So many ways to speak out

[aang_aint_white]

We've updated our post about the February 7th casting call in Philadelphia with specific information as to the time and place, and several local volunteers are helping to organize a protest. If you're interested in joining in, please do so -- the stronger a front we present, the harder it will be for Paramount Pictures to continue to ignore us

Comments

[aang_aint_white]

Mako died unexpectedly while the show was still in production and had to be replaced on very short notice.

We have previously responded to comments regarding the ethnicity of voice actors, but will restate those comments here for your benefit.

You're lending importance to the voice actor that isn't warranted. An animated character is formed by many people -- the voice actor is just one part of what creates their identity, working in collaboration with storyboard artists, designers and animators. Women, for example, play preteen male characters all of the time.

However, in live action films like this one, the actor has to be the character to a much greater degree, and essentially becomes that character to the audience. Daniel Radcliffe IS Harry Potter in a way that Dante Basco will never be Zuko and Zach Tyler Eisen will never be Aang. Bart Simpson is played by a middle-aged woman named Nancy Cartwright, but her face is certainly not what comes to mind when people think of that character.

In regards to the Asian American acting community, a few specific points:

- The television voice acting community is incredibly small, and mostly separate from the larger acting community. There are actually a disproportionate number of actors and actresses of color in that community, many of which are extremely prolific.

- Consider that Prince Zuko, arguably the second-most important character in the show next to Aang, was voiced by Dante Basco -- a Filipino American actor. He's had a very busy voice acting career, including the title character in "Jake Long: American Dragon." Our issue is that Asian American actors aren't allowed to have the spotlight in live action films like this one. Actors like Dante Basco can only be the "star" when we can't see their faces.