Ghost in the Shell | March 31, 2017 | Scarlett Johansson | Paramount | New Trailer on page 43!!!

[filmlover]

lol what was Paramount so nervous about?

[antovolk]

6 minutes ago, filmlover said:

lol what was Paramount so nervous about?

Whitewashing backlash from English language press

[PPZVGOS]

6 minutes ago, antovolk said:

Whitewashing backlash from English language press

 

Am I the only one who finds that the character of Major from the original Ghost in the Shell is clearly a European? Which means that in matter of fact, Scarlett Johansson is perfect for the role? 

[Valonqar]

If this thing breaks out at the last moment, paramount better send gifts to critics cause they are single-handedly saving this movie's face. Buzz was non-existing, tracking blah, so if this manages to open over 30M let alone Lucy number (40+) that's going to be only on reviews that somehow gave it a pass for being an uninspiring remake but OMG GREAT VISUALS. 

 

I gotta say critical pass for this is one of bigger surprises this year considering that critics gave such tough time to BatB for being a faithful remake. The way things are looking, GitS may end up with higher score than BatB cause right now it's obvious that backlash is not happening. Bullet dodged now lets see if GA bites.

[Arlborn]

This weekend's conversation around here will be all about whitewashing, won't it?

 

 

Edited March 30, 2017 by Arlborn

[eXtacy]

Could still get certified fresh on RT if this keeps up

[Barnack]

1 hour ago, PPZVGOS said:

 

Am I the only one who finds that the character of Major from the original Ghost in the Shell is clearly a European? Which means that in matter of fact, Scarlett Johansson is perfect for the role? 

 

She could have but in the movie apparently 

Spoiler

her shell body has a Japanese mother and was Japanese when she was young, making it really strange artistically in a vacuum (outside any politics).

 

[Krissykins]

The Hollywood Reporter: budget $110m

 

Tracking at mid $20m. Will really need overseas to show up.

[Valonqar]

3 minutes ago, Krissykins said:

The Hollywood Reporter: budget $110m

 

Tracking at mid $20m. Will really need overseas to show up.

 

That's not a bad budget (though likely downplayed considerably). It needs about 275M to break even which is doable, unless Fate of the Furious opens OS early. That one will obliterate other action options.

Edited March 30, 2017 by Valonqar

[ban1o]

31 minutes ago, Barnack said:

 

She could have but in the movie apparently 

  Hide contents

her shell body has a Japanese mother and was Japanese when she was young, making it really strange artistically in a vacuum (outside any politics).

 

it's blatant white washing. Like extremely blatant. Y'all can like the movie but I don't know how you can deny that bullshit. 

 

Anyway critics are saving this movie. 

[ban1o]

4 hours ago, Fullbuster said:

 

I'm fine about being politically corect, in diverse societies it's necessary. However in that case it's useless, people in Japan aren't even hurt about it, on the contrary they're happy about Scarlett because that means more success for the movie and the franchise. In that case these reviewers are all alone, defending people who don't ask for it.

This statement is so ignorant. Japanese Americans are hurt by it. I've read multiple think pieces from Asian Americans about this. 

Edited March 30, 2017 by ban1o

[eXtacy]

14 minutes ago, ban1o said:

it's blatant white washing. Like extremely blatant. Y'all can like the movie but I don't know how you can deny that bullshit. 

 

Anyway critics are saving this movie. 

 

Do you even know the source material. Like really?

[JohnnyGossamer]

Being honest, I don't recall her looking very Asian when I watched the Japanese anime from the mid-90s.

[MCKillswitch123]

I think that they should've cast a Japanese-American actress in the role. She won't bring ScarJo's numbers, but it would be a more faithful recreation of the source material.

 

That being said, "BLATANT WHITEWASHING BOYCOTT THIS MOVIE~!!!!!" and shit like that is a big overreaction. The Major was a cyborg. Yes, based on a Japanese woman and appropriated w/Japanese culture, but a cyborg nonetheless. Her physical appearance could've easily been anything, and it being the one of an American woman still doesn't change that she probably will be appropriated the Japanese way. It's not like they're casting Chloe Moretz as Sakura the Card Captor, an actual living Japanese teenage girl (in the anime, that is). Plus, anime characters look more Caucasian than Asian if you really think about it.

Edited March 30, 2017 by MCKillswitch123

[ainsleyb]

Saw this today.

 

It's alright, the effects are impressive, there are a couple of nice looking action scenes, the acting is solid too but it feels like it's missing something. It's not particularly deep, I'm not familiar with the anime so I had no connection to the characters going in and I felt like the trailers gave away the story.

 

Overall I'd say 6/10, worth a watch but only once.

[dashrendar44]

10 minutes ago, eXtacy said:

 

Do you even know the source material. Like really?

Nowhere in the source material, the Major Motoko Kusanagi is associated with anything caucasian. It's just ethnocentric projection at work.

[JohnnyGossamer]

Gonna try to catch this tonight. Looks like passable fun with some eye popping shit to keep me smiling.

[Nova]

Here we go again. 

 

It wasn't people in Japan who were offended by the casting....they don't care because they live in a country where all the stars are Japanese. The criticism for the casting came from Japanese Americans who felt this was an opportunity for a Japanese actor to become the face of a blockbuster film. To assume that the casting is fine because people in Japan are okay with it, is to ignore where the criticism even stemmed from. 

 

Having said that....as was stated the studio felt that the best way for this film to gain exposure and to make money is to cast Scarjo. The same way the studio felt it was necessary to cast Matt damon in The Great Wall. The latter didn't pay off for the studio and it remains to be seen whether Scarjo's casting will benefit the studio the way they wanted it to. 

 

The bottomline is at the end of the day this industry is a business. The decisions they're making are made from a business standpoint and not something they do in order to be racist or problematic. If they felt casting a Japanese American would have made them more money then that's what they would have done. In the end there's a reason why certain actors/actresses get to be in the mid to high budget blockbusters. It's because the studio feels it's a better investment to have someone that folks actually know star in their mid to high budget film than a nobody that's going to get the film zero exposure. 

 

No one is forcing you to watch this film. And even if this movie bombs or fails or whatever you want to call it, Hollywood studios are still going to cast the actor or actress with name recognition in their big budget films that they feel is going to bring in the money for the studio.

 

Would I have preferred a Japanese American take the role? Absolutely. But I also understand that this industry is a business and that this movie wouldn't get made with the budget it has and hence the amazing visuals it has unless an actress like Scarjo was attached to it. 

Edited March 30, 2017 by Nova

[RedX]

This is getting tired 

[grey ghost]

29 minutes ago, ban1o said:

it's blatant white washing. Like extremely blatant. Y'all can like the movie but I don't know how you can deny that bullshit. 

 

Anyway critics are saving this movie. 

 

Even the guy who did the original anime was like, "her race doesn't matter, her body is 100% machine".