2013-05-01, 08:08 | Link #41 |
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Although I don't think they will go this route, who says they can't get a new actor for the role of Tenma?
The lead role doesn't have to be someone established. If they want established actors to pull viewers in there are plenty of other roles for that. So saying there are no Japanese actors who can speak English for the role isn't necessarily true.
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2013-05-01, 13:03 | Link #42 |
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It's not too likely because any investor will want to see a big name director paired up with a big name actor. Also, there aren't all that many plum roles in the show, so it's harder to build up the rest of the cast. Bear in mind that the Game of Thrones TV series got as much attention as it did because everyone thought that Sean Bean would be the lead. (Not counting those who've read the book that is. )
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2013-05-02, 00:48 | Link #45 | ||
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Besides, I don't think that any of us are talking about big name movie stars; just names recognizable enough to generate a bit of buzz. I guess that you can argue that Kaneshiro Takeshi is really big in Asia, but he's not nearly as famous in North America.
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2013-05-02, 09:31 | Link #46 |
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HBO sometimes relies on the producers and directors to generate the buzz. People watched Aaron Sorkin's The Newsroom as much to see another show by Sorkin as to watch Jeff Daniels. Band of Brothers was promoted by referring to Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and Stephen Ambrose as executive producers. The actors like Damian Lewis had little or no public image at the time that show aired. I can see a similar strategy for Monster emphasizing the role of Del Toro.
I'm less well acquainted with actors these days than I was when I was younger, but I, for one, have never heard of Kaneshiro Takeshi. I suspect a good Japanese actor with some knowledge of English would be fine. Once he has understood and memorized his lines, his performance is going to depend mostly on his acting chops.
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2013-05-02, 13:00 | Link #47 | ||
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2013-05-02, 20:54 | Link #48 | |
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Kaneshiro was born in Taiwan to a Japanese father and a Taiwanese mother. Unlike Oh who is a Taiwanese citizen, Kaneshiro is a Japanese citizen.
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2013-05-12, 14:34 | Link #49 |
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At least it seems that Monster would follow the manga closely.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news...-manga-closely Urasawa-sensei staying involved is a good thing. Maybe he and Del Toro and whomever else can prevail upon HBO to not whitewash Tenma. I'd love to see this become a hit with a Japanese Tenma just to prove to those idiots in Hollywood that the audience will reward fidelity to the original source and the courage to go with an Asian lead. Then maybe we would not worry so much about the Hollywood version of Death Note. I somehow still have nightmares about Justin Bieber as Light, and Light being the hero rather than the villain. I really hope that Hollywood Death Note doesn't turn out that way (For the record, I haven't seen or read Death Note)
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2013-05-12, 18:41 | Link #50 | |
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As for Dr. Tenma, I wouldn't be greatly against them making him be a white male, but I would rather them keep him a japanese Doctor. If they make that change though it won't really effect my opinion of the adaptation all that much, as long as the actor is competent and can successfully portray the emotions/ordeal that Dr. Tenma is going through. I would much rather have a competent white male actor as Tenma then a B rate Japanese actor as Tenma just to keep true to the source material.
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2013-05-12, 19:46 | Link #52 |
AS Oji-kun
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I like Watanabe, but his IMDb profile shows he is 54 which might be a bit too old to play Tenma.
Just for a lark I browsed through this list of Asian actors. Here are my nominees: Ken Jeong (44) - The guy has a medical degree! What more could you want? Has anyone seen him in anything other than a comedic role? Masi Oka (39) - Right age range and a Japanese native, but perhaps a bit too nerdy? I didn't see any pictures of him without his glasses which might help. He played a medical doctor on "Hawaii Five-0." B D Wong (53) - He has a Tony for "M. Butterfly" which might give him some cred. He's a bit old for the part, but he looks younger in his photos. Tim Kang (40) - Known to American audiences from his work in The Mentalist. Perhaps a bit too "grungy" for our distinguished neurosurgeon? Daniel Dae Kim (45) - Appears on TV's remake of Hawaii Five-0 and has a number of voice acting credits in games and animated series. His main photo seems like a good look for Tenma, though perhaps a bit too harsh. Rex Lee (44) - Appeared in the HBO series Entourage. For that reason alone, I wouldn't be surprised to see him playing Tenma. Thinking about this question makes me realize that it will be difficult to cast Tenma. Most male Asian actors working in Hollywood appear either in "action" films, often as villains, or as comic relief or sidekick characters. Tenma is introverted, obsessive, and very, very serious, and he's hardly an action character. That's why I thought someone with Daniel Dae Kim's looks and demeanor might be a possibility. Oka seems like another good choice, but having not watched the current incarnation of Hawaii Five-O I cannot tell whether he would fit the part. Maybe Daniel Day Lewis should audition? With the right makeup he'd probably make a great Tenma!
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2013-05-12, 20:04 | Link #53 | |
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Anyway, they better cast an Asian actor for Tenma at least; I know the pickings is slim for well known Japanese actors but don't whitewash Tenma. Too bad Daniel Dae Kim is tied up with Hawaii 5-0. Man oh man, I'd love it if he was Tenma. Masi Oka is adorable, but he's too goofy to be Tenma. So is Ken Jeong.
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2013-05-12, 20:27 | Link #55 | |
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2013-05-12, 22:16 | Link #56 |
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Um... Do people still not realize that's an offensive term for Japanese? Just saying.
I don't think the issue of big stars is such a problem - HBO has decent budgets for all their big series. And they've had their share of big names - Dustin Hoffman in Luck, for example. And most of the cast in GoT are very well-known and established actors in Britain, and don't come all that cheap. I think George Takei is available...
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2013-05-13, 04:40 | Link #59 |
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I finished Monster just two months ago, and ended up liking it very much (despite not being an avid manga reader), so the thought of it being adapted to live-action's pretty exciting, and what more, one handled by Del Toro!
Since the announcement, I hadn't expected any more updates so soon. The latest news about the pilot script gives me a rather optimistic feeling about the progress of the series' development. Tenma's one thing, but I can't guess a suitable actor for Johan... Last edited by Allium; 2013-05-13 at 04:52. |
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