New Pics from The Last Airbender
Movie Images, The Last Airbender (2010) Movie — By Nix on December 30, 2009One of /Film’s readers sent them scans from an issue of Empire Magazine featuring a trio of behind-the-scenes looks at M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Last Airbender” (formerly “Avatar: The Last Airbender”, but that went out the window after James Cameron announced his own little movie called “Avatar”; you might have heard about it). Check out the pics below. The second (first full) trailer won’t be forthcoming until next year, with the film itself due out in July 2010. With the pics already on the ‘net, I’m guessing Empire will release them on their site soon enough, so look for the pics to get swapped with better versions soon.
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Not really much to say. This movie is surrounded in shadows so not much info or pics are out. Probably because they’re scared all the haters will cry. ANYway, The poster looks good, and the teaser looks like they’ve got the right idea. I say one movie per book (Water, Earth, Fire) just like the seasons. Unless they want to stretch it out and do two per season.
I believe that is exactly what M. Night Shyamalan said he intended to do was to make the 3 movies off of the book.
whoa, You’re not kidding.., in Book 1 of Season one means first movie comes out on Summer. They not make all 3 book in movie together cuz if they hope people going to buy Cinemas more alot like millions then maybe next book 2 is 2nd movie of Earth for Toph would teach Aang how to learn Earthbender..or if 2nd movie not,so well
just maybe i guess..
Anyway, i can’t wait to see it cuz i was wondering what is about parts..:) The whole cast’s race isn’t really known then I would have to see the movie and how they patray their characters and only the makers of the show really know. It kind of worries me that there was very little dialogue from the characters. Hopefully the acting will be decent..
I hope M.Night Shyamalan doesn’t screw it up.. hehe.^.^
Why is everybody crying about this kid looking Caucasian. He doesn’t look european at all. Even if he did I don’t think I’d have a problem with it as long as he did a good job. From what I see, he does actually look very similar to the character.
everybody is crying because here’s an opportunity to teach america about asian culture(s) and the movie is fetishizing east asian culture yet again! all the main characters are white in asian and inuit traditional clothes and all the bad guys are indian. how’s that not insensitive?
These photos are from LastAirbenderFans.com, not /Film!
IMHOl, the kid from Tropic Thunder would’ve kicked ass as Aang. anyway, the same thing is happening in the “King of Fighters” movie. how the hell is Sean Faris a logical casting choice for Kyo Kusanagi and Sam Hargrave as Ryo Sakazaki? those roles are obviously for Asian people, but there was an intended choice to ignore worthy Asian actors and just cast some white doods instead. Even Roger Ebert thought the casting choice was ridiculous (last question in the Q&A):
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=ANSWERMAN&date=20091223
is it really too much to ask for an Asian person to actually play an Asian character anymore? well, i’d think white folks would have a problem if there was a Captain America movie starring an Asian man. black folks would throw a fit if the Jonas Brothers starred in a movie about the young Run DMC. those sorts of casting decisions would be unthinkable racial-wise so why is The Last Airbender an exception?
whoever makes these casting decisions gotta get their brains checked. it just doesnt make sense, but a lot of hollywood cartoon-to-movie movies suck ass anyway. i wont hold my breath if this tanks along with Shyamalan’s fading career.
btw, i’m still asking myself why the hell they made Terry Fitzgerald a white guy in the Spawn movie. makes me wonder if the execs thought there were “too many” black guys headlining or something….
I do agree with you on that europa78 you are right, I degress, already there aren’t enough positive Asian actors getting out in the movies so why take a character who was created by Asians and is obviously Asian and make him white. He doesn’t look white in the picture but he doesn’t look Asian to me either. Most of the superheroes or heroic characters are white like 95% of them. This is mainly because the people who create them are white. So when it comes to something that really should have an Asian cast is it so hard to find an Asian actor who can pull it off or is Hollywood trying to send a subtle negative message. Every time you see a new hero especially if he’s a kid, he’s white. This is why movie directors like Tyler Perry, and other ethnic movie makers need to stop catering to ignorant movie goers who always want to see the same predictable and redundant crap they keep putting out. Yeah people pay to see those dumb movies but do something different dude!! How about some suspense,horror, epic movies,or sci-fi. This is one of the reasons why many ethnic people have an inferiority complex and want to be white. Look at Michael Jackson and Sammy Sosa for example.
