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So, The Great Wall needs to earn nearly $300 million dollars, and that would still likely be considered a disappointment. Films generally need to earn at least double their production cost to break even. But it is not that simple, unfortunately.Īccording to IMDB, The Great Wall carries an estimated production budget of $135 million. Meaning, stop casting white actors as non-white characters, and perhaps, just as importantly, refrain from writing white characters in roles that could (or should) be occupied by non-white actors. The solution to the problem seems simple: stop whitewashing roles. The problem then, which is only further compounded with these types of castings, is the perpetuation of a belief that there is not a bankable Asian, or other foreign star (in America), who can contribute to the financial success of a film. Because, in the end, money still speaks loudest.įor instance, if we take a look at Vulture's rankings of the most bankable stars, there is no actor of Asian descent in the top 100. But, more likely, the role was meant for someone with the star power and bankability of an actor like Damon. Perhaps Damon's character being white plays a large role in the narrative. But then, why write a white protagonist in the first place into a film that takes place in historical China? Why not portray the hero as Wu describes? Money still speaks loudest. So, in that regard, The Great Wall is not whitewashing a traditionally non-white character. It is true that Damon playing a character written as white is not the same thing as say Johnny Depp (ignoring his claims of Native American ancestry) playing Tonto in The Lone Ranger or Tilda Swinton playing the Ancient One in Doctor Strange. "When I think of 'whitewashing' I think Chuck Connors playing Geronimo, that's whitewashing and that's unacceptable," Damon said, Reuters reported. it wasn't altered because of me in any way," Damon said.ĭamon did state that whitewashing is a very important issue in Hollywood, but The Great Wall simply is not the same thing. "It's a historical fantasy and I didn't take a role away from a Chinese actor. " suddenly becomes a story because people click on it, versus the traditional ways that a story would get vetted before it would get to that point," Damon said.ĭamon went on to describe The Great Wall as "a monster movie."
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In a recent interview with the Associated Press, Matt Damon once again addressed the controversy, but explained it is not whitewashing, and the story was overblown because of fake news, Vulture reported. We all know only the Chinese defended the wall against the monster attack.' But is this whitewashing? (laughs) There are far more nuanced versions of it and I do try to be sensitive to that, but Pedro Pascal called me and goes, 'Yeah, we are guilty of whitewashing. What bummed me out is I read 'The Atlantic' religiously and there was an article in 'The Atlantic.' I was like, 'Really, guys?' To me whitewashing was when Chuck Connors played Geronimo.
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I was surprised, I guess because it was based on a teaser, it wasn't even a full trailer let alone a movie. The actor told the crowd that the whitewashing accusations were a "fuckin' bummer." Yeah, it was a fuckin' bummer.
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Matt Damon responded to the controversy at New York Comic Con in October. Your big sister when she stood up for you to those bullies that one time." Among other things, the actress stated, "We have to stop perpetuating the racist myth that white man can save the world." She added that "our heroes don't look like Matt Damon.