Sat, Nov 21, 2009
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Name:
Brandon
Comment: Gimme a break!!! Black actors have starred in films about White folks, and White actors have done roles about Black people. Most folks never know the difference anyway. The more important thing is, this teacher taught her students the fundementals of the voting and electoral system.
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Name:
ss69054
Comment: Go head Halle and do ya thang! She always outshines the rest!
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Name:
McNasty
Comment: Big ups to her for keeping it moving in spite of the pitfalls.
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Name:
khufu
Comment: Congrats and bravo!
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Name:
khufu
Comment: Bravo to DreamWorks for the casting!
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Name:
B00TANEB00TUS
Comment: ...Finding the right actor for the right role, huh?....Here I'm thinking they just want another excuse to show Halle screwing a white dude...Silly B00TANE...I also thought they were gonna stick her in the urban jungle to show the dark folks the importance of voting and how even the most disenfranchised of people can make a big difference...Man, they fooled me on this one...I betcha they all join hands at the end and sing that old negro feel good song lean on me...Seriously folks, this sounds like a decent flick....
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Name:
musbdherbs
Comment: WOW! Halle Berry is starring as a yt woman. That's fascinating news. I heard that they were gonna do a biopic of some of the first black elected officials. I believe Jodi Foster was to play Condi and Vince Vaughn Colin...I can't remember the others...WOW!
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Name:
musbdherbs
Comment: sorry..that was supposed to be shirley chisolm
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Name:
poeticalduchess
Comment: Good Morning,
I thought Halle played a white woman ib that movie the Pilot's Wife or something like that. But anyway, did yall hear about Kate Moss not only being in black face but in a full black body for an african edition of Vogue or one of those fashion mags?
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Name:
poeticalduchess
Comment: in that movie
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Name:
B00TANEB00TUS
Comment: Lemme put some vinegar in this water...What if Julia Roberts was chosen to play Ida B. Wells? or Merryl Streep to play Harriet Tubman?...Jack Nicholson to play Thurgood Marshall?...He11, some folks still are upset over Liz Taylor playing Cleopatra and that white dude Civell(?) playing Jesus....Color blind casting is cool for movies not involving historical figures...I just don't wanna see George Glooney (good actor) playing louis Farakhan in the bio-pic....
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Name:
DCGG
Comment: Who gives a fuvk about Halle playing the role - what I'd like to know is whats so special bout some white bytch that runs for congress, white bytches run for congress all the damn time what's so fuvkin special bout this bytch...please whether Halle or Mama Son from the carry-out plays the role- I still ain't wastin my damn coins...
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Name:
khufu
Comment: BOOT excellent point! Hmmmmm...I wonder if Halle looks anything like her. Could it be that the white Congresswoman was passing? Mixed? Again, maybe Halle and she have some facial characteristics in common?
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Name:
khufu
Comment: several years ago, when I was in film school, I went out to LA and tracked down Max Julien who wrote Cleoptara Jones and starred as The Mack. Every once and a while I will call Max...who is a prolific, wonderful and powerful brother!
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Name:
khufu
Comment: sorry wrong post
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Name:
Southernbelle
Comment: Nope, sorry folks I ain't feeling this one and for the very reasons Boot stated. If we start letting Hollyweird change the roles of fact based characters, African Americans will be the ones to suffer from it. For example, it was pretty hot up in here when Oliver Stone decided to cast a white man to play the role of a black man in the movie WTC. The very few roles AA actors and actresses receive are ones based them playing AA characters. I think if we allow them to flip the script on us then it won't be so far fetched to have George Clooney play Minister Farrakhan.
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Name:
gingerg
Comment: I have no interest in seeing this movie. Halle is talented and I'd prefer to see her in a role that has
more depth.
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Name:
khufu
Comment: AGREED..we should not go to see this or watch it on TV.
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Name:
katgrrrl
Comment: Interesting. My initial reaction was it's about time! H'wood's hired whites to play blacks before. Big deal & good for Halle. I might catch this one when it's on cable. If it was Angela B%*$ett, I'd pay to see it cos IMO, Angela's the most talented woman in H'wood. Period. But, Halle, sorry, no. She's gorgeous, but her acting's lightweight.
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Name:
gingerg
Comment: Speaking of decent roles, Anthony Anderson is in The Departed. That has a stellar cast and comes out this weekend. I don't know whether I'll go see it or not, though. I don't have a stomach for graphic violence.
