Is Halle Berry pulling an Angelina Jolie?
by Carmen Van Kerckhove
We’ve spent a lot of time on Racialicious discussing the fact that Angelina Jolie is playing a woman of color in “A Mighty Heart” and apparently, also in the upcoming film adaptation of the comic book “Wanted.”
Many readers asked why the role of Mariane Pearl couldn’t have been played by a woman of color, and several of you suggested that Halle Berry should have been cast.
Well, it looks like Halle Berry has a new project in the works. And in a twist on so-called “colorblind casting,” she’s playing a woman of Indian descent:
Berry will portray the key attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund in a case involving the 1999 arrests of 10% of the black population of Tulia, Texas. The arrests did not produce drugs or money, causing prosecutors and civil rights groups to denounce the bust as racial profiling. The undercover agent who conducted the bust was indicted for perjury; most of the 46 arrestees were pardoned by Texas Gov. Rick Perry last year. The character that Berry plays is not African American but Indian.
‘Tulia’ is an adaptation of the Nate Blakeslee book “Tulia: Race, Cocaine, and Corruption in a Small Texas Town.” Shooting will take place in Texas.
It’s not yet clear whether Halle Berry will portray an Indian woman in the movie, or whether they will change the character so that she becomes a black woman. (I assume “Indian” means South Asian, rather than American Indian, but I could be wrong as I’m not familiar with the book.)
If it turns out that Halle Berry ends up playing a desi woman, what would you think? Would she be pulling an Angelina Jolie? Or would it be a little better because she at least is a woman of color too?
Hat tip to Stereohyped.
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of 
Stef wrote:
Didn’t she already portray the story of a white teacher? I can’t remember the details, but it seems like there was a movie last year or the year before.
Posted 27 Jul 2007 at 1:11 pm ¶
Stef wrote:
Also, I’d be curious to know if she is going to play the character as an Indian woman or not. For instance, are they going to significantly alter her appearance to appear Indian, or would she just look like her usual self?
Posted 27 Jul 2007 at 1:13 pm ¶
gandalf mantooth wrote:
The attorney in question is of South Asia Indian origin (IIRC she was interviewed in Spike’s documentary on Hurricaine Katrina). Dollars to donuts they change the character’s ethnicity.
Posted 27 Jul 2007 at 1:18 pm ¶
jd wrote:
yes, the lawyer in question is South Asian Indian-America. She came to speak at my law school a few years ago about her involvement in this case - a very cool lady.
Posted 27 Jul 2007 at 1:21 pm ¶
Carmen Van Kerckhove wrote:
Stef - yes, but the film hasn’t come out yet, as far as I know.
But from what I’ve read they are turning the character into a black woman, rather than putting Halle Berry in whiteface.
Posted 27 Jul 2007 at 1:29 pm ¶
hoo_boy wrote:
If you aren’t screaming “Parminder Nagra’s (ER) been robbed!” with the same volume saved for all that mighty bleeding heart crap– you can have my damn doughnut…
Posted 27 Jul 2007 at 2:01 pm ¶
Carmen Van Kerckhove wrote:
PARMINDER NAGRA’S BEEN ROBBED!
Posted 27 Jul 2007 at 2:19 pm ¶
Wendi Muse wrote:
lol
i concur, well…sort of
it’s murky territory when we talk about matching race for roles, to be honest. being “of color” in no way connotes racial similarity. if anything, angelina and marianne pearl may have more in common racially/culturally than pearl and other black/white multi/bi-racial actresses (as i mentioned in a previous post about a mighty heart).
there is no absolute way to match race for the sake of roles. it’s impossible unless we send out DNA test kits for all actresses auditioning for the role, then keep the ones around who have the closest DNA to compete for the position.
maybe halle berry looks like this woman? does anyone know her full name and what she looks like? i’m curious to know.
Posted 27 Jul 2007 at 2:33 pm ¶
James wrote:
Well since the real woman is South Asian they SHOULD find a South Asian actress. What about Parminder Nagra? I mean girlfriend has been holding it down on ER but she would of been AMAZING in this role. Halle also is a bit old she’s 40 going on 41. Why not Parminder she’s only 31? I think Parminder would of been a perfect choice. I think once again its all about box office potential all Hollywood cares about is making money.
