Movie: The Last Airbender

[saman]

Figured I'd start a thread on this, since we have some news about it. For those who are unfamiliar with it, this trilogy of movies is based on Avatar: The Last Airbender, the animated show that aired on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008. Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, the first movie is being targeted for release in July 2010.

Well, after rounds of open auditions, we seem to have a cast for the four main characters. Aang will be played by an unknown actor named Noah Ringer who does karate.

Jackson Rathbone (Beautiful people, the O.C., Twilight) is in talks to play Sokka.
http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/sokacasting-440x275.jpg

Nicola Peltz (Deck the Halls) has been cast as Katara
http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/kataracasting-440x221.jpg

Pop/R&B singer Jesse McCartney is in talks to play Zuko.
http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/zukocasting-440x221.jpg

from http://www.slashfilm.com/2008/12/10/first-look-the-cast-of-the-last-airbender/

thoughts? apparently a lot of people are mad that an all-white cast is playing asian and inuit characters

[Dark Dragon]

Who was the person that decided M. Night Shyamalan is a great director choice after seeing his last 3 movies?

After movies like Forbidden Kingdom it should be pretty obvious that Hollywood would be willing to throw a random white kid into any setting for the purpose of "connecting with the audience".

If done well, i suppose this movie might be worth watching. As of now however, I'm not going to hold my breath.

[Ryllharu]

I don't really have an issue with the two playing Katara and Sokka. I wouldn't say the Water Tribe was necessarily "Inuit" in terms of race. Culturally, yes, but I'm less sure about appearance. The two above certainly look the part.

As for whoever is playing Aang and Zuko, those two should probably have been cast as Asians. Aang's whole tribe was modeled after Shaolin monks (with the exception of fighting style, swapped to the Fire nation), while the Fire Nation has always been a rather obvious Japan/Han Dynasty mix. You can probably get away with Aang being cast from Southeast Asia, but Zuko...well, maybe a Caucasian can fit the role well. Can't say the same for Azula, and the two siblings would obviously have to match.

It's going to be a trilogy made for kids, so I don't really have high expectations of it.

Hollywood has quite frankly always been totally racist about Asians, from horribly racist gag characters to snubbing them on casting.

[saman]

hmmm. honestly, i don't care what race the kids are, as long as they're good actors. if they have a white zuko, though, then they're going to have to make uncle white, and uncle just isn't uncle without his asian accent.

i'm also not too broken up about m. night shyamalan. that is to say, his last couple of movies have been utter crap, but i'm still willing to give him a chance. he says he wants to get away from his horror and suspense reputation, he's a huge fan of avatar, and he's the one who approached the creators of the show about making the movie. who knows, he might pull it off.

[Assassin]

i want to be interested, but i have a feeling it'll be a preteen/teen oriented movie and thus either be really cheesy or really crappy.

its really too bad, cuz i really liked the show. one of the few good cartoons in the past decade.

[saman]

jesse mccartney has been dropped (thank heavens), and slumdog millionaire's dev patel has now been cast as zuko. http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2009/02/02/slumdog-star-dev-patel-joins-jackson-rathbone-for-the-last-airbender/

huh. interesting casting decision. dev's not white, but i've never really thought of zuko as brown either. still, even if dev doesn't win that oscar this year, this'll boost the marketability of the film even more

[rockmanj]

Sokka and Kitara being Lily-white just doesn't sit well with me. I don't feel as strongly as this guy: http://www.angryzenmaster.com/2009/01/30/brown-faced-avatar/ but it still seems a little off to me. But we all know how Hollywood is anyway.

[Sapphire]

http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/thelastairbender/

New trailer above!!

I have only seen a couple eps of Airbender, but to my surprise, they weren't boring at all. So I am interested in seeing the movie. The trailer looks AWESOME!!!

BTW this guy looks really young, which is awesome.

[Penner]

this (http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/6/24/)... :P

[Assassin]

i really, really liked the temple....its exactly as it was in the cartoon. Im hopeful that the movie will be true to the series, but i just hope shamalan doesn't try to put in a surprise ending or something and fuck it up.

[Munsu]

Super Bowl spot, it looks awesome:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKQY-oIJtY0

[Assassin]

Heres hoping they dont try to make it too hollywood (ie: try to make it more than it is) and ruin what could be a very kool movie. Also hoping that Aang is the same quirky goofball that he is in the cartoon.....hard to tell from the trailer cuz its all fight scenes, but he looked pretty intense and dramatic.

[darkshadow]

That looked pretty cool indeed, I just hope they don't try to cram the entire show into 1 movie, deserves more then that.

[Munsu]

Heres hoping they dont try to make it too hollywood (ie: try to make it more than it is) and ruin what could be a very kool movie. Also hoping that Aang is the same quirky goofball that he is in the cartoon.....hard to tell from the trailer cuz its all fight scenes, but he looked pretty intense and dramatic.
I'm not sure if this movie will have the comedy that the cartoon employed. If I were a betting man, I'd say no. I'd rather they'd do it this way... hard to make it funny without looking lame with a bunch of kids running around. I'd go for the dramatic. We'll see. The action looks to be good though.

[Death BOO Z]

well, I'm finally on the airbending bandwagon...

how are they going to stick in 3 seasons of character development into a two hour movie?
does that mean they'll be dropping a whole lot of characters and content?
my estimate about the first people to go: Suki, Moon princess Yue, Admiral Zaho, Dai-Li. (and the personalities of many other, like Mai, Azula and Tylee, King earth and king Bumi).
and that still won't be enough to pack what's going on..
so I guess they'll drop the... fun.

It's going to be a blast.seriously.

also: slumdog millionaire guy would have been a perfect Sokka.

[Dark Dragon]

That trailer was indeed awesome. It looks like i will have to go see this movie after all.

[Sapphire]

I highly doubt they are going to stick three seasons into one movie. At LEAST they will open the plot up and give it room for a sequel. Anyway the trailer looks amazing. I thought it was awesome how the fireball was only partially blocked by the earth shield. And the glowing eyes?! I am usually very skeptical of CGI but this was very pleasing to see.

I MUST see this!!

