but bossymarmalade 2009-01-23 12:35 am UTC (link)
	SERIOUSLY. The level of sly doublespeak in this is infuriating; "traditional costume" is obviously supposed to read as "your traditional Asian/Native costume" when it comes to background extras, yet there is no need for this kind of ethnic specificity when it comes to the MAIN CAST?!?! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	Re: -i-m prolly just tired so excuse me but glockgal 2009-01-23 12:36 am UTC (link)
	AHAHAH I KNOW RIGHT??? has sudden image of lederhosen and dirndl-wearing families (clogs, felt hats) showing up to that casting call CASTING DIRECTOR #1: PERFECT! You're hired! CASTING DIRECTOR #2:Is that a Korean kid wearing a hanbok? CASTING DIRECTOR #1: Silly Korean! Neither you nor your ethnic costume appears in the show! .....on second thought, leave the hanbok. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	Re: -i-m prolly just tired so excuse me but caterfree10 2009-01-23 12:56 am UTC (link)
	has sudden image of lederhosen and dirndl-wearing families (clogs, felt hats) showing up to that casting call I had the exact same image run through my head! XD (Reply to this) (Parent)

	or... bellatrys 2009-01-23 10:32 am UTC (link)
	Kilts! In the proper tartan, of course. (Also Morris dance outfits - "be there with bells on"...) (Reply to this) (Parent)

	Re: -i-m prolly just tired so excuse me but friendshipper 2009-01-23 08:19 pm UTC (link)
	Now I can't get past the idea of this offensive joke of a casting call being forwarded to every Morris dancer, Renfaire attendee, Oktoberfest organizer, clog dancer, mime, Civil War reinactor, country line dancer and bagpipe player in Pennsylvania. And the result. :D (Reply to this) (Parent)

	Re: -i-m prolly just tired so excuse me but nextian 2009-01-25 04:51 pm UTC (link)
	Have you seen this particular iteration? "We want you to dress in traditional cultural ethnic attire," she said. "If you're Korean, wear a kimono. If you're from Belgium, wear lederhosen." I didn't actually know it was physically possible for me to be more pissed off. Edited at 2009-01-25 04:51 pm UTC (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	Re: -i-m prolly just tired so excuse me but caterfree10 2009-01-25 05:11 pm UTC (link)
	WTF?! Kimono are Japanese and there are no fucking lederhosen(s? confused as to how to pluralize that) in Avatar! headdesk (Reply to this) (Parent)

	caterfree10 2009-01-23 01:01 am UTC (link)
	Alrighty then! Time to put my cell phone to good use and call once an hour, every hour! Not to mention five email accounts I can use. >3 Why yes I AM a bitch when angered. ^_~ I promise I'll stay civil, though. Girl Scout for Life's honor! Girl Scout salute That and for the email, I intend on reiterating what I wrote in my letters to Paramount. nod nod (Reply to this) (Thread)

	glockgal 2009-01-23 01:54 am UTC (link)
	Ahaha I believe you! And YAY!!! I'm so excited to call. XD (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	caterfree10 2009-01-23 02:27 am UTC (link)
	Oh I know! They HAVE to listen to us if we're actually talking to them! There is always a chance that letters and emails are ignored (I'd like to think not, but still), but actual voices help out a lot. I'm going to have fun tomorrow. >3 (Reply to this) (Parent)

	hex_16 2009-01-23 01:10 am UTC (link)
	I wanna go to Philadelphia. I totally wish you could come. It'd be awesome to hang out after you've taken care of business with M. Night and crew. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	glockgal 2009-01-23 01:54 am UTC (link)
	AHahahah taking care of business. I like the sound of that. ;D (Reply to this) (Parent)

kidkoala
2009-01-23 01:36 am UTC (link)

A friend of mine in the industry told me:

there is not a snowball's chance in hell of them changing the main casting in response to this protest; the problem is in the very powerful Nickelodeon foundation, wherein they farm kids to be stars of now and the future, and that is where focus should be turned once this matter passes--once the major companies in charge of churning out kids for a career of celebrity find ethnic children worthwhile, that is when things will really start to change in Hollywood--it has to start from the bottom up.

