Know Your Role and Don't Act

[Thrasher]

I didn't know how to title it. Anyway, there's a column by an amputee actress and she criticizes The Rock for being in Skyscraper. His character is a double amputee and if I remember correctly, the Rock isn't. She feels like an actor that is one, should have gotten the role instead.

https://deadline.com/2018/07/paralympian-chides-dwayne-johnson-amputee-skyscraper-casting-katy-sullivan-disabilities-1202427187/

But The Rock is a box office draw.


This could also spinoff of what happened to Scarlett Johannsen being cast as a trans person. There was so much backlash that she pulled out of the role. If you are an actor, shouldn't you be able to take on role that your aren't?

[cobainwasmurdered]

great thread title

[Brooklyn Zoo]

The issue isn’t those actors getting those roles. The issue is that double amputees and transgender people aren’t getting many roles. If they can’t even play those parts, what parts can they play? It’s not like they cast transgender people in roles of different genders.

[cobainwasmurdered]

That's a reasonable point yes and I think it needs to be fixed. That said I don't think costing ScarJo and others these roles and even shutting down the movies out right is helpful. It seems to be actually causing studios and directors to staying away from doing more of these projects.

Also where exactly is the line on all of this? I don't like the slippery slope argument generally but I do think you can push the idea of preventing actors from taking roles too far pretty fast.

[Epic Reine]

I was way more offended by Hollywood casting an actual WHITE man to play Michael Jackson.

[Damaramu]

Is there also backlash for non-gay characters playing gay characters? Because I would think that would be along the same lines and I don't ever hear backlash for it.

[Detective Ventriloquist]

This is a very slippery slope that people are trying to walk on. A movie like this never would have been greenlit without a name like Dwayne Johnson attached. It's a movie made to make money, especially oveseas. The Rock pulls in those numbers while an unknown who might have that disability can't pull. If it's a small movie with a much lower budget, that's one thing, but when it comes to blockbusters, it can be much harder to even get the movie made.

[Avid Warehouse Enthusiast]

I don't even understand why the character needed to be an amputee anyway. The odds are already against him, so why gimmick it further?

I, too, wonder where the line is going to be drawn. This isn't as obvious as blackface or Pacino doing a terrible Cuban accent, it's a little more nuanced in the case of trans/LGBTQ actors. Scarlett catching flack annoyed me because Tilda Swenton played a man and nobody cared, so this is where I start telling kids to get off my lawn.

[Brooklyn Zoo]

That’s cause Tilda Swinton isn’t as popular as Scarlett

[no fact, no matter]

The issue isn’t those actors getting those roles. The issue is that double amputees and transgender people aren’t getting many roles. If they can’t even play those parts, what parts can they play? It’s not like they cast transgender people in roles of different genders.

This. You already have a heavily marginalized group of society that aren't even considered for roles for who they are - and here you had a major cishet star, who could take any role she wants, swooping in and doing a trans role that could just as easily go to a trans actor, who has lived that experience.

[AA484]

The problem as I see it is you potentially have more roles for these types of people than you have actors who are actually double amputees or transgender, let alone whether or not they are any good.  It's fairly easy to get a certain actor or actress to play their own ethnicity or race but for these smaller groups it's much harder.  I mean, how many double amputee actors are out there that are going to be good enough or well-known enough to act in a big budget movie?  Then again, it's the studios that put themselves in this position.  Was it really necessary to make Rock's character an amputee?  I didn't even know he was one until this thread!  It certainly wasn't that clear in the trailers.

[Epic Reine]

This is a very slippery slope that people are trying to walk on. A movie like this never would have been greenlit without a name like Dwayne Johnson attached. It's a movie made to make money, especially oveseas. The Rock pulls in those numbers while an unknown who might have that disability can't pull. If it's a small movie with a much lower budget, that's one thing, but when it comes to blockbusters, it can be much harder to even get the movie made.

At the end of the day, it's all a business. Yes, it's fucked up that these types of people aren't getting roles but they alone aren't going to drive people to see these films and drive business to the film companies. Do I believe  they should be getting more roles? If they're good at what they do, certainly, but a name like Dwayne Johnson secures a certain level of money from moviegoers that they can't. It's a really messed up situation that will take awhile to fix but in the end, I kind of see from an executive's perspective. All they see are dollar signs. If their film doesn't make money, lots more people suffer.

[Firmino of the 909]

The issue isn’t those actors getting those roles. The issue is that double amputees and transgender people aren’t getting many roles. If they can’t even play those parts, what parts can they play? It’s not like they cast transgender people in roles of different genders.

This. You already have a heavily marginalized group of society that aren't even considered for roles for who they are - and here you had a major cishet star, who could take any role she wants, swooping in and doing a trans role that could just as easily go to a trans actor, who has lived that experience.

No, it couldn't. The film would not even be made. That is the actual problem.

People forget that Milk and Brokeback Mountain did a lot to normalize gay people and gay rights in the eyes of others, for some that will be the only way to do the same for trans people.

[Detective Ventriloquist]

The trans movie that Scarlett has dropped out of won't be shooting without her. I have to check the articles, but it's possible that they lost their funding for losing her name.

[Firmino of the 909]

The trans movie that Scarlett has dropped out of won't be shooting without her. I have to check the articles, but it's possible that they lost their funding for losing her name.

It was her production company as well.

