Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)

I can't be the last person on the face of this Earth who is anticipating this film -- and not because I think it'll validate all of the complaints about casting Chinese people in (some, not all) Japanese roles. Judging by the stills, the director (Rob Marshall), the past work of the cast and the spectacular source material, I actually think this film could open to great reviews and be a frontrunner for Best Picture. Spielberg's film about the 1972 Olympics be damned!

Cinderella Man is worth a viewing if you haven't seen it already.

But Spielberg's flick (with a screenplay by Tony Kushner) is the frontrunner mostly because of the serious Israeli v. Palestine subject matter, which I think might be better suited to a newspaper than a film that's being pushed for Oscars. I hope that Rent and Memoirs of a Geisha won't disappoint.

Well Spielberg has been mediocre to laugh out loud bad for a good 10 years now. So my hopes for any new movie of his are never high, not anymore.

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I've yet to read this book...

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And I liked Minority Report. At least until the end.

And how man Spielberg films can you say that about though? His insistence on happy endings is just ridiculous, and the latest one is plain insulting. The upcoming Olympics siege film from him will probably end with everyone joining hands and singing Kum By Ah.

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I enjoyed Minority Report and was big a fan of A.I.: Artificial Intelligence. *ducks* The concept of adopting some robots for children and discarding others for a freak show is just fascinating to me, even if the conclusion was mawkish.

I would rather the Spielberg film end with a "can't we all just get along message" than be biased toward either Israel or Palestine.

As for as the sound quality for Rent is concerned: I'm worried about that too. I have yet to see the trailer in the theater, but on the Internet, Seasons of Love just isn't as rousing for me as it is on the OBCR. Maybe that's because fewer people are singing it. Anyway, I'm more concerned about how much that screenplay from last fall has been revised (hopefully a lot) than anything else.

I've got mixed feelings about casting Chinese as Japanese (we are not the same, dammit!--and Zhang, gorgeous and talented as she is, really doesn't look Japanese), but I've got high hopes for the film. Ken Watanabe? YES!

It's true, we're not the same -- but generically-white actors have been cast in all sorts of European roles for ages. I've lost count on how many times a pale-skinned British actor has played an Italian, or an Irishman playing a Polishman. *ahem*

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Wasn't there a controversy during filming about an ad that went out, looking for extras to play background geishas?

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No doubt it will be absolutely ravishing to look at.

Can't wait to see what Hatsumomo looks like.

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read the book... interested on how they are going to adapt it into the movie.

The beauty is in the language itself, so hopefully they can capture that visually.

It's also very much an epic, and I hope they don't skimp.

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I'm looking at the IMDb entry right now....wow, it has a very impressive cast. All the major rolesare played by established Asian actors: Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, Li Gong, Ken Watanabe. (The only one missing is Maggie Cheung.) Now I'm really looking forward to this.

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