Not that it isn't important to have voices heard here and elsewhere--I am very much for calling people's attention to this, but I do believe in changing the foundation of this faulty system.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

glockgal
2009-01-23 01:59 am UTC (link)

Like pretty much everything else that I feel is slipping away from my own personal sense of control and naive desire to 'change the world', I'm pretty much on the cusp of 100% aware that money speaks louder than words, especially in Hollywood. In short, I know.

If I had the capabilities (IE I woke us and suddenly everyone was calling me Mr Rupert Murdoch) to change from the bottom up, of course I would. But I'm not Murdoch and though sometimes I feel like just throwing up my hands and giving up because what is the point of me doing ANYTHING, GOD, AS IF ANYONE WOULD EVER LISTEN TO ME....I won't. I can't. I'd rather scream so no one will listen.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	kidkoala 2009-01-23 03:34 am UTC (link)
	Dude, I'm not saying all hope is lost--I'm saying we should use the momentum from this and target that stuff when this has passed, however successfully or not. The world is changing in the right direction on this one. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	glockgal 2009-01-23 07:10 am UTC (link)
	I'm sorry, bebe. I read what your friend said and I just wanted to crawl into a hole, I just. Being told it has to start from the bottom up and knowing for a long long time that there's no possible way that I can...ohhh the frustration of hard truth just culminated and sadly, I took it out on you. :/ Very very sorry! (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

kidkoala
2009-01-23 07:51 am UTC (link)

I totally know what you mean, man! I care, I care a hell of a lot! I've gotten into so many discussions about this Avatar casting issue in real life, informing people who aren't as geekily aware and vehemently bitching about and discussing what's wrong with Hollywood... and what can be done to change it--beyond this instance and this individual case there's many points of attack, and it's been informative to hear what some voices of very different/particular experience have to say.

I hadn't considered the Disney/Nickelodeon kid star farm angle and how important it is to shaping the attitude of youth and pop media before and it rings so true. This is where we get Britney and Justin, Christina Aguilera, Lindsay Lohan, Miley Cyrus, etc., etc., etc., right on down to Jason Rathbone and Jesse McCartney.

And what have they pumped out as the token PoC?
Vanessa Hudgens.

This is the next generation, and it's a wave that's just beginning. There needs to be a push for Disney to start to view Asian and black kids (and, hell, hispanic--cause token is right) as having serious pop potential (not that there isn't something inherently fucked up in that system beyond that--considering what cluster fucks the lives of these kids turn out to be, these would-be ethnic child stars would be sacrificial lambs of sorts ^_^;; guess you gotta give a little...).

(Reply to this) (Parent)

ali_wildgoose
2009-01-23 09:32 am UTC (link)

You know, it's funny -- when I read this, I'm not so much discourage as annoyed.

So much of the problem here is that the entertainment industry is SO self-involved and has SUCH ridiculous tunnel-vision that it just...doesn't even see outside these arbitrary boxes it creates. Of course they'll cast Jackson Rathbone because he's coming off of Twilight and that'll get some good buzz and maybe if Airbender is a hit he can carry his next film as a proper star and they can move onto the next up-and-coming on the assembly line. Like...the question of what's APPROPRIATE and the question of DECENCY and SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY don't even enter into that equation. They've created this neat little A means B means C system that seems to be working, that's easy and self-perpetuating and profitable, and they'll continue on their merry way without batting an eyelash because OH MY GOD these idiot fans just don't understand the BUSINESS and the REALITIES OF THE INDUSTRY and are completely missing the point!

And it's like...no. No, the INDUSTRY is missing the point, and has been for a really, really long time.

Regardless of whether this protest brings real change to Airbender, I hope it at least draws enough attention to make that system a little less convenient, a little less simple...at least, as it stands.

Nothing is stopping them from bringing people of color into the child-actor-farm except their own supposition that it wouldn't be worth the "risk." I guess we're trying for FORCE that change to be worth it.

