Casting Film Couples Race is still a black-and-white issue - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Cynthetiq · 03-10-2005, 11:05 AM

Quote:

In casting film couples, race is still a black-and-white issue
By Renée Graham, Globe Staff
March 8, 2005
LINK

A movie as innocuous and undemanding as ''Hitch" usually isn't the kind of film that sparks vigorous sociocultural debates.

Yet, that's what's happening following comments by the film's star, Will Smith, about the creative hand-wringing involved in casting his leading lady. Seems the studio suits declined to pair Smith with an African-American actress, fearing such a coupling would make the film too black for worldwide audiences. (It's hard to fathom Smith could ever be deemed too black.) Conversely, they also steered clear of hiring a white actress as Smith's love interest out of concerns that an interracial relationship would offend some American moviegoers, and hurt the movie's earning potential.

''There's sort of an accepted myth that if you have two black actors, a male and a female, in the lead of a romantic comedy, that people around the world don't want to see it," Smith told the Birmingham Post, a British newspaper, while promoting his film overseas. ''We spend $50-something million making this movie and the studio would think that was tough on their investment. So the idea of a black actor and a white actress comes up -- that'll work around the world, but it's a problem in the US"

Hence, the role went to Eva Mendes, a lovely young actress, who, more importantly, is a light-skinned Latina of Cuban descent.

Is this really the year 2005?

Even the most cynical onlooker had to be taken aback by Smith's honesty. It offered a brief, but telling glance inside the Hollywood studios as they try to concoct movie formulas with the widest possible appeal. What's surprising is that even Smith, as close to guaranteed box office gold as any current movie star, doesn't have the juice to choose his costar when it comes to a romantic interest. More disheartening, though, is the notion that moviegoers will still avoid certain films simply because of the race of their stars.

At least that's what Hollywood believes, and the suits can probably produce the research to back up such decisions. Years ago, when Jennifer Lopez's profile was beginning to rise, my uncle predicted that audiences would never again see her paired with a black actor, like Wesley Snipes in ''Money Train," as her romantic lead.

He was right. Most recently, her costars have been Ralph Fiennes (''Maid in Manhattan"), former fiancé Ben Affleck (''Gigli" and ''Jersey Girl"), and Matthew McConaughey (''The Wedding Planner). Later this year, she'll star opposite Michael Vartan of TV's ''Alias" in the comedy ''Monster-in-Law."

As for Smith, he's had few African-American leading ladies throughout his career. Most memorably, you would have to go back to 2001, and his Academy Award-nominated performance in ''Ali," and since that's a film biography of the boxing legend, there was no way filmmakers could get around casting black actresses as the women in Ali's life.

In the months leading up to this year's Academy Awards, much was made about the number of actors of color recognized with nominations. Five were nominated for six Oscars (Jamie Foxx was twice cited), and Foxx and Morgan Freeman went on to win best actor and best supporting actor, respectively.

Still, there were no African-American actresses among the nominees -- Sophie Okonedo, nominated for best supporting actress in ''Hotel Rwanda" is a Londoner of Nigerian descent. And if the ''Hitch" trend continues, it doesn't bode well for their ability to get major film roles, not to mention their career longevity. Last week, actress Nia Long told Newsweek, ''If we can't play the girlfriend, [opposite a black actor] then Hollywood has to figure out what to do with us."

Then, of course, there's the issue of interracial relationships, which rarely seem to exist in mainstream films unless it's an essential plotline. Later this month, Ashton Kutcher and Bernie Mac star in ''Guess Who," a comedy very loosely based on the classic 1967 film, ''Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," in which Kutcher plays a young white man meeting his future-in-laws, who are black. If the trailer is any indication, expect lots of culture-clash hijinks. Obviously, interracial relationships are only worthwhile on-screen as a source of laughs or conflict.

Of course, frothy entertainments like ''Hitch" aren't designed for sweeping social declarations, and appropriately, its multiracial cast is featured in a deracinated story. Still, when the filmmakers ruled against casting a white or black actress opposite Smith, they made a far more insidious statement about their views on 21st-century America. For all its ballyhooed liberalism, Hollywood is just as guilty of the racial myopia it smugly believes only afflicts its audience.

I'm still trying to sort this out in my head...

Personally I think that race has some interesting issues when it comes to casting.

I don't think that Kingpin should have been a black man in DareDevil, in the comics he's always been a white man. If that character is so changeable, then why not change up Daredevil to be a blackman? or Superman for that matter...

