M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender

[doug maverick]

on that we agree, he peaked with the sixth sense and has yet to find a new niche on which to continue.

[Zenshiite]

I am heartened to know that the the Avatar fanbase is engaged in a letter writing campaign directly to Paramount Pictures expressing their disgust at the obvious racism of the casting choices for this movie.

[冠木侍]

on that we agree, he peaked with the sixth sense and has yet to find a new niche on which to continue.

I liked The Village actually. What is a shame is the fact that most of his movies have no replay/rewatch value.

Sixth Sense is an exception in my opinion.

I have yet to watch all of Avatar. I wonder if the live action movie would be better left to an HK director....? I think so. The martial arts aspect would really shine on the screen. The casting choices leave a bitter taste in my mouth.

[Zenshiite]

I think Sammo could direct the crap outta an Avatar movie. He could choreograph it, and be Uncle Iroh too.

We need another little dude like Xie Miao to play Avatar. Anyone know of any little kids that have played Shaolin monks recently and have good kung fu?

Heck, I'd rather see Donnie Yen play Zuko than Jessy McCartney and Donnie is clearly too old for that part!

[TenTigers]

Hoy Lee's kids and Calvin Chin has a wunderkund in his school wo would be great. They should have held casting calls at Kung-Fu/Wu-Shu tournaments, but NOOOOOOOOO...

[Zenshiite]

So, does anyone know if the creators of the show are ****ed about this at all?

Who knows if wushu kids could even act, the dancers suggestion from doug makes perfect sense in many cases. What I don't get is why they are using all these "beautiful" white kids rather than kids that might be better for the part.

If there was ever an argument against these casting decisions outside of it obviously being quite racist... it's that the believability of the whole thing goes out the window when you've got a bunch of Anglos wearing East Asian clothing, doing East Asian martial arts, writing East Asian pictographs and eating East Asian food in traditional settings for such things. Spouting East Asian philosophy no less.

Are they going to take all of that stuff out and end up with yet another Euro fantasy?

I say fire M. Night... hire Tsui Hark and Sammo and do this thing up Fant-Asia style.

[GeneChing]

Wannabe Asian? Pull your hair up and get a tan...

Jan 15 2009 8:04 AM EST
'Twilight' Star Jackson Rathbone Hopes To 'Show His Range' In 'Last Airbender'
Actor says his character in the upcoming M. Night Shyamalan film is 'less serious than Jasper.'
By Larry Carroll

WEST HOLLYWOOD, California — "Twilight" star Jackson Rathbone is a busy guy these days, between getting ready to film "New Moon" in March and a side gig as lead singer/ keyboardist/ guitarist/ bass player/ everything else for his band 100 Monkeys.

Nevertheless, the fast-rising actor/musician is still finding time to catch some air.

"I'm focusing mostly on music and another movie I have coming up," the 24-year-old actor told us about the high-profile gig he recently landed after one of Hollywood's most iconic directors recruited him. "We're going to be working on 'The Last Airbender' with M. Night Shyamalan, so that's very exciting."

The "Sixth Sense" director is hard at work adapting the popular cartoon about an "Avatar" hoping to save the world through a mix of martial arts and elemental manipulation. "It was great. They flew us all out to Philly," Rathbone remembered of his audition. "I got to meet the other castmembers that they hired on. I got to read with them, even. It was a blast. It was a great chance to get a free trip to Philly and get a chance to meet M. Night. He's an incredibly nice guy, and I think we hit it off pretty well, and now I get to play Sokka."

A young warrior of the Southern Water Tribe, Rathbone's Sokka will accompany his cinematic sister Katara (Nicola Peltz, "Deck the Halls") as they help the heroic Aang (newcomer Noah Ringer) take on evil. Jesse McCartney is also reportedly onboard. "It's a fantastic show," Rathbone said of the Nickelodeon animated series. "I've always loved that kind of deep, mythical fantasy. It's got a lot about the four elements: water, fire, earth, wind. It's just really cool. It's a really interesting series and such a cool character. I've always liked the show, and I thought it would be fun.

"For me, it's a great chance to show my range a little bit more," Rathbone added, comparing Sokka to his "Twilight" character. "It's a chance to do something a little funnier. Something less serious than Jasper."

Due in theaters in summer 2010, "Airbender" has already begun to face a bit of controversy over the casting of white actors like Rathbone, Ringer and McCartney to play Asian characters — a concern the actor was quick to dismiss. "I think it's one of those things where I pull my hair up, shave the sides, and I definitely need a tan," he said of the transformation he'll go through to look more like Sokka."It's one of those things where, hopefully, the audience will suspend disbelief a little bit."

He's also excited to work with Shyamalan on what's not only being envisioned as a trilogy, but also as an eagerly anticipated departure from the director's typical "thriller with a twist" flicks. "I think 'Airbender' has a lot of suspenseful twists as a TV show, but I think it's something he's really looking forward to, for expanding his own horizons," Rathbone said. "He has kids. How many films has he made that his kids would be able to watch? So I think it's really great that he's making a family film. I have a sister; it's exciting to make a film that my whole family can enjoy."

