They all look the same...

[mark schilling]

Alex raised an interesting point about "cross-casting." If Brits and Aussies
can play Americans and
Americans can play Brits (rarely Aussies for some reason) without anyone
raising a rumpus, why should the
Japanese be so picky (or prejudiced)? If Zhang Ziyi, Michelle Yeoh, and Li
Gong were to play three
Japanese bar hostesses in Tokyo perhaps Japanese industry folks would also
be peeved, but not
as p.o.'ed as they are about "Memoirs." Again, the issue is the perceived
lack of sensitivity toward
a symbol of national culture.

You can make the counter argument that many, if not all, Japanese have come
to accept foreigners
in sumo and judo -- sports once considered "too Japanese" for gaijin to
understand, let
alone excel in. But if a foreign producer were to cast a Chinese actor as
Takanohana -- a
national hero to many fans, how many howls of protest would you hear? Quite
a few, I think

The case of "Memoirs" is a bit different since both the director of the film
and the author of
novel are gaijin -- and Japanese audience expectations for authenticity may
not be high. Still, by
not trying to exceed those expectations, at least in their casting, the
film's producers are setting
themselves up for a fall in what could have been their biggest market.

Mark Schilling


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Alex Zahlten" <Alex.Zahlten at gmx.de>
To: <KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Sent: Monday, August 30, 2004 6:58 PM
Subject: Re: They all look the same...


>
>
> The stir that a casting of Chinese nationals as Japanese in a Hollywood
film
> might stir up in respective "areas" (Japan, Japanophiles, Film Studies
> etc.), and the different reasons that each of these groups might have to
> object to it, is interesting in itself, I think.
> For one, to stay in the realm of the national/national identity, no one
> really objects when Angelina Jolie is cast as a Briton in Tombraider, or
> Hugh Jackson as an American mutant in X-Men. Of course, this kind of
> cross-casting can extend into sexual identity, when straight actors gay
> characters or vice versa, which also rarely causes uproar anymore (though
> there are specific dynamics at work here as well).
>
> I'd like to hear some thoughts on what is actually objectionable to the
> casting of memoirs as it stands- apart from the fact that it might
alienate
> Japanese audiences, which is more of an economic reasoning. Although it
> could be interesting to think about why Japanese audiences would be
> alienated by such a move (I can think of cases where such national
> cross-casting has not caused any kind of objections- a complicated case in
> point would be the casting of Schindlers List and the reactions to it in
> Germany). And Japan itself, of course, has a long history of such national
> cross-casting (I lack a better word for it), with a fair amount, if not
the
> majority, of bit part American roles to this day being played by obviously
> (maybe not to a Japanese audience) non-Americans. In this case, I find it
> much more problematic that they are also often obviously not professional
> actors.
>
>
> Alex Zahlten
>
>
>
>
> > The casting director for "Memoirs" told me that the decision to use the
> > Chinese actresses was mainly box office calculation -- they are among
the
> few
> > Asian names the American audience knows. They have also demonstrated
their
> > ability to handle English -- essential for an all-English project like
> > this.
> >
> > In addition to Watanabe, Yakusho Koji and Kudo Yuki have been cast,
which
> > may make the film more acceptable to the Japanese audience. Also, she
> quite
> > likes what she has seen of Marshall, saying that he is enthusiastic and
> > sincere.
> >
> > One problem is that, even with the best dialogue coaching, the Chinese
are
> > probably going to sound "off" to anyone who knows what a real Japanese
> > accent sound like. This may matter more to Japanophiles than the
multiplex
> > masses, though.
> >
> > More seriously, the Japanese industry people I have spoken with about
the
> > film are angry and disappointed that so many of the  geisha roles are
> going
> > to foreigners. "It's an insult, really," one told me. It's somewhat like
a
> > Japanese producer casting Jean Reno as a cowboy, thinking that no one is
> > going to object in the target market -- Japan. Americans might,
however --
> > especially if the cowboy is supposed to be an All-American Clint
Eastwood
> > type.
> >
> > And what is more All-Japanese than a geisha?
> >
> > In other words, the "Memoirs" people are asking for commercial
> > disappointment, if not disaster, in Japan. After "The Last Samurai"
> grossed $127
> > million here -- more than it earned in the States -- casting Japanese
> stars in
> > Japanese roles you would think that Hollywood might have learned
> something.
> > Guess not -- the wheel is still being re-invented as we speak.
> >
> > Mark Schilling
> >
> >
> >   ----- Original Message ----- 
> >   From: JAG
> >   To: KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
> >   Sent: Monday, August 30, 2004 2:30 PM
> >   Subject: Re: They all look the same...
> >
> >
> >   I wouldn't give up hope that there might be something of interest
> > besides the sideshow.
> >
> >   A Kyoto friend who's becoming something of an expert on geisha, spent
> > about a week in July helping Rob Marshall and a small crew scout Kyoto
> > locations and somebody from the art department buy properties (hair
> ornaments,
> > jewelry, etc). My friend said he was especially struck by the 'eye' of
the
> > buyer and the command Marshall had over his crew, seemingly largely due
to
> > his earnestness.
> >
> >   He also said that the plan is to only shoot in Kyoto for about two
weeks
> > some time around November.
> >
> >   It is sad that so many of the Japanese roles are not being played by
> > Japanese. I would be interested to hear other members' speculation why
> this is
> > so. Is it just name recognition?
> >
> >   Anyone care to offer their propositions for Japanese actors to fill
the
> > roles?
> >
> >   John
> >
> >   Update on myself: Last year I learned of the list while getting an MA
in
> > Film Studies in Dublin. (Thanks again to all who helped in my reseach.)
> > I'm now teaching mainly eikaiwa at Kyoto area universities, trying to do
> more
> > with Film Studies and hoping to at least dabble in production. (Until I
> > fill out my schedule, I'm also putting the experience gained in Ireland
to
> > good use, working in an Irish Pub in Gion, through which many
interesting
> > characters pass. Stop in if you're in town and I'll pull you a pint.)
> >
> >
> >   On Aug 29, 2004, at 7:49 PM, Mark Mays wrote:
> >
> >
> >     Yeah, did you expect any more from them? On the other hand, maybe
some
> > great controversy will erupt from it all and provide some interesting
side
> > show.
> >
> >     ----- Original Message -----
> >     From: Mark Nornes
> >     To: KineJapan
> >     Sent: Sunday, August 29, 2004 7:40 PM
> >     Subject: They all look the same...
> >
> >     A few years ago, Spielberg was interviewed in the midst of
> > preproduction for Memoirs of a Geisha. The reporter describes costume
> designs for the
> > film's kimono spread out over a table, and admires all the elaborate
> images
> > of dragons decorating the costumes. Ever since that moment, I've been
> > looking forward to how cheesy the final film would be. Looks like I
won't
> be
> > disappointed. The dragon motifs foreshadowed the casting: Watanabe Ken
> will
> > be joined by Zhang Ziyi, Michelle Yeoh, and Li Gong.
> >
> >     Markus
> >
>
> -- 
> alex at nipponconnection.de
>
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