The romantic comedy starring Bradley Cooper and Emma Stone, titled "Aloha," has received a massive amount of criticism from various online and offline personalities mainly due to the decision of the film's director, Cameron Crowe, to cast a Caucasian actress to play the role of Alison Ng, according to The Guardian.
In the center of this controversy is "The Amazing Spider-Man" star, Stone, who took on the role of Alison Ng - a character described to be quarter Hawaiian and has a half-Chinese dad. Given the said description, many fans and followers expected that an Asian actress will be cast in the lead female role. However, a lot of people were shocked with Crowe's decision to give the part to Stone. Since the announcement, the project has been described as a "whitewashing" effort of Sony while others blasted Stone for taking on a role clearly not suitable for her.
In a recent post in his official website, The Uncool, Crowe addressed the comment as speculations surrounding the film.
"From the very beginning of its appearance in the Sony Hack, "Aloha" has felt like a misunderstood movie," he began. "One that people felt they knew a lot about, but in fact they knew very little. It was a small movie, made by passionate actors who wanted to join me in making a film about Hawaii, and the lives of these characters who live and work in and around the island of Oahu," Crowe went on to explain.
He then continued to thank everyone for their "impassioned comments" with regard the decision to choose Stone to play the character of Ng. Crowe wrote, "I have heard your words and your disappointment, and I offer you a heart-felt apology to all who felt this was an odd or misguided casting choice."
"As far back as 2007, Captain Allison Ng was written to be a super-proud ¼ Hawaiian who was frustrated that, by all outward appearances, she looked nothing like one. A half-Chinese father was meant to show the surprising mix of cultures often prevalent in Hawaii," he elucidated. He then added, "Extremely proud of her unlikely heritage, she feels personally compelled to over-explain every chance she gets. The character was based on a real-life, red-headed local who did just that."
In the next paragraphs, Crowe chose to no longer delve on the issue and focused on the ways the film helped the place. He wrote, "We were extremely proud to present the island, the locals and the film community with many jobs for over four months." Returning to the point of his post, he stated, "Emma Stone was chief among those who did tireless research, and if any part of her fine characterization has caused consternation and controversy, I am the one to blame."
Apart from Stone and Cooper, the film also featured Rachel McAdams, Bill Murray, John Krasinski, Danny McBride, and Alec Baldwin.
