Joined: 07 Sep 2005 Posts: 93 Location: Melbourne, Australia Country:
Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2005 11:46 pm Post subject:
Have to say that I am annoyed by the casting choices and adding my dislike towards Zhang Ziyi, I am not anticipating this movie at all, despite my love for the book.
I still think it's ridiculous to cast Chinese actresses as Japanese geishas. It's as if the Hollywood smoozers completely cannot make the distinction between all the types of Asian people.
it's... sad..., pretty miserable, the highlight so far seems to be the soundtrack, which doesn't sound too bad. The rest? Well, I've seen maiko on vacation in Kyoto, but I haven't seen one geisha or maiko in this trailer, just a lot of asian-looking chicks in kimono with clearly non-Japanese accents when speaking English. I guess Zhang Ziyi's doing her best, but... *shakes head* it's a joke, it must be.
And, there's a scene in the trailer that looks like Sayuri getting kidnapped as child... I don't remember such a scene in the book. Last I recall is, that she went to Kyoto with her sister and that guy quite willingly. Leave it to Hollywood to not stick to the book I guess. It just proves what my German teacher said in school, the only ones who can do a really decent movie after a book are the French.
Joined: 13 Oct 2005 Posts: 7 Location: Singapore Country:
Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2005 12:20 am Post subject: Re: Memoirs of a Geisha Movie: No Japanese Actresses
Michi wrote:
I loved the book!! but it would've been better if the cast were all Japanese.
sayuri - koyuki
mameha-cant think of anyone yet
hatsumomo-"
does zhang ziyi speak japanese fluently??..or the whole movie going to be in english?
I adore Koyuki too.
As a Chinese, I don't feel happy to see a film full of Japanese traditional culture needs to be illustrate by artistes who may not understand all the culture elements well. It's not a show about day-to-day modern city life. It is about some very distinctive cultures in a very unique nation.
I am very particular about this point is the purity in the representation of the nation's own culture. I don't wanna see authentic cultures from Asia being jeopardized and mis-represented by purely market considerations.
I will be still seeing this movie, as the theme is so unique and vibrant. I am prepared to get disappointed and
Joined: 11 Sep 2004 Posts: 462 Location: United Kingdom Country:
Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2005 1:16 am Post subject:
maybe ziyi should have done the acting and then gone back and dubbed over herself in a recording studio with a huge amount of help from an english coach on her accent, so that she doesn't sound so... uh... well... chinese, i guess...
Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Posts: 46182 Location: Los Skandolous, California Country:
Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2005 1:26 am Post subject:
yamete_evie wrote:
maybe ziyi should have done the acting and then gone back and dubbed over herself in a recording studio with a huge amount of help from an english coach on her accent, so that she doesn't sound so... uh... well... chinese, i guess...
they should get one of those girls from tsunku's all girl band and call it morning musume memoirs of a geisha
they should call it Memoirs of a White Guy who thinks All Asians are the Same
the sequel will be called all Latin Americans are Mexicans
only to offend more ppl to keep the tradition going
I expressed my thoughts about the making of this movie on a posting a number of pages ago. However, I'd like to comment on this idea that Hollywood and/or some people think all Asians are the same. Here in the United States I think Asian-American organizations, Asian-American media, and Asian-American public figures have unintentionally perpetuated this kind of thinking. If you listen, read, or speak to them, they are constantly referring to Asian-American this or Asian-American that. This only enforces the misperception that all Asians are the same. As an American of Japanese descent, I obviously know there are vast differences among Asian nationalities, but I can see how constantly using the collective term of "Asian" or "Asian-American" in publications, on TV, etc. can give some the incorrect impression. This collective lumping together of different nationalities simply because of their skin color and thus implying that they are all the same does not hold true for caucasian people in this country. No one would believe for one second that a Frenchman and a Russian are the same, or that an Englishman and a Swede share a commonality. I am not defending those who believe all Asians/Asian-Americans are the same; I am just musing that some of this ignorance might come stem unintentionally from Asian-Americans themselves, at least in the United States.
Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Posts: 46182 Location: Los Skandolous, California Country:
Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2005 10:19 am Post subject:
shin2 wrote:
I expressed my thoughts about the making of this movie on a posting a number of pages ago. However, I'd like to comment on this idea that Hollywood and/or some people think all Asians are the same. Here in the United States I think Asian-American organizations, Asian-American media, and Asian-American public figures have unintentionally perpetuated this kind of thinking. If you listen, read, or speak to them, they are constantly referring to Asian-American this or Asian-American that. This only enforces the misperception that all Asians are the same. As an American of Japanese descent, I obviously know there are vast differences among Asian nationalities, but I can see how constantly using the collective term of "Asian" or "Asian-American" in publications, on TV, etc. can give some the incorrect impression. This collective lumping together of different nationalities simply because of their skin color and thus implying that they are all the same does not hold true for caucasian people in this country. No one would believe for one second that a Frenchman and a Russian are the same, or that an Englishman and a Swede share a commonality. I am not defending those who believe all Asians/Asian-Americans are the same; I am just musing that some of this ignorance might come stem unintentionally from Asian-Americans themselves, at least in the United States.
i appreciate your commentary and believe it holds much truth but the balkanazation of America's ethnic groups has gone on for quite some time...every group feels compelled to project it's own socio-political agenda and it does so by vigorously pursuing a strategy of numbers which often includes grouping ppl that are racially similar or identifiable. i agree it is absurd to think that all Asian or Latin Americans all think in one monolithic fashion but when "several ppl stand up to find a voice it is heard more often than if one person speaks alone" -- so to speak. As you suggest the ignorance is part of a multi-faceted dynamic BUT Hollywood is NOTORIOUS for distorting reality and truth when it finds it financially and creatively EXPEDIENT.