Edited at 2009-01-23 09:33 am UTC

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	kidkoala 2009-01-23 10:19 am UTC (link)
	Certainly did not intend to cause annoyance! By all means a united front is the best in these matters, and of course every time we gather together to lend a passionate voice to the greater representation of our fellow Asians & PoC helps. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	ali_wildgoose 2009-01-23 05:32 pm UTC (link)
	Oh! Haha well, obviously I am not annoyed at you at all, just with the industry and the way it handles this sort of thing. There's an acquaintance of mine who's been saying similar things (though with less experience to back it up and thus less accuracy as well) and it's been getting under my skin. (Reply to this) (Parent)

ravenbell
2009-01-24 07:37 am UTC (link)

Even if it's too late this time, there will be a next time. If we make enough noise now, and bury the movie in bad press, hopefully they'll think twice when it comes time to cast for "Akira" or "Death Note" or "Robotech." If we let this slide and don't complain, and don't make it clear to people that this is wrong, it's never going to stop.

So yeah, we got to start somewhere, so it might as well be here.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	jedifreac 2009-01-23 02:09 am UTC (link)
	Please dress in the traditional costume of your ethnic origin. (Costume? Don't they mean clothing? 'Costume'?!?!) That way, we don't have to buy costumes or make up. You see, we are blowing our entire costume and make up budget on making the lead actors Asian. kthx. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	glockgal 2009-01-23 07:11 am UTC (link)
	You see, we are blowing our entire costume and make up budget on making the lead actors Asian. SPITTAKES :D :D :D :D :D (Reply to this) (Parent)

	insipid_paragon 2009-01-23 03:04 am UTC (link)
	Derek Kirk Kim is my favorite. Gah, Same Difference, gah. Um. Superficial fangirling over now. Carry on with the serious business. :\| (Sorry.) (Reply to this) (Thread)

	chiromancy 2009-01-23 04:30 am UTC (link)
	Ugh, I know, I love him. Same Difference is genius. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	glockgal 2009-01-23 07:12 am UTC (link)
	Ahaha no, fangirl away! He is obviously someone who is composed entirely of AWESOME. XD (Reply to this) (Parent)

vejiicakes
2009-01-23 05:09 am UTC (link)

Please dress in the traditional costume of your ethnic origin.

...

1) "Costume?" I'm Japanese-American--if I wear something from the Regency period, or a hanbok, neither of which my ethnicity gives me cultural ties to, THAT is a "costume". If I wear a kimono, an outfit of my ethnic origin, that is traditional clothing kthnx -_-

2) Oh, there's BETTER be some folk in lederhosen applying.

3) Any idea what the general landscape of Pennsylvania looks like, ethnically speaking? It was just striking to me that their Aang audition--their ONLY open casting call, for "Caucasians, and other ethnicities," was in the south. I mean, I'm sure there's some great Asian-American performers originating from that region (dreamy Sendhil Ramamurthy for one) but overall, I'm thinking that's a definite exception down there...

4) DAMN, Derek Kirk Kim rocks my SOCKS! :D

(Reply to this) (Thread)

glockgal
2009-01-23 07:25 am UTC (link)

Any idea what the general landscape of Pennsylvania looks like, ethnically speaking?

No idea, my darling! I'm still trying to wrap my head around how they're gonna make Philly/Pennsylvania look like parts of the Asian continent...er. I know there's such things as special effects and set design that can make New Zealand looke like Middle Earth...but still. Philly = Tibetan monastery? Really?