As far as the couples go, I am in a mixed marriage myself. I don't really think too much of it when it's mixed, but I do tend to think of it as more leaning towards black if the top bills go to mainly black actors/actresses.

Glava · 03-10-2005, 11:10 AM

Before anyone takes offense at the studio's refusal to have an all-black couple, I would like to point out that the reasons are purely economic. As the article said, such a pairing would be less popular in the areas where the film is screened (including the US), and the studio, being a for-profit enterprise, has money as its top interest. The reason for the societal bias toward the preference of seeing people of their own race in movies is because they are able to identify with them easier, llike it or not. Based on the population of the United States and other countries where this will be screened (probably mostly in Europe, but don't ask me for figures), most of the viewers will be white, so the company decided that profit would be maximized by not having two black people be linked romantically.

I am somewhat guilty of this as well. Though Hitch isn't in my interests regardless of the casting, porn is. I wouldn't mind watching an Asian or black woman in porn, but I'd be turned off if the guy was black or Asian. It's harder for me, a white person, to identify with non-white men in porn (as if I could identify with white men with 8 inch dicks), and after all, that's the reason why guy/girl porn is watched, anyway.

Charlatan · 03-10-2005, 11:31 AM

I can vouch for the trends on the International market as it is my job to know these trends... There is practically no market for "black films". A black cast will have trouble selling abroad.

That said, the film has Will Freakin' Smith in it... Sales may be less brisk than usual but it will still sell.

The real issue is that this was a Romantic Comedy... no one batted an eye when Will was linked to Rosario Dawson in Men in Black II or, as pointed out, in Ali. The genres have everything to do with it...

minyn · 03-10-2005, 01:51 PM

some things will take generations to grow out of. its sad too.

Sweetpea · 03-10-2005, 01:54 PM

Merely a reflection of the discrimination that the media perpetuates . . .

sigh................

so archaic.

03-10-2005, 02:57 PM

I would have thought once a black actor had reached a certain height of fame ,that he would appeal to all races. Will Smith is Will Smith!! , a bankable actor who people would go see a film just because he was in it. And they would respond to his experiences in the movie in the same way they would respond to someone of their own race, in the sense of being able to imagine themselves in the role.

Im surprised this isnt the case.

yatzr · 03-10-2005, 03:12 PM

i would say it's also the fault of many "black" movies (barbershop,...i can't think of the others names but all the ones with snoop dogg). The comedy in those movies is geared toward blacks and really doesn't appeal to others. Therefore, people get the idea that if the leading roles are all blacks, it'll be another one of those movies which most likely won't interest them. That's what i've observed.

it really shouldn't have mattered with will smith in there though.

Gilda · 03-10-2005, 03:15 PM

I'm not much of a Will Smith fan, but it does seem like a bit of a stretch in this case. The ads I've been seeing are focusing on Hitch's role as a date doctor for the fat guy from King of Queens. If that is the focus, it doesn't seem like the ethnicity of his girlfriend would much matter.

I wonder why it's only a couple of interracial mixes that cause problems. You won't see a black man / white woman pair unless the interracial aspect is the focus of the story, and to a lesser extent, the same is true of white man / Asian woman pairs. Yet, a white or black / Latino mix doesn't seem to raise eyebrows. Curious.

kid astronaut · 03-10-2005, 04:21 PM

yeah, race-sensitive casting is an interesting thing.

here in portland, a theater company recently did a production of My Fair Lady, where they cast eliza as a black woman. this seems all well and good at first, but when you think of the story-- essentially it's about "civilizing" a lower-class, poor, ignorant person so that she is fit to mingle with high society. a lot of people were bothered by what were suddenly recontextualized as very racist overtones.

i guess that was kind of a tangent, but it's a good story i think. oh well.

i guess as long as race is something people still think about, even subconsciously, inter-racial relationships (romantic and otherwise) will be something of a sore spot.

KungFuGuy · 03-10-2005, 07:16 PM

hollywood is about making money. it can be shifty about 'liberalism' and 'conservatism' depending on which way it can make more money. And films carrying black leads tend to not do as well internationally as others, especially if its drama.

/was an extra on the set of Hitch.

Unright · 03-10-2005, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yatzr

i would say it's also the fault of many "black" movies (barbershop,...i can't think of the others names but all the ones with snoop dogg). The comedy in those movies is geared toward blacks and really doesn't appeal to others. Therefore, people get the idea that if the leading roles are all blacks, it'll be another one of those movies which most likely won't interest them. That's what i've observed.

it really shouldn't have mattered with will smith in there though.

