Memoirs of a Geisha

[monkeyboy]

I loved the book and knew a movie was being made.

I'll be first in line Dec. 9th to see it.

http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/memoirsofageisha/

Looks great from the trailer. Just hope it's as good as the book!

[grEenLeaFx]

Looks good, I'll go see it.

[Dustie]

Have been waiting all year to see this. Was slightly concerned about Zang Ziyi, because it was her first English speaking role. It looks like she did a good job from the trailer.

December looks to have a bunch of good movies in general.

Memoirs of a Geisha, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, King Kong, Brokeback Mountain, etc..

[Cloud]

slightly concerned about Zang Ziyi because it was her first English speaking role might have been.

[Dustie]

slightly concerned about Zang Ziyi because it was her first English speaking role might have been.

Cloud, you're being a bad bot.

[Ronin]

Hey that looks pretty cool and will have to be 'one to watch'. Never read the book, but it looks Japanese based (Geisha, Ken Watanabe etc), so why are Zhang Ziyi and Michelle Yeoh in it? Are the main characters supposed to be Chinese?

[Dustie]

Hey that looks pretty cool and will have to be 'one to watch'. Never read the book, but it looks Japanese based (Geisha, Ken Watanabe etc), so why are Zhang Ziyi and Michelle Yeoh in it? Are the main characters supposed to be Chinese?

No, the main characters are supposed to be japanese.

My guess is the movie studio picked well known box office names, to make the movie sell tickets.

[Ronin]

Oh god, really? Talk about ignorant ...I guess that’s what happens when a Western crew take charge of a Japanese themed film. Don't they know anything about cultural diversity in Asia??

[Dustie]

Oh god, really? Talk about ignorant ...I guess that’s what happens when a Western crew take charge of a Japanese themed film. Don't they know anything about cultural diversity in Asia??

They probably are aware, but just don't give a crap about anything, other than what will make the most money.

There are several japanese actresses, I could have seen playing those parts. But they are just not as well known. It's really sad.

To Hollywood: ==> and

[Blackmegabyte]

Yeah, I'm looking forward to this movie too-------

lush cotumes, great story, historical drama, underdog---- formula sounds like Oscar bait if I ever saw any. I hope Ken gets another nomination, it'd be great if he won, he's such a badass actor!

[Keropi]

They probably are aware, but just don't give a crap about anything, other than what will make the most money.

The director said he didn't see it as important because different national origin actors play different parts all the time in other movies. I understand what he's getting at. In most cases I don't think it should play any role at all. But for such a culturally centered story I think it's a little distracting to me to see non-Japanese playing most of the major roles. I think most Asians can look at other Asians and have a general idea what national origin they are so seeing these actors in the movie will be a little distracting to me. But they did pick good actors and actresses for the roles so it should turn out just fine.

In those old Hong Kong martial arts films where they needed actors to play the "evil" Japanese villain roles they chose Chinese actors that "looked Japanese". In some cases they even used Japanese actors for the roles. I must say it was often difficult for me to tell who was Chinese and who was Japanese just based on their appearance in the movie.

[Cloud]

Good then you can explain it to me.

[Golden Boy]

I was actually one of the billion asian extras used for that movie. Been waiting forever for the release; the scenes that I'm in were shot more than a year ago. Oh well, I'm hoping it's at least half as good as the book and that I haven't been edited out. Doh!

[Ronin]

I was actually one of the billion asian extras used for that movie. Been waiting forever for the release; the scenes that I'm in were shot more than a year ago. Oh well, I'm hoping it's at least half as good as the book and that I haven't been edited out. Doh!

Hey that's pretty cool!! It'll be cool to look out for ya (when ya know if you're in it!) Let’s hope you end up in a few scenes!


Hmm, I wrote a lot about the whole race thing, but I deleted it, I know race does not matter etc etc, but this kind of thing bugs me as I don't bye into the whole ‘actors play different origins all the time’ thing. Although it is true (to a certain extent, there are lots of issues I could bring up with this), to be honest I just see it as a cheap way to drag in crowds by bringing familiar faces into the film.
I think it's just a shame as the film is meant to be enriched with Japanese culture and themes, so it just seems pretty stupid to star two Chinese actresses as the main leads, when there are thousands of other able Japanese actresses out there, I just can’t think of anything more off-putting. Surely we should be trying to educate the west (considering it’s made by Hollywood) instead of confusing them even more, so that the guys down the pub have an idea that Japan and China are indeed two completely different countries…obviously not everyone is the same, but you’d be surprised just how many misinformed people there are out there -who really don’t have a clue.

I wouldn’t be so bothered if people had an idea, but the stuff I’ve heard coming from grown adults mouths…grown adults is just ridiculous! I guess it’s just another one of those things.

[Elfstalker]

I'm an avid fan of the geisha culture. I've read the book years ago, and was glad when I learned that a movie is coming out!

There's some ugly things posted on forums about how 'non Japanese' are hogging up the movie, and how the movie wouldn't be 'authentic' because of this. It's a sad thing that people can spew such spite, but the book was written by a Westerner. No matter what, it wouldn't be 'authentic,' nor was it meant to be. It's a fictional story as seen through Arthur Golden's perception. As one not native from Japan, I think he has done an excellent job in writing a beautiful and touching story.

I have no qualms about who is chosen as actors, as long as they play a convincing role. I'll enjoy the movie no matter what.