Posted 27 Jul 2007 at 2:47 pm ¶
Cactus Lion wrote:
You know, some of these same issues get stirred when Chinese actresses play Japanese roles; when straight men play gay characters; and even in the world of animation, when men voice female parts. I find this topic really interesting and could keep writing writing writing, but I think not matter how intellectually engaging we may find the matter, at the end of the day if you’re an actor you want to play as many and as diverse parts as you can (unless you’re say, DeNiro who at this point just riffs off his persona, but that’s another post…) - ethnicity is as limiting (and yes, sometimes liberating)/socially constructed as race: think about if you were born in say, Luxembourg - you would pull your hair out if all you could play were characters of Luxembourger origin. If it were up the actors, they would all be like Mystique from the X-Men, I suspect, and would be able to (and happily so) change shape/gender/race/weight/height/accents/eye color/etc. as often as they fancied/as the role required. But alas, we live in a homosapien world, and so in that case, bring on the make-up and prosthetic noses, wigs, rubber padding and everything else that might let them believabley transform and stretch themselves into as many parts as possible. It all has to do with the believability of the actor in the role, that should be - and really, if you think about it, is - the only factor in whether an actor can pull off a part. I wonder if we would be having a similar discussion if Halle Berry/Angelina Jolie/whoever were an unfamous actor, if you saw, let’s say A Might Heart, and knew no biographical info about the lead actress at all, would it matter that Angelina Jolie is white? Would not knowing somehow affect the quality of the movie? Well, it’s all quite interesting stuff, isn’t it.
Posted 27 Jul 2007 at 3:15 pm ¶
islandgirl550 wrote:
I know this is an adaptation, but in “true-life” stories I’d like to see an actor that comes from the same background as the person being portrayed. Is Hollyweird trying to appease people because of the Angelina Jolie thing? But then again should we really be surprised. Liz Taylor played Cleopatra… Sigh…
Posted 27 Jul 2007 at 3:36 pm ¶
Neil wrote:
figures that they would take the whitest black in hollywood.
i’ll be keeping an (skeptical) open-mind to this, but if she attempts an accent, i’m gonna be really upset.
Posted 27 Jul 2007 at 4:42 pm ¶
Neil wrote:
*sigh* whitest black WOMAN. why can’t i proofread…
Posted 27 Jul 2007 at 4:44 pm ¶
Jonathan wrote:
I don’t really have a problem with them casting Berry, but I do hope they haven’t made her character Black. Hollywood usually tries to reduce race to a Black/white dichotomy, and I hope they don’t do that here. Depicting Berry’s character as South Indian American would avoid that pitfall and remain true to the real events depicted in the movie.
Posted 27 Jul 2007 at 6:54 pm ¶
LM wrote:
I’m not a Halle Berry fan, though my eyes don’t mind her. For that reason I wish someone else got this role. I have no objection on the grounds of her race, though. I think wendi and cactus lion have hit on most of the points that are relevant to me.
Before reading this post I hadn’t seen a photo of Vanita Gupta, the real-life lawyer in question, and Carmen, I don’t know if you had, but I was a bit surprised at your “whiteface” comment. Desi skin tones span the spectrum.
Neil, what does “whitest black woman” mean to you? What does that have to do with this discussion? Do you know how Vanita Gupta speaks? Do you get upset if any actress uses an accent? Just curious.
Here’s a story, with photos, of Vanita Gupta:
http://in.rediff.com/news/2004/dec/08vanita1.htm
Finally — thanks for introducing this infrequent TV watcher to Parminder Nagra. I don’t know her acting yet…
Posted 27 Jul 2007 at 7:35 pm ¶
michelle wrote:
There are TONS of Indian women who could have played the bejeezes out of this part.
Is it the same as AJ and the whole Mighty Heart fiasco, not exactly, but pretty much. The only thing that sets it apart is that Indian women have Indian films, WHICH (before you jump all over me) give them access to parts, maybe not in Hollywood, but there is a place in the world where they are accepted, validated and allowed to be their wonderful Indian selves. A role like this would have changed Hollywood’s perception of Indian women, and put one of them on the Hollywood map, for real. But, I don’t know of a place in the world where Black women are given a place to be their wonderfully Black selves and are accepted and validated, etc. I guess Black women are fighting to be recognized ANYWHERE. I feel like it is a much larger battle.
THAT SAID……….
I would have loved to see the woman from “Kama Sutra” and “Rome” play the role. She deserved a shot because she is a wonderful actress, and yes she deserved it in part because she is Indian and Indian women need a place in American film.
Posted 27 Jul 2007 at 10:18 pm ¶
Karen wrote:
I think it’s wrong. Indian women need their roles to. We can’t keep this chain of exchange going by replacing Black with White and then Indian with Black.