The comedy in "Barbershop" was geared towards blacks?? I don't know if you noticed but it was the #1 movie in America for a few weeks. It grossed $75 million as of November 2002 (according to imdb.com). If you watched the movie, you'd see the humour isn't geared towards blacks. It's humour geared towards being funny.

As far as the producers of "Hitch" scared to cast two black actors as leads because they fear to lose an audience... It's just sad. I've noticed the ads feature Kevin James pretty heavily, too.

In this celebrity-worshipping culture, Hollywood could fight racism very easily. Give Tom Hanks a black wife in "Cast Away" and don't make a big deal out of it.

iccky · 03-10-2005, 07:41 PM

While the studios do this to make money, we should also agknowledge their role in perpetuating these kinds of myths. I can't think of a single family sit-com, for instance, that has an interracial leading couple. In fact the only sit-com I can think of that has any interracial couple is at the very end of friends (but I don't watch too much TV0.

Obviously this is in respose to continued prejudice in society. But whats the message society is getting back from the media? The the racists are right, that happy families only consist of people of the same race. So its a vicious cycle.

Suave · 03-10-2005, 08:29 PM

If the studios would just suck it up and ignore skin colour, eventually the dipshits who don't like movies involving the VISIBLIE MINORITIES would become acclimatised to a more diverse cast, and the studios could go back to making that extra 3 mil profit off their big movie.

aberkok · 03-10-2005, 08:55 PM

I've got a question!

Do we still have the same respect for the Fresh Prince since he recognizes the problem but doesn't pull out of the movie?

This is not a loaded question. On the one hand he's being an armchair activist, but on the other, by staying in the racist Hollywood environment, he's a powerful black role-model.

Oops, I guess I just did a lot of the answering of my own question. D'oh!

k925 · 03-10-2005, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iccky

I can't think of a single family sit-com, for instance, that has an interracial leading couple. In fact the only sit-com I can think of that has any interracial couple is at the very end of friends (but I don't watch too much TV0.

Lenny and Carl? (well, maybe)

Personally, I didn't see anything interesting in ads for "Hitch" (regardless of the skin color of the actors/actresses therein).

Then again, I really have trouble trying to persuade myself to see any of those Hollywood multi-million dollar "movies" these days.

The notion that a few kids with a HandyCam can make a better movie than most of these "blockbuster" films is lost on those Hollywood "big shots."

Now I'm going to "click" the Submit Reply "button."

Lockjaw · 03-11-2005, 07:52 AM

It happens and it's unfortunate. But I think the telling thing is Europe in this little microcosom is more intolerant than the good ole U.S. in my own opinion. And frankly I think the black white relationship(with Will Smith being the black half of it) really woudln't have been a big problem over here. It might have turned a few people off but Will is starting to eclipse his race. You see Will Smith first then black actor second at least I think so. What is really disturbing to me is that Europe that is supposed to be home to such progressive societies would not turn out to watch a movie with a black romantic couple. I have a perfect way to blow the whole race thing right out of the water.

More gay and lesbian couples and the story is told that doesn't play it up in a big deal that they are homosexual. After that is pushed through and people stop looking at that as being offensive seeing a man and a woman on screen in a romantic role and they are interracial or both black/asian/latin would no longer be a big deal I think.

yatzr · 03-11-2005, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Unright

The comedy in "Barbershop" was geared towards blacks?? I don't know if you noticed but it was the #1 movie in America for a few weeks. It grossed $75 million as of November 2002 (according to imdb.com). If you watched the movie, you'd see the humour isn't geared towards blacks. It's humour geared towards being funny.

I did see it, and I thought it was hilarious, but i could see how it wouldn't interest many people. Maybe barbershop was a bad example. How about soul plane? I realize that yes it's geared towards being funny, but whether you want to admit it or not, it's geared toward a certain demographic as well, and I think that people have gotten pretty good at figuring out what movies will interest them and what movies won't. So I think that many people equate an all black cast to that type of movie, and that just doesn't interest them.

I think one problem is that hollywood is too concerned with making money off of each film, that nobody is willing to take chances.

Has anyone been watching wife swap? I've been quite surprised that they've had many interracial couples on there (surprised in a good way). But it also saddens me a little that they sometimes make a big deal out of it. It is definately refreshing to see it on everyday television though.

