Scarlett Johansson will star in live action Ghost in the Shell

[repoman]

It would be even funnier is if he pronounced Kaneda like Kaneeda.

 

[Jayjay]

I don't give a shit about the race of the cast. The unique thing about GITS is the 1980s future feeling, and a nearly encyclopediaic exposition into pseudo-sociology, philosophy and whatever. If they can keep at least one of those two I'll be happy.

 

[Underseer]

I don't give a shit about the race of the cast. The unique thing about GITS is the 1980s future feeling, and a nearly encyclopediaic exposition into pseudo-sociology, philosophy and whatever. If they can keep at least one of those two I'll be happy.

If we look at Ghost in the Shell in isolation, then yes, the race and setting doesn't matter.

The problem is that this is part of a broader trend in which Asian settings are always changed to America and Asian characters always changed to something else. If it were just one or two movies, it wouldn't be an issue, but since it's all of them, we can only assume that Hollywood is doing this because they think we're a bunch of racist retards who won't watch a movie unless it is set in America and the protagonist is white.

 

[Nexus]

Its not that they think people won't watch the movie. Its about maximizing the upside profits. One of the leaked Sony emails illustrates it perfectly. The exec was lamenting to another about Denzel Washington's film The Equalizer. Apparently its industry standard for the foreign box office to be 30-40% more than the American gross. With him as the star the film under performed by 10% worldwide. He praised Denzel as a great actor and bankable domestically yet acknowledged his weakness worldwide.

If any of you were offered a job and could receive either 60 thousand a year or 80 thousand with the exact same responsibilities and other benefits, which payrate would you opt for?

 

[Jayjay]

I don't give a shit about the race of the cast. The unique thing about GITS is the 1980s future feeling, and a nearly encyclopediaic exposition into pseudo-sociology, philosophy and whatever. If they can keep at least one of those two I'll be happy.

If we look at Ghost in the Shell in isolation, then yes, the race and setting doesn't matter.

The problem is that this is part of a broader trend in which Asian settings are always changed to America and Asian characters always changed to something else. If it were just one or two movies, it wouldn't be an issue, but since it's all of them, we can only assume that Hollywood is doing this because they think we're a bunch of racist retards who won't watch a movie unless it is set in America and the protagonist is white.

If the setting and characters are not changed at all, why do a remake?

Besides it works the other way around too. Should we be complaining that the Japanese remake of Unforgiven is set in Japan and has replaced all the characters with asians? Are the Japanese movie producers treating their viewers as racist retards?

 

[repoman]

You have good a point, Jayjay.

For me, i don't care too much about ScarJo as Kusanagi. But if there will be no important Asian supporting characters that would suck. Is this a form of leftist racism? I don't think so.

I like what George Takei says about Akira as an example.

 

[Underseer]

If we look at Ghost in the Shell in isolation, then yes, the race and setting doesn't matter.

The problem is that this is part of a broader trend in which Asian settings are always changed to America and Asian characters always changed to something else. If it were just one or two movies, it wouldn't be an issue, but since it's all of them, we can only assume that Hollywood is doing this because they think we're a bunch of racist retards who won't watch a movie unless it is set in America and the protagonist is white.

If the setting and characters are not changed at all, why do a remake?

Besides it works the other way around too. Should we be complaining that the Japanese remake of Unforgiven is set in Japan and has replaced all the characters with asians? Are the Japanese movie producers treating their viewers as racist retards?

Again, if it were only some of the stories that were changed to America/white people, then you would have a point. Unfortunately, it's pretty much all of them. Granted, this is probably more a matter of nationalism than racism, because Hollywood does the same fucking thing with Italian/French movies, it's just that this phenomenon has ugly overtones when they do it with Asian stories/settings.

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Oh, and are there any other Ghost in the Shell fans that really believes Hollywood won't fuck this up?

 

[Jayjay]

If the setting and characters are not changed at all, why do a remake?

Besides it works the other way around too. Should we be complaining that the Japanese remake of Unforgiven is set in Japan and has replaced all the characters with asians? Are the Japanese movie producers treating their viewers as racist retards?