Running people off projects like that, or making it so that people don't wanna do Star Wars movies due to autistic fan freakouts, is something that can and probably will hurt film production tremendously.

[Brooklyn Zoo]

The issue isn’t those actors getting those roles. The issue is that double amputees and transgender people aren’t getting many roles. If they can’t even play those parts, what parts can they play? It’s not like they cast transgender people in roles of different genders.

This. You already have a heavily marginalized group of society that aren't even considered for roles for who they are - and here you had a major cishet star, who could take any role she wants, swooping in and doing a trans role that could just as easily go to a trans actor, who has lived that experience.

No, it couldn't. The film would not even be made. That is the actual problem.

People forget that Milk and Brokeback Mountain did a lot to normalize gay people and gay rights in the eyes of others, for some that will be the only way to do the same for trans people.

Pose is doing a lot for the transgender community with transgender people as leads. In some avenues, it doesn’t hurt to take a risk. And for this movie that ScarJo dropped out of, they could still cast a transgender person as the lead with ScarJo as a co-star to sell the movie. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. You can have those roles for people who are marginalized and you can sell the movie.

[Detective Ventriloquist]

The issue isn’t those actors getting those roles. The issue is that double amputees and transgender people aren’t getting many roles. If they can’t even play those parts, what parts can they play? It’s not like they cast transgender people in roles of different genders.

This. You already have a heavily marginalized group of society that aren't even considered for roles for who they are - and here you had a major cishet star, who could take any role she wants, swooping in and doing a trans role that could just as easily go to a trans actor, who has lived that experience.

No, it couldn't. The film would not even be made. That is the actual problem.

People forget that Milk and Brokeback Mountain did a lot to normalize gay people and gay rights in the eyes of others, for some that will be the only way to do the same for trans people.

Pose is doing a lot for the transgender community with transgender people as leads. In some avenues, it doesn’t hurt to take a risk. And for this movie that ScarJo dropped out of, they could still cast a transgender person as the lead with ScarJo as a co-star to sell the movie. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. You can have those roles for people who are marginalized and you can sell the movie.

That's where I thought it was going to be headed once the backlash started.

[Firmino of the 909]

The issue isn’t those actors getting those roles. The issue is that double amputees and transgender people aren’t getting many roles. If they can’t even play those parts, what parts can they play? It’s not like they cast transgender people in roles of different genders.

This. You already have a heavily marginalized group of society that aren't even considered for roles for who they are - and here you had a major cishet star, who could take any role she wants, swooping in and doing a trans role that could just as easily go to a trans actor, who has lived that experience.

No, it couldn't. The film would not even be made. That is the actual problem.

People forget that Milk and Brokeback Mountain did a lot to normalize gay people and gay rights in the eyes of others, for some that will be the only way to do the same for trans people.

Pose is doing a lot for the transgender community with transgender people as leads. In some avenues, it doesn’t hurt to take a risk. And for this movie that ScarJo dropped out of, they could still cast a transgender person as the lead with ScarJo as a co-star to sell the movie. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. You can have those roles for people who are marginalized and you can sell the movie.

That's a fair point, I agree. But, it's also hard for people to remain on a project after being criticized like that so I understand why it won't happen.

[⚰]

I think I've only heard of one double amputee actor before because I remember hearing he was the only good thing about this piece of shit film



I guess he also inspired the Giants during their Super Bowl runs.

[cobainwasmurdered]

The trans movie that Scarlett has dropped out of won't be shooting without her. I have to check the articles, but it's possible that they lost their funding for losing her name.

It was her production company as well.

Running people off projects like that, or making it so that people don't wanna do Star Wars movies due to autistic fan freakouts, is something that can and probably will hurt film production tremendously.

Offensive. It's far more racist assholes than autistic people!

[Detective Ventriloquist]

The trans movie that Scarlett has dropped out of won't be shooting without her. I have to check the articles, but it's possible that they lost their funding for losing her name.

It was her production company as well.

Running people off projects like that, or making it so that people don't wanna do Star Wars movies due to autistic fan freakouts, is something that can and probably will hurt film production tremendously.

Offensive. It's far more racist assholes than autistic people!

Don't forget the sexists.

[⚰]

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/glenn-close-weighs-scarlett-johansson-093138248.html

[Firmino of the 909]

I agree tbh.

[Shooting Star]

I don't even understand why the character needed to be an amputee anyway. The odds are already against him, so why gimmick it further?

I, too, wonder where the line is going to be drawn. This isn't as obvious as blackface or Pacino doing a terrible Cuban accent, it's a little more nuanced in the case of trans/LGBTQ actors. Scarlett catching flack annoyed me because Tilda Swenton played a man and nobody cared, so this is where I start telling kids to get off my lawn.

I was always a bit sad about Al Pacino not playing a Dominican character after having done both a Puerto Rican and a Cuban.

[cobainwasmurdered]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/peter-dinklage-shoots-down-whitewashing-outcry-for-playing-fantasy-island-actor-herv%C3%A9-villechaize/ar-BBMFOsT?li=BBnb7Kz&OCID=HPDHP

Dinklage said that Villechaize was French-born of German and English descent, but that he saw on Wikipedia that he was often considered Filipino. He further clarified that Villechaize's specific dwarfism had to do with his appearance, which may have led to some of the misinformation.

Good example of people not even looking into things fully.