So, soon enough, Rathbone will put down his banjo-lele and pick up a badass sword.

"It's just an action-packed, epic film," he beamed. "I'm starting to do martial-arts training, which is going to be so much fun, and we're doing a lot of interesting work with the green screen. It's such a mythical world. We get to go to Asia, go film abroad. It's just going to be such a blast."

Check out everything we've got on "The Last Airbender."

[SimonM]

Good grief!

[doug maverick]

wow that was some real racist **** that little kid said. and shame on M. night for co-signing that cast, he should no better.

[Zenshiite]

I hate this movie more than I already did...

I'm sticking with the show.

[GeneChing]

From Josh Whedon's Dr. Horrible

10. NOBODY'S ASIAN IN THE MOVIES
Music and Lyrics by Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon
Performed by Maurissa Tancharoen

I WROTE ALL PENNY’S LINES AND HER SONG, YOU KNOW
I EVEN SANG HER PART UP ON THE DEMO
BUT WHEN IT’S TIME TO CAST THE SHOW
DID THEY WANT SOMEBODY YELLOW - HELL NO

NOBODY’S ASIAN IN THE MOVIES
NOBODY’S ASIAN ON TV
IF THERE IS A PART THERE FOR US
IT’S THE GROUPIE IN THE CHORUS
THAT’S ME

I BEGGED AND I PLEADED PLEASE DON’T PASS ME BY
THEY SAY, HEY GIVE US A HAND
GO STAND IN THE BACK WITH THAT FAT GUY
MY ROLE, THOUGH BE IT BRIEF, AT LEAST
IT ISN’T VIET CONG, IT’S COMIC RELIEF

NOBODY’S ASIAN IN THE MOVIES
NOBODY’S ASIAN ON TV
IF THERE IS A PART THERE FOR US
IT’S A NINJA, A PHYSICIAN
OR A GOOFY MATHEMATICIAN
OR A GROUPIE IN THE CHORUS
THAT’S ME

WHO DO THEY WANT BEFORE THEY WANT AN ASIAN?
A MEXICAN
WHO DO THEY WANT BEFORE THEY WANT AN ASIAN?
A BLACK
WHO DO THEY WANT BEFORE THEY WANT AN ASIAN?
A PERSIAN, OR A CAJUN, OR AN INDIAN
OR AN AMERICAN-INDIAN PLAYED BY A MEXICAN
OR IF YOU’RE LUCKY SOMEONE ASIAN
LIKE ME

Jed:
But Maurissa, movies couldn’t even be made without Asians.
We need them to play the parts we’re not willing to.

Maurissa:
You’re right, Jed!

WITHOUT THE ASIANS IN THE MOVIES
WITHOUT THE ASIANS ON TV
WHO’D PLAY THE GOOFY MATHEMATICIAN
THE COMPUTER TECHNICIAN
A WISE OLD HEALER FROM JAPAN
A SHORT BUT WEALTHY BUSINESSMAN
SELL KOREAN GROCERIES
DO YOUR LAUNDRY THANK YOU, PRREASE
WE’RE THE VICTIMS OF A CRIME
WE’LL BE LOVING YOU LONG TIME
IF YOUR MOVIE IS A BORE JUST
WATCH THE GROUPIE IN THE CHORUS
THAT’S ME

Maurissa:
I guess my parents will be proud of me after all.

Jed:
What does your dad do again?

Maurissa:
Oh! He’s a nerdy, funny scientist.

the youtube version.

[SimonM]

DR. Horrible is the 2nd best musical ever made.

The best being the Evil Dead musical.

[golgo]

wow that was some real racist **** that little kid said. and shame on M. night for co-signing that cast, he should no better.

What did he say that was racist?

[Wil-Hung]

It seems as though the target audience will be a younger demographic over here. It will BOMB in Asia, but will probably be a big hit here with lots of Wire and CG. I HATE WIRE in MA movies. I'm upset about it, but being a 45 year old new Hung Ga student (started 3 yrs ago) I am NOT the targeted audience. My main problem with it is that's exactly what they did with David Carradine 30+ years ago with the tv show "Kung Fu". While it was a hit, picture for a minute how much more superior that show would have been if the original actor had played the role. For those that don't know, that would be Mr. Bruce Lee. If the setting is ancient China, I'm thinking the actual filming should be done there and maybe, just maybe, the leads should be indigenous to the setting. I know, I know... that's just crazy talk.

[golgo]

For those that don't know, that would be Mr. Bruce Lee. If the setting is ancient China, I'm thinking the actual filming should be done there and maybe, just maybe, the leads should be indigenous to the setting. I know, I know... that's just crazy talk.

Well... this is a cartoon set in a made-up world with made-up peoples, so you might have a little bit of difficulty doing that. However, since the world seemed to have been largely based on asian cultures, I am not sure what their current line of thinking is. I for one will wait until I see the movie to pass any judgements on their casting choices.