Scott may not like desi actors, suggests Asian American advocacy group.
By Raif Karerat
An Asian American advocacy group has criticized director Ridley Scott after he changed the races of Indian and Korean characters in his critically acclaimed blockbuster hit, “The Martian.”
“In the 2014 best-selling novel by Andy Weir, NASA’s Director of Mars Operations is Dr Venkat Kapoor, a decidedly Asian Indian character who identifies religiously as being a Hindu,” Los Angeles-based Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA) said in a statement.
“In Scott’s film, his name is changed to Vincent Kapoor, and he is played by British black actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, who says his father was “a Hindu” but that his mother was “Baptist”, implying his father was Indian but his mother was Black,” the statement added.
MANAA also noted that the Korean American character of Mindy Park was played in the film by Mackenzie Davis, a Caucasian, blonde actress.
In both the novel and film, both characters are integral to NASA’s attempts to rescue Mark Watney, portrayed by Matt Damon, after the latter is marooned on Mars.
“Was Ridley Scott not comfortable having two sets of Asian Americans talking to each other?” “This was a great opportunity to give meaty roles to talented Asian American actors–and boost their careers–which would’ve enabled our community to become a greater part of the rescue team. This feel-good movie, which has attracted Oscar buzz, shouldn’t get any awards for casting,” said MANAA founding president Guy Aoki.
Scott’s previous film “Exodus: Gods and Kings” was also widely panned for casting white actors in Egyptian roles.
The film starred Christian Bale as Moses, Australian actor Joel Edgerton as Ramses, Sigourney Weaver as Tuya, while non-white actors played slaves and servants.
1 Comment
You guys should make your own movie and cast whomever you like.. Ridley clearly wanted to make the most money from the film..