[Assassin]

Based on the hugely successful Nickelodeon animated TV series, the live-action feature film “The Last Airbender” is the opening chapter in Aang’s struggle to survive.

-From the movie website.

So it seems they do plan on a sequel...perhaps even a trilogy. It would only make sense considering the show had 3 seaons. Also explains why we haven't seen Toph yet.

[Ryllharu]

I as recall, the live action versions were initially announced as a trilogy. They're just not filming them back to back (like Lord of the Rings).

Looks really good. They definitely have the visual design style of the series down perfectly.

[Assassin]

Ya, but if Munsu is rite (and the more i think about it, the more i suspect he is) about then not making it as light hearted as the show, them theres still cause for concern. Im hoping shamalan will pull it off nicely, but a huge part of the show was the lightheartedness. All the character interactions, the jokes and silliness, the general attitude that each character had as a result of being a kid, it was essential to making the show what it was. Without that, its just another action movie.

[lilphatboi88]

I think I read an earlier post that stated that Avatar will be a trilogy. Hopefully, once I get a job this summer when I graduate, I can afford it.

[Penner]

You should probably refer to this as something else than simply "Avatar", that is just guaranteed to cause confusion :P

Avatar: The Last Airbender and "Avatar" (with the blue aliens) have no relation at all, just a similarity in the names.

[Sapphire]

Full trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iwh70CLHiM&feature=player_embedded)

[Death BOO Z]

just look at this face
http://moviesblog.mtv.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/020309_devpatel.jpg
he's a perfect Sokka.
browny? yes. eyebrows? check. relatable to the audience? you've seem him take an Oscar. totally ladies man? you bet!

sure, he's a bit tall and older, but that's nothing a good director and make-up artist can't fix.

maybe if they hadn't cast a six years old for Aang and a white jailbait harrypotter reject for Katara it wouldn't have stand out so much.

but this guy is perfect for Sokka... I can't imagine him acting out as a emoZuko...

[XanBcoo]

maybe if they hadn't cast a six years old for Aang and a white jailbait harrypotter reject for Katara it wouldn't have stand out so much.
http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/7453/castcomparison.png

[samsonlonghair]

I love the animated series, but I'm not sure about this film. I think I might have to wait for it to come out on DVD.

[rockmanj]

just look at this face
http://moviesblog.mtv.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/020309_devpatel.jpg
he's a perfect Sokka.
browny? yes. eyebrows? check. relatable to the audience? you've seem him take an Oscar. totally ladies man? you bet!

sure, he's a bit tall and older, but that's nothing a good director and make-up artist can't fix.

maybe if they hadn't cast a six years old for Aang and a white jailbait harrypotter reject for Katara it wouldn't have stand out so much.

but this guy is perfect for Sokka... I can't imagine him acting out as a emoZuko...


I agree. Zuko & Fire nation are totally Han Chinese, and the water tribe is clearly like, south/SE Asian/Inuit inspired. I do go to racebending, and I totally support that "movement". In fact, did you know that Facebook banned their group for being offensive? Nobody quite knows why http://www.racebending.com/v3/press/racebending-facebook-group-taken-down/ Maybe Paramount was offended by the (true) conversation that minorities are underrepresented in film and TV.

[Ryllharu]

I agree. Zuko & Fire nation are totally Han Chinese, and the water tribe is clearly like, south/SE Asian/Inuit inspired. I do go to racebending, and I totally support that "movement". In fact, did you know that Facebook banned their group for being offensive? Nobody quite knows why http://www.racebending.com/v3/press/racebending-facebook-group-taken-down/ Maybe Paramount was offended by the (true) conversation that minorities are underrepresented in film and TV.
While the group may have had a legitimate cause (and one I agree with), the scope of their group would inevitably draw a constant stream of real racists. I imagine that this is why it was taken down rather than any Hollywood conspiracy. They have the risk of having fringe commenters co-opt the group and subverting it to a racist agenda. Facebook probably canned instead of leaving them around long enough to have that potentially happen. Facebook is very wary of allowing itself to be used a gathering site for hate groups. It puts them into a lot of liability that would harm their ad revenue and information selling business model.

That would be my guess.

Fire Nation are totally Han Chinese, complete agreement there.

[darkshadow]

http://io9.com/5569150/7-cool-special-effects-ilm-created-for-the-last-airbender

If anything, it seems this movie will be a visual spectacle.

[depthcharge]

They can choose whatever actors they want. But I want the make up artist do the job properly. If the character is an orc, you better make him look like an orc and not a white guy...

[Animeniax]

Great, more white people getting roles meant for Asians. And what twist will M. Night Shamylan be able to add to this story without offending hardcore fans and the canon material?

[rockmanj]

Great, more white people getting roles meant for Asians. And what twist will M. Night Shamylan be able to add to this story without offending hardcore fans and the canon material?

I don't know if you have been keeping up with the "recebending" and all that, but there is little he could do to screw this film up more (along with the casting director, of course). Besides the whole casting white kids for all the heroic roles (strangely, their clan are Inuit and south Asian, I think) thing, it seems that he doesn't really get the story of Avatar. For instance, he didn't understand how the main characters could be so lighthearted as they are going through all these trials, and he initially wanted to exclude Momo, as he did not "get" why Momo was integral to the story (allegedly, his daughter had to explain it to him).

[Munsu]

Shymalan is a racist.

[Animeniax]

Shymalan is a racist.

It's because he wants to refer to himself as "Asian" but we won't let him.

[XanBcoo]

http://io9.com/5569150/7-cool-special-effects-ilm-created-for-the-last-airbender
Haha, the author of this article is getting all excited for some pretty unexciting stuff. That lemur looks awful, and everything else he mentions is pretty much on par for CGI.

Anyway, I'm not interested in the movie, but these look pretty cool. They're roaming sky view clips of each element nation or whatever:

Air Temple (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHhCRHU6WPA)
Water Tribe (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIM7zNVAWyc)
Earth Kingdom (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDVb_fYhOmo)
Fire Nation (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_Cnx66w4JY)

The fire one looks identical to the earth one, though. Only with more orange and red hues and buildings.