MSD · 03-12-2005, 05:38 AM

It's ridiculous that we still have to carefully construct racial balances in film to market them properly.

Strange Famous · 03-12-2005, 05:55 AM

it kind of sounds like he is just trying to hype himself or get attention for a project to me... I mean, I dont know, I cant imagine it would make much difference having amixed relationship in a movie like that,,,, I cant imagine wanting to watch a movie like Hitch whatever race any of the leads were... but I wouldnt even think about it in terms of going to see a movie... I suppose there may be a very small number of KKK/Ayrian Nations fruitcakes who might nit like it, but are these people teh target audience for Romcoms anyway?

Obviously, there is racism in the UK as well, but in terms of the few organised racist groups it is not really aimed that much at blacks, more at Southern Asian's/Islam & Sikh - and much more at "Asylum seekers" and illegal immigrants - who are mostly East European. I honestly cant imagine anyone in the UK caring about romcom's having two black leads (in fact, there have been some that have that I can think of)... I couldnt imagine anyone anywhere caring about it to be honest.

As for the "racism" in the oscars stuff... I think thats a bit silly. Jamie Foxxx won best actor this year, and Halle Berry won best actress a little while ago, lots of black actors have won awards, and lots of white actors, and so on...

Cynthetiq · 03-12-2005, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strange Famous

As for the "racism" in the oscars stuff... I think thats a bit silly. Jamie Foxxx won best actor this year, and Halle Berry won best actress a little while ago, lots of black actors have won awards, and lots of white actors, and so on...

Halle Berry and Denzel Washington are the first black to win best actor/actress category. The last time a black person won that category was in 1964. Best actress before that? No black woman ever. Black women had to have leading roles in order to be nominated, but there were no nominees either.

Quote:

At the 2002 Academy Awards Sidney Poitier was awaded an Honorary Award. In recognition of his remarkable accomplishments as an artist and as a human being.
At the 1964 Academy Awards Sidney Poitier won an Oscar for Best Actor for his work in Lilies of the Field.

iccky · 03-12-2005, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by k925

Lenny and Carl? (well, maybe)

Haha, point

Strange Famous · 03-12-2005, 09:18 AM

I must admit, the fact Larry Fishburne, Denzel Washington, and Morgan Freeman dont all have best actor wins is kind of surprising.

edit - well, at least Denzel has won one!!!!

Gilda · 03-12-2005, 11:08 AM

Morgan Freeman has played almost exclusively supporting character roles, for which he has nominations and one win. He's a bad example if you're looking for racism.

Strange Famous · 03-12-2005, 11:45 AM

I just picked 3 of my favorite actors

Cynthetiq · 03-12-2005, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gilda

Morgan Freeman has played almost exclusively supporting character roles, for which he has nominations and one win. He's a bad example if you're looking for racism.

then why isn't he offered better leading roles? he obviously can carry a movie as he's done in the past...

Gilda · 03-12-2005, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cynthetiq

then why isn't he offered better leading roles? he obviously can carry a movie as he's done in the past...

For the same reason you won't see Paul Giamatti in leading roles. He's a wonderful actor, but isn't the leading man type; he's a character actor, better suited to the supporting role.

When you think "black leading man" Freeman isn't on the list. Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, Laurence Fishburn, Will Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle (why doesn't he get more work?) Ving Rhames, one or two others leap to mind.

Freeman has been consistently honored for his excellent work over the years.

03-10-2005, 11:10 AM	#2 (permalink)
Glava Betitled	Before anyone takes offense at the studio's refusal to have an all-black couple, I would like to point out that the reasons are purely economic. As the article said, such a pairing would be less popular in the areas where the film is screened (including the US), and the studio, being a for-profit enterprise, has money as its top interest. The reason for the societal bias toward the preference of seeing people of their own race in movies is because they are able to identify with them easier, llike it or not. Based on the population of the United States and other countries where this will be screened (probably mostly in Europe, but don't ask me for figures), most of the viewers will be white, so the company decided that profit would be maximized by not having two black people be linked romantically. I am somewhat guilty of this as well. Though Hitch isn't in my interests regardless of the casting, porn is. I wouldn't mind watching an Asian or black woman in porn, but I'd be turned off if the guy was black or Asian. It's harder for me, a white person, to identify with non-white men in porn (as if I could identify with white men with 8 inch dicks), and after all, that's the reason why guy/girl porn is watched, anyway. Last edited by Glava; 03-10-2005 at 11:29 AM..

