Memoirs of a Geisha

Yes, it's a new movie coming out based on a best-selling novel. And that's fine. But if you know about the casting, anyone who is Asian would be left scratching their head wondering who in the world did the casting. Not to say that the actresses and actors casted are poor, but they don't quite fit the part. Which brings up another point: all Asians do not look alike.

Zhang Ziyi, Michelle Yeoh, Gong Li, and Ken Watanabe are some of the big-name actors/actresses in this flick. Okay, Ken is a great choice; his past performances have been excellent. Better yet, he's a Japanese guy who plays a Japanese guy. He looks Japanese, he sounds Japanese, he is Japanese.

Now let's take all the other actresses. Zhang Ziyi. She looks very Chinese and there's no mistaking it. It's not even close. When you listen to her speak, she has a Chinese accent. Again, not even close to sounding Japanese. Then there's Gong Li, another huge-name Chinese actress who's been in numerous movies. Again, she looks very Chinese; there's no mistaking. And then there's Michelle Yeoh, who is Malaysian. She looks....well, I'm not sure. But she sure doesn't look Japanese. And she has a British accent when she speaks. Hello? Mr. Casting-guy, what in the world were you thinking? Basically, that all Asians look alike, so that casting a Chinese-looking person for a Japanese role would be perfectly fine and that bringing in big names would help attract viewers at the box office.

Now, maybe box-office names were what drew the casting director to choose these people. After all, everyone knows Michelle Yeoh for her role in Jackie Chan's SuperCop, she was a Bond girl, and she was in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (one of the worst kung fu movies ever made - but one of the best dramas). What I don't understand is that outside of the international movie-goer's realm, no one really knows Gong Li or Zhang Ziyi. So why was it so necessary to cast them in the role? Yes, Gong Li is an outstanding actress and she's proven that time and again (Raise the Red Lantern, Shanghai Triad, Qiu Ju, Madame Butterfly). But if you asked anyone walking down the street (NOT in Chinatown or San Jose) who Gong Li is, no one would know. So why choose her? "Becase she's an outstanding actress". Yes, but so is Sigourny Weaver. Why not just dye her hair black and cast her?
As for Zhang Ziyi, listening to her speak English, it just screams out "Mandarin is my native language". Again, there's nothing wrong with that. But she doesn't fit the bloody part.

One could argue, I suppose, that there were no good Japanese actresses who auditioned. Well, the movie guys could have tried to get Koyuki (who?). She was great in the Last Samurai. She looks Japanese, sounds Japanese, and most importantly, she IS Japanese. So you can't say there are no good Japanese actresses who fit the part; there definitely are.

That makes about much sense, I suppose, as casting Russel Crowe, an Aussi with an Aussi accent, as the Gladiator general, who was supposed to be a Spaniard.