Posted 27 Jul 2007 at 10:19 pm ¶
michelle wrote:
And Neil, what do you mean by the Whitetest Black woman in Hollywood? Your comment confused me. Please explain, if you would.
Posted 27 Jul 2007 at 10:20 pm ¶
Gandalf Mantooth wrote:
hoo_boy, yokoso
I’ll scream for Nagra IF Hallie ends up playing the real life character, until then . . .
Posted 27 Jul 2007 at 10:30 pm ¶
sk wrote:
The lawyer’s name is Vanita Gupta. As far as I know, she is American, so she should have an American accent.
Posted 27 Jul 2007 at 10:31 pm ¶
sk wrote:
Sorry, meant that Halle Berry shouldn’t have to use a non-American accent if she plays the part of Vanita Gupta.
Posted 27 Jul 2007 at 10:35 pm ¶
Jay wrote:
You know, some of these same issues get stirred when Chinese actresses play Japanese roles; when straight men play gay characters; and even in the world of animation, when men voice female parts. I find this topic really interesting and could keep writing writing writing, but I think not matter how intellectually engaging we may find the matter, at the end of the day if you’re an actor you want to play as many and as diverse parts as you can (unless you’re say, DeNiro who at this point just riffs off his persona, but that’s another post…) - ethnicity is as limiting (and yes, sometimes liberating)/socially constructed as race
Society isn’t at that point yet. How many South Asian lead roles in TV series and movies can you name? East Asian? Latin@ (and I don’t mean people from Spain here)? Black?
Why do almost all romantic comedies have white couples in them? Is Will Smith mistaken when he said that he wouldn’t be able to cast a white woman in Hitch because too many people would get pissed off?
Simply put, Hollywood isn’t as much about acting chops as you think - looks still matter very much, especially in starring roles and lead roles.
Posted 27 Jul 2007 at 11:38 pm ¶
brad wrote:
Neil,
Calling Hallie Berry the “whitest black woman” is insulting. Berry has always said that she is biracial but considers herself ethnically African-American. Frankly, given the fact that Berry has repeatedly discussed the vicious racism she and her family suffered growing up and later in her own life, just what credentials does Berry have to have to be considered “black”?
More importantly, who died and left you judge of who can call herself “black”? Just how different of a phenotype does Berry have versus Janet Jackson (whose father has green eyes)? Just what color skin did Malcolm X or Thurgood Marshall have? Can we say “yellow.”
Have you ever read a frickin’ book to learn that the majority of African-Americans have 18 to 22% European and 8 to 11% Native American DNA? So, let’s drop this crap about Berry being some a mulatto passing as “black.” You could drop Berry pre- or post- nose job into most African-American families and she’d fit in as a sister, aunt, mother, cousin, or niece.
Yep, there’s a huge difference in phenotype amongst these three:
Berry:
http://imdb.com/gallery/granitz/2668/Events/2668/HalleBerry_Grani_4200454_400.jpg.html?hint=nm0000932
Oprah:
http://imdb.com/gallery/granitz/6117/Events/6117/OprahWinf_Jemal_14060063_400.jpg.html?path=pgallery&path_key=Winfrey,%20Oprah
Kerry Washington:
http://imdb.com/gallery/granitz/5974/Events/5974/KerryWash_Ryan_13557836_400.jpg.html?hint=group
Moreover, did you ever consider that Berry is the most successful actress of color in Hollywood today?
Now, would it be better if a South Asian woman played a South Asian character? Yeah, it would be. But, is it unreasonable to think that Berry could pass for South Asian? Not really. There are Indians who are both lighter and darker than Berry.
Then again, since the extremely, supposedly liberal Angelina Jolie never met a role that was based on a woman of color, we should be glad that at least one brown-skinned woman got a role in Hollywood.
Quick. Of the big Hollywood releases this summer, how many featured women of color in any significant role where they played a woman of color?
(I add the last point because Jessica Alba looked like an alien in her attempt to play Sue Storm Richards. Why the hell did she need those horrific contact lenses? Dean Cain had brown eyes when he played Superman. Couldn’t the directors just have had a picture of Sue & Johnny Storm’s picture with one parent being white and the other being a brown person?)
