First Photos From 'Avatar: The Last Airbender'
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My geek cred fails me here as Avatar: The Last Airbender is just one of those things I know very little about. The original series is available on Netflix Instant Watch, but the curse of being on the movie news wire is that time to sit and watch is pretty scarce.
So, I will have to rely on you Airbender fans to give your take on these first photos from USA Today (apparently it's back to using the Avatar moniker despite James Cameron), and eagerly await your take on the controversy is raging around the film. Many fans are offended that M. Night Shyamalan didn't cast Japanese actors. Others feel that's an unneccessary sticking point as the world the characters inhabit is a fantasy one based on Asian culture, so that Shyamalan should be able to cast freely. Dev Patel just sits awkwardly in the middle of the debate -- people are simultaneously annoyed he's not Japanese and suspicious that the one non-white actor is cast in a villainous role.
Blissfully unaware of his unsuitability is newcomer Noah Ringer, who plays Aang. Apparently, he's always gone by the nickname "Avatar" due to his resemblance to the cartoon character (he always sports a shaved head) and his lethal martial arts skills. He won the part after sending a home made DVD of himself ... talk about an easy day for the casting director.
Give your thoughts, Airbender fans. And I promise, I'll start watching the series this weekend ... in the meantime, can you tell me what's up with Aang's hand?
So, I will have to rely on you Airbender fans to give your take on these first photos from USA Today (apparently it's back to using the Avatar moniker despite James Cameron), and eagerly await your take on the controversy is raging around the film. Many fans are offended that M. Night Shyamalan didn't cast Japanese actors. Others feel that's an unneccessary sticking point as the world the characters inhabit is a fantasy one based on Asian culture, so that Shyamalan should be able to cast freely. Dev Patel just sits awkwardly in the middle of the debate -- people are simultaneously annoyed he's not Japanese and suspicious that the one non-white actor is cast in a villainous role.
Blissfully unaware of his unsuitability is newcomer Noah Ringer, who plays Aang. Apparently, he's always gone by the nickname "Avatar" due to his resemblance to the cartoon character (he always sports a shaved head) and his lethal martial arts skills. He won the part after sending a home made DVD of himself ... talk about an easy day for the casting director.
Give your thoughts, Airbender fans. And I promise, I'll start watching the series this weekend ... in the meantime, can you tell me what's up with Aang's hand?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
5-23-2009 @ 8:52PM
Maison said...
I'm an Avatar fan and these photos make me concerned.
Dev Patel (yes, the fact that the only main non-white actor is cast as the villain makes me suspicious) is turned so you can't see his whole face, but there's one floating around where you can see that he has no scar on his left eye. The scar and the story behind it are a major part of Zuko's character and the lack of scar makes me think that they're making Zuko the one-dimensional villain, when in the series he grows and evolves (and actually become more interesting than Aang, to be honest).
The kid playing Aang looks too serious, but that's just one promo shot. I'm not quite sure what's going on with his hand.
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5-24-2009 @ 8:25PM
Lilandra said...
They may be intending to cgi a scar on to make it look more realistically burned, in editing. The scar is an important part of his psyche and I don't think it will be left out. I'm sure they have the head turned on purpose so as to reveal it later. As far as the Ang hand, I think he's just holding it tightly in a martial arts fist thingy (yes that's a technical term) and the camera angle is making it look funny.
5-23-2009 @ 9:28PM
Kate said...
My friends are huge fans of the show and I haven't gotten around to watching it yet, but even I'm steamed they're white washing the cast. The show is influenced by Asian and Inuit cultures, and the ignorance goes all the way up the chain. There was an article about the casting director asking people auditioning to come in traditional dress if they had it, like if you're Belgian bring leiderhosen or if you're Korean bring a kimono. (Hanbok? Wtf is that? 9_9)
What makes me curious is if Shyamalan made an effort to keep the casting Asian before they cast white kids and Jesse McCartney. Even if his latest movies have been critical flops, 'The Happening' made a shit-ton of money and he's helming the live-action version of a really popular series. You'd think he had some kind of influence.
