I think the difference might be huge if you're Italian or Japanese.

Is it? I mean, aren't European actors sometimes cast as other nationalities in European films? I can't think of any specific examples, however, so they may not be, but I thought I'd seen it done.

Of course, there's always casting an Englishman to play Gandhi, but as I recall, there was some huffing over that one.

I don't think there's any more virtue to casting Zhang than there would be to casting, say, Lucy Liu.

Nor do I, but I also don't see the crime in casting Liu given that it is an American production. Should I?

there's always casting an Englishman to play Gandhi, but as I recall, there was some huffing over that one.

I thought Kingsley was half Indian.

I thought Kingsley was half Indian.

That's what his IMDb Bio says.

I mean, aren't European actors sometimes cast as other nationalities in European films?

Probably. But when they cast Americans as Jamaicans (and I'm talking better accents than Kendra's) we get a little huffy -- we got good actors too, you know. (though Don Cheadle can be Bond -- don't get me wrong here)

I also don't see the crime in casting Liu given that it is an American production. Should I?

If it were a Japanese production, I still wouldn't think it a crime.

In the end, it is about the quality of what the cast produces. Which is precisely why I'm wondering why they're so proud of themselves. An American production of a book written by a gaijin -- and a pan-Asian cast is -- well, if they mean racially it's pragmatic. If they mean by nationality -- I think Japanese has some purist virtue, especially to the Japanese. Pan-Asian has little to none.

Movie could still suck.

Nor do I, but I also don't see the crime in casting Liu given that it is an American production. Should I?

I dislike having the stereotype of all Asians looking alike to Americans being confirmed by the apparent back-patting going on within the production. It'd be one thing if they were saying "We think that Zhang Ziyi is truly the best actress to play this character, regardless of ethnicity," but that's not the impression I get from the blurb.

I think from a Japanese point of view, casting a Chinese woman is no better than casting a Frenchwoman. Asians don't all look alike to other Asians.

"We think that Zhang Ziyi is truly the best actress to play this character, regardless of ethnicity,"

Yeah, I'm not precisely getting that either. Now, I couldn't tell you if she looks authentic enough, because my eyes aren't that sensitive. I think it pathetically obvious that the Yoruba woman in the Riverworld series (it was on last night, bear with my ita-come-lately) is NOT JUST BLACK.

If Ziyi's that obviously wrong, I weep for the production. I just can't tell. I used to be able to tell, but not any more.

being confirmed by the apparent back-patting going on within the production.

It's the back-patting that makes it annoying, really.

I've found that I can usually single Korean men and Japanese women out of the general Asian pool, but I wouldn't trust my ability to do so with the other permutations.

What was the general impression of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in the house? (We watched, thought it was okay, and that Kate Winslet was very pretty in a Jessica like way, but failed to connect to the characters enough to care about them.)

Plei is me. Then again, I'd say the same thing above about Lost in Translation (was okay, Scarlett was v. pretty, failed to connect).

I, too, thought Hero was beautiful enough that the thinness of the story wasn't distracting. I've heard that Daggers is better. Can't wait to see it.