First I have to say this. Ulik it’s good to see you’ve joined us in this thread.
Now on to the good stuff.
Taken directly from the wikipedia entry:Avatar: The Last Airbender (also known as Avatar: The Legend of Aang)[1] is an American animated children’s television series that aired for three seasons on Nickelodeon and the Nicktoons Network. The series was created and produced by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, who served as executive producers along with Aaron Ehasz. Avatar is set in an Asian-influenced world[2] of martial arts and elemental manipulation. The show drew on elements from East Asian, Japanese and Chinese culture, making it a mixture of an anime like and US domestic cartoons.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar_the_last_airbender#Premise
Okay I put this up because I am reiterating the fact that the show NEVER Specifically says anyone is asian. Yes the show is heavely influenced by asian cutlutre, philosphy, etc, but the world is NOT ASIA!! The Water Tribe resemble eskimos or inuits, the Fire Nation is an asian/indian mix, the Earth Kingdom is like a Euro/Asian mix. The Air Nomads seem to have been the most asian, and yet Aang doesn’t look asian at all in the show. Getting an actual martial artist (who happens to shave his head already) was brilliant, but coudl back fire if the kid can’t act. As for the other casting in the film, well yeah they don’t look exactly the part but finding someone who does but can’t actually do the role justice is just as big an issue as casting outside of race.
Also using Captain America as an example doesn’t work. Aang and the gang aren’t exactly Asian ICONS. They’re created by an american with a great love of eastern cultures and philosphies. That’s it. Now had you said casting a live action “Akira” film with a white cast I would have been behind you 100%. That film was based IN Japan, and to take it out of that setting and make the characters American just to adapt it would be sacrilage.
I agree with what you said about “King of Fighters” too as they just took characters who are suposed to be JAPANESE and cast Americans. Kyo Kusunagi being a white guy is just wrong. And Hell even the American they got to play Terry Bogard is wrong. But with Airbender they never state “this is Japan, China, Korea, etc.” It’s just the Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, etc. And if you look at the show no one nation has a specific look. there’s always someone that looks a bit different than the rest of the group. Hell Toff SHOULD be asian as she looks the most asian, yet her clothes do not.
And Ulik as for Tyler Perry, and stuff. Come on. He made his money off plays before he blew up with these movies. He writes what he knows…crazy black families. If he were to journey outside his niche he’d probably write the worst sci-fi/horror or whatever. I agree I’d love to see more ethnic directors and writers doing more genre films but it’s just like everything else, write what you know. We’ll have to settle for the Antione Fuquas, Tim Storys, and Robert Rodriguez’.
But, Akira is being completely westernized. It is being set in Neo-Manhattan and all the actors will be white. While Joseph Gordon Levitt (who could be a dead wringer for Heath Ledger) will be playing Tetsuo, Leonardo Dicaprio will be Producing, although the director had asked him to also play the lead character Kaneda. They set it in Manhattan and change them to white people for the same reason you are saying about The Last Airbender, that there is nothing inherently Asian about the storyline. That the book could be set anywhere, and isn’t necessarily set in Japan and portrayed by Japanese people just because it was written in Japan.
And even the creators of Avatar have expressed their disdain for the casting, saying that it should have been Inuit and asians, not white people.
At least this movie has a trailer. Tekken hasn’t release a damn thing!
Point of clarification, the Earth Kingdom is based on Chinese and Korean cultures–there is NO significant element of Europeanization in the ENTIRE series. Additionally, the Fire Nation is based on Japanese cultures, as is especially indicated through their use of the ACTUAL Japanese written language throughout the series.
Any person who bothers to look into this series beyond a white/western ethnocentric world view would realize that M. Night’s film has systematically removed any cultural influence that the original series tried to incorporate, and is a great disrespect to not only the fans of Avatar, but the cultures and ethnicities that had provided HUGE ammounts of inspiration and fact to the series.
The character of Aang doesn’t have to have yellow skin and slanty eyes to *be* asian, let alone “look” asian–such an assertion is incredibly offensive, and downright ignorant. Furthermore, to assert that the directors focused only on acting is a slap in the face to every asian[-american] actor out there. Noah Ringer is a virtual no-body in the film world, and if this movie coudl have taken a chance on him, they sure as hell could have found a competent asian actor.
