Another voice comes forward to address the continued black lash over the Ghost in the Shell adaptation, and this time American Ultra writer Max Landis explains shares a reason as to why this level of whitewashing continues to pervade Hollywood.
Speaking in a Vlog Rant on Youtube, he explains the level of control a company has towards a film project and the apparent unseen guidelines that must be met in order for the film to be produced in Hollywood.
“There are really only 10 or 15 men who get movies made – two of them are black, Denzel and Will Smith, the rest are white. And there is about five women who can get your movie made, and one of them is Scarlett Johansson” he said “I think they’re all distressingly white”.
Not only does his point touch upon the white-washing issue present in Hollywood, but also the continuing presence of gender imbalance. He continues his explanation by suggesting that “A risky movie with a crazy concept like Ghost in the Shell? You better f**king believe they’re going to cast Scarlett Johansson because they need the movie to work”.
Implying that the issue is down to who is on the A-list, which in recent years, has become predominantly white. He adds some possible justification towards casting Johansson as the main lead, in which he states that “now you get a Ghost in the Shell movie.”
He certainly provides valid points as to why the studio may have decided to go through such lengths to make the movie, as in other attempts to circumvent their casting decision, they have hired Japanese actors such as Takeshi Kitano playing a major role aswell.
However such a decision has had a massive downfall in the past, especially when adaptations of popular material featuring Asian characters get replaced by white actors. To those who cannot remember, let us remind you two major film flops, Dragonball Evolution and The Last Airbender.
#Peace.Love.GITS
