MovieChat Forums > Half of a Yellow Sun (2014) Discussion > looks like they just wanted to fill the ...

looks like they just wanted to fill the roles with famous black people

posted 11 years ago by Bronte_Sista
9 replies | jump to latest

Did they not read the book? Or are they just hoping to draw a big audience with famous actors? Ejiofor is too good-looking to play Odenigbo. Kainene and Olanna are twins--albeit Olanna is the prettier of the two, the fact that they are twins is essential. Now don't get me wrong, black don't crack, but what are they doing casting two forty year old women in these roles? Aren't there plenty of younger up-and-coming actresses who could do the roles justice?

[–] EjioforBond 11 years ago

I haven't read the book, but please explain to me why it's important for Odenigbo to be unattractive?

[–] Bronte_Sista 11 years ago

Because the beautiful, wealthy, elite Olanna is drawn to Odenigbo because of his intelligence and wry insights, in spite of his looks. Odenigbo is a foil to the pretty "kept man," Richard, who is paired with the plainer twin, Kainene. Much of the tension of the novel, leading up to the war, has much to do with such dichotomous pairings.

[–] EjioforBond 11 years ago

I see. Then this reminds me of Tristan & Isolde, in which manly hunk Rufus Sewell was supposed to be the undesirable one compared to James Franco! That didn't stop him from "hottying up" ever scene he had, with or without the female lead. ;-)

[–] bloorain82 11 years ago

I have to say tho both Anika and Thandie look awfully good for there age.

My biggest problem is that with Thandie some of her recent film performances have not been all that great.

In 'W' she played Condoleeza Rice and that performance was just a weird kind of bad caricature of the real Condoleeza. It was just so bizarre the way she stood out amongst the other actors. Here's the link to the 'W' board where they are discussing it:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1175491/board/flat/130543585

Another that comes to mind is Pursuit of Happiness -- which seemed a bit over the top in a way. She was brilliant in Beloved and Beseiged and I heard she was also great in Good Deeds, so I guess we'll see. She's a beautiful woman and she's a big name, so in that sense the choice to cast her as this character might not have been a bad one for those reasons alone.

I personally would've loved to have seen Genevieve play the role of Olanna.

[–] moviechick1010 11 years ago

Not to pick but although I love Thandie Newton I don't believe she's right for 'Olanna' because both of the twins are very dark-skinned. Rose is the right color but she's too pretty to play 'Kainene'. The women are meant to be twins where one is stunningly beautiful and the other is not.

re: "Ejiofor is too good-looking to play Odenigbo."

I totally agree. That Olanna loves him despite his looks is part of the dynamic between them.

Oh well, at least the film will be well-acted.

[–] activista 11 years ago

@Moviechick

I am so tired of this dark-skinned-light-skinned thing---they got Thandie because she's big name, and a damn good actress period. Black people come in all colors,anyway.

[–] Forgeticus 11 years ago

Its Hollywood. Even if the source material describes the character as unattractive, pretty is what gets more people in seats. And honestly, it's sort of nice that they've cast two older women in these roles considering Hollywood's normal practice of going for younger and younger and creating awkward age gaps.

Charge 'em for the lice/Extra for the mice/2% for looking in the mirror twice.

[–] Bronte_Sista 11 years ago

Not everyone in Hollywood is good-looking. It's more about the fame of the actors than anything else. And I would agree with you that it's nice to see these older women getting roles, especially because of the age gap issue, though I would disagree that younger black actors are getting lots of roles. It seems to be the same bunch of actors recycled in all the movies.

[–] Forgeticus 11 years ago

Agreed on all points. Names do draw in more seats than faces. But if you're ugly/average looking you damned well better be a good actor.

I guess I meant that in general younger actresses are used aka young white actresses as Hollywood also has an unfortunate aversion to films without a central white character.

And yeah, favoritism and recycling become apparent as certain working relationships get established. I mean, I think we're about to get overwhelmed by Jennifer Lawrence this year as she's supposedly doing two more films with David O Russell, another film with Bradley Cooper and the Hunger Games.

Charge 'em for the lice/Extra for the mice/2% for looking in the mirror twice.