first of all, this remake is going to be terrible. i really don't think it's necessary with the old one from the 60s and the one from the 90s that became so undeniably iconic regardless everyone loved it. ALSO, this is a predominantly all white cast...i'm not really understanding why.
the glass is not half full nor half empty...but it is filled with something.
Hopefully this doesn't come off as rude but judging by pictures.... http://pagetopremiere.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/image.-7.jpg?9d7bd4 ... It looks like they are going with a very traditional time setting. And back in the 1500s, 1600s...there wouldn't have been many people (who weren't white) as noblemen or ladies.
Secondly, I wouldn't call this a remake. It's just another adaptation of Shakespeare's work. And you can't say it will be terrible, as you haven't seen it yet. Shakespeare is timeless and there will ALWAYS be adaptations whether you like it or not.
^wow wish people were normally this calm and rational when reboots and retellings are made, lol
Sweet as sugar, hard as ice, hurt me once I'll kill you twice~
good point about historical accuracy, but if that really held up, every character would be speaking an old version of italian.
the actors are all white because the movie industry still has some progress to make with diversity. it's come a long way, but there is still further to go. there's no crime in acknowledging that, and i'm speaking as a white person myself.
would be speaking an old version of italian.
as much as I'd love to jump up on the wagon and say how they should embrace diversity in casting, this isn't a Cheerios commercial. This isn't a film that takes place in the most diverse places of the united States or the UK. America is still largely white by like 60%, and many of those people are not living next door to a non white person.
I'd love for modern set tv shows and films to be as diverse as realistically possible, and for the next blockbuster to star an Asian girl married to a Hispanic dude, but that's not even close to being historically accurate of Romeo and Juliet. And today I still see people arguing over a friggin cheerios commercial. America has a long ways to go. If this is to be financially profitable, it has to appeal to the racists too. Romeo and Juliet is the kind of film that will be extra credit for some English classes.... in the most self segregated communities across America.
I think there is a place to encourage positive change in America, and I think historical time pieces may be left to the interruption of the filmmakers who created it as Oscar bait. As "artists" they have a right to their art to make it as accurate or as not as they want, but they also have to consider why they are making it and who they are marketing it to. They did sell out after all.
I'd hope that soon we could see a very edgy modern Romeo and Juliet that is well liked and respected and diversely cast. It would be very interesting to see the story told from a biracial relationship perspective where it adds to the sense of rebellion and the division between the households. It could be powerful in a whole new way Shakespeare could never imagine. That's not going to happen this year though with such a big budget piece. Maybe in a few years though. There will always be amazing people to push for change.
America is still largely white by like 60%
It's not a "remake", and it wouldn't make sense to use any non-white actors given the setting. The 1996 film used a modern setting so it could have used minority actors, but they would be out of place in this one.
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That's putting it mildly, OO7
One word: Othello. Romeo and Juliet takes place in Verona and Othello in Venice, both are in Italy. Just saying. That said, it wasn't Shakespere's intention that any of the characters be non-white, however, it wouldn't actually matter if they were.
shareOthello was a Moor. The Moors took over various parts of Europe; Othello needed to be black to create the prejudice in the story.
shareOthello was black, but the characters from Romeo and Juliet were meant to be Mediterranean, not necessarily pasty white. They're Italian aren't they? Verona is in the North, where people are generally more fair with lighter hair and skin. If we're going for authenticity, they have done right with the casting as it is, I wouldn't say it's racist. Is there really a need to be historically inaccurate in an attempt to be completely politically correct?
I'm not racist, but I kind of see the point with this particular casting. Cast people who fit the characters; it's not a re imagining, it's the actual story.
"Everybody lies." - Gregory Houseshare
this is a predominantly all white cast...i'm not really understanding why.
first of all, this remake is going to be terrible.
apologies, my close-mindedness comes from loving the 1996 version so much. and true, it's an adaptation and also true, i can't judge it yet. honestly not sure why i was so outraged when i first saw the page! i meant to imply that i don't really see a need for another so soon.
HOWEVER,
very excited about ed westwick as tybalt, anyone know of any other pictures being leaked?
the glass is not half full nor half empty...but it is filled with something.
good response. finally some humility on these boards!
sharehere are other pictures being leaked
http://blogdelatele.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/fotos-hailee-steinfeld-y-douglas-booth.html#more
If you judge people you have no time to love them - Mother Teresa
Much respect to you for this reply!
shareVery cool that you listened to feedback and updated your feelings about the film and explained your thoughts behind original post. You do not often see humility on message boards -- notice, you still get hacks making nasty comments, just because they can hide behind their screen names and express their loneliness and regret for their unhappy lives. It is sad, but your update was appreciated, nonetheless.
share18 years is a pretty long time to go between films, especially since they're doing different things with the source material. Romeo and Juliette is one of the most performed plays ever written, there are thousands of productions around the world ever year.
share"If I'm not mistaken, the original play consisted of all Caucasians and more importantly this version isn't set in modern day, but a time period harkening back to its original period."
The original play also consisted of a cast of all men, but you're right. There weren't any black nobles in Italy back in the day.
To the OP. If you're so upset about a lack of black characters in this version, then why not make your own version set in Verona, Alabama.
