Jake Gyllenhaal as the Prince of Persia - and the issue with Race
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After reading the OP, I thought "well name me a Persian actor". Then Kal Penn was suggested and I thought "well damn, he could probably pull it off!" Then again, good old Kal is most easily recognized from Van Wilder and Harold & Kumar, which have nothing to do with the storybook tone of PoP; while I'm all for reverse typecasting, this would be particularly difficult.
Gyllenhaal, on the other hand, has some experience with these sort of roles and usually can bring empathy to his parts (Day After Tomorrow, Zodiac, and *shudder* Brokeback Mountain), so I understand the choice, even if it seems weird.
Gyllenhaal, on the other hand, has some experience with these sort of roles and usually can bring empathy to his parts (Day After Tomorrow, Zodiac, and *shudder* Brokeback Mountain), so I understand the choice, even if it seems weird.
It's all about marketing. The US public are still on edge and releasing a film, even one that's supposedly about a persian, with an Arab in the main role, won't go down well with the public. They need someone who only offends minorities and as few of them as possible, so they're able to maximise their take.
Did someone seriously just suggest Kumar?
Has anyone seen District B13? How about the guy who played Leito? He looks much like the prince and has the skills. Assuming he could speak English...
Parkour scene from B13: [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GpOroM0g80[/link]
Has anyone seen District B13? How about the guy who played Leito? He looks much like the prince and has the skills. Assuming he could speak English...
Parkour scene from B13: [link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GpOroM0g80[/link]
Considering Gyllenhaal will probably be under full make-up to make him appear Arabic, a black or Arabic person doing the same in a white role, while as I said, may be a little less authentic, they should not be denied because of the colour of their skin if they really are the best person for the part.ChromeAlchemist said:
You mean Oded Fehr? God, that's brilliant!perfectimo said:
For those of you that are drawling a blank right now, Oded Fehr played the Arabian warrior in the two Mummy movies (and yes there are two) as well as Carlos Oliveira in the second and third Resident Evil movies. Technically he's Israeli and not Persian, but I'd watch a Prince of Persia movie with him as the Prince.
For George W. Bush I would cast the most idiotic, foolish moron I could possibly find, then hit him repeatedly in the skull till he had a concussion, THEN start filming.perfectimo said:
But I think you misunderstood what I said. I personally thought the Prince has always looked more white than anything (even in the original game, he's very much white looking with all enemies and the princess looking more Persian) and THAT'S why I seen no problem with this.
I'll give you that many roles should be cast by someone who is of the same ethnic background as the role - I'd have serious objections to a white person playing Che Guevara or Gandhi - but for Prince of Persia, I'd be surprised if anyone anywhere in the creative process is thinking about historical accuracy, and if anyone watching cares about ethnic sensitivity. Something like this is so disposable I think it'll have a hard time offending anyone.
And have you played any of the Prince of Persia games? They have vaguely British voices in the original trilogy and the new ones speak like they're from modern America - at least Assassin's Creed explained the lack of realistic speech by adjustments to the Animus.
I for one applaud Jake Gyllenhal for being willing to tack this film onto his resume, and hope it frees up better film roles for Middle Eastern actors to take on.
And have you played any of the Prince of Persia games? They have vaguely British voices in the original trilogy and the new ones speak like they're from modern America - at least Assassin's Creed explained the lack of realistic speech by adjustments to the Animus.
I for one applaud Jake Gyllenhal for being willing to tack this film onto his resume, and hope it frees up better film roles for Middle Eastern actors to take on.
Amen - rule of thumb is if it's a video game movie not made by Uwe Boll, which are such monuments of fail they can never be washed away, it will be a very unnecessary release that will disappear from the theaters in a month and be forgotten once it hits DVD.pimppeter2 said:
Have any of you seen him with full make up on....he is as close to the prince as possible they did make a his skin just slightly darker (Just like he had a fake tan or something)
im waiting for some islamic extremist or any other race extremist to claim that it is betraying their culture
im waiting for some islamic extremist or any other race extremist to claim that it is betraying their culture
I understood that you meant he looks white but he is an Arab. He is the Prince of a nation of Arabs. They did not colour him the way that people may associate with an Arab but then again colours were limited. They could not give him a face with the typical generic Hollywood Arab look because of the graphical limitation either but I think that almost anybody who read the title of the game would have picked up that he wasn't white.Arionis said:
You don't need to speak English. Psh.ButtonedDownParadox said:
But seriously, its like they took their choreography right from it!
But still, Gllyenhaal isn't... the prince. He's too broad-chested. The prince (originally) was distinctively lean and lithe.
Put me with the some who don't give a crap. It's going to be a terrible movie either way, and I personally can't think of any well-known Iranian actors myself. Although, I would prefer someone of middle eastern descent than a white guy.axia777 said:
I know! The whole tuck and roll thing he does is exactly like the prince and the part where he's on the rope and running the wall made me instantly think of the Sands of Time cover sans scimitar.Erana said:
In my opinion, that's just it, that they aren't the best people for the part. I mean I claim to be no industry professional (yet) but while they are not making a documentary, to put Gyllenhaal in full make-up while there are plenty of people out there who would be more authentic and probably better for the part strikes me as a bit silly (for the lack of a better word).wewontdie11 said:
The OP sees the idea of this as an insult. I don't think he is too far off in some cases, I mean there is not racist undertone to this but still, to have a white person play an arabic role by using make-up to enhance authenticity, and then not doing likewise because of authenticity issues (I know what you said, but that is still your opinion and not that of Hollywood or the public)...I don't know, it just strikes me as odd that a white male is basically the perfect part for almost every ethnicity, but no other ethnicity can be used for a white male part.
I think all in all I will have to agree with the OP.
Nobody has yet pointed out that Kal Penn is of Indian descent. Which is strange, because other people with significantly more obscure roles were divined to be Indian, but I digress.mattttherman3 said:
The title of the movie/game series is Prince of Persia. Where was Persia? Somewhere where there weren't many white people at the time. Having Gyllenhaal would be like making a movie about the queen of England, only instead of some pasty British lady, they grabbed Halle Berry because she's an incredibly fine lady and generally is more comfortable on the eyes than anyone else on the planet. The only issue with that, to my knowledge, is that the queens of England have never looked much like Halle Berry.