03-10-2005, 11:31 AM	#3 (permalink)
Charlatan Getting it. Super Moderator Location: Lion City	I can vouch for the trends on the International market as it is my job to know these trends... There is practically no market for "black films". A black cast will have trouble selling abroad. That said, the film has Will Freakin' Smith in it... Sales may be less brisk than usual but it will still sell. The real issue is that this was a Romantic Comedy... no one batted an eye when Will was linked to Rosario Dawson in Men in Black II or, as pointed out, in Ali. The genres have everything to do with it... __________________ "My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars." - Old Man Luedecke

03-10-2005, 01:51 PM	#4 (permalink)
minyn young and in bloom Location: under the bodhi tree.... bling	some things will take generations to grow out of. its sad too. __________________ "Woke up this morning with a blue moon in my eye" ~A3 "woke up this morning" "Don't compromise yourself, you're all you've got." -Janis Joplin

03-10-2005, 01:54 PM	#5 (permalink)
Sweetpea Fade out Location: in love	Merely a reflection of the discrimination that the media perpetuates . . . sigh................ so archaic. __________________ Having a Pet Will Change Your Life! Looking for a great pet?! Click Here! "I am the Type of Person Who Can Get Away With A lot, Simply Because I Don't Ask Permission for the Privilege of Being Myself"

03-10-2005, 03:12 PM	#7 (permalink)
yatzr Insane	i would say it's also the fault of many "black" movies (barbershop,...i can't think of the others names but all the ones with snoop dogg). The comedy in those movies is geared toward blacks and really doesn't appeal to others. Therefore, people get the idea that if the leading roles are all blacks, it'll be another one of those movies which most likely won't interest them. That's what i've observed. it really shouldn't have mattered with will smith in there though. __________________ Mechanical Engineers build weapons. Civil Engineers build targets. Last edited by yatzr; 03-10-2005 at 03:15 PM..

03-10-2005, 02:57 PM	#6 (permalink)
Lin Guest	I would have thought once a black actor had reached a certain height of fame ,that he would appeal to all races. Will Smith is Will Smith!! , a bankable actor who people would go see a film just because he was in it. And they would respond to his experiences in the movie in the same way they would respond to someone of their own race, in the sense of being able to imagine themselves in the role. Im surprised this isnt the case.

03-10-2005, 03:15 PM	#8 (permalink)
Gilda 32 flavors and then some Location: Out on a wire.	I'm not much of a Will Smith fan, but it does seem like a bit of a stretch in this case. The ads I've been seeing are focusing on Hitch's role as a date doctor for the fat guy from King of Queens. If that is the focus, it doesn't seem like the ethnicity of his girlfriend would much matter. I wonder why it's only a couple of interracial mixes that cause problems. You won't see a black man / white woman pair unless the interracial aspect is the focus of the story, and to a lesser extent, the same is true of white man / Asian woman pairs. Yet, a white or black / Latino mix doesn't seem to raise eyebrows. Curious.

03-10-2005, 04:21 PM	#9 (permalink)
kid astronaut Tilted Location: Portland, OR	yeah, race-sensitive casting is an interesting thing. here in portland, a theater company recently did a production of My Fair Lady, where they cast eliza as a black woman. this seems all well and good at first, but when you think of the story-- essentially it's about "civilizing" a lower-class, poor, ignorant person so that she is fit to mingle with high society. a lot of people were bothered by what were suddenly recontextualized as very racist overtones. i guess that was kind of a tangent, but it's a good story i think. oh well. i guess as long as race is something people still think about, even subconsciously, inter-racial relationships (romantic and otherwise) will be something of a sore spot.

03-10-2005, 07:16 PM	#10 (permalink)
KungFuGuy Insane	hollywood is about making money. it can be shifty about 'liberalism' and 'conservatism' depending on which way it can make more money. And films carrying black leads tend to not do as well internationally as others, especially if its drama. /was an extra on the set of Hitch.

03-10-2005, 07:41 PM	#12 (permalink)
iccky Psycho Location: Princeton, NJ	While the studios do this to make money, we should also agknowledge their role in perpetuating these kinds of myths. I can't think of a single family sit-com, for instance, that has an interracial leading couple. In fact the only sit-com I can think of that has any interracial couple is at the very end of friends (but I don't watch too much TV0. Obviously this is in respose to continued prejudice in society. But whats the message society is getting back from the media? The the racists are right, that happy families only consist of people of the same race. So its a vicious cycle.