Posted 28 Jul 2007 at 11:30 am ¶
Anna wrote:
The irony is that the celebrity and biography and controversy of the BIG STAR , brought in to boost box office, overwhelms both the movie and the issues addressed. While still physically attractive, neither Jolie or Berry actually has the charisma or talent (anymore) to attract moviegoers on their own. They are just some of the characters in the weekly comic books known as USWeekly, People, inTouch or the daily soaps of TMZ and Perez Hilton. These stars actively turn off the selective audiences interested in creative filmaking or serious discussion of political, racial, or gender issues. When the movie fails, critically or financially, its blamed on the subject or experimental film style, not that its target audience is tired of the BIG STAR by the time it actually opens. A Mighty Heart would have done better with an unknown actress and without the Angelina hype. Tulia is probably in the same situation.
Posted 28 Jul 2007 at 12:43 pm ¶
JC wrote:
It’s Hollywood. Whites gets to play anyone, blacks gets to play backs and Asians, while Asians can’t even play themselves. That’s the world view of Hollywood. At the end of the day, Asians get the screw. ‘Nuff said.
Posted 28 Jul 2007 at 1:28 pm ¶
brown girl wrote:
It’s also not race that’s a problem for me, it’s age — the remarkable thing about this story was that Vanita Gupta was only in her 20s and fresh out of law school when she took on this case — and Halle Berry is in her 40s. It minimizes Vanita’s achievement.
There are also Bollywoood actresses that could have been hired for the role (Nandita Das, Konkona Sen Sharma, etc).
Posted 28 Jul 2007 at 3:06 pm ¶
Carmen Van Kerckhove wrote:
LM (#15), just to clarify, I wasn’t talking about “Tulia” when I mentioned whiteface. If you followed the thread of conversation and clicked on the link I provided, you’d know that I was responding to Stef’s question about a totally different film Berry is starring in which is based on the life of a white woman. See here.
Thanks for posting the link to the photo of Vanita Gupta. I have to say that when I saw her photo, I immediately thought of Sarah Jones - the resemblance is quite striking.
Posted 28 Jul 2007 at 3:40 pm ¶
LM wrote:
Carmen,
Thanks for clarifying — my bad. I was already familiar with that movie and discussion and couldn’t imagine such a scenario. I’m sure we’d have been talking plenty more about it if Halle went whiteface.
Posted 28 Jul 2007 at 7:35 pm ¶
hoo_boy wrote:
Michelle: It all depends, as always, by what one means by *Black*, right? And if the spectrum changes according to different parts of the world, so do the voices too.
I would differ with you, based on even the limited knowledge I have about Africa’s movie/music/video industry.
Cable/sattelite owners in selected markets should check to see if they have either.
The Africa Channel
http://www.theafricachannel.com
African TV Network
http://www.africantvnetwork.com
Home grown cross-continent content distributed throughout the world, with many opportunities for women and men to break into a vital growing international market– just harder to appreciate if few can see them.
Gandalf: Domo arigato gozaimasu. Gomen nasai nihongo o hanasemasen…
Posted 28 Jul 2007 at 7:37 pm ¶
James wrote:
I think Halle Berry is being a bit hypocritical here. Halle is always complaining that despite being an A LIST actress the white women get better choice of scripts then she does. Halle is always saying Hollywood decided to NOT go “black” on this film or that film. So unlike Jolie who I happen to believe is a racist. I am shocked and dissapointed in Halle. She should KNOW BETTER. Halle KNOWS the struggles women of colour go through in Hollywood. But maybe Halle is NOT the total to blame. I mean lets be honest, why didn’t the producers of this movie consider Parminder Nagra? I mean Parminder is the OBVIOUS CHOICE. She’s young, she’s Indian heritage, and she’s attractive, and she’s a good actress. I think that’s the problem here. Its NOT JUST BLACK WOMEN that have a hard time getting roles OTHER women of colour go through the same problems as well. And remember Memoirs of A Geisha the movie BOMBED in Japan. And the reason was the casting. The Japanese were right to be UPSET that three Chinese actresses were cast in the lead roles. Hollywood just thought oh they are all Asian and they are all the same. And that’s a RACIST way of thnking. The proof that Memoir’s BOMBED was not ACCEPTED by an Asian Audience PROVES casting CORRECTLY in terms of race is IMPORTANT. A Mighty Heart BOMBED it didn’t do well. And the reason why is once again the CASTING. A lot of African Americans spoke out in the media criticizing Jolie for taking the role and that had a role in the low box office. Sometimes Hollywood needs to WAKE UP and TAKE A CHANCE. Poor Parminder, girlfriend is JUST on ER. You know that makes me mad. Because that white girl Keira Knightley is all these hit movies yet five years ago they started in the same place. Parminder’s situation is a perfect reminder of how bad RACISM is in Hollywood. Yes Parminder has a good playing JOB and that’s a positive thing. ER gets good steady ratings and all that. HOWEVER, Parminder has NOT been given the CHANCE or the OPPORTUNITY to SHINE. So its not just black women that struggle in Hollywood. Asian women do as well.