Look into the history of M. Night’s abomination of an Avatar movie–from the casting notifications (i.e. “Caucasian or any other ethnicity”), to the removal of Japanese characters, this movie is just another example in a long tradition of Hollywood whitewashing.
Yes sir! Look I don’t claim to be an expert anything, except myself. When i was talking about the European or Indian aspects I was talking about the clothes. And I never said he has to have yellow skin and slanted eyes to look asian, but aparently thats what you seem to think I mean. I watch anime, and in some characters actually look asian and some they don’t so that’s the idea I was trying to get across. That the cartoon places an emphasis on culutre and philosophy over the acutal races of the people. I just think it’s great how people are bashing a movie they’ve only seen a few pics and have a cast for. For all we know when the sets are built and all is done it could look exactly how it should.
“Furthermore, to assert that the directors focused only on acting is a slap in the face to every asian[-american] actor out there. Noah Ringer is a virtual no-body in the film world, and if this movie coudl have taken a chance on him, they sure as hell could have found a competent asian actor.”
Did you read my WHOLE post? I said there are many factors and that I’m sure there are plenty of good if not great asian acotrs out there, but ones that fit the bill for this cast narrows it down. Age, look, acting, speech, athletic ability, etc. Sheesh. I play devils advocate because I don’t think this is just Hollywood just saying “We don’t want to use asians” or Prince of Persia” saying “we don’t want to use real people of Eastern descent.” I think it’s hollywood catering to the ignorance of the country in some cases (PoP), like having most films about characters from European countries or anything like that speaking in a british accent, and in other cases not finding someone of the right ethinicity they think can both play the part WELL and look the part. Noah Rinker is an unknown yes, but he also happens to be a martial artist heavily into some of the eastern philosphies that infleunced Avatar in the first place. He looks more like Aang to me in that first pic on this page than he did in the teaser.
If it offends you so much don’t see the movie, just like with anything else. But don’t judge until the final product. you may be wrong.
But I do understand where you’re coming from. It’s just sometimes it seems like no one can ever be satisfied. If this movie had an all Asian cast I’m sure someone would find a reason to complain. It’s a movie. Based on a cartoon. A FANTASY CARTOON. Like I said had this been about a live action “Akira” and it starred Leo as Kaneda I’d be irate. That’s just not right. The story takes place in Japan. the city is NEO-Tokyo. And to change that would be wrong. But Avatar is set in a fictional world. Yes I realize they use traditional Japanese script and such, and true martial arts styles influnenced each Bending style. But other than that it’s up in the air for interpretation and as long as the world looks Asian influenced, and we get the nods to the culture and philosophy I’m happy. Would I like more asian actors in it? Yes. Would it be more realistic? Yes. However we got what we got, now I just hope it doesn’t come out like Legend of Chun-Li, Dragonall Evolution, or King of Fighters. I hope it ends up more like a cross between LoTR and Forbidden Kingdom.
Lord of the Rings is clearly European/Medieval influenced but I don’t remember any of the races being explicitly stated as Caucasian in the books. Yet I’m sure if the film had been cast with all african americans, people would’ve been up in arms.
Funny how in the casting, Asians were good enough to be villains and background extras but not lead heroes.
http://www.racebending.com/v3/featured/the-last-airbender-primer/
True but at least with LOTR Tolkien originally said it was his attempt at creating a British mythology, as Britain didn’t have it’s own true mythology that wasn’t based on something Celtic from Ireland or Scottland.
So here’s my question. Did any of you that are so upset about this audition? Were you at said auditions? Do you know someone that was? If so please tell us all how you know they didn’t audition ANY asian actors for the parts. Please tell us how you or someone you know not only looks the part but is also an accomplished actor or martial artist or both. I may not live in Hollywood, but I do know that when it comes to casting they audition lots of people, and try to get someone of the right ethnicity or such, but also try and find a good actor who can embody the part well and carry a movie. Sure there are lots of Asian actors out there. But are there enough that speak English without a very affected accent, (though the accent could help for some characters), look the part, can pull off stunts, and can act WELL? Hmmmm now we’ve narrowed down our candidates. Listen I’m all for more ethnicity in films and the business as a whole, but the problem still becomes what’s best for the film. I’m sure there are plenty of Asian American actors that could’ve and probably should’ve been casted in certain parts. But finding ones young enough and good enough becomes a problem.