03-10-2005, 08:29 PM	#13 (permalink)
Suave Twitterpated Location: My own little world (also Canada)	If the studios would just suck it up and ignore skin colour, eventually the dipshits who don't like movies involving the VISIBLIE MINORITIES would become acclimatised to a more diverse cast, and the studios could go back to making that extra 3 mil profit off their big movie. __________________ "Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions." - Albert Einstein "Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." - Plato

03-10-2005, 08:55 PM	#14 (permalink)
aberkok “Wrong is right.” Location: toronto	I've got a question! Do we still have the same respect for the Fresh Prince since he recognizes the problem but doesn't pull out of the movie? This is not a loaded question. On the one hand he's being an armchair activist, but on the other, by staying in the racist Hollywood environment, he's a powerful black role-model. Oops, I guess I just did a lot of the answering of my own question. D'oh! __________________ !check out my new blog! http://arkanamusic.wordpress.com Warden Gentiles: "It? Perfectly innocent. But I can see how, if our roles were reversed, I might have you beaten with a pillowcase full of batteries." Last edited by aberkok; 03-11-2005 at 07:56 AM..

03-11-2005, 07:52 AM	#16 (permalink)
Lockjaw Junkie	It happens and it's unfortunate. But I think the telling thing is Europe in this little microcosom is more intolerant than the good ole U.S. in my own opinion. And frankly I think the black white relationship(with Will Smith being the black half of it) really woudln't have been a big problem over here. It might have turned a few people off but Will is starting to eclipse his race. You see Will Smith first then black actor second at least I think so. What is really disturbing to me is that Europe that is supposed to be home to such progressive societies would not turn out to watch a movie with a black romantic couple. I have a perfect way to blow the whole race thing right out of the water. More gay and lesbian couples and the story is told that doesn't play it up in a big deal that they are homosexual. After that is pushed through and people stop looking at that as being offensive seeing a man and a woman on screen in a romantic role and they are interracial or both black/asian/latin would no longer be a big deal I think.

03-12-2005, 05:38 AM	#18 (permalink)
MSD The sky calls to us ... Super Moderator Location: CT	It's ridiculous that we still have to carefully construct racial balances in film to market them properly.

03-12-2005, 05:55 AM	#19 (permalink)
Strange Famous follower of the child's crusade?	it kind of sounds like he is just trying to hype himself or get attention for a project to me... I mean, I dont know, I cant imagine it would make much difference having amixed relationship in a movie like that,,,, I cant imagine wanting to watch a movie like Hitch whatever race any of the leads were... but I wouldnt even think about it in terms of going to see a movie... I suppose there may be a very small number of KKK/Ayrian Nations fruitcakes who might nit like it, but are these people teh target audience for Romcoms anyway? Obviously, there is racism in the UK as well, but in terms of the few organised racist groups it is not really aimed that much at blacks, more at Southern Asian's/Islam & Sikh - and much more at "Asylum seekers" and illegal immigrants - who are mostly East European. I honestly cant imagine anyone in the UK caring about romcom's having two black leads (in fact, there have been some that have that I can think of)... I couldnt imagine anyone anywhere caring about it to be honest. As for the "racism" in the oscars stuff... I think thats a bit silly. Jamie Foxxx won best actor this year, and Halle Berry won best actress a little while ago, lots of black actors have won awards, and lots of white actors, and so on... __________________ "Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate, for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For nothing hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain without being uncovered." The Gospel of Thomas

03-12-2005, 09:18 AM	#22 (permalink)
Strange Famous follower of the child's crusade?	I must admit, the fact Larry Fishburne, Denzel Washington, and Morgan Freeman dont all have best actor wins is kind of surprising. edit - well, at least Denzel has won one!!!! __________________ "Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate, for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For nothing hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain without being uncovered." The Gospel of Thomas

03-12-2005, 11:08 AM	#23 (permalink)
Gilda 32 flavors and then some Location: Out on a wire.	Morgan Freeman has played almost exclusively supporting character roles, for which he has nominations and one win. He's a bad example if you're looking for racism.

03-12-2005, 11:45 AM	#24 (permalink)
Strange Famous follower of the child's crusade?	I just picked 3 of my favorite actors __________________ "Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate, for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For nothing hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain without being uncovered." The Gospel of Thomas