[Assassin]

the fire nation was a bunch of volcanic islands....i wish they'd kept it like that.

In anycase, im looking forward to seeing the movie, but im not gonna go in with any preconceived notions about the acting/story etc. Nor do i care about this apparent race issue.....everyone in hollywood is white....OMG! i didnt know that!.....Get over it.

What does worry my though is that comment about momo and how his daughter had to explain to him why he was important.....i hope at the very least he watched the series before taking on this project.

[XanBcoo]

CGI Lemurs are more important than racism.

[Animeniax]

I think it's a bit of racial bias that all the yellow characters are played by white actors/actresses and a bit of racial nepotism on the part of the director has a brown guy playing one of the main characters.

Also, the lead kid should have worn a skin cap or shaved his head more often. The fuzz on his scalp shows his lack of dedication to his trade.

[saman]

What does worry my though is that comment about momo and how his daughter had to explain to him why he was important.....i hope at the very least he watched the series before taking on this project.

for some odd reason, i feel the need to defend shymalan on this. he wanted to write momo out of the movie because momo's not really integral to the story. and other than being comic relief in the show, he's really not. but of course everyone still wants him in it. also, shymalan's apparently a huge fan of the show and was the one who approached the creators about making the movie. you should watch his interview with mike and bryan on the book 2 boxset.

i'm still not sure how i feel about this movie, but i'm choosing to be cautiously optimistic, and i am planning to go see it. at the very least, it's good because it'll most likely help lead to a second avatar animated series

[Assassin]

a second animated seires is like the best possible outcome....i'd watch the movie 10 times if it meant a second series. As for momo, while he's not 'integra' to the story, he is a big part of the team because he represents a link to aang's past, something only him and appa can provide. Though i'll admit, with the redefining of the story, maybe his part is no longer the same.

oh and also....SAMAN! where have you been hiding?

[Death BOO Z]

as far as I remember, Aang got Momo after he woke up, how does he help connect Aang to the past?

Momo was a comic relief monkey, I don't care whether he's in the movie or not.

[Assassin]

yes, he got him after he woke up, when they went to the southern air temple in hopes of finding the air benders.

[animus]

Maybe it's just me, but it looked to me like the Earth Nation in the trailer was made up of a lot of South Asians (Indians, etc.). Shymalan bias at work?

[Assassin]

i havent seen that trailer yet, but if anything the fire nation should be like that, since zuko is played by a brown guy. Doesnt make sense for the earth nation to be indians.

In anycase, i wouldnt consider that bias...didnt we just have a debate on holywood being too white?

[XanBcoo]

Maybe it's just me, but it looked to me like the Earth Nation in the trailer was made up of a lot of South Asians (Indians, etc.). Shymalan bias at work?

No, not really.

Edit: Especially since they're apparently evil.

[Animeniax]

No, not really.

Edit: Especially since they're apparently evil.

Evil roles or not, that's paying work for Shymalan's people. Definitely some bias going on there.

[XanBcoo]

All brown people are the same.

[Animeniax]

All brown people are the same.

Someone had to say it, I just didn't figure it'd be you!

Back on topic, I wonder why they didn't call this movie by it's proper name of Avatar:The Last Airbender. They could have raked in the residual monies.

[Kusanagi]

I wonder why they didn't call this movie by it's proper name of Avatar:The Last Airbender. They could have raked in the residual monies.


As I understand it, James Cameron had some sort of legal trademarking of the name "Avatar" for his blue man movie.

[Animeniax]

As I understand it, James Cameron had some sort of legal trademarking of the name "Avatar" for his blue man movie.

That'd be a copyright suit worth fighting in the courts.

[Death BOO Z]

Shymalan could have argued that Avatar is an Indian concept, and people used long before either of the movies were in production, but he doesn't want a brown lawyer.

accusing others in racism sure is fun.

[Animeniax]

Shymalan could have argued that Avatar is an Indian concept, and people used long before either of the movies were in production, but he doesn't want a brown lawyer.

accusing others in racism sure is fun.

Shymalan is the wrong kind of Indian, you racist bastard.

[rockmanj]

Shymalan is the wrong kind of Indian, you racist bastard.

Actually, it is the concept of Indians from the subcontinent, unless you are saying that M.Night isn't a real Indian.

Hindu Mythology . the descent of a deity to the earth in an incarnate form or some manifest shape; the incarnation of a god.

[Sapphire]

I'm surprised I didn't whine about it on here, but a few months ago I was basically bitched at by nearly my entire anime club (I was called Hitler etc. etc.) because I said that it was the director's/creators choice to tell the story and he could hire whatever color he aesthetically wanted. And I really didn't care because it didn't effect my life/harm me.

Their stance was basically everyone in that world is obviously Asian because of the culture and Asians are being opressed in media/America while black people always get a leg up (for example the president is black "ffs"). Therefore it was a crime against humanity for there to be no Asians in this movie. Their side seemed pretty racist to me but yeah... that convo did not make me happy.

Them: You/society would be pissed if Roots and Amistad had white slaves! And yet no one cares about Asians!
Me: Actually... I wouldn't care. Also that would be funny IMO..
Them: Rageeeeeeeee!

Actually they tried to make me promise I would steal this movie and not see it in theatres. Because paying to see it in theatres is "supporting" them, basically blatantly trying to bend me to their morals of how to watch a movie. :|

[Animeniax]

I think it's a little naive of you to think a director chooses white actors for roles because "it's his vision of the story".

[XanBcoo]

I said that it was the director's/creators choice to tell the story and he could hire whatever color he aesthetically wanted. And I really didn't care because it didn't effect my life/harm me.
Holy crap, please tell me you don't think like this any more.

[Munsu]

Katara and Sokka.... yellow with blue eyes? Are you guys blind or something?

[XanBcoo]

Usually when people say they are "color blind" to racism, they don't literally mean that they are colorblind. Yellow is not brown. The idea that unless a character is stereotypically "asian" or "black" or whatever then they are either "neutral" or white is incredibly racist.

How much hand-wringing and nitpicking does it take to excuse that a bunch of pasty white actors were chosen to play Asian/Inuit characters in an Asian setting? This isn't Dragonball, where the characters are ambiguous and without nationality, having many obviously caucasian traits. It's indefensible.

