Nickelodeon's Avatar: the Last Airbender coming to the big screen?

[Wanzerfan]

Okay, I saw a trialer for this upcoming film when I went to see Transformers: The Revenge of the Fallen. In it it showed an older Ang preparing to go up against a whole fleet of Fire Nation seaships. My question is will this film ever see the light of day, or is it stuck in pre-production hell?

[emajnthis]

I thought Manny Shymamalan was heading up this project? Aside from the sixth sense, M Knight doesn't hold a reputation for good films. I'm kind of worried to see a series i like translated to the big screen by a director who's a one hit wonder.

Edited November 10, 2009 by emajnthis

[Beltane70]

Well, Wanzer, I don't recall ever seeing a movie preview or teaser trailer and have the movie not appear in theaters.

[Wanzerfan]

I thought Manny Shymamalan was heading up this project? Aside from the sixth sense, M Knight doesn't hold a reputation for good films. I'm kind of worried to see a series i like translated to the big screen by a director who's a one hit wonder.

I guess I was being a little vague in the title of the topic. It was a cute way of saying that he was the producer.

One hit wonder? I take it you didn't like Unbreakable all that much, am I right?

If he puts a weird plot twist from hell that only fans of his can understand, I'll wrap my head with duct tape to keep it from exploding when it appears in the film (insert Glenn Beck remark here).

Damn it, I mispelled "Nickelodeon" when I wrote the title for the topic post.

Edited November 10, 2009 by Wanzerfan

[Scream Man]

Um.... TLA has finished principle shooting and is in post production. Night also directed the film, as well as produced and co-wrote.

I dont know why u are thinking it wont be coming, its over halfway done....

edit: And he doesnt put a twist in all his films, Ive never understood why people think that.

6th Sense: Definite Twist

Unbreakable: Same

Signs: again, more of a reveal than a twist.

The Village: Not really, more of a plot reveal than a twist

Lady in the water: No twist

The Happening: No Twist

I should also say the ponly film of his that was really bad was The Happening, and thats because he didnt seem to know how to end it.

Edited November 10, 2009 by Scream Man

[RD Blade]

Loved the series. Can't wait for this one.

[eugimon]

loved the series, will avoid this uncle tom production like the plague. Sad to see this property turned into yet another great white hope story... about a white kid who saves the world from the evil asians, along with the only other good people in the world, more white kids.

[RD Blade]

loved the series, will avoid this uncle tom production like the plague. Sad to see this property turned into yet another great white hope story... about a white kid who saves the world from the evil asians, along with the only other good people in the world, more white kids.

Whuuuuh?

I may be off the mark, but the kid in the trailer doesn't look white.

[eugimon]

Whuuuuh?

I may be off the mark, but the kid in the trailer doesn't look white.

this particular white kid plays sokka

The shifty dark skinned kid plays the villain, but if you follow the show you know that eventually the good white kids redeem him.

This is katara

Aang

The kid playing sokka says if he puts his hair up and gets a tan, everything will be okay.

Edited November 11, 2009 by eugimon

[RD Blade]

Right. The kid that plays Aang. He doesn't appear white to me. Facial features have a hint of ethnicity to them that I can't put my finger on.

I've seen these pics before.

My first impressions for the other three:

"Zuko should've been played by an Asian guy. Although the kid that got the role is pretty talented."

"I assumed Kitara & Sokka would be played by Innuit or Polynesian actors. Not what I expected, but I'll roll with it."

Edited November 11, 2009 by RD Blade

[eugimon]

Right. The kid that plays Aang. He doesn't appear white to me. Facial features have a hint of ethnicity to them that I can't put my finger on.

That "ethnicity" wouldn't happen to be movie make up?

[RD Blade]

That "ethnicity" wouldn't happen to be movie make up?

LOL! Well played, sir. Certainly wouldn't have guessed that.

[Scream Man]

oh god, you're not one of those "the avatar movie is racist' people are you?

