1. The Cast Memoirs Of A Geisha
Its a common Hollywood trick to cast people of differing nationalities but from the same geographical area for specific roles. For example, Kingdom of Heaven had an ethnic Syrian take the role of the Persian-born ruler Saladin. Taken in moderation, this can be acceptable films tend to be marketed toward American/European audiences so some liberties are always taken safe in the knowledge that there won't be any outrage. Yet there are times when it clearly isnt right because the backlash would be enormous, and Memoirs Of A Geisha represents one of these times. In summary, Memoirs Of A Geisha concerns the plight of a girl who is sold into a Geisha house and rises to the top of that world. The Geisha is one of the biggest icons in Japanese history and occupies a special place in its culture, so naturally, ears would be pricked at the first sign of controversy here. Unfortunately, Memoirs Of A Geisha ran headlong into the controversy by casting many of the principal roles with Chinese or ethnic Chinese actresses such as Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li and Michelle Yeoh. Effectively, you couldnt stick two fingers up to Japanese culture any more without sticking Mickey Rooney in one of the parts. The backlash in Japan was predictably quite large and the film probably didnt do as well as it couldve done if it had cast Japanese actresses. What makes it more mystifying is that its not as if theres a particular dearth of them Japans film industry is large and booming, so it just seems like a shocking oversight on the casting agencys part. Agree or disagree? Know of any more? Feel free to comment!