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Name:
Peekiebear
Comment: Remember the critically acclaimed film "River's Edge" about the white kids who stood around in this field and viewed a female classmate's dead body forever and did nothing? The actual news story was that all of the kids were African-American. I noticed that WhitY had no problem turning the whole cast white and gave the film much acclaim and endless news commentaries. Now, if it had been the actual story, it would have been another story about the same old same old- thus no movie. Plus, it is VERY hard work for an actor/actress (or anybody) to get a film to the "green light" stage- years, in fact, so Halle has my full props.
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Name:
yunvme
Comment: Seeing how Halle is both black AND white, what exactly is the argument? If she can play a black woman then based on that she should be able to play white. The argument is a non issue. Now if it were a black actress playing white or a white actress playing black I could see where you all are coming from.
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Name:
yunvme
Comment: oh lawd here we go with the Angela B%*$ett comments. No doubt she is talented but is she versatile? I think not because even in comedies she plays the roles straight up. She plays every role the same.
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Name:
thebaddestchick
Comment: Yunvme - I agree. Halle Berry is biracial. So if she can play a black woman, then why cant she play a white woman. What is the issue again????
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Name:
Gemami
Comment: Based on the description of the story I don’t know if it truly matters if the teacher is black or white… but if we are looking for truthful interpretation, yes, the teacher should be White. But I don’t see this as important as Oliver Stone not having a Black cop play a Black cop in WTC. For something a monumental as the World Trade Center bombing not to have Blacks in the film, especially in a supporting role, is saying the bombing did not affect Blacks, which we know isn’t true. I guess historically Whites have played non-white roles, so if we get to flip it this once… again, I’m on the fence.
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Name:
WHUTTHEFU
Comment: Oh FINALLY someone states that Halle is half white! Why is it such a stretch? I see them baking in the sun (fools!)or spraying on color so lines being crossed all over the place. I guess EUR is all tingly over it cause they only see her as black. Man, when are we gonna get some sense about this stuff?
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Name:
GHank
Comment: This is something....My post on the Tamara Dobson board can also fit in this board and even the Vivca Fox board. I was commenting on how Tamara Dobson and other black actresses were shut out of so many acting opportunities. I said that I really belive that there is a quota system in Hollywood in regards to black actresses. You have Halle Berry and maybe Angela B%*$ett and that's pretty much it. How can an actress like Vivica Fox, Elise Neal, Kimberly Elise, Jada Pinckett...hell even Lisa Raye for that matter hone in on their acting skills if they are not getting the chance? Like I said on the other boards, people would say that Julia Roberts, Helen Hunt and Jodie Fosters of the world are good actresses, but in truth, are they that much better than some of the above names that I have mentioned or others that I haven't named? Halle Berry can't be the only black actress out there. There should be enough roles to go around.
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Name:
write2live32
Comment: I'm with Boot on this. When they picked a white guy who played one of the heroes of 911 in that Oliver Stone movie when the real guy was black, people had a fit on here.
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Name:
Southernbelle
Comment: yunvme>Great point. I respect Halle's right to identify with both her heritages but I think among the masses she's still identified as a black woman, at least professionally. If she weren't then this really would be a mute issue. Gemami>I chose to use the WTC movie as a comparison b/c I thought it was to be a truthful interpretation of the movie since it's states "Halle Berry's next movie role will center on the true story of Tierney Cahill." But, I stand corrected if I was wrong to think that. Personally, I think Halle's a very talented woman can take on many versatile roles. I'd just hate to have movie directors/writers start with this blind eye approach in casting and it's to the demise of several equally talented black actors/actresses.
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Name:
gingerg
Comment: Kimberly Elise is one of the best actresses working today. The projects a depth and skills that is quite unique. Why doesn't she get more movie roles?
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Name:
Gemami
Comment: Southernbelle, For me there was NO reason for WTC not to have a Black actor. It appalled me that no one protested this movie also. I know I will not see it on DVD, cable or bootleg. Also, truth be told, I have my problems with Halle Berry anyway, so I don't see this role as a stretch from her other roles. There's a whole lot of issues for me -- so I'm trying not to be too militant in my thinking -- so I'll stay on the fence for a while.
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Name:
TMan
Comment: B00TANEB00TUS! LOL! Go head and tell it! As the old men say in the barbershop say around the way, "Whatchosay, Doctor?!? You Ain't Never Lied!!!!" LOL!