Whatever: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN3z257Ss2A

[Munsu]

Usually when people say they are "color blind" to racism, they don't literally mean that they are colorblind. Yellow is not brown.

How much hand-wringing and nitpicking does it take to excuse that a bunch of pasty white actors were chosen to play Asian characters in an Asian setting? It's indefensible.

Whatever: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN3z257Ss2A


Asian characters in an Asian setting? Right... influenced by Asian cultures, that's the extent of it.

A movie with martial arts in them clearly has to be about Asians and solely about Asians.

Sure, it's clear that they chose white characters for some of these roles, but the notion that Asians are getting the short stick here is just laughable... particularly as far as Sokka and Katara goes. They could've just as easily been characters that resemble latin mulatos or from African descent. To me they look more Western Natives more than anything.

How many communities are there of dark skinned blue-eyed people? How many of them are Asian? How many nations are there in the world in the poles with Asian communiteis, or dark skinned for that matter?

And to me Aang looks the part quite well. Sukko is the only casting choice I don't understand, and interestingly enough he's of Asian descent... I would've looked for someone that looks like a Japanese.

Of all the nations represented in the cartoon, Fire Nation was the only one that truely resembled physically Asians. All others are just a mix and match. Maybe Wind people, but since we only have Aang around and to me the actor really resembles the character plus he's a martial artist, I don't see why people are pissing their panties about it. Doesn't he have some Asian ancestry himself?

[Sapphire]

Holy crap, please tell me you don't think like this any more.

Lots of Chinese people were enraged because the actor who played in Memoirs of a Geisha was Chinese, not Japanese (as in the story). A lot of people I know are (seriously) pissed off because another movie is called "The Karate Kid" even though it takes place in China and is Wushu. Many people were enraged at Angelina Jolie playing a black woman in A Mighty Heart. Black Knight etc. edit: People were super pissed off at DragonBall too! ("obviously asian")

I don't think these are necessarily bad reasons to be upset, I can see why others would be.

I am not denying that "racial blindness" is a problem in society, nor do I think it's bad to be upset by it. This is clearly a legitimate issue. But at the same time I think it's wrong to try to force others not to see a movie because the characters aren't the race you think they should be (I'm not denying that the casting director is racist either lol).

[XanBcoo]

How many communities are there of dark skinned blue-eyed people?

lol "Brown people don't have blue eyes. Better make these brown characters white."

I realized my mistake in calling them "Asian" since they are obviously meant to be Native American, and corrected myself. That doesn't change the issue. If a character is not obviously black/asian/indian, then he or she is neutral and white. That is the accepted reality that you are describing.

I won't respond to anything else you said because it's exactly the type of hand-wringing and nitpicking I was referring to. It takes a lot of cognitive dissonance to ignore the fact that the show is deeply rooted in Asian cultures with a primarily non-white cast because you want to excuse that a bunch of white kids were cast as brown characters because they were defined by Shymalan to be "ambiguous".

I won't derail any further. In the end, it's not a crime against humanity, but rather a disappointment. It's indicative of the state of Hollywood that Asian/brown actors could have been cast in a role that didn't paint them as caricatures, but were ignored in favor of marketability.


But at the same time I think it's wrong to try to force others not to see a movie because the characters aren't the race you think they should be (I'm not denying that the casting director is racist either lol).
Maybe they were dicks about it, but if I were your friend I'd try to convince you not to financially support this kind of whitewashing.

[Munsu]

lol "Brown people don't have blue eyes. Better make these brown characters white."

I realized my mistake in calling them "Asian" since they are obviously meant to be Native American, and corrected myself. That doesn't change the issue. If a character is not obviously black/asian/indian, then he or she is neutral and white. That is the accepted reality that you are describing.

I won't respond to anything else you said because it's exactly the type of hand-wringing and nitpicking I was referring to. It takes a lot of cognitive dissonance to ignore the fact that the show is deeply rooted in Asian cultures with a primarily non-white cast because you want to excuse that a bunch of white kids were cast as brown characters because they were defined by Shymalan to be "ambiguous".

I won't derail any further. In the end, it's not a crime against humanity, but rather a disappointment. It's indicative of the state of Hollywood that Asian/brown actors could have been cast in a role that didn't paint them as caricatures, but were ignored in favor of marketability.


Maybe they were dicks about it, but if I were your friend I'd try to convince you not to financially support this kind of whitewashing.

Xan, you're clearly reading my post wrong. What I was criticizing was first and foremost the inability to separate a fantasy world with the real world, and secondly the idea that "yellow people" as Animeniax likes to mention lost a ton of roles to white people. It's simply not true.

Nit-picking goes both ways. And I haven't said that I'm happy with the roles of Sokka and Katara as they were casted. I simply have a problem with the type of rationalization some of you are coming up with to not like the casting.

To me Katara and Sokka should be dark skinned with blue eyes. Wether they're Asians or not I could care less, and I don't think they're Asians. And Katara should be older.

And as mentioned before, Aang is perfectly fine as casted in my opinion.

[XanBcoo]

Yeah, like I said, I was mistaken in referring to Katara and Sokka as Asian and corrected myself. But that doesn't change the issue at all. Non-whites lost roles to white people and a rationale that says "Well, this is clearly a fantasy setting so everyone is without ethnicity" is absolutely racist. Not "racial slur" racist, but the product of a de-facto racist institution.

If you truly want to understand why this casting is particularly upsetting, start by visiting the blog that rockmanj linked to earlier: http://www.racebending.com/v3/featured/the-last-airbender-primer/#casting

[Munsu]

Yeah, like I said, I was mistaken in referring to Katara and Sokka as Asian and corrected myself. But that doesn't change the issue at all. Non-whites lost roles to white people and a rationale that says "Well, this is clearly a fantasy setting so everyone is without ethnicity" is absolutely racist. Not "racial slur" racist, but the product of a de-facto racist institution.