Are people really so unfamiliar with Shakespeare's works?
shareYou see, this story is set in Italy. Italy is a country in Europe. Are you still with me? The indigenous people of Europe are white. At the time this story takes place, the vast majority of the people in Europe were natives. Sure, there were some people not of European ancestry living there at that time, but it was still very rare. So it would make perfect sense that all the actors are white. You know what would be stupid and NOT make any sense? A really racially diverse cast.
shareYou know what is really stupid and does NOT make any sense? Italians speaking English! The indigenous people of Italy speak Italian. Sure, there were some people who spoke Latin, French and German too, but it was still very rare. For real authenticity, make the cast do it in Italian dammit!
shareThis would be really cool, but I guess if they did that most of the actors cast, who didn't know Italian already, wouldn't be in the film. I could see them casting people who do speak Italian.
shareAwww, how could nasty Shakespeare dare to write his play in English, instead of Italian! Considering that the whole story is actually not a Shakespearian invention and is older than Italian itself, as it was already famous in antiquity, why isn't the whole thing in Latin or Ancient Greek? I mean we want real authenticity, eh?
shareSure, Will borrowed the story but then made it his own. Anyone from the past who ressurects himself to lay claim to this play better get ready to lick Will's boots.
shareBring that up with Shakespeare, not here. As he wrote it in English too.
http://www.youtube.com/user/LyleBennet
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They are speaking English cos people don't wanna read subtitles.
The English spoken is not really a "language" it's what the main target group understands. Same reason why they give people a funny accent when they speak English. Cos you need to feel like you are listening to a foreign language (and understand it) and you are part of the created world.
And before you start, no my first language is not English.
..be nice.
Also, in Shakespeare's time the part of Juliet was played by a MAN! (A white man though, thank God.)
sharePerfectly put, howtragic. A racially diverse cast would be very distracting because it would make the production historically incorrect. However, I hope that many varied people especially visible minorities helped to make this movie off-camera.
shareYo look, hey I get the whole concept behind "racial diversity," but honestly it has really gotten out of hand. What if I told you I was going to make a movie that took place in (present-day) Nigeria in 800 AD and was about a Nigerian princess and her relationship with her father. Then I cast ALL BLACK PEOPLE in the roles. Would anyone honestly be all ticked over that?
I know it is really, really offensive to a lot of people, but the upper class of Europe was, during Shakespeare's time, TOTALLY WHITE. In fact, it is pretty much to this day too. Is it really that horrible of a thing that people lived in their native places of birth 500 years ago?
Personally I find "diverse" casting in movies like this to be sort of patronizing and obnoxious. Unless Shakespeare meant for a character to be of a different race (Othello), then having a character be of a different race throws off the whole story! Like, an Asian Juliet would make no sense within the context of THIS STORY. It does not mean that an Asian girl cannot be romantic, or an object of love, it simply does not make sense within the context of the story.
Actually, I have always wanted to direct Romeo and Juliet set in Japan. I think the feuding clans and cloistered girls would make sense in that context. And I would happily cast an Asian Juliet if the right actress applied. I have seen black Hamlets and white Othellos and it really doesn't matter what race the actors are, so long as they are good. If you are looking at the colour of their skin rather than how good they are at acting you are a racist. That includes everybody who complains about the race of the cast of this film.
shareFirst of all, noticing how we look different and have different features is not racism.
If someone doesn't find the look of an actor believable in a certain role because of the way they look isn't racist either. For instance, I find it hard to watch overly pretty men as actors. I don't find it believable. Does that mean I have a hatred for pretty men? No. I still see pretty men as my equals.
Anyway. The whole racism cry is getting very out of hand. A white person can express dislike for another white person, it's your right. But if the person you dislike is of another race you are all of a sudden a racist.
..be nice.
Why wouldn't the cast be all white? Verona, Italy in the 1500s...
shareWhy is there always one of these threads on IMDB? It's like when people were having a meltdown about Heimdall being portrayed by Idris Elba.
share It's a Shakespeare play. You mustn't read much into it. You'll be happier this way. Trust me. Peace.
To err is human, to forgive divine
It is not an all-white cast! Hailee Steinfeld who plays Juliet is not 100% white, she's part Filipino, part Black.
shareI think she's more "white" than any of the above so majority rules, no?
shareNo, that means that stricly speaking this is not an all-white cast.
shareWell she's partially white so I guess she fits the "white" part. So all white cast it is! I think Paul Giamatti has some Native American blood in him, kinda like Elizabeth Warren, so more ethnic diversity!
shareWell she's partially white so I guess she fits the "white" part. So all white cast it is! I think Paul Giamatti has some Native American blood in him, kinda like Elizabeth Warren, so more ethnic diversity!
It's complicated, but it's related to how different cultures view race and how people look. And sometimes, how people view what it means to be mixed race.
shareOk so how about this. We scrap all the female actress' and have men do all the parts? Why? Because in Shakespears plays women weren't ALLOWED. Nope, not a single one. So instead of just it being an "all white" cast it can be a "all white man" play. *beep* people, if you are going to sit here and complain about the damn thing don't bother watching it. Oh and the modernized one with who the hell ever, flush that down the toilet. '68 was better, seeing it durning Shakespears time might have been even better.
share