'Your Name' Live Action Movie will feature a Native American protagonist

[chihaya]

Last time, It was revealed that Japanese right holders specifically requested a "Americanized" live action version of Your Name, because if they wanted a Japanese live action, where it's set in japan, have japanese characters, have same cultural mythology, They could just do it themselves. 

 

Today they announced Marc Webb is directing it. He is the director behind the movie 500 Days of Summer. And also announced they're going to have a Native American female lead. They don't specify the male lead race and ethnicity but I'm guessing he'll be white. They just said in the movie he'll be from Chicago.

 

 "A young Native American woman living in a rural area and a young man from Chicago who discover they are magically and intermittently swapping bodies. When a disaster threatens to upend their lives, they must journey to meet and save their worlds."

 

 

 

I am okay with this decision, I think native american would be the closest equivalent and the americanized version of the anime. I do hope that the male lead is asian american.

[Hunter]

why ruin perfection? smh

i just don't want them to turn it into live action

[demasta]

interesting

[JihyoStoleMyHeartAYAYAY]

interesting

[STORM BLOOM]

As long as it's not white actors and the male lead is Japanese or Asian American , Here for IT!

 

 

Let's cheers to more representation among POC!

[Your Juan and only]

I like that, Native Americans never get roles like this. Hopefully the Male lead is black or latino

[blank_stare]

That person better have an actual Native American instead of "Native American" blood. 

[STORM BLOOM]

That person better have an actual Native American instead of "Native American" blood. 

 

They SHOULD and they BETTER! 

 

 

are there any actual native american actors on media cause I feel like they're non existent? 

[PeachyKeys!]

That person better have an actual Native American instead of "Native American" blood.

[kxjay_]

i can already see this remake bombing

 

nothing will ever top the anime original and its so dumb of them forcing diversity just for the sake of having diversity

[Gin-iri]

i can already see this remake bombing

 

nothing will ever top the anime original and its so dumb of them forcing diversity just for the sake of having diversity

Eh Your Name is the type of story that lends itself more comfortably to mainstream appeal, certainly more than every other anime adaption Hollywood has gone for. Romance isn't a genre that's been doing too well on its own in the past few years, but I think Your Name has enough fantasy elements to make it unique and spark enough interest in the general public.

 

Also the diversity aspect has done Hollywood wonders in the past year alone, look at the box office draw for Crazy Rich Asians and Black Panther. It's too early to tell, but if done right this definitely won't bomb.

[kxjay_]

Eh Your Name is the type of story that lends itself more comfortably to mainstream appeal, certainly more than every other anime adaption Hollywood has gone for. Romance isn't a genre that's been doing too well on its own in the past few years, but I think Your Name has enough fantasy elements to make it unique and spark enough interest in the general public.

 

Also the diversity aspect has done Hollywood wonders in the past year alone, look at the box office draw for Crazy Rich Asians and Black Panther. It's too early to tell, but if done right this definitely won't bomb.

I understand that, but Crazy Rich Asians and Black Panther make sense and lend themselves well as to why the cast for both respective movies are what they are.

This live action of Your Name however just screams, forced diversity. That they're specifically hunting down POC instead of letting the perfect casting happen naturally.

But that's just imo

[Gin-iri]

I understand that, but Crazy Rich Asians and Black Panther make sense and lend themselves well as to why the cast for both respective movies are what they are.

This live action of Your Name however just screams, forced diversity. That they're specifically hunting down POC instead of letting the perfect casting happen naturally.

But that's just imo

I don't see it as diversity for the sake of diversity though? There was a lot of Japanese culture and shintoism aspects in the anime, the creators specifically asked that they americanize this remake because they knew those aspects wouldn't translate well over to this version. So they're replacing shinto with native american culture, that in itself brings legitimacy to them focusing on said culture and casting native actors.

 

I do worry whether or not they'll do right by native american culture though. And not just have it be the "insert-magical-natives" themes the 90's were notorious for.

[SeoMania]

i can already see this remake bombing

 

nothing will ever top the anime original and its so dumb of them forcing diversity just for the sake of having diversity

Literally every anime adapted for western consumption has cast white leads and we've seen how well those all worked out: Dragonball, Ghost in the Shell, Death Note. How is it forced diversity? Do non-white people not exist in the U.S.? Are white people the default? For years studios have been casting people that are specifically white even if the role doesn't call for it but now they wanna change it up a bit and it's fOrCEd DiVErsiTy?

[kxjay_]

Literally every anime adapted for western consumption has cast white leads and we've seen how well those all worked out: Dragonball, Ghost in the Shell, Death Note. How is it forced diversity?

You literally just named other movies with "forced diversity" though? More so with Death Note and Dragonball, so I'm not sure where you're getting at exactly.

And this is me speaking as an Asian, but I never found any fault with ScarJo playing the Major. I honestly thought she was the perfect cast for the part, given her stoic sense of acting and demeanor that fits the role. And even then, the Ghost in the Shell creators have even stated that the Major doesn't have a specific race or that she's racially ambiguous.

 

This is what I have a problem with for 'Your Name's' upcoming live action. That they're specifically scouting and ONLY looking for certain POC for the sake of having diversity. If the casting was done more so with a natural setting and if they somehow found a POC who could play the role right, I wouldn't have a problem with it.

But the fact of the matter is, that they're specifically only targeting one set group of people.

So much for this Hollywood sense of diversity, only to end up being more exclusive and restrictive than what they set out to be.

[SeoMania]

You literally just named other movies with "forced diversity" though? More so with Death Note and Dragonball, so I'm not sure where you're getting at exactly.

And this is me speaking as an Asian, but I never found any fault with ScarJo playing the Major. I honestly thought she was the perfect cast for the part, given her stoic sense of acting and demeanor that fits the role. And even then, the Ghost in the Shell creators have even stated that the Major doesn't have a specific race or that she's racially ambiguous.

