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Are you for real? Is this a troll or are you seriously suggesting ethnic cleansing for tv/films?
I'm speechless if this idiocy is real, like we are an island that needs pure national entertainment. Seems to me that a guy tried this in Germany starting in the 1930's as well... how did that turn out?
Don't be a dolt. He's not suggesting ethnic cleansing. It's the same logic applied to the issue of outsourcing in the tech world, the issues with H1B. American based companies are hiring a lot of foreign, mostly British and Commonwealth natives, because they're cheaper than high end American stars and they believe they're classically trained.
I can see the argument for both sides but I dislike this knee jerk reaction from people such as yourself to those who ask if anyone notices a trend? Why can't people ask these things without being shouted down for being a Nazi? Why does it elicit such vitriol and knee jerk SJWism?
Look, the issue is pretty simple. Some of these traditionally American icons such as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and others are being played by foreigners. People may notice that. But that's as far as I want to go with it, I don't personally want to bar anyone from getting a part but I do think companies are doing this on purpose because of the reasons I listed above, not because they've just found the right person for the part or because they're on location in some foreign country.
Samuel L. Jackson brought this exact same issue up but it was about black Brits playing black American roles. Is he a Nazi? And that was for Get Out, not a traditionally American role.
Companies can afford to spend money on whoever they want. Batman 1989 was filmed entirely in the UK with a mostly American cast and an American lead for Batman. So it's not about location.
And you guys can bring up all the comic book history you want, those characters were designed for Americans. They were American icons for the longest time. I don't even know how you can explain away Captain America or Superman.
Last point, I just want to know if all of a sudden Americans started to play most of, or heck 90% of all iconic British roles wouldn't Brits notice? I am not even talking about complaining, but just take notice and say something. Would you call them Nazis? Even if they said, hey let's have some parts left for Brits too, eh? You can mention Sherlock Holmes and Maggie Thatcher which were played by Americans, but I am talking if it became an ongoing trend that most of the iconic Brits were being played by Americans, from Bond, to Mr. Bean, to Benny Hill, to Winston Churchill, to the Avengers, etc, etc, etc, etc, all in the span of a decade or so. You really don't think any Brit would notice? Get real. Same if Australians started noticing all their icons, some that they're sure Americans have never heard of, were being played by Americans.
And quit acting so knee jerk about this topic. Just debate it rationally.
The Wonder Woman/Superman are American icons argument is really getting old. Mainly it is brought up by people who don't understand comic book history.
Wonder Woman, Superman, Captain America and other comic book characters were created in the late 30's and early 40's as American propaganda pieces which was common for many forms of media during WWII. This isn't a bad thing as it was but once the war ended and when the 1960's came around having these characters with this ultra patriotic fervor would not age well so it became time to downplay that and play up other aspects of their characters.
Look at the Marvel comics characters created in the 1960's. Look at Thor, he like Wonder Woman has his background in norse mythology just like Wonder Woman has her background in Greek Mythology but why isn't Thor looked upon as an American icon by some like Wonder Woman? Let me guess, because he wasn't created for propaganda purposes. He was created in the 1960's where there was a different attitude towards patriotism and is Wonder Woman or Superman were created in the same time period than they would not be presented as American icons.
Captain America existence has to revolve around a patriotic theme because it's in his name and he is actually an human being born in America and even his stance on what American values mean has changed with the time.
You can make a case for how this character or that character wasn't designed to be American all you want, but the issue remains, why cast a foreigner if the movie is being financed by a company that is based in the States and it's main commercial audience is American? I don't know how much that is relevant these days with the international markets, especially Chine, but the main bread and butter is still American audiences. International markets mainly pick up the rest.
Samuel L. Jackson got the ball rolling with Get Out. The point is WHY? Why cast a Brit for a role that could've gone to an American who understands the black American experience better and especially for a movie that was targeted for Americans about the black American experience?
Why did MLK have to be British in Selma? Why did Batman have to be British? Spider-Man?
That is the issue. Why? Why does the part need to go to a foreigner and not an American? That is the question that for some reason riles people up and elicits some social justice warrior rage and conjures up images of xenophobic Trump supporters wanting to ethnically cleanse Hollywood. When it's the same logic that makes up any questions surrounding globalization and not hiring American.
I still think it has more to with Brits and Commonwealth actors being slightly cheaper than high end American stars and because there is this belief that they're better than American actors because they're classically trained in the theater. That is mostly why I gather American companies hiring foreigners a lot in the recent decade.
I still think it has more to with Brits and Commonwealth actors being slightly cheaper than high end American stars and because there is this belief that they're better than American actors because they're classically trained in the theater. That is mostly why I gather American companies hiring foreigners a lot in the recent decade.
I don't know whether or not they're classically trained, but in many cases, they are far superior actors. I can't think of any American actor who could have played MLK better than David Oyelowo. Perhaps if American actors spent more time developing their talent rather than focusing on trying to get discovered ...
I don't know whether or not they're classically trained, but in many cases, they are far superior actors. I can't think of any American actor who could have played MLK better than David Oyelowo. Perhaps if American actors spent more time developing their talent rather than focusing on trying to get discovered ...
Hey I am not denying that perhaps they are better, but the guy was relatively unknown in the states, so you're saying they couldn't have found a classically trained American actor to play the role? If you're thinking of a bankable American star, I guess I could see your point, but neither was David Oyelowo bankable either.
I just think that studios think they're getting top quality for cheaper. Who knows, maybe they're right.
Personally I think Jeffrey Wright could blow a lot of British actors out of the water. So can John Hawkes, John Ortiz, Clifton Collins Jr, etc. These are all American character actors that are superb in a lot of the roles they play in. Very subtle and probably mostly recognized by their peers. Americans are very good at character acting. So this notion that Brits are just better is just bandwagon stuff that I am sure the studio heads eat up which is why they go overseas.