*sigh*

Yes the series has asian origins. Yes, sokka and Kitara could have been played by people with more of an inuitt ancestory. Yes they asked for some white kids in the audition.

but here are some more facts:

*M Nigh Shamylan is Indian. He's the writer, director and producer. So he made a lot of these final choices himself.

*Jesse Mccartney was originally cast as Zuko, but he had a conflict and so M Night listened to people who bitched about the white cast and hired Dev patel... and then got told he was racist.

*How easy do you think it is to find 12yr olds who can act and are proficient in martial arts? And assuming u find one, whos to sayt hey want to do it? Trust me, u take talent when u have it. Not that I know if he can act, Im just not going to prejudge it.

Sorry, this sounds slightly douchier than i should be, but Im too tired to think up a more polite response and too annoyed at the day to not post it. Im just over prejudging stuff before we have seen much of anything for it. Sometimes things can surprise you.

i direct your gaze at the new Star Trek...

[Ghost Train]

Right. The kid that plays Aang. He doesn't appear white to me. Facial features have a hint of ethnicity to them that I can't put my finger on.

I don't think you're a "bad person"... but there is just something wrong with that sentence. A "hint of ethnicity" .... lol? So what is that supposed to imply: that caucasian is like the main standard and any deviation from that constitutes: "ethnicity" ?

But like I said, it's probably just poor sentence construction. I hope.

[Wanzerfan]

oh god, you're not one of those "the avatar movie is racist' people are you?

*sigh*

Yes the series has asian origins. Yes, sokka and Kitara could have been played by people with more of an inuitt ancestory. Yes they asked for some white kids in the audition.

but here are some more facts:

*M Nigh Shamylan is Indian. He's the writer, director and producer. So he made a lot of these final choices himself.

*Jesse Mccartney was originally cast as Zuko, but he had a conflict and so M Night listened to people who bitched about the white cast and hired Dev patel... and then got told he was racist.

*How easy do you think it is to find 12yr olds who can act and are proficient in martial arts? And assuming u find one, whos to sayt hey want to do it? Trust me, u take talent when u have it. Not that I know if he can act, Im just not going to prejudge it.

Sorry, this sounds slightly douchier than i should be, but Im too tired to think up a more polite response and too annoyed at the day to not post it. Im just over prejudging stuff before we have seen much of anything for it. Sometimes things can surprise you.

i direct your gaze at the new Star Trek...

I see someone out there is drinking the utopian Flavor-Aid.

[RD Blade]

I don't think you're a "bad person"... but there is just something wrong with that sentence. A "hint of ethnicity" .... lol? So what is that supposed to imply: that caucasian is like the main standard and any deviation from that constitutes: "ethnicity" ?

But like I said, it's probably just poor sentence construction. I hope.

Whoa. Your interpretation is off, GT.

I can see by the way I worded it how one might get that impression. However, saying "A hint of ethnicity that I can't put my finger on" isn't the same as saying "Not white, but ethnic". Maybe "A hint of an ethnicity" would've conveyed the message better. Long story short, not racist. Who knows? If I'm a "bad person", it's not for that particular reason.

But yeah, super-psyched about this movie.

[eugimon]

oh god, you're not one of those "the avatar movie is racist' people are you?

*sigh*

Yes the series has asian origins. Yes, sokka and Kitara could have been played by people with more of an inuitt ancestory. Yes they asked for some white kids in the audition.

but here are some more facts:

*M Nigh Shamylan is Indian. He's the writer, director and producer. So he made a lot of these final choices himself.

*Jesse Mccartney was originally cast as Zuko, but he had a conflict and so M Night listened to people who bitched about the white cast and hired Dev patel... and then got told he was racist.

*How easy do you think it is to find 12yr olds who can act and are proficient in martial arts? And assuming u find one, whos to sayt hey want to do it? Trust me, u take talent when u have it. Not that I know if he can act, Im just not going to prejudge it.

