Originally posted at Disability Visibility Project
On June 25, I saw Finding Dory after reading many positive reviews and recommendations from my disabled friends. I wasn’t disappointed. There was so much to unpack and process when I got home that I decided to write this review/essay.
Continue reading “Finding Dory, Disability Culture, and Collective Access”
Yesterday, the movie world was shocked (not really) to learn Daniel Craig had turned down a small fortune to return to the big screen as James Bond, leaving a 007-sized hole for the franchise. Of course, the most obvious successor to the Aston Martin is Idris Elba, preferably in a Christopher Nolan-directed 007. Unfortunately, he’s “too street” to be considered, whatever that means. (We know what that means). So why not give an Asian actor a license to kill? Thus, #AsianBond was born on twitter. It’s not like there isn’t a plethora of Asian Brits who could take the role. In fact, I came up with nine. The only caveat is that they all hail from the UK, so sorry John Cho.
>Warning: SPOILERS GALORE AHEAD<<
Nothing screams a happy children’s film more than adorably animated fluffy animals, bright vivid colors, and the powerhouse “Disney” emblazoned all over it. Filled to the brim with an elaborately built world that definitely needs more than one viewing to take in — including a training sequence reminiscent of Mulan’s and pop culture references (the nod to Breaking Bad will solicit a smile even from the biggest curmudgeon), Zootopia has everything an audience expects and more. But it is far more than adults these days will credit an animated “children’s” movie to be.
Another casting announcement, another collective nerdy white boy meltdown. This time, they are directing their ire towards the rumblings that Idris Elba is “the frontrunner” for Roland Deschain in the movie adaptation of Stephen King’s brilliant (well, except for books 5 and 6) The Dark Tower series. I won’t go into why I love the series or what it is about, but for those of you who are unfamiliar or want to know more, click here. Needless to say it is Stephen King, so the series is a masterwork of imagination, storytelling, and world building. I think folks were fancasting this series in the early ’80s, with Clint Eastwood being the near unanimous choice for Deschain. Back in the day, the choice was spot on. Hell, even King alluded to it. The only clear choice for Deschain is Viggo Mortensen, not Elba.
Over the past several weeks, there has been quite a lot of net-chatter about Idris Elba’s suitability for stepping into the role of James Bond. Former Bond, Roger Moore — who, arguably, starred in some of the worst films in the franchise — was against against it; other folks were for it, and current keeper of the literary portion of the franchise, Anthony Horowitz, stated that he felt Elba was “too street” and that Adrian Lester would be a more appropriate Bond.
Continue reading “Too Street? No, Idris Elba is Too Big for Bond“
by Marc Bernardin | Originally posted at Playboy.com
Fox wants to bring the BBC’s award-winning, frankly awesome detective thriller Luther to the U.S., but they’ve got a problem: Finding an American Idris Elba — who brought a ruthless intelligence and rugged sexuality to the role of haunted detective chief inspector John Luther — has proved too daunting a task. So, according to The Hollywood Reporter, they’ve put their remake on hold — after, apparently, entertaining the thought of Marlon Wayans as the lead.
Continue reading “Luther Remake Stalls: What Happened to Colorblind Casting?”
by William Evans | Originally posted at Black Nerd Problems
Yes, my people, it is I, he who typically slams everything the DCU does with its movie franchises. But look, if this all but confirmed news that Dwayne Johnson will portray Shazam comes to fruition: I like this one. I really, really like this one. If we’re being 100% honest, I think the actor formerly known as the wrestler known as The Rock would be a great Black Adam. Besides the comically-not-really-him-CGI depiction in The Mummy Returns, have we really had Johnson play a villain?
If the news is to be believed, Johnson hasn’t decided which character he’ll portray, but the smart money is on Shazam, and I can’t blame him. As far as franchising, being a good guy on the Justice League is going to afford you many more opportunities in the franchise than a villain who might appear in one flick. But I digress. For the first time since Zack Snyder started signing off on costume designs, I actually like a casting choice for this Justice League universe without having to have seventeen think-pieces to convince me of it. Johnson has proven he can be heroic, goofy, lighthearted, and certainly looks the part of being a “superman-ish” hero.
It’s no secret that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been pretty lilly-white since its inception. Aside from Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Don Cheadle as War Machine, the Marvel films heretofore have not featured very many heroes of color. That’s why so many Nerds of Color — including our very own Shawn Taylor whose advice on “How Not to Screw Up a Black Panther Film” is must reading, by the way — have been clamoring for a live action Black Panther for so long. Well, the rumor mill went into overdrive this week when Latino Review’s El Mayimbe sent out the following tweet:
It’s not a secret that I wasn’t the biggest fan of this past summer’s giant-robots-punch-giant-monsters-in-the-face flick Pacific Rim. In fact, there was a whole segment of “Hard N.O.C. Life” dedicated to me disagreeing with Jenn about the merits of the movie.
That said, I do realize that I am in the minority in this opinion, at least among the fanboy set. I get that. I ain’t hatin’. Whatever floats your jaeger, right?
One of those fanboys who loved this movie more than me is my friend, artist Jamie Noguchi. It’s probably safe to say Jamie loves this movie more than most — even Guillermo Del Toro. Probably. Jamie feels so strongly about this movie (because SWORD!), he wrote a song about it. Wanna hear it? Hear it go.
But not the one you’re going to get right now…