If you truly want to understand why this casting is particularly upsetting, start by visiting the blog that rockmanj linked to earlier: http://www.racebending.com/v3/featured/the-last-airbender-primer/#casting

Again, I was criticizing Animeniax's comments and who he specifically felt lost the roles to the whites.

"Well, this is clearly a fantasy setting so everyone is without ethnicity" <--- Not the case being argued. What I argue, if anything, is that people shouldn't limit themselves to a certain nation in a fantasy world needs to be depicted solely by a certain ethnicity in the real life. Particularly in a cartoon. The ethnicity is owned by the fantasy world, not by real world restrinctions.

What matters here, when a fantasy world is concerned, is physical resemblance and that's all. Wether the actors are actually Asian/White/Black, etc. I couldn't care less, and neither should anyone else.

The guy playing Aang looks the part. The other 3 don't. That's the bottom line. It has nothing to do with Asian people getting shafted, particularly "yellow" people by white people as some have mentioned. I point out SOME, not you, SOME.

The only "yellow" role one could argue that was shafted here got shafted by a brown fellow.

But I have to point out once again, that you don't seem to be reading what I'm saying clearly. I'm not defending the casting choices, except that I like the Aang one... I'm criticizing some of the rationalizations by some. Again, I don't like some of these casting, but it has nothing to do with Asians not getting those roles. It's simply that they don't resemble the part they're playing, that's the bottom line.

[Sapphire]

Again, I was criticizing Animeniax's comments and who he specifically felt lost the roles to the whites.

"Well, this is clearly a fantasy setting so everyone is without ethnicity" <--- Not the case being argued. What I argue, if anything, is that people shouldn't limit themselves to a certain nation in a fantasy world needs to be depicted solely by a certain ethnicity in the real life. Particularly in a cartoon. The ethnicity is owned by the fantasy world, not by real world restrinctions.

I never thought about it this way. Good point.

[Assassin]

interesting link xan.....did not know that. But again, things like these are to be expected. its like me saying there's alot of jews in hollywood...next time you watch a movie, at the end count the number of jewish names during the credits.

life's unfair, and most minorties get the short end of the stick most, if not all the time.

[XanBcoo]

But I have to point out once again, that you don't seem to be reading what I'm saying clearly. I'm not defending the casting choices, except that I like the Aang one... I'm criticizing some of the rationalizations by some. Again, I don't like some of these casting, but it has nothing to do with Asians not getting those roles. It's simply that they don't resemble the part they're playing, that's the bottom line.
No, I am reading and understand perfectly well what you're saying, nor am I taking your arguments personally. You're just missing the point and I'm explaining exactly why, in this case, the ethnicity of the actors and characters is a really big deal.

I never thought about it this way. Good point.
No it's not. How does any of that refute my summation of his argument that fantasy characters are without ethnicity?

I agreed with Munsu when the film in question was Dragonball, and I would agree if it were Naruto. But the characters in the cartoon show are intentionally Asian/Inuit. They are fake Asians living in fake Asia. Giving them blue eyes doesn't magically make them not brown or negate every other cultural characteristic that the creator gave them.

[Munsu]

The characters in the cartoon show are intentionally Asian/Inuit. Giving them blue eyes doesn't magically make them not brown or negate every other cultural characteristic that the creator gave them.

Yep, but it doesn't mean that they have to played by Asians/Inuits. They should be played by people that resemble the characters, and that should be it.

That the actors are white is besides the point. The bottom line is that they don't look the part period.

[XanBcoo]

Yep, but it doesn't mean that they have to played by Asians/Inuits. They should be played by people that resemble the characters, and that should be it.
Alright, I'll meet you halfway and leave it at this.

Though it certainly is sad that they weren't even considered in the casting call, which specifically asked for white people. Out of context it's at least somewhat permissible, but we're talking about a massive trend in cinema where Asian males in particular are typecast and passed up in favor of a more marketable ethnicity.

There is literally no hope for an Asian American to ever be cast as a protagonist in a movie where he's not a stereotype if you can't even get an Asian kid to play an Asian kid in The Last Airbender.

[animus]

Aang's actor looks nothing like Aang. Just sayin'.

I don't see why they can't typecast a fantasy setting with real world parallels. Sure there aren't many dark/tanned skin people with blue eyes. Why don't they just get tan skinned actors, and give them colored contact lens? Unthinkable, right?

The cultural inspirations are glaringly obvious, and I don't see why they didn't just recreate it besides marketability. The Air Temple has Shaolin inspirations out the wazoo, same with the Southern Water Tribe with the Inuit, Fire Nation with Han Dynasty Chinese. A bit unsure about the Earth Nation.

I feel a lot of the actual draw, and amount of immersion I'd get from a film like this is lessened immensely because they didn't cater to be as close to the original vision as possible, and instead chose to go for better marketability or some director's own folly.

[Assassin]

Let me just point out that all the nations and characters look 'asian' because the tv series was drawn in the anime style which makes everything inherently asian. (you can also argue that, just like how dragon ball fans complained everyone should've been asian cuz its japaense cartoon, everyone in avatar should be white cuz its an american cartoon.....i dont agree with it, but the logic is the same.....but i digress)

Now i agree that the air nomads resemble shaolin/tibetan monks and the fire nation look very chinese.....but i also agree with munsu that Aang looks the part perfectly, so it doesn't matter if hes white or brown or yellow.

As far as Sokka and Katara are concerned....ya they had brown skin in the cartoon, but they were shown as an inuit culture (plus, you know...living at the poles)....i dont know any brown skined inuits, or indians that live at the south pole. So to say that they should be played by asians or some other ethnicity is ridiculous cuz they dont resemble any particular ethnicity. If anything, they looked more like tanned/mixed white kids if you take away the cultural clothing.

[Animeniax]

Let me just point out that all the nations and characters look 'asian' because the tv series was drawn in the anime style which makes everything inherently asian. (you can also argue that, just like how dragon ball fans complained everyone should've been asian cuz its japaense cartoon, everyone in avatar should be white cuz its an american cartoon.....i dont agree with it, but the logic is the same.....but i digress)


Check the link Xan posted. It will refute almost everything you just posted.

[XanBcoo]

Pretty much. But just to clarify...