yet no one is compltely bitching about Dev Patel being cast or any others of Indian descent or heritage. I’m black and I don’t really care as long as the movie stays faitful to the source material. But like I said the whole world of Avatar is not just Asians. The Inuit looking Water tribe, should have darker skin than everyone else, the Earth Kingdom as I said looks like a mix of European and Asian cutlutes, and the Fire Nation looks like an Indian an Asian mix. SHould the cast be all white? No. And it’s not. Mostly but not all…and guess what, so is the cast of most every film that comes out. That’s because the majority of actors in Hollywood are white.
If Forbidden Kingdom can be made here (though filmed in China) in the US with lots of care I think this can be done as well. And since it has a fantasy element to it I think that may be why it’s not an all asian cast as well. To make it not feel as if we were just in some fantastical Asian world, but just a fantastical world that has a very asian influence on it.
Wow!
Dedpool, you really need to do your homework before you reply.
There are plenty of photos, and articles out there to know the direction this movie is going.
The original source material, clearly expresses the specific cultures represented in each nation.
All the way down to the Kyoshi Warriors’ Japanese martial art, Aikido
to the Water Tribe’s Authentic Inuit hairstyles.
The creators, Mike and Bryan practiced Yoga and Kung-Fu,
visited China for architectural reference, spent months in Korea with the Animation Studio, and consulted an Asian-American organization to make sure the references were politically correct.
“Influenced” and “Inspired” is an understatement.
The Avatar Universe is the embodiment of an Asian/Inuit Universe,
just like Middle Earth is the embodiment of a European Universe.
To have the heroes (Air Nomads/Water Tribe) casted with an ALL-WHITE cast,
the background characters (Earth Kingdom) casted as Asians,
and the villains (Fire Nation) casted to be perceived as Middle Eastern
is as offensive as it gets.
Not only should the Asian community and Avatar fans be up in arms,
but to the average consumer as well, for insulting our intelligence.
Its like they assume we don’t know the difference between Karate and Kung-Fu.
And your “Noah Ringer could be a good actor” argument is fail.
When Noah Ringer was casted, he was immediately thrown in an “acting boot camp”
“But are there enough that speak English without a very affected accent”
Do you really think all 14 million Asian-Americans and 3 million Native-Americans have thick accents?
You need to get out more.
Let me ask you this question,
If the show was heavily influenced by African mythology, culture, philosophies, martial arts, etc
would it be ok to cast all the heroes Caucasian and all the villains Africans?
Hey Dedpool your my dude & you’ve got some good points but Sparky here is right and from now on, people need to start boycotting these movies and not stand for the exploitation of cultural and ethnic stories,characters and or folklore. EVERYBODY WHO FEELS THAT HOLLYWOOD NEEDS TO STOP THIS WHITEWASHING AND EXPLOITATIONS & MAKING MILLIONS OFF OF OTHER PEOPLE’S CULTURES WHILE THROWING THEM INTO THE BACKGROUND AND PUTTING OTHER TYPES OF PEOPLE UP FRONT, NEED TO SERIOUSLY START TO BOYCOTT AND WRITE SOME NASTY LETTERS. LET THE BOYCOTTING AND NASTY LETTERS BEGIN!!!!!
thanks ulik!
the letter writing campaign started a year ago, when the cast was announced.
a letter template can be found here:
http://aang-aint-white.livejournal.com/
more info here:
http://www.racebending.com/
communities found here:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=54866461619 (5000+ strong!)
Thanks for the info Sparky. I was joking about the nasty letters though, they do need to be polite. But these Movie Execs and studios wont do anything unless people actually go out in the streets,protest and boycott, that’s more threatening.