I guess, aside from all the tanning lotion and hair dye and eye tape, set design is where the budget is going, heheh.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	ravenbell 2009-01-23 07:49 am UTC (link)
	It's M. Night's home town. He lives there. His production company is headquartered there. Most of his movies were shot there, at least in part. Boy, it's been a wild day. Looks like things are finally starting to pick up. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	glockgal 2009-01-23 04:32 pm UTC (link)
	Props for being so loyal to his hometown, I suppose. :/ (Reply to this) (Parent)

	karenhealey 2009-01-23 11:30 am UTC (link)
	In its defence, New Zealand does look exactly like Middle Earth. It is full of crazy-ass micro-geography and hobbits disguised as sheep. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	glockgal 2009-01-23 04:33 pm UTC (link)
	YESS, I was gonna add in more about how little SFX/set design they needed to make NZ look like ME, but my sentence was getting too long and I was never good at creating well-constructed run-on sentences, har. XD (Reply to this) (Parent)

	jedifreac 2009-01-23 08:50 pm UTC (link)
	My boyfriend is from Pennsylvania. It's mostly people of German descent. (See: Pennsylvania "Dutch") Amish clothing and LEDERHOSEN would not be that far off! Texas has a big Asian American population in big cities like Austin. =/ But I'm surprised they didn't look in California, which is more like 12% Asian or something, and then also with Hollywood and all. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	jedifreac 2009-01-23 08:51 pm UTC (link)
	Oh, and the "costume" thing is such B.S. Do they not have a ~~bullshit checker~~ P.R. person to look these things over and at least attempt the veneer of political correctness? ::facepalm:: (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	jedifreac 2009-01-23 09:31 pm UTC (link)
	More P.R. Fail: The casting will be held at "Bullies Restaurant." ::facepalm:: (Reply to this) (Parent)

hex_16
2009-01-23 04:20 pm UTC (link)

I don't watch the show, so I don't know enough about the setting, other than it's roots in Asian culture.

As for the geography of Pennsylvania, there's a reason for it's name, which mean's "Penn's Woodlands." The state has a lot of forest, and if you get outside the cities, there's plenty of farm land. Also, the Appalachian Mountain range comes through this state. It seems to me the terrain is varied enough to stand in for Tibetan-esque if you know where to look.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	karenhealey 2009-01-23 11:31 am UTC (link)
	How is there so much fail for the movie of a series composed of so much win? (Reply to this) (Thread)

glockgal
2009-01-23 04:34 pm UTC (link)

I KNOW, RIGHT?!?!!?

ETA: What I'm realizing, sadly, is that it's partly because of the fans. I've seen so many people saying "I didn't realize the cartoon was Asian-based, cause it's made by two Americans." and/or "Yeah, I know the world is Asian based, but all the characters in it are white" and I just want to be all "DID YOU JUST SEE WHAT YOU SAID????"

But no, they don't. And they might never see, because here Hollywood gleefully confirms their perceptions of how the world should look. :/

Edited at 2009-01-23 04:36 pm UTC

(Reply to this) (Parent)

arctic_flower
2009-01-24 01:41 am UTC (link)

I know this is late but NY ComicCon apparently has a panel featuring Asian-American graphic novelists and they're supposed to be discussing Asians/Asian-Americans slow progression in various medias away from stereotypes to wholesome characters. It's called: Asian Americans and Super Heroes: Secret Identities.

If anyone is living in New York and plans to go, you guys can bring up this issue to the panelists. I'll cross post this to

aang_aint_white

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	glockgal 2009-01-24 01:46 am UTC (link)
	Hey wow, this is an excellent idea!! Thanks for letting me know, sweetie. I'll definitely be making an announcement post about this. MWAH (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

arctic_flower
2009-01-24 02:17 am UTC (link)

I'd personally attend myself, seeing as I have attended the past two years but this year I can't with the economy and prior commitments.

Anyway, the website description is cut off but I remember reading the blurb weeks ago before it was updated to the current state (it might be in the pdf file but it almost crashed my computer because was so big!) I remember reading names of Asian actors (Dustin Nguyen, comes to mind) starring in comic book films. I don't know if they'll actually be there but there is supposed to be a discuss about the slow emergence of Asian actors in there as well.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	arctic_flower 2009-01-24 02:25 am UTC (link)
	The official blog for the panelist apparently knows about the situation too: http://www.secretidentities.org/Site/News.html and aang_aint_white got a mention! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	nojojojo 2009-01-24 04:55 am UTC (link)
	I'm going to NYCC this year. Great idea; I'll bring it up. (Reply to this) (Parent)

(44 comments) - (Post a new comment)

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