I love the movies, but this is appalling. If one more celebrity prides their industry on being a place that celebrates diversity, they deserve a blindfold and a cigarette. Will they really lose that much money if they make a movie that isn't predominantly white?
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5-23-2009 @ 10:46PM
David R said...
I won't be watching it at the movies, because I can't stand for the blatant racism, especially when I know the heart of the original series so well.
They're taking material that had so much respect for the Asian/Inuit peoples and using it to push the old Hollywood, whites must play leading roles, agenda.
Most people aren't aware of the long history of discrimination against Asians in Hollywood. There have been countless amazing Asian characters denied leading roles with Asian characters that they were fully able to play, then they offer the role to a white actor, thinking the audience prefers their main characters to be white.
This has been standard practice for a long time.
It's basically like saying, only us white people deserve leading roles and a high pay packet. Don't get any ideas about succeeding in society. Know your place!
It's a great shame that Hollywood hasn't changed that much!
With that said, I'll probably hire the Blu-ray, as I still want to know how they're going to adapt it.
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5-24-2009 @ 7:34PM
Ken said...
David, while I sympathize with your position, you far to quickly move to blame Hollywood and big fat white producers for forcing racist agendas on the casting of their films, when if fact, they are really just thinking of profits first, politically correctness second.
It is the truth that the American movie going audience is their biggest market and that that market is predominately Caucasian. Given this fact, producers want to appeal as much as possible to Caucasians, their target audience. Now, it is sad but true that the average white person is more likely to watch a movie with white actors, especially heroes to which they can more personally relate to. It is plain psychology. In reaity, you are most likely to be attracted to someone who looks like you, the same can be said for asians or Indians; one of the reasons there only Indians in Bollywood movies, it makes sense and those are the people that Indians want to see, because they can relate to them.
It is sad that Asian actors and actresses are not popular in Hollywood, but it is also a logical reality. Hollywood produces their movies for the public, not for themselves (how else would Charlies' Angels get made?) and thus cast actors and actresses whom the public will most likely want to see and be able to relate to. So, when looking for someone to blame, blame society and call for society to change, before you call for the products made to entertain it to.
5-26-2009 @ 8:13AM
J said...
Thank you, my thoughts were exactly expressed by your comment.
5-26-2009 @ 10:24AM
Kevin said...
Exactly. I don't see anyone outraged by the bollywood superman movie that had an indian actor playing Supes. That would be like casting Mel Gibson to play Martin Luther King Jr.
5-24-2009 @ 12:11AM
yani said...
I don't necessarily have a problem with the actor they've cast in the lead (although I do take on board the comments that everybody has made about "white washing" the cast)... young Master Ringer is, as his name suggests, somewhat of a ringer for Ang.
I have more of a problem with Patel in the role of Zuko... he's completely and totally an appalling fit for the character... and add to that the fact that he doesn't have the trademark scar or, admittedly, somewhat silly hairdo. Zuko has the whole "bad boy" vibe down to a fine art... he's menacing, obsessive and could have been kinda hot in live action. I don't see Patel being able to bring any of that to the role. While he'd now be far too old to do it, my mind keeps bringing up the guy who played Rufio in Hook...
And I'm not sure what the drama is about Ang's hands in that photo... the top on is laying palm up supporting his kite/staff and the bottom one is curled into a fist (although I will admit that the thumb seems to be in a strange position).
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5-24-2009 @ 1:06AM
Ev said...
Makes sense to think of Rufio as Dante Basco who played Rufio is the voice actor for Zuko in the series.
5-24-2009 @ 6:15AM
yani said...
Really? Well what do you know... I honestly had no idea... my subconscious is obviously smarter than I thought *grin*
5-24-2009 @ 12:35AM
Master X said...
Why do they mess up things I like? First Dragonball, now Avatar, whats next Naruto!