Posted 29 Jul 2007 at 9:53 am ¶
rachel wrote:
the whole angelina jolie thing is a RIDICULOUS comparison. first of all angelina and marianne are friends and marianne approved of angelina’s casting. personally i thought thandie newton would have been good in the role. but as marianne is the one had to live through the horrific event, i think ultimately it should be up to her. and if she’s satisfied with the final product, then that’s all that matters. this is different, because as far as i know they’re not friends. and with john singleton directing and halle berry in the lead it going to turn into a black/white thing when that is simply not the case.
Posted 29 Jul 2007 at 5:50 pm ¶
michelle wrote:
I don’t think the Mighty Heart comparison is ridiculous at all. I think we must understand that the business world/corporate strategy strives on models. What did Verizon do? So goes Sprint. It is is especially true in Hollywood where people are much more inclined to use what other people do as a standard for their own behaivor and performance. So, while on some levels it is true that there are many differences (Marianne Pearl’s involvement for one), this whole situation proves that in Hollywood what one A-list star does, they all do. It is called setting a trend. It doesn’t matter that AMH failed, Angelina got some attention and some great reviews.
One of my biggest issues is that people of color, but WOC especially, need to stick together. My concern is that Halle’s decision will strain relationships amognst WOC. If we fought together, our collective place in Hollywood would be much further along than it is now.
I will be honest and say that my loyalties are a little divided. Do I protest this movie? If it doesn’t do well, will Halle get a chance to open a movie? If she doesn’t, will any other Black woman? Does that mean that the only thing available to me will be “Who’s Your Caddy” for ever and ever? On the other hand, this isn’t a productive casting choice on so many levels, and Halle could have easily produced this movie for someone else and then went on and made another movie to win herself the Oscar that she seems to be gunning for.
Posted 29 Jul 2007 at 7:30 pm ¶
JC wrote:
As long as white men controls Hollywood, these kind of BS will continue with no end. The sad fact is, if you ask these Hollywood execs why they are so racist against Asians, they will say that it’s because the mainstream market is racist against an Asian face in the movies, and they’re only given what the market demands. And the scary thing is, they maybe right.
One day I’m going to start a campaign in Asia educating the movie watching public how racist Hollywood is toward them. Perhaps a mass Hollywood boycott in Asia is what will change Hollywood’s mind.
Posted 30 Jul 2007 at 12:15 am ¶
gatamala wrote:
Poor Parminder, girlfriend is JUST on ER. You know that makes me mad. Because that white girl Keira Knightley is all these hit movies yet five years ago they started in the same place. Parminder’s situation is a perfect reminder of how bad RACISM is in Hollywood. Yes Parminder has a good playing JOB and that’s a positive thing. ER gets good steady ratings and all that. HOWEVER, Parminder has NOT been given the CHANCE or the OPPORTUNITY to SHINE. So its not just black women that struggle in Hollywood. Asian women do as well.
PREACH. That movie was about Jess (PKs character), but you would never, never know it. KK was already out there - in the form of Jennifer Garner.
I’ve seen V Gupta in an interview and she is a pure-tee bad ass. I would have LOVED Parminder - or an unknown. I think someone referenced Indira Varma (Rome/KS) earlier. FTR Indian women who flunk the paper bag test do not get roles in India & fight for scraps over here.
Frankly, I’m tired of Halle. While I do realize that there is no outlet where bw are lauded (michelle), this would not be right. Tulia has many roles for blacks (albeit railroaded by a municipality)- the trick is how the movie will treat them. 3D humans or ancillary victims.
Posted 30 Jul 2007 at 8:04 am ¶
Rabia wrote:
Can anyone confirm whether Halle Berry will actually play Vanita Gupta, or is the script being changed to make Vanita’s character into a black woman? For some reason, I’m thinking that it’s the latter case. Which I think actually brings up even deeper issues than the choice of race of the actress. I suspect that since this movie is pretty much about black/white racism, the filmmakers thought it would be more palatable to the mainstram US audience to have the “savior” character be black. Most Americans are still surprisingly unfamiliar with South Asians, and a desi protagonist would probably have been offputting for a substantial chunk of the audience, in the same way that “black” movies (black lead or predominantly black cast) still have a hard time capturing non-black moviegoers. So this would be a major copout on the part of the production team, letting go of an opportunity to bring desis into the mainstream of american pop culture, for the sake of the box office. Or maybe they didn’t want to make a movie that would reek too much of the “non-black savior of black people” type (e.g. white savior) for fear of resentment from black moviegoers?