As far as Sokka and Katara are concerned....ya they had brown skin in the cartoon, but they were shown as an inuit culture (plus, you know...living at the poles)....i dont know any brown skined inuits, or indians that live at the south pole. So to say that they should be played by asians or some other ethnicity is ridiculous cuz they dont resemble any particular ethnicity. If anything, they looked more like tanned/mixed white kids if you take away the cultural clothing.

Why, then, was the rest of the water village cast as brown people? Specifically, why did they then ask for "Near Eastern, Middle Eastern, Far Eastern, Asian, Mediterranean, and Latino," people who were told to "look like a Ukrainian villager or whatever"?

[Sapphire]

So there's a million reasons why people from X tribe should be Y race and a million reasons why they should be X race and a million reasons why they should be A race... because the fantasy characters bear characteristics from cultures from all over the world!

I think Munsu is basically saying that especially when you are considering a "high fantasy" world (a world not based off of earth), arguments about what race they have to be in the IRL movie are both infinite and futile. You guys aren't going to find an exact match of the race IRL because it doesn't exist lol. The creators made the race and all of it's characteristics up. This is why Munsu said there is a difference between "fantasy" and "reality" and trying to mix them up won't work.

I don't understand how this is personally offensive either. Even if the movie was 100% Asians Blacks Whites Oranges Purples, it's not like the movie is being shoved in our faces and stealing our tax dollars (okay maybe it's doing the second one, *shakes fist at damn gov*).
----------------------------------
Anyway, It seems like everyone is making race the biggest issue of the movie. It's sort of sad because I'd like to talk about CGI or even the plot.... :(

Spoiler vid (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmHv24Mn8C8): Looks awesome. Not sure about the acting, but everything else looks phenomenal.

Edit: Actually, after the acting... maybe I won't see this in theatres... bleh.
Edit2: But it's so pretty! And martial arts!

[Animeniax]

It could be a million reasons but we know it really is just one when it comes to Hollywood and race: $.

[Sapphire]

That's very likely to be true, sadly.

[XanBcoo]

I think Munsu is basically saying that especially when you are considering a "high fantasy" world (a world not based off of earth), arguments about what race they have to be in the IRL movie are both infinite and futile.

The show is advertised by Nickelodeon as “set in a fantastical Asian world” and is described by the writers themselves as taking place in “an ancient, fantastical Asian environment, primarily Chinese.” The show features heroes of color

Though it certainly is sad that they weren't even considered in the casting call, which specifically asked for white people. Out of context it's at least somewhat permissible, but we're talking about a massive trend in cinema where Asian males in particular are typecast and passed up in favor of a more marketable ethnicity.

There is no argument that this isn't racist. Anyway, I said I'd stop the derail several posts ago, so I'm just quoting what I've already said.

[Assassin]

Why, then, was the rest of the water village cast as brown people? Specifically, why did they then ask for "Near Eastern, Middle Eastern, Far Eastern, Asian, Mediterranean, and Latino," people who were told to "look like a Ukrainian villager or whatever"?

That i was not aware of, and given that additional information, it does become blatantly racist...But in this case i'd argue if you're going to go that route, mite as well go all out racist. Cast the whole village as white and be done with it....then again, hollywood is retarded.

[rockmanj]

http://splinterend.tumblr.com/post/749364670/facepainting

[Assassin]

Ok well, while all this controversial talk is interesting lets get back to the movie.

[darkmetal505]

I am also very disappointed with the casting of the film, but I'm more concerned about what they decided to put in and what they decided to remove from Book 1. Going through the series, it feels like every episode is indispensable because the show was so balanced in terms of pacing of plot and character development.

[Animeniax]

I doubt the movie will be a success what with all the Asians boycotting it and it being a kid's sci-fi movie, so it will probably be a storyline loosely based on the original material, kind of like the DBZ movie which shared similar casting issues, similar genre, and most likely similar lack of box office success.

[Assassin]

DBZ movie had terrible cgi for its budget, so if nothing else atelast this one will look pretty.....im also somewhat weary about how they'll handle it and what they'll cut, but i think that majority of it will be there.....they mite not include stuff like aang learning firebending in the first season from the general who deserted, but its nothing that cant be worked around. As long as the main focus of the first movie is going to the north pole and learning waterbending, i think we'll be good.

[Munsu]

I doubt the movie will be a success what with all the Asians boycotting it and it being a kid's sci-fi movie, so it will probably be a storyline loosely based on the original material, kind of like the DBZ movie which shared similar casting issues, similar genre, and most likely similar lack of box office success.

DBZ just plained sucked period.

Other than a select group of people complaining because of "lack of Asians" and "white people taking their roles", box office success will depend on the movie being good or not, regardless of the perceived notion if it's a faithful adaptation or not or perceived casting issues by some group of people.

DBZ didn't fail because of who was casted as Goku. It failed because the writers and directors were incompetent, and the plot just sucked ass.

[Sapphire]

This movie has 4% so far on Rotten Tomatoes (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/last_airbender/).

This is one of my favorite of the reviews:


The movie has been criticized for racially inappropriate casting, but that’s the least of its problems. The acting is laughable, the effects are phony, the editing is addled and the dialogue is disastrous.

Another favorite:


Let's just be honest: M. Night Shyamalan is an idiot.

[animus]

I quite like -


I believe M. Night can ruin the world.

[XanBcoo]

I'm not gonna lie, the fact that this is bombing so early gives me a feeling of schadenfreude I haven't experienced in a while. I love that in Ebert's review he says Aang looks like a young Wallace Shawn.


Other than a select group of people complaining because of "lack of Asians" and "white people taking their roles", box office success will depend on the movie being good or not, regardless of the perceived notion if it's a faithful adaptation or not or perceived casting issues by some group of people.
lol, hey man, your "opinions" are "valid" and "worthwhile" :rolleyes:

Don't trivialize an issue that's quite apparently very important for Americans. Anyway, there's a lot more to factor in to box office success than just the quality of the script. Marketing and the release date also play a big role (being released so near to Twilight might hurt sales, and it won't make any money from the 3D showings), not to mention the bad publicity. The horrendous casting decisions aren't going to dent it too badly, but that doesn't give you cart blanche to pretend the issue doesn't exist.

