Reverse Angle: A diverse array of white actors?
At least this time they apologized
Following the controversy over the non-Middle Eastern casting of Ridley Scott’s “Exodus: Gods and Kings” last year, the upcoming “Gods of Egypt” chose as Set, Horus, Urshu and Ra: Scotsman Gerard Butler, Dane Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Brit Rufus Sewell and Aussie Geoffrey Rush. That’s probably not what folks had in mind when they hoped for more “international casting.”
Scott tried to justify his choices for “Exodus” by saying it couldn’t be funded by casting “Mohammad so-and-so from such-and-such” in the lead. But the only actor he cast with box office clout was Christian Bale. What about the other main roles? Actors such as Joel Edgerton and Ben Mendelsohn are not box office gold. Similarly, the makers of “Gods of Egypt” can hardly say they went with the money.
Rush is an Oscar winner and Coster-Waldau is consistently one of the best things about “Game of Thrones,” but not even “300” star Gerard Butler can be called a major box office name (of his 22 non-animated starring vehicles, 13 have failed to break $100 million worldwide; his average is only $87 million, even counting “300”).
What makes “Gods of Egypt” unusual is … that director Alex Proyas and the studio apologized.
Proyas’ statement said, in part, “It is clear that our casting choices should have been more diverse. I sincerely apologize to those who are offended by the decisions we made.”
That’s little comfort to the nonwhite actors denied opportunities or the Egyptians who will see a pale shadow of their ancestral traditions. But maybe when enough Proyases and Cameron Crowes (though his “Aloha” apology for casting Emma Stone as half Chinese, half Hawaiian reads like less than half an apology) acknowledge their mistakes, more open-minded, or at least appropriate, casting will happen.
They’ve got Spirit, yes they do
Hopefully not lost among the flood of nominations for Independent Spirit Awards were these two nods: Acting novice Abraham Attah for male lead in “Beasts of No Nation,” and Jennifer Jason Leigh for her vocal work in “Anomalisa.”
“Beasts” maestro Cary Fukunaga (nominated for direction and cinematography) has said Attah transformed the role of the boy who goes from innocent to cold-eyed killer by bringing an unexpected toughness to it. The beautifully detailed character arc crafted by actor and director is one of the most heartbreaking of the year.
Her nom is an anomaly
Speaking of heartbreaking, the fact that Leigh did not appear onscreen didn’t keep the Spirits from seeing how deeply felt her performance was in the stopmotion “Anomalisa.” Her selfdoubting, open-souled Lisa is the beating heart and possibly the most touching work of the actress’ career. Her nomination may be the first the Spirits have given to a voice actor, something the Oscars have never done.
‘Birdman’-style shooting outdoors
Last week’s items on noteworthy cinematography ran before Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “The Revenant” had begun to screen. Although it’s no surprise that two-time defending cinematography champ Emmanuel Lubezki’s work turns out to be an instant contender, it does surprise in how visceral and present it is, how it brings that gritty period piece to life.
It not only contains “Chivo” Lubezki’s signature choreographed long takes, but powerful use of wide-angle lenses very close to their subjects, creating an almost virtual-reality-like feeling. The longtime collaborators have gone from indoors (“Birdman”) to outdoors in a huge way, and the audience definitely feels it.