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Name:
Southernbelle
Comment: Gemami>I think I'll join you on the fence. I'm really not feeling the storyline anyway. I don't think the teacher did any more than any civis teacher would do, except run for Congress and lose. I thought after Catwoman Halle would put much more thought in her roles.
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Name:
Gurlfrand
Comment: Go for it, Halle - keep it moving despite those that would try to come against you. I like Kimberly Elise as well, and when it's her time to get those roles, she will, just like Halle had to wait, Angela had to wait, Lynn had to wait, etc, etc.
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Name:
VickiE
Comment: I'm glad I read the article and now know where they were getting at. As we all know Halle does NOT look white. I had to be told her Mom was white.
Still this is a non-issue. What about Denzel playing that lead role in Crimson Tide? I read that book and did not get any indication that the character was Black. It was about getting the right actor for the role; not not the right race.
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Name:
khufu
Comment: Here we go...it's about to get off track! LOL Really the issue is not Halle being bi-racisl or cross-ethnic or bi-ethnic...the issue is when casting a role that is purely historical, should an actor be cast if that actor is not the same ethnicity/race as the character?
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Name:
McNasty
Comment: Gingerg I think Kimberly Elise is settling nicely into her role as legal counsel on 'Close to Home' I also have to say that there for a little while I thought they weren't going to be able to make a movie without her in it. I'm sure if a project comes along that she's interested in she'll jump at the opportunity. Yunvme I agree Angela Bas sett was overused and it gave us the opportunity to see that she always plays the same way. She's okay as an actress but I wouldn't be writing home about her.
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Name:
khufu
Comment: another issue indirectly implied is: historical fiction and it's re-inventing of pure history.....and historical fiction and it's negative impacts on "truth" and factual depictions...might be too deep for here though
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Name:
khufu
Comment: Hollywood has always mis-represnted Black historical figures e.g. Pharoah, CLeopatra, Egypt, period, Jesus, Beethoven....who else? Moses....
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Name:
McNasty
Comment: GHank while I agree with you totally the only answer is for us to pool our resources and create our own venues. White folks never have been into sharing and be realistic here, the white women you named, while okay looking could not ever hold a candle to the black ones - you think there might be a little jealousy there?
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Name:
khufu
Comment: "mis-represneted and mis-depicted"..Africans, Native Americans, cowboys,..as a matter of fact, remember the films "Pinky" and what's that other one I always forget the name of........
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Name:
khufu
Comment: hmmm I like Kimberly Elise..would she be in my top 10 best Black actresses on the scene now? Hmmmmmmm have to think about that
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Name:
khufu
Comment: Imitation of LIfe.......yeah, white girls were cast as lead characters in both and both characters were supposed to be "Black but passing..."
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Name:
khufu
Comment: McNasty I agree however, when we do that e.g. Tyler Perry..then the issue becomes the quality of the work as well as the fact that a lot of the older Black actors and actresses still arent cast by a lot of us...for instance, I can think of a whole lot of other folks to have cast on House of Payne that were far far far better than those cast......
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Name:
gingerg
Comment: I don't watch Close To Home because I don't think Kimberly should be playing second fiddle to a novice actress. The last time I saw it, her role wasn't developed enough for me.
Now, Ruby Dee and Cicely Tyson are working regularly.
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Name:
ThruTheFire
Comment: The term for this discussion is"non-traditional casting", the term that this was given in the 80s. For more information on what the unions were forced to do since then,search NTCP.
Lou Gossett,Jr. cast as the drill sergeant in "An Officer and a Gentleman, written as a yt won an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor.Senaa Lathan's father, Stan,the Hudlin brothers.etc. began to get the a-list directing gigs.
The role Denzel did in "Manchurain Candidate"and "Inside Man" were both written for Tys. There have also been stage examples of ntc too nummerous to mention. But the fact that it happens everyday so often that we don't even know about it is both a blessing and a curse because yt will never "give" us an equal share of any pie. That's why we must bake more of our own.
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Name:
ThruTheFire
Comment: P.S. Regarding the WTC thing for CBS, the reason that real-life hero was cast as a white man was because the two men that he risked his life to rescue didn't bother to tell the filmakers. That, IMO it's worse to think that they saw who was cast at the very beginning and did not even open there mouths. And one of them is hispanic. He especially should be ashamed
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Name:
Gemami
Comment: ThruTheFire, thanks for that information. Although I didn't know the term I knew alot of directors look for the person best for the role and sometimes that person isn't of the same race. For instance the role of Collins in the play/movie Rent was a written as a white guy, but (can't think of his name) blew them away hence the casting. For me with fiction such liberties can be made, but with nonfiction and biographies -- how much liberty should be taken? I just think if having someone of another race play the charcter in a nonfiction takes away from the story, the authentification of the story, then the director shouldn't take such liberties.