[Munsu]

I'm not gonna lie, the fact that this is bombing so early gives me a feeling of schadenfreude I haven't experienced in a while. I love that in Ebert's review he says Aang looks like a young Wallace Shawn.


lol, hey man, your "opinions" are "valid" and "worthwhile" :rolleyes:

Don't trivialize an issue that's quite apparently very important for Americans. Anyway, there's a lot more to factor in to box office success than just the quality of the script. Marketing and the release date also play a big role (being released so near to Twilight might hurt sales, and it won't make any money from the 3D showings), not to mention the bad publicity. The horrendous casting decisions aren't going to dent it too badly, but that doesn't give you cart blanche to pretend the issue doesn't exist.

Stop accusing me of things that I'm not doing.

Thanks.

[Carnage]

Oh my god the reviews are so terrible, I can't wait to see this!

[animus]

Uh oh, it's up to 6% now.

[darkmetal505]

From reading and listening to reviews, I'm going to pass on this terribad movie. I pray Shyamlan does not think to redeem himself by continuing to direct Book 2 or Book 3.

[Dark Dragon]

I was initially a bit annoyed by the casting decision, but decided that it's ok if the actors can at least do a good job with the roles.

This is clearly not the case. I don't think I've ever seen such bad acting in my life and I've watched a few movies starring Madonna. I wonder if M. Night Shyamalan is a sadist at heart, because he must've bound, gag and screwed the original story pretty badly in order to get this monstrosity. Other than the very bare bone of the story, there isn't so much as a coherence thought within the rest of the script.

Compressing a full 20 episodes season into one decent movie is a rather impressive undertaking. Mr. Shyamalan demonstrated that he does not have the skills or talents to accomplish this.

I suggest that anyone who is planning to watch this to save your money and go do something more enjoyable. Watching paint dries would be a preferable alternative.

One last note: i thought Dev Patel was ok, but he kinda doesn't feel right as Zuko. The actor who plays Aang is so emotionless and unlike his cartoon counterpart that i could've swore i was looking at a miniature Keanu Reeves.

[XanBcoo]

This is clearly not the case. I don't think I've ever seen such bad acting in my life and I've watched a few movies starring Madonna. I wonder if M. Night Shyamalan is a sadist at heart, because he must've bound, gag and screwed the original story pretty badly in order to get this monstrosity. Other than the very bare bone of the story, there isn't so much as a coherence thought within the rest of the script.
Haha, reminds me of this amazing review:


M. Night Shyamalan finally made a comedy (http://io9.com/5576076/m-night-shyamalan-finally-made-a-comedy)


Even when Ringer is filmed on location, in front of a real-life mountain, he still manages to create the impression that his surroundings have been keyed in, and he's actually in a studio somewhere. This is a huge, crucial factor in the way the movie makes fun of its own epic-ness. And I think everybody who has criticized Shyamalan for casting white actors as Asian characters in this film should admit they were wrong. Clearly, Shyamalan tried to cast Asians, but he just couldn't find any whose performances were lifeless enough.

Not to mention the many scenes in which characters rattle off exposition, and it feels as if somebody must have fed the scripts from the TV series into an office shredder, and then glued some of the word stripes together. You can just imagine Shyamalan stopping the actors and demanding a retake, over and over again, because the actors were still stringing the sentences together as if they had a logical sequence. It must have taken hours to get the right level of random, Ketamine-overdose level of dissociation into every scene where somebody explains about importance of the avatar and how you have to feel your feelings, in order to gerbil machete fish dumpling crank handle. At its most sublime and brain-sluicing, the expository scenes approach the level of the opening act of D-War. And that's high praise.

[animus]

From that review, I found this hilarious -


Oh yeah - that's another one of the ways in which this movie pokes fun at the very idea of epic fantasy: the endless confusing voice-over, in which tons of important story developments happen off-camera while we're looking at a picture of a tree or a CG mountain. Because why do we privilege the story of the hero's progress over the tree?, Shaymalan asks. Why does the original Star Wars insist on showing us Luke Skywalker training with a lightsaber, instead of telling us that Luke Skywalker trained with a lightsaber while showing us a tracking shot of some rocks? Why pretend that one thing is more important than the other thing? Why pretend that any of it has any meaning? As a wise man once wrote, "A menu is as good as a myth."

[Assassin]

how, that horrible huh? it almost makes me want to watch it just to see how bad it is.

[Dark Dragon]

Some fans reactions after watching the movie. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWCk6A2OOpQ)

[Assassin]

wow.....a little part of my died after watching that.

[Munsu]

wow.....a little part of my died after watching that.

I'm not sure if I even want to try it... but interestingly enough, the only one that had positive things to say about the movie was actually Asian.

And mystery continues...

[XanBcoo]

Some fans reactions after watching the movie. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWCk6A2OOpQ)

Is that Psyke at 2:23??

[animus]

I'm not sure if I even want to try it... but interestingly enough, the only one that had positive things to say about the movie was actually Asian.

And mystery continues...


There's always usually one of those guys that have really low standards.

[Carnage]

I'm not sure if I even want to try it...

Trust me. Don't see it. It's not even worth seeing it just to see how bad it will be; that's what I did, and now I regret it so much so.

[Animeniax]

Some of those guys in the clip said they paid $20 for the 3D showings!! Wow movies have gotten so expensive these days.

[Munsu]

Some of those guys in the clip said they paid $20 for the 3D showings!! Wow movies have gotten so expensive these days.

Yeah that's nuts... I wonder how much of that is affecting their reaction to the actual movie.

I mean, maybe if they went and watched it for say 8 buck they wouldn't be having this strong reaction against it. Still the response seems to be consistent throughout.

[DeathscytheVII]

I paid $15.00 to see this and i felt like shit after the movie :( I kept taking off my 3d glasses just to see if there's any difference.

The villains didn't really seem threatening to me, then i realized that Admiral Zhao was played by a comedian from the daily show. Forget casting asians, at least cast people who can play the role! Damn it Shamaylan, hopefully this is the final nail in the coffin of his directing days.