Another thing I saw is that Paramount is owned by Viacom. Viacom were the ones who bought out “B.E.T” a once black owned tv network. BET has a reputation for not putting forth positive imagery and concepts on their network. A parody was done about B.E.T on the animated show “The Boondocks” in which although hilarious, showed the seriousness and danger of negative and non-intelligent imagery or “brainless” entertainment on the B.E.T network. This holds also true of Spanish Speaking or Hispanic networks such as and not limited to “UNIVISION” and “TELEMUNDO” where Hispanics of African or Meztiso(Native American) descent are either not shown at all or are always put in a negative light. Especially in the “NOVELAS”(soap shows). White characters are always the main characters while any Meztiso or Afro-latino is always portrayed as a maid, servent,or criminal and on the comedy programs they always make fun of and make ugly racist caricatures of Latinos of African or Native American descent. Of course these networks are owned by whites but supported by All Hispanics. Nothing is done about its because nobody does anything about it. Its a deliberate mission to bring down steal,or destroy any positiveness of people of color all over the world and it’s utterly disgusting. THEY ARE EVERY WHERE FROM HIP HOP,ROCK & ROLL TO SPORTS,POITICS TO RELIGION, THEY ARE EVERYWHERE THEY MIGHT EVEN BE YOUR PASTOR, BEST FRIEND, BOSS,YOUR DAD, OR EVEN YOU. THEY ARE THE ILLUMINATI. No not the fictional Marvel Comics character group. They are the real deal. You just have be aware of them and watch your step in the world. Get in touch with your spiritual self(within)(not out) and build your psychic defense. This isn’t a joke.
Who cares if this kid isn’t Asian? If he’s a good actor and a master at Martial Arts, I’d say that’s good enough. And something I think a lot of people are forgetting here is that while the movie may be based upon the show, the movie and the show are not going to be the same in every way. Besides, when in the show does anyone ever actually say that the characters are Asian? It was an American-made show in Asian Anime style, that’s all.
Oh shutup Jangle. You’re making a fool out of yourself. You have no knowledge about Noah’s acting skill and are only make an assumption because you hope to God that this film does not suck whereas many other Avatar fans do hope this movie fails.
Also, they don’t need to say the characters are Asian idiot. It should be obvious. When did JK Rowling come out and say Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger were three white kids? Never. The only evidence that they were white was from the book cover. Not once did JK Rowling bother to say Harry had white skin. It is the same thing with LOTR and it is the same thing with Avatar. You’re suppose to use logic and come to the conclusion these characters are Asian because they’re living in world full of Asian culture. Also, they are even drawn to look Asian for you idiot! Zuko and Aang both have an Asian appearance and Katara and Sokka have a Native American appearance. They don’t look white and you’re most likely being racist if you assume they’re white.
Also, you’re using the “American-made show” line! Just shows ignorant you are. By saying American-made, you not only imply that you think American is just white people, you also think that white people can’t create stories about non-white characters. God, just don’t make excuses, you only embarrass yourself and look like a fool.
Wow!! It’s getting a little hot in here. I’m sweating pixels. Seriously though. My bad on the not knowing the show was American made but I think that Hollywood needs to pay homage and respect to those who’s culture their exploiting and making money off of. If there were no Asian actors that could pull it off then hey then it is what it is, give it to the best man or boy for that matter. But Hollywood has a tendency of exploiting people’s culture’s and concepts that that particular people came up with and don’t show respect to them. Look the last Samurai was white(Tom Cruise), The Last Airbender(non Asian) and the list goes on except for The Last Dragon,LOL he was black but that was a spoof. Anyway,I just hope that this kid Noah Ringer does a good job and Hollywood starts paying respect(and money)to those their exploiting. Now as far as Tyler Perry and other ethnic directors are concerned, it’s called evolving my dear friend Dedpool. Does Stephen Spieldberg always do scifi or action movies? NO. Do Bryan Singer or Christopher Nolan always do SuperHero movies? NO! It’s called thinking outside the box dude.It’s called exploration. Was Tyler Perry in the new Star Trek movie? Yes. So that shows that he does have an interest in other stuff to a degree. Yes it’s good to do what you do best but you never know how good you can be at other things until you try. Could a scifi movie from Tyler Perry suck? Yes. But he should at least try. Now how many Directors who are known for a certain genre have movies that suck within that drama? Several,Spieldberg is one them. Look at James Cameron(The King Of The World) made arguably the Greatest Drama Movie of All Time. Before that all he made was scifi stuff. So people should never limit themselves to just what they know. Learn something new darnit! And write about it. You never know what kind of masterpiece you can come up with.
wow great!pls all the people comment here pls watch this unbelievable movie!