This isn't the first time an Asian actor of one descent has been asked to play an Asian of another descent...I don't find that absurd in and of itself on every occasion but when the role demands some sort of cultural sensitivity it does come across badly and leaves ppl with a sour taste in their mouths.
Another example was when Lucy Liu played a half Japanese character in Kill Bill v. 1 or do you remember that Family SitCom with Korean Margaret Cho??? Several of her supporting cast members were played by Chinese actors.
Hollywood always makes shiet up....another example that submarine film
U-571...the movie makes it seem as if the Americans were the first to crack the German military code...it was the British submariners who first captured an Engima machine not the Americans..
Last edited by Tu_triky on Sun Nov 20, 2005 11:18 am; edited 3 times in total
Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Posts: 46182 Location: Los Skandolous, California Country:
Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2005 11:19 am Post subject:
usagi_on_the_moon wrote:
I'm so happy im not the only one who thinks that Japanese actresses should be cast for those roles!!
hell at least one would have been nice....i read some article about this movie and the casting decision recently..i'll try to dig it up.
one would think there would have been at least one japanecse actress up to the task...if not to play the part of the protagonist at least one of the supporting roles.
Joined: 29 Oct 2005 Posts: 123 Location: New York City Country:
Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2005 1:18 pm Post subject:
oh... i have never read this book... have seen my friend reading it though lol is it very very good? sad?
well i dont really know about japanese actresses...nor chinese actresses... except for zang zili or however u spell her name (who plays the main role in this movie)
actually i wasnt havin any prob with the casting... lol maybe cuz im not japanese or chinese so i dont really care but now u guys have mentioned it... i think that's wrong 2 to hav chinese actress play a geisha ... i mean... geisha... just the word reminds u of japanese culture... so come on... at least let some japanese actress take the role...
but..i dont like wantanabe ken... -.- now u said it hes japanese... idunno why when i saw the trailer i didnt hav any thought of this movie being japanese and its based on a japansese book at all... even tho i did know its a japanese book... its strange... its like there s no trace of japanese culture there...
er did i make any sense? lol ok *2 sleepy* ZzzZZ
This photo is a killer. I don't see one geisha in it. To me it looks like a mother who escorts her daughter to the becoming of age day ceremony at the local shrine... Is it me or does ZZ's kimono look somewhat cheap? Same for Yeoh's. And ZZ's make-up, please, you gotta be kidding. Li's hair, held together by a clip... But just wait, western critics (who, of course know NAFT of the whole topic) will praise it.
Oh, and I've heard that the book was basically unknown in Japan, and only became somewhat known to the public, because Watanabe Ken is in the movie.
This photo is a killer. I don't see one geisha in it. To me it looks like a mother who escorts her daughter to the becoming of age day ceremony at the local shrine... Is it me or does ZZ's kimono look somewhat cheap? Same for Yeoh's. And ZZ's make-up, please, you gotta be kidding. Li's hair, held together by a clip... But just wait, western critics (who, of course know NAFT of the whole topic) will praise it.
i agree. i've said before that zhang and co don't even look japanese and this photo proves it.
But just wait, western critics (who, of course know NAFT of the whole topic) will praise it.
they'll be extolling the authenticity of the film by saying it's as authentic as "chop suey."
I can hear it now...
"Those GEE-shas looked amazing...especially the part were they were making California Rolls for those Mandarin bureaucrats..their skill using chopsticks was....the height of cinematic realism."
Last edited by Tu_triky on Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:47 am; edited 1 time in total
As you suggest the ignorance is part of a multi-faceted dynamic BUT Hollywood is NOTORIOUS for distorting reality and truth when it finds it financially and creatively EXPEDIENT.
Hollywood always makes shiet up....another example that submarine film
U-571...the movie makes it seem as if the Americans were the first to crack the German military code...it was the British submariners who first captured an Engima machine not the Americans..
I agree that Hollywood is the last place you'd want to depend on to tell the truth. Again, on my earlier post regarding the making of this movie, I questioned why one would go to see an American movie to learn about geisha (I think I said it would be just as ridiculous to see a French movie about the American Civil War).
Hollywood is not alone in distorting the truth; I think most countries' entertainment industries do this. For example, on another thread I wrote about how the dorama series Sakura flat-out lied about how Japanese-Americans viewed WWII; the series dishonestly tried to promote the view that Japanese-Americans were torn in their loyalty between Japan and the U.S. What a load of crap!
For any entertainment medium, it's all about making money. That's what they're in the business for. They have to turn profits in order to continue to operate. That's why Hollywood went out and got three Chinese actresses who have much higher profiles and bankability than any Japanese actress. Is it accurate? No. Is it a good business decision? Only time will tell.
Finally, remember Tom Cruise's The Last Samurai? Talk about distorting reality and fudging the truth--that movie could be a primer about what happens when Hollywood tries to do Japanese. Great visuals, outstanding action sequences, but lip-service veracity.
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but now u guys have mentioned it... i think that's wrong 2 to hav chinese actress play a geisha ... i mean... geisha... just the word reminds u of japanese culture... so come on... at least let some japanese actress take the role...