 

This is what I have a problem with for 'Your Name's' upcoming live action. That they're specifically scouting and ONLY looking for certain POC for the sake of having diversity. If the casting was done more so with a natural setting and if they somehow found a POC who could play the role right, I wouldn't have a problem with it.

 

But the fact of the matter is, that they're specifically only targeting one set group of people.

So much for this Hollywood sense of diversity, only to end up being more exclusive and restrictive than what they set out to be.

Death Note and Dragonball were not diverse, they had white leads, mainly because the genius execs thought casting POC would make it too "niche" for [white] American audiences. Casting white people does not make a movie diverse because they're already treated like the default, not that they are. And the Major's name is literally Motoko Kusanagi, that little backstory they gave her in the movie was dumb and a waste of time just so they could have an excuse for her name being Japanese despite being played by a white woman. And "stoic" sis, that's a nice way of saying her acting sucks.

 

Also, nowhere in the OP does it even say they're specifically looking for POC actors to play the roles, just that the female lead is going to be Native. For all we know they could use her backstory as a Native woman to incorporate Native folklore and tie in the fantasy elements that way. We don't even know what ethnicity the male lead will be, but knowing Hollywood, he'll probably be white. Either way, it's not like Your Name will require some serious acting chops, they could look for actors within specific groups and still find plenty that could portray the characters' range of emotions, instead of giving the opportunity over to another run-of-the-mill white actor with limited range.

[chihaya]

Death Note and Dragonball were not diverse, they had white leads, mainly because the genius execs thought casting POC would make it too "niche" for [white] American audiences. Casting white people does not make a movie diverse because they're already treated like the default, not that they are. And the Major's name is literally Motoko Kusanagi, that little backstory they gave her in the movie was dumb and a waste of time just so they could have an excuse for her name being Japanese despite being played by a white woman. And "stoic" sis, that's a nice way of saying her acting sucks. Also, nowhere in the OP does it even say they're specifically looking for POC actors to play the roles, just that the female lead is going to be Native. For all we know they could use her backstory as a Native woman to incorporate Native folklore and tie in the fantasy elements that way. We don't even know what ethnicity the male lead will be, but knowing Hollywood, he'll probably be white. Either way, it's not like Your Name will require some serious acting chops, they could look for actors within specific groups and still find plenty that could portray the characters' range of emotions, instead of giving the opportunity over to another run-of-the-mill white actor with limited range.

I'm not trying to get people hopes up and expectations should be kept low because this is still Hollywood, but the screenwriter for this movie tweeted that neither leads will be white.

 

This could still change, or they might just cast white passing biracial actors and so many other loopholes/cop outs for Hollwood not to cast 2 poc leads but if true and they go with that decision, It's great news! And If true, I have a feeling they'll pick a black actor. I would prefer and wish they cast a Asian American. We need to see more asian guys in romantic positive roles.

 

https://twitter.com/HIGHzurrer/status/1096268790663237632?s=19

[SeoMania]

I'm not trying to get people hopes up and expectations should be kept low because this is still Hollywood, but the screenwriter for this movie tweeted that neither leads will be white.

 

This could still change, or they might just cast white passing biracial actors and so many other loopholes/cop outs for Hollwood not to cast 2 poc leads but if true and they go with that decision, It's great news! And If true, I have a feeling they'll pick a black actor. I would prefer and wish they cast a Asian American. We need to see more asian guys in romantic positive roles.

 

https://twitter.com/HIGHzurrer/status/1096268790663237632?s=19

If they're not casting a white guy then I'm thinking black too, not to sound stereotypical, but when I read "Chicago" I immediately thought of the possibility of the male lead being black. I'd love for the male lead to be Asian because as you said it'd be nice to see more Asian males as love interests, but if they do I'm going to bet they'll cast a half-white actor with a white last name to play a character that's supposed to be full Asian (à la Henry Golding in Crazy Rich Asians). The fact that we already know how predictable Hollywood is with their optimal "diversity" casting. I hate to be cynical but...

 

[anxiety]

You literally just named other movies with "forced diversity" though? More so with Death Note and Dragonball, so I'm not sure where you're getting at exactly.

And this is me speaking as an Asian, but I never found any fault with ScarJo playing the Major. I honestly thought she was the perfect cast for the part, given her stoic sense of acting and demeanor that fits the role. And even then, the Ghost in the Shell creators have even stated that the Major doesn't have a specific race or that she's racially ambiguous.

 

This is what I have a problem with for 'Your Name's' upcoming live action. That they're specifically scouting and ONLY looking for certain POC for the sake of having diversity. If the casting was done more so with a natural setting and if they somehow found a POC who could play the role right, I wouldn't have a problem with it.

But the fact of the matter is, that they're specifically only targeting one set group of people.

So much for this Hollywood sense of diversity, only to end up being more exclusive and restrictive than what they set out to be.

I love how you ignored the person who replied to you explaining that this adaption will have native american cultural ideas in it, hence why they're looking for one to play the role. You just want to hold on to your point no matter what.

[STORM BLOOM]

I'm not trying to get people hopes up and expectations should be kept low because this is still Hollywood, but the screenwriter for this movie tweeted that neither leads will be white.

 

This could still change, or they might just cast white passing biracial actors and so many other loopholes/cop outs for Hollwood not to cast 2 poc leads but if true and they go with that decision, It's great news! And If true, I have a feeling they'll pick a black actor. I would prefer and wish they cast a Asian American. We need to see more asian guys in romantic positive roles.

 

Click here to view the Tweet

 

Amen to this!

[IdleTeen]

I hope it's well made, Native American influences sound great (and its something people should see more)