Again, if it were only some of the stories that were changed to America/white people, then you would have a point. Unfortunately, it's pretty much all of them. Granted, this is probably more a matter of nationalism than racism, because Hollywood does the same fucking thing with Italian/French movies, it's just that this phenomenon has ugly overtones when they do it with Asian stories/settings.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, and are there any other Ghost in the Shell fans that really believes Hollywood won't fuck this up?

If they do, it doesn't detract from the original. Arguably Japanese themselves have fucked up GITS with the latest installment.

 

[Underseer]

Again, if it were only some of the stories that were changed to America/white people, then you would have a point. Unfortunately, it's pretty much all of them. Granted, this is probably more a matter of nationalism than racism, because Hollywood does the same fucking thing with Italian/French movies, it's just that this phenomenon has ugly overtones when they do it with Asian stories/settings.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, and are there any other Ghost in the Shell fans that really believes Hollywood won't fuck this up?

If they do, it doesn't detract from the original. Arguably Japanese themselves have fucked up GITS with the latest installment.

Arise is a sad mockery of Stand Alone Complex, but then the cartoon TV show before Stand Alone Complex was even more awful.

I hope I'll be proven wrong, but given Hollywood's track record, I'm not holding my breath. The parody posted by repoman wouldn't be half as funny if not for Hollywood's track record with this stuff.

 

[repoman]

So, despite becoming fairly right wing about a lot of stuff recently, I think that the whitewashing is real and needs to be curtailed gently. Not through government force or because of twitter campaigns led by a few radicals.

I guess that it is a matter of balance. If almost all roles were subject to a strict racial quota that would be terrible. However if asians get no roles even on asian based source material that would also be terrible.

I guess hollywood is running scared and shortsighted still as always.

By the way the new production image of ScarJo as Kusanagi looks dreadful.

This Guardian article is halfway decent, and the Max Landis video as well:

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/apr/18/scarlett-johansson-ghost-in-the-shell-max-landis

best comment:

The vlog's "logic" smacks of corporate conservatism and risk-averse culture. Every famous actor had their beginnings as nobodys, as is with every director etc etc. This sort of monotonous repetition is boring as hell, and frankly I am personally bored out of my mind with the traditional Hollywood formula.

I remember Transformer 4 as the first film that I fell asleep on just 20 minutes in, and The Last Airbender as the film I literally couldn't stand the most, its horrifyingly drawl run-on narrative sucked the living life out of a magical universe.

White people don't guarantee box office, when are executives going to realise that? The world is so wonderfully diverse and radical today, and they continue to produce the equivalent of unchanging Sunday sermons?

 

[Underseer]

If Hollywood needs a white character, there is an American character in the original story. Isn't Batou an American who is a naturalized Japanese citizen?

As a fan, I would really rather they left the Asian characters Asian. If Motoko Kusanagi has to be played by a white woman, then Scarlet Johansen is a very good choice, but I would prefer an Asian, and I'm sick and tired of Hollywood assuming that I won't watch a movie without mostly white people, but from the responses in this thread, maybe Hollywood is right about American audiences.

 

[Jayjay]

I would rather they kept the world and the style feel the same. The races of the characters don't really matter to me. This movie being directed by the guy who did Snow White and the Huntsman is a lot more worrisome than the casting choices so far.

 

[Trausti]

Koreans playing all the roles in an opera based on French history and about French people?!?!

[YOUTUBE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-PzYI-aHoM[/YOUTUBE]

 

[repoman]

I would rather they kept the world and the style feel the same. The races of the characters don't really matter to me. This movie being directed by the guy who did Snow White and the Huntsman is a lot more worrisome than the casting choices so far.

Manhunter era Michael Mann would be incredible.

Auntje Traue was mentioned on the IMDB board, dead ringer in some ways for the anime version. I would say that Motoko in the anime was slightly asian looking, but mostly the vibe was strong and androgynous as well as having powder blue eyes. There are very few women, let alone asian, that have this striking androgyny and beauty.








Her and the blonde cyborg looking only slightly asian is just the style of the anime, most of the asian men looked distinctly so.

 

[Underseer]

Koreans playing all the roles in an opera based on French history and about French people?!?!

[YOUTUBE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-PzYI-aHoM[/YOUTUBE]

Are you saying that in America, white actors have it just as bad as minority actors, and that therefore we should not complain about Asian parts going to white actors in American movies?