Scarlett Johannson Quits Movie

[Lennys Tap]

Trans community protests, Scarlett (not being trans and not wanting to offend) quits movie - ensuring that either the movie never gets made or it falls flat. As Pogo said, "We have seen the enemy and it is us".

[warriorchick]

Trans community protests, Scarlett (not being trans and not wanting to offend) quits movie - ensuring that either the movie never gets made or it falls flat. As Pogo said, "We have seen the enemy and it is us".

Trans issue aside, it was a terrible casting choice.  The character she was going to play was a actual person who looked like this in real life:

[tower912]

Politics.    Anyway, lots of theoretical movies don't get made for lots of reasons. 

[Lennys Tap]

Trans issue aside, it was a terrible casting choice.  The character she was going to play was a actual person who looked like this in real life:

The Dude who played Hamilton didn't look much like Alex - still was pretty awesome, IMHO.

[Galway Eagle]

Were you going to see it if it got made? Be honest

[Lennys Tap]

Were you going to see it if it got made? Be honest

Very possibly.I would check IMDB, read reviews, etc.and then decide. I'm a movie guy and will watch anything well done.

[Jockey]

It's very important that we remain offended by everything.

[Pakuni]

The trans community had a fair point, though.
First, ScarJo did nothing wrong in accepting the role and any criticism of her is bull----.

That said, there are an extremely small number of roles for transgender actors and so when a trans character comes along, there's wholly understandable disappointment when that role goes to a non trans actor. I mean, it's not as if trans actors are being afforded opportunities to play non-trans characters, you know?


As for the comment about Hamilton, let's at least recognize that was in no small measure because the creator of the show cast himself in the lead role and it was in a hip-hop musical, not biopic.
Methinks people might have felt differently had Kevin Hart been chosen for the title role in the film "Lincoln."

[Lennys Tap]

As for the comment about Hamilton, let's at least recognize that was in no small measure because the creator of the show cast himself in the lead role and it was in a hip-hop musical, not biopic.
Methinks people might have felt differently had Kevin Hart been chosen for the title role in the film "Lincoln."

Chick said it was bad casting because Johannson doesn't look like the person she is portraying. That's bull. Lots of people (not just Miranda) play people they don't "look like".

[warriorchick]

Chick said it was bad casting because Johannson doesn't look like the person she is portraying. That's bull. Lots of people (not just Miranda) play people they don't "look like".

That doesn't mean I have to think it's a good idea.

I read one article who said that if they can't find a suitable trans male actor, they should cast a cis male.  I vote
 for Patton Oswald.

[Lennys Tap]

The trans community had a fair point, though.


That said, there are an extremely small number of roles for transgender actors and so when a trans character comes along, there's wholly understandable disappointment when that role goes to a non trans actor. I mean, it's not as if trans actors are being afforded opportunities to play non-trans characters, you know?

Baby steps. Right now (probably unfairly) there is no trans actor who is well known enough to carry this film. Biting off your nose to spite your face (and making sure the movie doesn't get made) is counter productive.

[Lennys Tap]

That doesn't mean I have to think it's a good idea.

No, you don't. But lots of creative people who do this for a living disagree with your opinion.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I wonder if Johannson's decision had anything to do with her role with the Ghost in the Shell movie. She received similar criticism for taking on that role instead of a Japanese actress.

[GGGG]

Baby steps. Right now (probably unfairly) there is no trans actor who is well known enough to carry this film. Biting off your nose to spite your face (and making sure the movie doesn't get made) is counter productive.

Why?

[Eldon]

I wonder if Johannson's decision had anything to do with her role with the Ghost in the Shell movie. She received similar criticism for taking on that role instead of a Japanese actress.

Nah man.

Here's the reason

Scarlett Johansson Ditches 'Rub And Tug' To Save 'Black Widow'

https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2018/07/13/scarlett-johansson-ditches-rub-and-tug-to-save-black-widow/#1bbe0e10398d

[Lennys Tap]

Why?

Well, if you want a story told and it isn't because you make demands that those financing the telling won't meet...

[ChitownSpaceForRent]

Well she kinda cast herself. She's one of the producers of the movie. If she was just accepting a job, I think the high amounts of criticism would be a little unwarranted (Eddie Redmayne did a fantastic job in The Danish Girl) but if she cast herself then it gets a little iffy.

[GGGG]

Well, if you want a story told and it isn't because you make demands that those financing the telling won't meet...

Is the movie no longer being made?

[WarriorDad]

Does this mean Sean Penn has to give back his Oscar for Milk?

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Does this mean Sean Penn has to give back his Oscar for Milk?

That's a little different but I suspect you know that.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

That's a little different but I suspect you know that.

Typical for Chicos

[MUBurrow]

This thread is obtuse as sh!t.

The damage didn't come from the original criticism. It came when Scarjo responded to that criticism like an ignorant @$$hole. That made the situation worse, and now she's taking her ball and going home - further proving she really has no interest in the community she was portraying, but was just Oscar hunting.

To then square peg/round hole that situation into a "everyone is too offended" or "trans people hurt their own cause" theme is just confirmation bias.

[Jay Bee]

Can't the people upset with her being in the film just make their own movie? #StopBullying

[WarriorDad]

I thought actors were paid to pretend to be people they aren't.  Did you know Red in Shawshank Redemption is an Irish white guy in the novel.  I loved Morgan Freeman's performance as Red.  Isn't this what actors do? Take on roles of people they aren't? 

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

I thought actors were paid to pretend to be people they aren't.  Did you know Red in Shawshank Redemption is an Irish white guy in the novel.  I loved Morgan Freeman's performance as Red.  Isn't this what actors do? Take on roles of people they aren't?

Red from Shawshank is also a different situation. Red's race was not central to who he was as a character, nor was it central to the plot of the movie. In this case, the fact that the character is trans is the entire focus of the movie....plus the character is an actual person, not a fictional one.

You are also misunderstanding why people are upset. There are so few major roles that trans actors can play, it is upsetting for some people that when a role like this comes along, it goes to a cisgendered actor.

Another example of this was Exodus: Gods and Kings. The movie was about historical figures who were middle eastern....but they cast Christian Bale, Aaron Paul, and a few other white actors.

As Lenny pointed out, one reason is that there simply aren't many trans (or Middle Eastern) actors who are considered big enough names to carry a movie. So they cast cisgendered and white actors. But this creates a cycle. Trans and non-white actors aren't big enough to get lead roles but because they never get lead roles they can never get big enough to have lead roles.

In the end, all these people did was voice their opinion on the matter. It's ok to have a different opinion. Johannson didn't have to respond but she decided to. Personally, I don't see anything to get bent out of shape about.