The Last Airbender (film)

[Huggles]

So...yeah. I made this topic because it's late and I'm bored, but I don't really want to put that much effort into writing...words and stuff. I'm just generally disappointed with the way the movie's going, even though I tried really hard to wear my hat that makes me think everything will be okay. Basically, I'm upset that they decided to make everyone white. Which wouldn't be a problem if, you know, this wasn't Avatar! It's stars a Shaolin Buddhist monk, and an Inuit boy, and his sister; in a world who's atmosphere is made up of Nitrogen, Oxygen, and AZN.

I'm just at a loss for feelings. I suppose if I were a huge fan of the Harry Potter novels, I'd feel the same if they had chosen to make all the actors in the movies American. Wut's wrong with that? They're still good actors and now more people will understand what they're saying because they won't have those funny accents. Duh. Save divine intervention in its production, I won't be seeing it. I'll just keep dreaming that Rufio Dante Basco will get to play Zuko, and be delicious.

Penny Arcade made an appropriate comic about it.

[Goldenchaos]

Also, the 'fart jokes' will be taken out of the film (...was there even one??), as well as the actual humor that made the series..and Sokka will be 'grounded', which, according to the LJ I watch..and according to the members there, he will be more like his final season counterpart than the first.

btw, have a teaser trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvLUrF3ItGQ

[Usul_Princess]

Things like that happen all the time. Directors assume that if the main character is a minority, or a foreign character people won't watch it. That kinda logic has backfired.

In DB evolution Goku is white, and it was a complete flop at the box office. (Though, live action movies are pretty hit and miss.) Last time I checked, he was Asian.

[Jessi]

DB Evolution didn't flop because Goku was white in the film x___X It flopped because it was a bad movie. It was a live action version of Dragonball for crap's sake! Even if they had picked a Japanese man to play Goku, the movie -still- would have flopped.

I think people are being so freaking anal about this. I understand what Huggles is saying about how if the Harry Potter movies had hired people that were American - after all, Harry Potter takes place IN England. However, Avatar takes place in... well, not Asia. Now, I've never really watched a lot of Avatar, but from everything I've seen and read, it takes place in a made-up land. Sure, the characters look like different races, but saying a movie will flop JUST because white people got starred in 'minority' roles is a little over the top to me. How about the movie will flop because freaking M Night Shyamalan is writing and directing it? Or because it's a live action version of AVATAR, an animated TV show! Things like that never go over well. I guess every now and then there's a rare brilliance out there for one of those, but really, for the most part? Huge flops. Has anyone ever seen the live-action Iria movie? UGH. And Iria was the first anime I ever really liked :P

So, yeah. Culture diversity in movies = good things, and probably would have = very good things for this movie. But really, saying that the only reason Dragonball was a flop at the office is because Goku is white is a HUGE push. It flopped because it sucked :P

[TCStarwind]

I'm going to go see it anyway. If I can sit through the shit that was Doom, I can watch a movie of Avatar. And I would have gone to see the DBZ movie had I any ability to drive. I guess it also helps that I work at a movie theater and can get in for free. 8D

Anyway, I would have liked characters like Sokka and Katara to be played by people of Inuit descent or something, but for Aang, who is generally drawn with huge eyes and, to me, doesn't look very Asian compaired to, say, Zuko, it's not much of a bother. And the kid playing Aang does kinda look like the character, at least from what I see in the trailer. I would have liked to see the rest of the team, too, so I have a hard time judging people who I haven't yet seen in the role.

I'm trying to be optimistic about this. I really am.

[Joey]

I for one am pretty pissed at the race thing. Avatar may not have real world races, but the creators didn't take the route of so many other shows and add in token races, they created an entire diverse world. By not even trying to cast someone not white in the movie, they're disrespecting the source. I think it's even worse that when they changed a role to someone not white, it's the villain for most of the series, going back to the Hollywood stereotype of our band of white heroes against someone not white.

I don't think the movie is going to suck on the grounds of the race of the actors, but if it doesn't even look like they care enough cast people who look like the actual characters, it doesn't give me much hope for the rest of it.

As for the trailer that's out, I will say I'm pretty impressed by the bending effects. And that fleet of fire nation ships looks cool. Even Aang doesn't look to bad. (Most of my beef with race is Sokka and Katara, I think they can get away with Aang being white.) I'll wait to see more.

[Usul_Princess]

DB Evolution didn't flop because Goku was white in the film x___X It flopped because it was a bad movie. It was a live action version of Dragonball for crap's sake! Even if they had picked a Japanese man to play Goku, the movie -still- would have flopped.

So, yeah. Culture diversity in movies = good things, and probably would have = very good things for this movie. But really, saying that the only reason Dragonball was a flop at the office is because Goku is white is a HUGE push. It flopped because it sucked

Um, I wasn't implying that the film would have been anymore successful if he was the right race. I was just using DB as an example of a movie having an incorrect race. My post doesn't say much, even though I can understand it being taken out of context, you're completely mistaken. Sorry it wasn't clear.

[Huggles]

Well, the weird thing is that the people in charge are claiming that they are changing the races of basically everyone, for more ethnic diversity. Just like they did for Lord of The Rings. Just because it was inspired by Britain, and Nordic legends and cultures, doesn't mean that everyone has to be white. That's why there were tons of non white people in the movie. Go ahead, just count them all. I dare you. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a success. AMIRITE? I don't think that the race changing is the only reason it will suck because as Joey said, if they don't care that the creators spent so much time researching their inspirations and developing their world, why would they care about anything else that mattered? As far as I'm concerned, they're just milking the franchise for a quick buck, like so many other novel/comic/cartoon series where Hollywood pays no attention to the source material.I'm not going to throw a fit, the series is still there for me to watch and it's great, but I am disappointed.