Jamie Foxx in Negotiations for "Annie" Movie- Page 5

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 2:03pm

"They were meant to open people's eyes."

Well, mission accomplished, because when I read those "jokes" my eyes nearly popped from my head.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 2:07pm

If Annie's story were about race the way Dreamgirls was, the comparison to an all-white Dreamgirls might be apt. But it's not.

[Dave19]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 2:12pm

Anyway, I'm going to show my kids the mixed version of Annie, with Audra McDonald. It's beautiful and perfect. I'd rather teach them about mixed love stories than about the necessity of separation.

Updated On: 5/1/13 at 02:12 PM

[Wynbish]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 2:15pm

Dave, what are your thoughts on a Black Barbie doll, which was first seen several years after Barbies hit stores?



Is this another example of the Black community needing "their own"?

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 2:15pm

By "mixed," you mean the version with one black cast member?

[Dave19]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 2:19pm

Wynbish, I think that's wonderful! Long live variety.

I do not approve of parents who tell their kids they can only have a strictly "black doll collection" of course.

Would "joking" about those parents be racist?



Updated On: 5/1/13 at 02:19 PM

[Wynbish]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 2:22pm

So, it's okay to have Black Barbie counterparts, even with Barbie being an icon mostly seen as White (well, very tanned white), but to make the iconic character of Annie black and the major characters as well, that takes it too far? I don't see the difference, personally

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 2:22pm

Wow.

[Dave19]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 2:24pm

No Reginald, I mean the main romantic love story of the film being mixed race. I think that's wonderful. I think some of the kids were black too (and other races).

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 2:24pm

You don't have kids.

[Dave19]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 2:27pm

"So, it's okay to have Black Barbie counterparts"

It's not only ok, it's wonderful.

Insisting on having "no white counterparts" or "only black" is a different story. What part of that do you not get?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 2:28pm

Why did he black community insist on having their own Barbie dolls?

[Kad]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 2:28pm

At this point, I'm not super clear on how this movie stands in relation to the musical. Jay-Z is working on the score- does that not imply that they are jettisoning or highly modifying it? They're renaming Warbucks, does that not imply they are drastically reshaping the material?

And if we're going to be so defensive of the sanctity of the source material- don't forget that the Annie musical is a pretty big about-face from the original comic strip, which was not shy in its conservatism. Harold Gray even briefly killed off Daddy Warbucks following the New Deal, citing a belief that Warbucks couldn't exist in a world in which the New Deal was enacted. Harold Gray also was pro-child labor- a "hard-knock life" was probably not a bad thing in his eyes.

God knows what he'd think if he knew they were making an all-black equivalent!

[Wynbish]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 2:30pm

Insisting on having "no white counterparts" or "only black" is a different story. What part of that do you not get?

When a new Annie movie is concerned, all of it. It's not like this movie wipes out every incarnation where the cast is white only or where the cast is mixed. It's just doing a new spin on a fictional character in a fictional story. They're not trying to make Anne Frank black.

Updated On: 5/1/13 at 02:30 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 2:32pm

But it's a slippery slope...

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 2:32pm

But who are these people insisting on "no white counterparts"? If this new "Annie" were to cast a white Grace, would that be okay?

[Kad]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 2:34pm

In fact, we really don't seem to know a whole lot about this movie at all, other than it's not the "traditional" (ie: lily white) Annie.

[Kad]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 2:35pm

..I mean, the original draft was written by Emma Thompson. Hardly a black icon here.

[all that jazz]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 2:37pm

Our society is rooted on stereotypes, every time you're talking about a race be it white, or black or any other, jokes will surface. Whether or not is right to do it is one thing, but...

Everyone's a little bit racist
Okay!
Ethinic jokes might be uncouth,
But you laugh because
They're based on truth.
Don't take them as
Personal attacks.
Everyone enjoys them -
So relax!


The real problem arrives when you try to turn a light and humorous discussion into a serious social statement, which is not, IMO. Like I said before, I'm very excited for this film and I'm happy they're updating it since we already have two more film adaptations of the same beloved musical.


Honestly, the only post here which I found to be demeaning and terribly racist was KKKatie's.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 2:38pm

Yeah, no. All of that, just... no.

[Dave19]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 2:39pm

Reginals, that would at least teach people better life lessons. But something tells me that the producers of this film will not do that. That their interest of having an all black cast is bigger than anything else. But who knows, I might be surprised.

Updated On: 5/1/13 at 02:39 PM

[JP2]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 2:40pm

"Should we celebrate the white culture and make an all white movie version of Dreamgirls with Kelly Clarkson, Christina Aguilera and Pink?"

Um, considering how INCREDIBLE that cast is, yes.

[all that jazz]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 2:41pm

Obviously, Christina as Effie.

[Wynbish]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 2:41pm

When you Google "Shasquirta", the only result is this thread.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 5/1/13 at 2:43pm

Leaving "Annie" aside for a moment, do you get equally worked up when faced with all-white casts in film and onstage?

You mentioned "Les Miserables" (and your fear that some studio would attempt an all-black version). Did you think that all-white cast sent some sort of message?