Robert Downey Jr. Plays a Black Man in Next Role

Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Paramount, Comedy, Casting, Celeb News, Upcoming Releases

While many have been oohing and ahhing over the pics of Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, its his work in a less splashy flick that may generate the most talk.

In the upcoming movie, Tropic Thunder, Downey plays an actor who plays a black man in a film he is shooting.  Instead of rewriting a role originally written for an African-American, Robert’s character, Kirk Lazarus, opts to go the method route and dyes his skin.  (You can see him in the picture next to Jack Black.)

This movie already came with buzz attached to it long before Downey’s role was revealed.  This was the film Owen Wilson was attached to at the time of his suicide attempt.

So what do you think?  Should this role be considered controversial? Should it simply be taken into context?  Should we just be happy that it’s not 1986’s Soul Man?

Read More | Daily Mail

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Disney to Feature First Black Heroine

Posted by Johnny Mercedes Categories: Disney, Animation, Family, Upcoming Releases

The Walt Disney Company will return to the classic, hand-drawn animated feature in 2009 with The Frog Princess, the whimsical tale of a girl named Maddy living in New Orleans.  Not only does the film mark a return to traditional animation, but it also introduces the first black heroine ever to star in an animated Disney film.  The company plans to add Maddy to its successful Princess division, an extremely lucrative product line featuring eight princesses from past Disney films and targeting young girls ages 3 to 8.  The film will also pay tribute to the recently hapless town of New Orleans, showcasing its contributions to American culture through Randy Newman-tinged jazz music.

The aptly timed tribute to New Orleans notwithstanding, the introduction of a black heroine seems a bit late.  At over eighty years old, the Walt Disney Company should have taken this step years ago, not only when realizing their Princess profits were perhaps lacking some African American dollars.  However belated, the film parallels a unique time in US history – the strong possibility of either a black or female president in 2008.  Whether or not this was Disney’s intention, a return to hand-drawn animation, with some diversity thrown in, can only be a good thing.  Keep checking FilmCrunch for all updates on The Frog Princess.

Read More | Reuters

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