Fred VanLente on "The Weapon" casting
Today, writer Fred VanLente shared his response to the casting of The Weapon:
As those of you who read THE WEAPON know-- and all of you can, in its entirety, for free, at http://www.drunkduck.com/The_Weapon/ (PLUG! PLUG!)--that Tommy Zhou's Chinese heritage is a huge part of his character, and a huge part of the story overall. For Tommy not to be Chinese would require a fairly significant rewrite of the story, which does not exactly thrill me, no. I thought the story was just great the way it was.
I've worked in Hollywood a lot. Still do. I know folks there feel they need to make changes to material to set a project up at a studio or to sell it to the public. As I made THE WEAPON as work-for-hire for Platinum, they have no reason to ask me for advice about how to adapt the story -- I found out about the casting when you did.
To read the full response, click here.
Racebending.com has a TON of respect for Mr. VanLente, who is one of the co-creators of Amadeus Cho, one of the best Asian American comic book characters ever written. Tommy Zhou is also a fleshed out Asian American superhero--one of the central conceits of The Weapon is his inner conflict and reconciliation with his Chinese American heritage.
Almost a year ago (last September), actor David Henrie was cast to play the character of Chinese American Tommy Zhou in the movie adaptation of The Weapon. Past lj-comm posts here and here, and official Racebending.com post here.
Back in 2009, both the Media Action Network for Asian Americans and Racebending.com staff were both able to speak (separately) with one of the producer's of this movie, expressing our displeasure about the casting. The conversation was pretty brutal, with Platinum Studios's rep flat out admitting they knew and anticipated that the Asian American community would be upset with this casting, but decided to go ahead with it anyway. We learned through the call that Platinum Studios was flooded with angry emails from the public about the situation, so we know that the casting of The Weapon touched a nerve.
If the first qualification of an actor is talent and not skin color, then the casting of David Henrie to play a distinctly Asian American character sends the message that white performers are more entitled and qualified to portray Asian American heroes, than Asian Americans performers are. It sends the message that Platinum does not think real life Asian Americans are talented enough to play their comic books' heroes--even if the characters are Asian American.
And if the price of bringing a story with a plot rooted in Hawaiian Asian American culture to the big screen is to erase any of the story's Asian American cultural elements so a white actor can play the main character, the implicit suggestion is that Asian American issues and culture are not good enough to be depicted on the big screen, either.
There is something to be said for authenticity and representation, not just portrayal. Currently, Asian Americans struggle for the right to be depicted in visual media--an essential part of the modern American landscape. This struggle is not only to be represented in the overwhelming majority of roles written with people who are white in mind--no, Asian Americans are not even considered worthy of depicting ourselves. And sadly, The Weapon does not exist in a vacuum; these casting decisions are systemic and widespread.
There is a difference between casting Donald Glover to portray Peter Parker and David Henrie to play Tommy Zhou. The difference is not that Parker's story has different themes (and little focus on cultural identity), but that the co-opting of Asian American faces is a standard practice in Hollywood.
When Asian American actors are denied the opportunity to play the precious few Asian American roles in Hollywood, it's a huge blow to the Asian American community and our struggle for representation. Comparatively, were Peter Parker to be cast with an actor of color, it would have almost no impact on the overall opportunity for white children and consumers to enjoy and relate to the wide array of comic book characters that are white--including the Tobey Maguire version of Parker.
We're primed to protest this movie if we need to, but we are hoping it will die a quiet death in development. After the ruckus surrounding the casting of The Last Airbender, we're really hoping that Hollywood will wise up. If Platinum Studios wants to work with David Henrie, all the power to them, but why bring yellowface into it?
As those of you who read THE WEAPON know-- and all of you can, in its entirety, for free, at http://www.drunkduck.com/The_Weapon/ (PLUG! PLUG!)--that Tommy Zhou's Chinese heritage is a huge part of his character, and a huge part of the story overall. For Tommy not to be Chinese would require a fairly significant rewrite of the story, which does not exactly thrill me, no. I thought the story was just great the way it was.
I've worked in Hollywood a lot. Still do. I know folks there feel they need to make changes to material to set a project up at a studio or to sell it to the public. As I made THE WEAPON as work-for-hire for Platinum, they have no reason to ask me for advice about how to adapt the story -- I found out about the casting when you did.
To read the full response, click here.
Racebending.com has a TON of respect for Mr. VanLente, who is one of the co-creators of Amadeus Cho, one of the best Asian American comic book characters ever written. Tommy Zhou is also a fleshed out Asian American superhero--one of the central conceits of The Weapon is his inner conflict and reconciliation with his Chinese American heritage.
Almost a year ago (last September), actor David Henrie was cast to play the character of Chinese American Tommy Zhou in the movie adaptation of The Weapon. Past lj-comm posts here and here, and official Racebending.com post here.
Back in 2009, both the Media Action Network for Asian Americans and Racebending.com staff were both able to speak (separately) with one of the producer's of this movie, expressing our displeasure about the casting. The conversation was pretty brutal, with Platinum Studios's rep flat out admitting they knew and anticipated that the Asian American community would be upset with this casting, but decided to go ahead with it anyway. We learned through the call that Platinum Studios was flooded with angry emails from the public about the situation, so we know that the casting of The Weapon touched a nerve.
If the first qualification of an actor is talent and not skin color, then the casting of David Henrie to play a distinctly Asian American character sends the message that white performers are more entitled and qualified to portray Asian American heroes, than Asian Americans performers are. It sends the message that Platinum does not think real life Asian Americans are talented enough to play their comic books' heroes--even if the characters are Asian American.
And if the price of bringing a story with a plot rooted in Hawaiian Asian American culture to the big screen is to erase any of the story's Asian American cultural elements so a white actor can play the main character, the implicit suggestion is that Asian American issues and culture are not good enough to be depicted on the big screen, either.
There is something to be said for authenticity and representation, not just portrayal. Currently, Asian Americans struggle for the right to be depicted in visual media--an essential part of the modern American landscape. This struggle is not only to be represented in the overwhelming majority of roles written with people who are white in mind--no, Asian Americans are not even considered worthy of depicting ourselves. And sadly, The Weapon does not exist in a vacuum; these casting decisions are systemic and widespread.
There is a difference between casting Donald Glover to portray Peter Parker and David Henrie to play Tommy Zhou. The difference is not that Parker's story has different themes (and little focus on cultural identity), but that the co-opting of Asian American faces is a standard practice in Hollywood.
When Asian American actors are denied the opportunity to play the precious few Asian American roles in Hollywood, it's a huge blow to the Asian American community and our struggle for representation. Comparatively, were Peter Parker to be cast with an actor of color, it would have almost no impact on the overall opportunity for white children and consumers to enjoy and relate to the wide array of comic book characters that are white--including the Tobey Maguire version of Parker.
We're primed to protest this movie if we need to, but we are hoping it will die a quiet death in development. After the ruckus surrounding the casting of The Last Airbender, we're really hoping that Hollywood will wise up. If Platinum Studios wants to work with David Henrie, all the power to them, but why bring yellowface into it?