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Name:
khufu
Comment: ah so you know the Non Traditional CAsting Project..I have cast projects using the services
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Name:
goodnplenty1957
Comment: the comments about angela b%*$ett, kimberly elise,,etc..and halle berry is about skin color. those ladies are probably "too ethnic" looking for chez-whitey to accept. almost like the movie COMING TO AMERICA, with the two sisters,,one was light skinned, one was dark skinned...hmmmm which one got chosen?? and wasnt that movie written by a black person? OH AND ONE MORE THING...Rest In Peace Tamara Dobson, you will always be our CLEOPATRA Jones.
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Name:
katgrrrl
Comment: McNasty & Yunvme, lol, you guys have a point. Even when Angela played Tina Turner, she was still playin', as you put it McNasty, "the same way". I just think she plays that way extremely well. It's like Jack Nicholson. I think he's talented, but he seems to play himself all the time! Anywho, I had reservations about even bringing Angela's name into it. After all, this thread's about Halle. It's just that everytime I think of Halle winning the Oscar for "Monster's Ball", it's bittersweet. IMO - Angela shoulda won Best Actress for "What's Love...". Someday, I'll be able to think about Halle without comparing her to Angela. Someday... Oh, and since Kimberly Elise's name has been thrown into the sauce, I have to give her props too. She's fierce!
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Name:
KayKay
Comment: Go'on Halle. I will support this movie, and consider it payback for "Pay It Forward". Kevin Spacey was cast in that movie, and the character he played, which was the main character, was a Black man in real life.
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Name:
khufu
Comment: Home Previous Story Next Story View Comments Post a Comment Send This Page
More Hollywood Remakes Cast Minorities
AR Articles on Indoctrination
The Religion of Anti-Racism (Apr. 1999)
The War on White Heritage (Jul. 2000)
Let’s Hate America (Jan. 2001)
More news stories on Indoctrination
Erin Texeira, AP, June 8
When Jackie Gleason was growing up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn in the 1930s, many of his neighbors resembled his family, Irish and working-class. Today, the residents remain mostly working-class, but almost all are black.
Perhaps, then, it makes sense that a film remake of Gleason’s classic TV comedy “The Honeymooners” would feature a mostly black cast, with Cedric the Entertainer as the new face of loudmouthed Ralph Kramden.
The film, which opens in theaters Friday, reflects a growing trend in recent years called cross-casting—casting minorities in roles originally played by whites. Halle Berry starred in “Catwoman,” Lucy Liu was one of “Charlie’s Angels” and Ashton Kutcher and Bernie Mac recently starred in “Guess Who,” which inverted the racial casting in the 1967 classic “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.”
Colorblind casting in remakes, some say, is a hopeful sign that Hollywood executives are increasingly understanding that talented actors of color can fill prominent roles—and drive ticket sales.
{snip}
Such casting does not always go smoothly. In Glenelg, Md., last month, a high school production of “Huckleberry Finn” had a black Huck Finn and a white Jim, but the copyright holder objected to the cross-casting and the performances were edited out of a C-SPAN talent show. And when Ving Rhames took the title role in the new “Kojak” on USA Network, critics brought him to tears during a promotional event in Los Angeles when they pummeled him with questions about how he could be believable in a role originally played by a Greek-American.
{snip}
But when it comes to ethnic diversity, most studio heads “think like their grandfathers,” said Gabrielle Union, who plays Alice Kramden in “The Honeymooners.”
“The younger demographic wants diversity,” she said. “Give them what they want.”
{snip}
Original article
(Posted on June 13, 2005)
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Name:
khufu
Comment: http://www.amren.com/mtnews/archives/2005/06/more_holl ywood.php
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Name:
khufu
Comment: and that's how crackers think.
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Name:
TinayPretty
Comment: Give Me A Break EVERYONE!!!...This is way 2 much drama over Halle playing the role of a white woman. Good grief, the woman is half white...what da hail is da problem??????????????? Why r so many of u offended by her playing this role?? Especially since the concensus so far is that most of u have no interest n seein it......MOVE ON!!!!!
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Name:
duckapoo
Comment: When she gone birth dat baby/
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Name:
katgrrrl
Comment: TinayPretty: True!
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