Sorry, this sounds slightly douchier than i should be, but Im too tired to think up a more polite response and too annoyed at the day to not post it. Im just over prejudging stuff before we have seen much of anything for it. Sometimes things can surprise you.

i direct your gaze at the new Star Trek...

What the hell does rebooting star trek have to do with taking a show that's based on east asian religious and philosophical ideas, with recognizably asian characters, who's only written language is chinese, who's characters eat asian foods, have asian names, practice asian martial arts, have morals in line with asian teachings, based on recognizably asian cultures and casting *all* the heroes with lilly white actors and *only* the villains as asians have to do with each other?

This isn't like LotR, which also featured a lily white cast, but was understandable and even required due to the source material. This isn't stunt casting like casting will smith as Captain America for the sake of political correctness, this is just naked bigotry. BTW, if we follow paramount's published reasons for making the heroes all white (as part of making it more diverse) than LotR should have featured black elves, latino rohan, asian hobbits, etc. But no, hollywood and fans defended the all white cast of LotR, even though like Avatar, it takes place in a fictional fantasy world. But in that case everyone rallied to the banner that Tolkien was clearly writing based off of western european lore and mythology... so why is it okay to take a similar show, but only this time based on Asia and turn it into an all white offering? Because there's no asian kids that can act? Because that kid from Twilight has such a strong martial arts background? Give me a break, yes, you do sound like douche bag here, I'm sorry.

And yes, M. Night is Indian, and as an ethnic minority in Hollywood he should know better and this is why I call this an Uncle Tom production.

Edited November 11, 2009 by eugimon

[Wanzerfan]

What the hell does rebooting star trek have to do with taking a show that's based on east asian religious and philosophical ideas, with recognizably asian characters, who's only written language is chinese, who's characters eat asian foods, have asian names, practice asian martial arts, have morals in line with asian teachings, based on recognizably asian cultures and casting *all* the heroes with lilly white actors and *only* the villains as asians have to do with each other?

This isn't like LotR, which also featured a lily white cast, but was understandable and even required due to the source material. This isn't stunt casting like casting will smith as Captain America for the sake of political correctness, this is just naked bigotry. BTW, if we follow paramount's published reasons for making the heroes all white (as part of making it more diverse) than LotR should have featured black elves, latino rohan, asian hobbits, etc. But no, hollywood and fans defended the all white cast of LotR, even though like Avatar, it takes place in a fictional fantasy world. But in that case everyone rallied to the banner that Tolkien was clearly writing based off of western european lore and mythology... so why is it okay to take a similar show, but only this time based on Asia and turn it into an all white offering? Because there's no asian kids that can act? Because that kid from Twilight has such a strong martial arts background? Give me a break, yes, you do sound like douche bag here, I'm sorry.

And yes, M. Night is Indian, and as an ethnic minority in Hollywood he should know better and this is why I call this an Uncle Tom production.

Not to be rude, but doesn't this look like to be flamebaiting. I certainly hope not, because I sure as hell don't want this thread locked for that reason.

[jenius]

[ref]What's a Nubian?[/ref]

Edited November 11, 2009 by jenius

[eugimon]

Not to be rude, but doesn't this look like to be flamebaiting. I certainly hope not, because I sure as hell don't want this thread locked for that reason.

Oh please, if they remade Do the Right Thing with the cast of Ocean's 11 and made Don Cheadle as Sal and the studio said they did it to make the film more "marketable", there would be a huge outcry. But since it's just asians it's "flamebaiting"?

It's pathetic that a story based on east asian culture, with recognizably asian characters can be cast so that the only asians are the evil genocidal maniacs and when people get upset they're told to "get over it".

[Twoducks]

Finding an Asian kid that can act and do martial arts at the same time shouldn't be a problem. Actually, it should be f* simple.

People think "acting" is such a complicated thing. I've done it professionally in theatre for a bit and know too many people that live (or try to live) of it. It ain't a special gift, trust me.

