Thursday, July 31, 2014

Salon Is Flipping Out Because Woody Allen Says He Would Only Use Black Actors for a Black Role

For a New York Observer profile, Woody Allen seems to make a very logical statement. Salon's Prachi Gupta  seems to have a problem with this. She writes:

But there is one very damning quote, buried toward the bottom. The profile takes a break from fawning over Allen’s celebrity friends and summarizing Allen’s continued success to address the criticism that Allen’s films rarely include people of color:
Earlier this year, in an effort to derail Ms. Blanchett’s Oscar campaign, a couple of anonymous complaints turned up in the tabloids about Mr. Allen not using black actors. He’s horrified when I bring up the subject. We talk about the new generation of wonderful black actors like Viola Davis and wonder if they’ll ever be cast in a Woody Allen film. He doesn’t hesitate to respond: “Not unless I write a story that requires it. You don’t hire people based on race. You hire people based on who is correct for the part. The implication is that I’m deliberately not hiring black actors, which is stupid. I cast only what’s right for the part. Race, friendship means nothing to me except who is right for the part.”
I wonder if she has a problem with the lack of white people in the movie Barbershop.

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