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5-26-2009 @ 8:12AM
J said...
Thank you so much, I completely agree with you. They are using the wrong people for the parts. Have noticed that Katara is pale while in the cartoon she's dark skinned and Zuko's the other way around? I don't like it.
6-10-2009 @ 10:57PM
Alice said...
I actually wouldn't doubt they'd go for Naruto next.
There are plans for Blood:The Last Vampire with that George Lopez teenage girl as a cast member. And there are plans for Ghost in the Shell, I mean there's a long list of animes they are planning to screw up.
6-25-2009 @ 1:38PM
hello said...
What's next is Cowboy Bebop...
5-24-2009 @ 12:39AM
Claude said...
With his head turned they could have given Zuko a less sightly eye scar i.e. a eye that looks colorless and glassy. I mean lets face it, studios somehow still think parents care enough to protect their children from violence in some respects. So they give zuko a less prominent scar and bingo.
As for characters, Uncle BETTER look more asian and katara and sokka better look more inuit. I reserve my judgement on momo and the other hybrid creatures till pictures are release.
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5-24-2009 @ 12:40AM
claude said...
@master x:
yes
5-24-2009 @ 10:43AM
rey said...
My biggest fear with this movie isn't the casting, but the choice of director. Shyamalan has lost most of the good will he had earned with his first couple of movies. I simply don't have faith that he'll be able to deliver a movie that hits all the right notes.
The kid playing Aang looks the part - can he act though? Zuko seems way off the mark and honestly, strikes me as a bit an impulse choice. Patel appears in a hit movie, now we have to scoop him up for this, despite not fitting the role at all.
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5-24-2009 @ 1:21PM
Rubix Qoob said...
The scar of Zuko and Aang's arrow will be enhanced by CGI. People really should not be making judgment by these photos since they are just for promotional shots. Of course they aren't finished pictures since the movie is only halfway done. And although I do see people's point about the casting I think most are forgetting what made ATLA special in the fist place. It wasn't jus how it looked or what races the characters were.It was a beautiful story. A story that showed kids that there are varying degrees between good and evil and doing the right thing can sometimes be a complex chore. Memorable characters and an epic story made this series. If the characters had been all black, all white, or all latin I would have loved the lessons the same. I think M. Night is actually going farther and making it a more diverse world. I'm positive it won't fall into the simple thinking of good= white and bad=ethnic that people fear. The true division will come from the different kingdoms and benders. When I hear everyone involved with this movie it sounds very special to them and I don't see them forsaking that. Give it a chance people.
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5-24-2009 @ 2:18PM
Jen said...
And "people" should really wonder how much resemblance is going to be left to the original story when you've got Caucasian kids playing the leads who have been made up to look like Tibetans and Inuits. The hypocrisy is deeply upsetting and borderline offensive.
If they had rewritten the parts for some sort of pseudo-European races, that would be one thing, but this is essentially a throwback to yellowface and cultural appropriation. We should be past this kind of thing.
5-24-2009 @ 5:53PM
Cat said...
Something that seems inherantly missing from all these comments is concern about the martial arts coreography. Both of these actors were chosen for their excellence in TAE KWON DO! Tae kwon do has nothing to do with the series. The martial arts presented in the series are based on Chinese martial arts, not Korean. That was one of the most exciting things for my boyfriend (knowledgeable in martial arts) and I to recognize the moves from BaGuaZhang, Tai Chi-Chuan, Hung Gar and Northern Shaolin Kung Fu in the show.
I too am concerned about the casting, partially because of the lack of Asian actors, and also because Patel is 19 now, which means he could be well into his 20's by the end of filming the other two movies, though he's supposed to be playing a 16 year old boy. All in all, I am concerned about the films, and will be sorely dissapointed if they fail to comprise the genius of the show.
I must admit, though I have reservations about these movies, I am also very excited to see them. :) Good luck, Shyalaman and company!
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