I'll start with an example...
Akira. A beloved property. Ideally, you'd cast an Asian lead actor. I'd love to think as a society, we're there. I get excited by diversity in film and tv, every time I see it. But Garrett Hedlund got cast, considered to be a bankable star. I imagine there were executives who would have loved to cast a bankable Asian actor in that role, but felt they couldn't find one or felt too limited. Maybe they tried. Maybe not. I don't know the story.
But as writers who may adapt minority roles, it's easy to see how disheartening it can be to not get an actor that feels authentic to the character. All you have to do is read some threads that are terrified by the decision to make Kaneda from Akira a white dude.
So if the studio says - this is the route we're going - what's the best way to handle it? If you're adapting a beloved property like an Akira, how would you go?
In Departed, it was a complete adaptation, change of character, venue, and title name. (And it was a very successful film.)
In Old Boy, it was a change of ethnicity, names. In Dragonball, a more awkward version, with a white lead playing a character with a Japanese name.
Like I said, ideally you would cast authentically. But when your hand is forced and you have to adapt a beloved property, what would your take be?
Akira. A beloved property. Ideally, you'd cast an Asian lead actor. I'd love to think as a society, we're there. I get excited by diversity in film and tv, every time I see it. But Garrett Hedlund got cast, considered to be a bankable star. I imagine there were executives who would have loved to cast a bankable Asian actor in that role, but felt they couldn't find one or felt too limited. Maybe they tried. Maybe not. I don't know the story.
But as writers who may adapt minority roles, it's easy to see how disheartening it can be to not get an actor that feels authentic to the character. All you have to do is read some threads that are terrified by the decision to make Kaneda from Akira a white dude.
So if the studio says - this is the route we're going - what's the best way to handle it? If you're adapting a beloved property like an Akira, how would you go?
In Departed, it was a complete adaptation, change of character, venue, and title name. (And it was a very successful film.)
In Old Boy, it was a change of ethnicity, names. In Dragonball, a more awkward version, with a white lead playing a character with a Japanese name.
Like I said, ideally you would cast authentically. But when your hand is forced and you have to adapt a beloved property, what would your take be?
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