Racebending has a post up entitled ‘47 Ronin and the Hollywood Outcast’. There were a bevy of similar articles when it was first announced that Keanu Reeves would be starring in 47 Ronin. Now that the film is starting to get more attention with the release of the artwork that was slated for it’s original release in 2012 and more news to come as promotion for the film picks up, it looks like this topic will be revisited.
The post makes very valid points and there is definitely a problem and barriers that Asian actors are faced with. I don’t know what the answer is. Studios, though, are in the business of making money and when it comes to Box Office, they are going to go with the A-list actor that can deliver it. I am not saying that it’s fair or right but it is what it is.
With respect to the last comments:
And when 47 Ronin–which is rapidly congealing into a swirling miasma of major delays,unnecessary 3-D, the Hollywood makeover of a classic story, studio meddling, and a increasingly swollen budget– ultimately fails…will the majority-Asian cast take the blame?
if the film doesn’t deliver, it will be laid at the feet of Reeves and Rinsch.
The entire article can be read here. Link via google alert.