Posted 30 Jul 2007 at 8:49 am ¶
hoo_boy wrote:
Wouldn’t be the first time Singleton ever copped-out with a film. Still trying to figure out how the hell he made an asexual “Shaft” with Samuel L. Jackson (even the *uncle* got more play).
Michelle’s got the right question: why no Halle-as-producer here, pulling the strings, calling the shots, showing solidarity and sisterhood, and getting things done? She’s got the talent, know-how, $$$, and connections to pull this off– would probably give her more credibility in the long run and open doors for other women of color (especially a director). Didn’t her “Dorothy” experience teach her anything– or was that all about her?
Posted 30 Jul 2007 at 12:30 pm ¶
James wrote:
Even some black women in Hollywood are sick of Halle Berry. It seems all the big movie roles for women of colour GO to Halle Berry first. And if Halle DOESN’T want the role then everyone else has a chance. So although Halle complains about HOW HARD she has it in Hollywood she has it the BEST out of ALL women of colour in Hollywood. Its just kind of hard hearing Halle complain when she is getting over $14 million PER MOVIE, she has endorsements with Versace, Revlon, and numerous other companies. Its HARD to hear Halle complain when EVERYONE ELSE besides Halle, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Lopez, Lucy Liu or Salma Hayek have got it SO HARD. It would be nice if Parminder was given this opportunity its clear the movie’s heroine is a South Asian woman that is YOUNG. Parminder has some fame so why not her? I see Pariminder on ER and YES ER pays Parminder well I am sure by now Parminder is a millonaire. HOWEVER, I cannot help but wonder why she cannot even get the roles that Aishwarya Rai gets? Or Shilpa Shetty gets? I feel like Parminder is kind of stuck on ER. ER is a good gig but I just feel she has so much more to offer in terms of her talent. And Parminder is STILL YOUNG. NOW is the time for Parminder to SHINE. I really do hope soon she will get a role to show her awesome talent.
Posted 03 Aug 2007 at 8:36 pm ¶
rage wrote:
Folks - for more information about Vanita Gupta, see this site, where there’s video/info about this case and what she did:
http://www.reebok.com/Static/global/initiatives/rights/awards/recipients/vanita.html
I definitely agree with Rabia up above. What’s most troubling about this (and it’s been known that this was happening for a while, but I don’t know if people knew they were changing the race of the lead lawyer) is that the story of racial justice is being watered down into a black/white issue, where the real story actually lends itself out to a more interesting, multi-faceted, and dynamic take on race. Here you have a South Asian American lawyer, working for the NAACP-LDF, going into this white town, working with black community members. She’s not the savior, and she really doesn’t want to be remembered that way, but she saw the struggle of the people victimized this way as something she should fight for.
That true story, that there are many people fighting these fights and that the myth of community balkanization (or every group for themselves) that people keep warning us about isn’t always true - there are stories of solidarity that actually go somewhere. This could have been a telling of one of those stories, but Hollywood backed away and opted for the neat, clean fiction instead of the real thing.
Very disappointing. I could have shown this film to my family to try to get them to understand why Vanita worked where she did and why the work for racial justice goes beyond just thinking about our communities. Just think about the discussions a film like that could lend itself to in communities of color around the nation.
Shame on you, Halle!
Posted 17 Mar 2008 at 2:34 pm ¶
Melissa wrote:
Why hasn’t anyone cast Halle Berry and Keanu Reeves in a movie together (I think that they would look so good togetjer).
Posted 02 May 2008 at 7:29 pm ¶
DivergentDana wrote:
“I know this is an adaptation, but in “true-life” stories I’d like to see an actor that comes from the same background as the person being portrayed.”
This is some bull… watch, this same thing is going to happen in the ‘Gang Leader For a Day’ movie… they’re gonna get Denzel because it “makes more sense” even though it ain’t the way it actually happened, and SENDHIL’S GONNA GET ROBBED!
Posted 02 May 2008 at 11:45 pm ¶
DivergentDana wrote:
By “this is some bull”, I meant the casting, not the quote, ya’ll.
Posted 03 May 2008 at 1:47 am ¶