You start out laughing at how random and mindless everything in this movie is, but about an hour into it, you realize that the movie is actually laughing at you, for watching it in the first place.

[Animeniax]

Maybe Shymalan has some talent left in him that he can use on indie movies instead of all the pressure to make large budget blockbusters.

I heard this movie was made into 3D in post-production and that's the reason for the lack of 3D magic. Is that the normal method, or do 3D movies usually get shot in 3D with special cameras?

[UChessmaster]

Special cameras i beleive, i too am tempted over the insane amount of bad reviews... why do i want to see it?

[animus]

I really wanna see how bad it is. And I also just redownloaded the whole series to get rid out of the bad taste if I ever go watch the movie.

[Assassin]

post production 3d sucks monkey balls.....i watched clash of the titans and it was so god damn lame.

[Munsu]

Maybe Shymalan has some talent left in him that he can use on indie movies instead of all the pressure to make large budget blockbusters.

I heard this movie was made into 3D in post-production and that's the reason for the lack of 3D magic. Is that the normal method, or do 3D movies usually get shot in 3D with special cameras?

Which begs the question, are these reviews being made by people who are watching the 3D version, because from all told if you're going to watch it don't watch it in 3D.

Still bad acting is bad acting regardless.

[Psyke]

Is that Psyke at 2:23??

..............

[Pandadice]

So I just saw The Last Airbender, and it wasn't really that bad. My only real complaint is that the all of the kids sucked at acting, and were completely devoid of emotion. Sure you can nit-pick about them changing the property of fire bending, the actors being the wrong ethnicity, things they left out, things they changed, name pronunciations, but all in all it was an honest tribute to the original series. Sure it left a lot out. But when you compress a 20 episode TV series into a 1 hour and 40 minute movie, you've got to take a lot out. I mean, at least they just did the first book. Imagine if they tried cramming all three seasons into one.

Yeah, the only thing I see wrong with it is the actors sucked. But anyone who is a fan of the original series should be able to get enough out of this to still enjoy themselves some what.

[Archangel]

So I just saw The Last Airbender, and it wasn't really that bad. My only real complaint is that all of the kids sucked at acting and were completely devoid of emotion.

Oh, was that all?

I don't want to ruin my image of the series so i think I'll pass this one up

[darkshadow]

How will it ruin your image of the series? That makes no sense at all, as if the series will suddenly be bad after you see the movie.

[XanBcoo]

Guilty by association.

[DeathscytheVII]

How will it ruin your image of the series? That makes no sense at all, as if the series will suddenly be bad after you see the movie.

Not necessarily ruin the original, but i did rewatch the series after seeing this movie to remind myself that the premise/story, when done right, is damn good.

Seriously if you're a fan and liked Avatar, the movie will tear your guts out.

[UChessmaster]

Well... what if i`m... not? i never seen the original.

[Dark Dragon]

Well... what if i`m... not? i never seen the original.

Then you shouldn't waste money on a terrible movie that you really have no reason to go watch.

[Animeniax]

Kind of off-topic but your sig is a load of bullshit. "People don't kill people, monsters do." Nice job of pardoning the weak and the evil and removing personal choice. That's almost as bad as "don't hate the player, hate the game." Way to relinquish personal responsibility.

People shouldn't see this movie just as a larf. You'll be throwing away money and supporting garbage at the same time. Might as well give that money to a bum on the street in that case.

[Archangel]

Not kind of, completely off-topic >_>

Sort of like this post right here

[Dark Dragon]

Kind of off-topic but your sig is a load of bullshit. "People don't kill people, monsters do." Nice job of pardoning the weak and the evil and removing personal choice. That's almost as bad as "don't hate the player, hate the game." Way to relinquish personal responsibility.

It's a quote from a fantasy anime. It's probably best that you don't take it too seriously.

[darkshadow]

Just saw this myself, here is my mini review >_>:


Watched (avatar) The Last Airbender today.

This movie wasn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be, but it definitly has a bunch of flaws that just stick out and could very well make you dislike it.

First of, the 3D, this movie was converted into 3D just like Clash of the Titans, and just like in that movie, it was pretty bad for Airbender, studios really need to stop this conversion stuff just to make a quick buck (though I didn't pay extra cause I already had a pair B) ).

Second, the narration.
I don't understand why every "progression scene" had to be narrated, just to stitch 2 other scenes together, which leads into a very weird sence of progression, like it suddenly being a few weeks later and pretty much kills the character development.
In fact the only character that got properly developed was Zuko.
This also causes the "decent" dialog to just feel illogical and shitty at times.

Third, the runtime.
Now I understand you can't pack an entire season worth of material in a single movie without cutting some stuff out, but this movie runs for only ~100 mins. It would've really been much better to even have 30 mins extra. This also faults the feel of progression.

Now it wasn't all bad.
I really liked the music and the visual effects, the bending was really well done as well, though it could've been a bit more martial-artsy and drawn out like the fights in the series.
The fights near the end of the movie were really good though, I especially loved the 4 water benders just outright murdering the firebender by just watching him slowly die by drowning.
The acting was so-so, but Zuko and Iroh were good.

Now if M. Night just fixes the bad things for the next few movies, they could be pretty fantastic.. >.>.

Oh and Seychelle Gabriel as Yue was.....:3 (♥omgz♥) >_>..........

yeah..... <.<

[Killa-Eyez]

Wow, that was horrible. I really hope Shyamalan won't continue the rest of the books. The fire nation, what's that, Shyamalan's cousins or somethings? WTF? I srsly LOL with Sokka in the series. Why did he become such a douche? Wasn't Aang supposed to be a playful kid? I believed Iroh didn't lose weight till the 3rd book?

If you're not getting the charasteristics down, it least display some good acting. If not acting, give them a mindblowing dialogue. If not even that, show us MA!!! It takes like 5 min. of movements to see some bending and sometimes no bending!! I rea, REALLY hope someone else will be writing, directing and producing the rest.

BIG dissapointment. :( *watches serie to forget movie*


Oh and Seychelle Gabriel as Yue was.....:3 (♥omgz♥) >_>..........

Only char I did like. :rolleyes: