January 09, 2009

Vanessa Hudgens as Quileute werewolf?!

The producers of Twilight are thinking of giving Indians the finger again by casting another non-Native as a Quileute werewolf. Incredible!

Robert Pattinson to steal Vanessa Hudgens from Zac EfronIf rumours are to be believed Robert Pattinson is on the verge of stealing Vanessa Hudgens from Zac Efron.

It seems like Vanessa might be being considered for the role of Leah in the next Twilight flick so could soon be spending a lot of time with sexy Rob.

She usually works with Zac Efron on movies so it would be strange for the couple to be on different acting jobs.

Camilla Belle and Brenda Song are also rumoured to be up for the role so we will just have to wait and see who gets the role.
Here are some reactions from Twilight fans. First, an attempt at rationality:Sasa

No, Leah is supposed to be more athletic and fast second only to Jacob. I can’t see her playing a Native American they are in general above average high and are not so dainty.
It's risky to generalize, but I'd say Natives tend to have a stockier body type than average. As for their height, I'm not sure.

A thoughtless Twilight fan speaks:Petzi

Yes Yes Yes!!!!!! :D
I love Twilight
I love Vanessa Hudgens!!
It´s a great Idea
A thoughtful Twilight fan speaks:Maddy

As a major Twilight fan (and not much of a HSM fan) I definitely do NOT want Vanessa as Leah. Nothing against her personally, but honestly--Leah would get a bigger part in the movie, and besides--VH is not tall, athletic and she doesn’t have a rough voice. I just can’t see her as the rude, hated werewolf. She would KILL New Moon.
Someone states the obvious--that a non-Indian shouldn't play an Indian:Lucy

Wow.. thats the worst idea ive ever heard. I also heard Brenda Song will be a Werewolf too. Summit entertainment has been making the Worst decisions about this .. but sorry Vanessa.. She would SUCK as Leah.. she would not match as a Quiluette member.. woow.. think Summit
And our own correspondent DMarks asks the obvious followup question:dmarks

Surely, in all of America, there has to be at least one qualified Native American actress?
Comment:  I guess Vanessa Hudgens should start combing through her family tree to see if she can find a Cherokee princess. Then this casting choice will be "okay."

Oh, wait...according to Wikipedia, she's already an "Indian":Hudgens's father is an American of Irish and Native American descent, and her mother, who grew up in Manila, is a Filipino-born of Filipino, Spanish, and Chinese descent.Problem solved! Since she's slightly darker than average and has a few drops of Native blood, she'd be perfect to represent the Quileute tribe.

I gather Stephenie Meyer is involved in all of Twilight's casting decisions. The evidence is mounting that she's a conscious rather than unconscious racist.

Despite hiring Gil Birmingham and a couple other Indians in secondary roles, it's clear she doesn't think Indians are attractive or "hot" enough to play, well, Indians. Coupled with the decision to make her vampires lily-white, it's pretty clear she's a racist. The only question is what kind.

I can just imagine the scene in the Twilight casting office. "No, no, no," Meyer says, tossing a stack of 8x10 glossies of Native actors into the trash. "These people aren't at all what I imagined. I want a starlet who could pose on a magazine cover. The female equivalent of Taylor Lautner.

"How 'Indian' should she be? If she has brown hair, that'll do. What about that Hudgens girl from High School Musical? She posed nude, so yeah...she's sexy enough to be my Leah."

For more on the subject, see Quileute Werewolves in Twilight.

P.S. That "sexy Rob" reference was to Robert Pattinson, not me.

Below:  "I'm a fantasy figure who looks 'dark' in the right light. I'm an Indian!"

5 comments:

dmarks said...

Lucy said "I also heard Brenda Song will be a Werewolf too."

I looked her up. I'd not heard of her before. In ethnicity, Brenda Song is 100% East Asian. Sure fits in with "I'm a fantasy figure who looks 'dark' in the right light. I'm an Indian!"


It is discussed here.

The movie begins filming in March this year, and is released in November this year. I suppose that the Twilight sites will be buzzing with casting rumors until then.

The IMDB page for the movie does not say. But more interestingly, it does not even list Taylor Lautner as being in the cast.

Rob said...

If Brenda Song gets a role instead of, or in addition to, Vanessa Hudgens, I'll ridicule her choice too.

I'm waiting for a Twilight producer to admit the obvious: "We couldn't care less about casting Indians in the major Quileute roles. We're looking for Disney-style pretty people who will sell tickets."

Mikst said...

I agree with Rob it looks like their looking for actors who they know will sell tickets, I scoff at the idea of Vanessa Hudgens or Brenda Song playing a Quileute person. Brings back bad memories of my elementary school production of Pocahontas where this Asian girl was billed to play Pocahontas. I was quite miffed, even as an eight year old I knew it was wrong...

Anonymous said...

Stephenie Meyer has absolutely nothing to do with the casting of New Moon. Before you call a person a racist because her story is being turned into a craptastic movie, do your research.

Rob said...

I've done plenty of research, Anonymous. Have you?

What's your source for claiming that Mayer has had no role whatsoever in casting New Moon? Cite and quote this source if you can.

FYI, I quoted Meyer when she said she participated in the decision to retain Taylor Lautner in New Moon. That alone proves the producers have consulted with her on casting decisions.

Here's the quote in question:

"I'd just like to add that I was very much a part of this decision. My first priority was always what was best for New Moon—what was going to give us the best possible movie. I'm truly thrilled that Taylor was the one who proved to the director, to Summit, and to me that he is the best possible Jacob we could have."

Also, before Twilight was cast, Meyer shared her opinions about who should play her characters. She didn't suggest any Native actors to play her young Quileute werewolves. Whether she was involved in the casting or not, this is evidence of a biased attitude.