Hey I am not denying that perhaps they are better, but the guy was relatively unknown in the states, so you're saying they couldn't have found a classically trained American actor to play the role?
Apparently not. You assume they didn't try.
Quote:
Originally Posted by radiolibre99
Personally I think Jeffrey Wright could blow a lot of British actors out of the water. So can John Hawkes, John Ortiz, Clifton Collins Jr, etc.
Can't comment. Other than the first (who I only know from Hunger Games) I haven't heard of any of them. If I've seen any of their performances, they weren't terribly memorable.
Can't comment. Other than the first (who I only know from Hunger Games) I haven't heard of any of them. If I've seen any of their performances, they weren't terribly memorable.
I think that's the point. You have top quality American talent here. To people who know cinema and know acting, those actors I listed are known to be great character actors. All of them except for one have been nominated for an Academy Award.
Hey I am not denying that perhaps they are better, but the guy was relatively unknown in the states, so you're saying they couldn't have found a classically trained American actor to play the role? If you're thinking of a bankable American star, I guess I could see your point, but neither was David Oyelowo bankable either.
I just think that studios think they're getting top quality for cheaper. Who knows, maybe they're right.
Personally I think Jeffrey Wright could blow a lot of British actors out of the water. So can John Hawkes, John Ortiz, Clifton Collins Jr, etc. These are all American character actors that are superb in a lot of the roles they play in. Very subtle and probably mostly recognized by their peers. Americans are very good at character acting. So this notion that Brits are just better is just bandwagon stuff that I am sure the studio heads eat up which is why they go overseas.
I think Jeffrey Wright DID play Dr. King in a television special (didn't look it up to make sure tho)
So maybe that precluded him making a return visit...and while I agree that Wright is a great actor--Oyelowo is much more sexier...
Casting movies is about money--
Getting a profit out of the product
Some actors ARE chosen for their global appeal--whether they are Americans or not--or whether they can act or not---
Saw a British show on BBC based on Len Deighton's what-if novel about Germany successfully invading England in WWII...one of the lead Nazis was played by a Scandanavian actor---apparently he does quite a few Nazi roles because of his "look" == think the Brits were complaining about that?
The American journalist who is a spy for pro-Brit interests was played by an American--Kate Boswell --acting ability questionable but she had a great "look" for that era...sort of Veronica Lake-esque if you know that actress... And I am sure there were British actresses who could do an American accent... But likely that series will be marketed to PBS or BBCAmerica and a "known" American name might help make the sale...
I think Jeffrey Wright DID play Dr. King in a television special (didn't look it up to make sure tho)
So maybe that precluded him making a return visit...and while I agree that Wright is a great actor--Oyelowo is much more sexier...
Casting movies is about money--
Getting a profit out of the product
Some actors ARE chosen for their global appeal--whether they are Americans or not--or whether they can act or not---
Saw a British show on BBC based on Len Deighton's what-if novel about Germany successfully invading England in WWII...one of the lead Nazis was played by a Scandanavian actor---apparently he does quite a few Nazi roles because of his "look" == think the Brits were complaining about that?
The American journalist who is a spy for pro-Brit interests was played by an American--Kate Boswell --acting ability questionable but she had a great "look" for that era...sort of Veronica Lake-esque if you know that actress... And I am sure there were British actresses who could do an American accent... But likely that series will be marketed to PBS or BBCAmerica and a "known" American name might help make the sale...
I am not saying Jeffrey Wright should've played Dr. King, just that there are American actors that are superb at what they do and I don't even have to mention the bankable ones. Personally, I do agree that a lot of bankable American actors aren't as great as Brits but there are American actors who can blow Brits out of the water and Jeffrey Wright certainly is one of them. I doubt any Brit could've pulled off what Wright did in Basquiat. I doubt any Brit could've played a better gangster or convict in 187 or Capote. John Ortiz in Narc and American Gangster was really, really good. John Hawkes in Winters Bone, 'nuff said. But you'd have to be a big film buff or an actors yourself to appreciate these under-valued subtle American character actors. Not saying Brits couldn't, but that these American actors in my opinion, are masters at the character acting. Foreign character actors that are also masters at this are Brit Gary Oldman and Maori New Zealander Cliff Curtis. The only famous bankable character actor I can think of is Johnny Depp. The rest are method actors; Sean Penn, Benecio Del Toro, etc.
And I don't think any Brit would complain about a few roles going to Americans. They haven't after Sherlock Holmes, The Iron Lady or Bridget Jones. But if there was an ongoing trend and they started to see everyone from Dr. Who to Captain Britain, to remakes of Mr. Bean, Benny Hill, the Avengers, or biographical stuff with Winston Churchill, Oliver Cromwell, King Arthur, etc, etc. All in the span of a a decade, only to be culminated in the new Bond being a Yank. They would say something. They would stupid not to notice and they'd ask why and it wouldn't make them Nazis. And just by questioning a trend, it doesn't mean they would bar Americans from getting those roles. They would probably just be curious at to why British companies and the BBC aren't hiring as many Brits or Commonwealth natives.
I think that's the point. You have top quality American talent here. To people who know cinema and know acting, those actors I listed are known to be great character actors. All of them except for one have been nominated for an Academy Award.
We don't know who was considered and who wasn't, we don't know who responded to casting calls and who didn't, we don't know whose agents were asleep at the wheel and whose weren't. We don't know when casting has been slanted toward world markets and when it hasn't.
But we do know that in such a case as the nationality of the actors, it's all about the Benjamins.
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