That said, I loved the animated series. Thought about starting a thread here about it lots of times.

[RD Blade]

[ref]What's a Nubian?[/ref]

[emajnthis]

I guess I was being a little vague in the title of the topic. It was a cute way of saying that he was the producer.

One hit wonder? I take it you didn't like Unbreakable all that much, am I right?

If he puts a weird plot twist from hell that only fans of his can understand, I'll wrap my head with duct tape to keep it from exploding when it appears in the film (insert Glenn Beck remark here).

Damn it, I mispelled "Nickelodeon" when I wrote the title for the topic post.

Unbreakable was just "OK" to me, i watched it once i want to say two years ago (I have a friend who's a huge M Knight fanboy with whom i watched it with) and i remember liking it, but i wouldn't reference it as a great film. The happening was too preachy, his other movies build up very well but he has no clue how to end his films. If he doesn't throw a huge twist as the climax then the movie just suddenly ends and is very anticlimactic. Signs was actually one where i liked it when i watched it in theaters, but i watched it again on DVD (with the same friend) and really really disliked it. I didn't realize how horribly cheesy the whole movie was, maybe the ambiance of the theater helped create a better mood for watching the film but watching it in a casual setting at work made me realize how bland the dialogue was and how long and strung on portions of the movie feel. M Knight bashing aside, i hope Avatar does well and he sticks to the established canon because the film practically writes itself.

[Scream Man]

goddam it, I wrote a big post that got lost when the network here dropped out. Stupid internet.

Hell with it Im to tired to fight today. Eugi is right and good and just, and Im wrong and racist. arguement over

[Totoro242]

It's pathetic that a story based on east asian culture, with recognizably asian characters can be cast so that the only asians are the evil genocidal maniacs and when people get upset they're told to "get over it".

I'm confused, you have your panties all up in a bunch over a movie you haven’t seen and you are carrying a torch for an “Asian” property written and created by two Honkies?

[Scream Man]

Thats nothing; u should here the people complain about them not filming in China, or that someone who was in Twilight is in this.... Girl at a party I was at tried valiently to convince me the show was actually set in Ancient china.

Edited November 11, 2009 by Scream Man

[Totoro242]

Oh yeeeeaaah. This new trailer is sweet.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/146209/sci-fi-wi...-last-airbender

They briefly show Appa and it looks awesome!

I was unsure about the look of the film from the other trailers, but this almost seals it for me.

I would like to see Noah Ringer's acting though. He has one line in this trailer and it sounds terrible. We've all heard that he knows martial arts, but I still havent seen him smile or goof off. I hope he doesnt ruin it, ala Jake Lloyd.

[kanedaestes]

As a filmmaker unfortunately Paramount has a point. I am not saying it is right but there is a reason you always see a mostly white cast in a film. Most of it has nothing to do with talent or skills, just that people like to see themselves on screen, and the mass majority of movie goers are white, hence why you see films with an all white cast. As a black guy, yeah i said it thinking about how Peter says it in Family Guy.... I would love to see more races depicted on the screen but the numbers speak and films with a more multicultural cast that is NOT based on an established property tend to not do as well in the box office. Unless you are Tyler Perry but then his films are predicated on plays in which he already had a huge fan base from, so now all those fans line up to see film version of his plays. Think about it, even films that have minorities as the lead still have a mostly white cast to go around them.

That being said at first I had my doubts but the more I see the more interested I become with this film. Hopefully it will bring M. Night out of his rut. Sixth Sense was his only good film, the rest are ok at best.

[Vepariga]

I dont even know why race should even be a question in a movie adaption from a animated series. sure they could have gotten asians to play asian characters but this is america,its expected.

Im looking forward to the movie,effects look excellent, and I can accept the characters and how they appear pretty easily,even tho ang's staff work is bit stiff.

As long as its decent and sticks to the source material enough ill be happy.

Edited May 3, 2010 by Vepariga

[eugimon]

As a filmmaker unfortunately Paramount has a point. I am not saying it is right but there is a reason you always see a mostly white cast in a film. Most of it has nothing to do with talent or skills, just that people like to see themselves on screen, and the mass majority of movie goers are white, hence why you see films with an all white cast. As a black guy, yeah i said it thinking about how Peter says it in Family Guy.... I would love to see more races depicted on the screen but the numbers speak and films with a more multicultural cast that is NOT based on an established property tend to not do as well in the box office. Unless you are Tyler Perry but then his films are predicated on plays in which he already had a huge fan base from, so now all those fans line up to see film version of his plays. Think about it, even films that have minorities as the lead still have a mostly white cast to go around them.

That being said at first I had my doubts but the more I see the more interested I become with this film. Hopefully it will bring M. Night out of his rut. Sixth Sense was his only good film, the rest are ok at best.

you know, that "only white casts get the money" argument is bogus. Denzel Washington and Will Smith get huge dollars but if they were cast for say... Captain America or King Arthur, imagine the rage. But that's all this is, when it's some white guy cast as persian, asian, hispanic, etc, it's all about, "oh, well, that's just the system, blah blah blah" but when it was Will Smith as captain america, an actor who has the charisma, athleticism, acting chops and box office draw but isn't white? Rage, internet fanboy hypocritical rage.

[kanedaestes]

you know, that "only white casts get the money" argument is bogus. Denzel Washington and Will Smith get huge dollars but if they were cast for say... Captain America or King Arthur, imagine the rage. But that's all this is, when it's some white guy cast as persian, asian, hispanic, etc, it's all about, "oh, well, that's just the system, blah blah blah" but when it was Will Smith as captain america, an actor who has the charisma, athleticism, acting chops and box office draw but isn't white? Rage, internet fanboy hypocritical rage.

Ah but I did post that even with a minority lead such as Denzel or Smith they are still surrounded by an all white cast. Films that don't generally have an all white cast tend to not due as well in the box office, there are a few exceptions such as Slumdog Millionaire but look at the past couple of films that are multicasted, and look at their numbers compared to a with an all white cast and their numbers are usually double that.

Edited May 3, 2010 by kanedaestes

[kanedaestes]

You are right though, not too many people were upset that Jennifer Lopez a Puerto Rican played a Mexican in Selena, or better yet how Al Pacino has somehow pulled off being both Cuban and Puerto Rican and everyone seems fine with it.

[eugimon]

Ah but I did post that even with a minority lead such as Denzel or Smith they are still surrounded by an all white cast. Films that don't generally have an all white cast tend to not due as well in the box office, there are a few exceptions such as Slumdog Millionaire but look at the past couple of films that are multicasted, and look at their numbers compared to a with an all white cast and their numbers are usually double that.

but that's not really true either... Bad Boys, Bad Boys 2, I am Legend, those were all big hits and featured a mostly minority cast.

And then there's just changing demographics... America is becoming less "white" all the time.

[eugimon]

You are right though, not too many people were upset that Jennifer Lopez a Puerto Rican played a Mexican in Selena, or better yet how Al Pacino has somehow pulled off being both Cuban and Puerto Rican and everyone seems fine with it.

And the white washing continues, I mean, 21 was a story about mostly asians and they turned nearly everyone white and now they're saying Mickey Rourke is going to be Genghis Khan. Imagine if they made a George Washington movie and cast Forest Whitaker as the titular role? How many of the people who mouth off saying we have out "panties in a bunch" would be out there screaming their little heads off?

Edited May 3, 2010 by eugimon

[Twoducks]

What happened to Zuko's huge-ass-marked-as-an-outcast-among-my-people-scar scar?

Does anybody else think that the Water People could use Katara's face and the snow to reflect the sun as a head gun like Archimedes did? I mean, damn!, All that whiteness bouncing off solar energy could dwarf the Death Star laser.