Cameron Crowe, the director of ‘Aloha‘ is sorry for “white washing” the cast of the movie and choosing Emma Stone to play an Asian American.
Critics all agree that ‘Aloha’ is probably the worst film Cameron Crowe has ever made.The movie is so bad that Sony Pictures executive Amy Pascal wrote in a leaked email that “It never … Not even once … ever works.” But the least workable thing, according to Cameron Crowe, was casting Emma Stone as a woman who’s Asian.
In a note on his website Cameron Crowe said ‘Aloha’ was “misunderstood“.
Thank you so much for all the impassioned comments regarding the casting of the wonderful Emma Stone in the part of Allison Ng. 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. 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.
Camerone Crowe apparently wrote a character who he felt could be played by a white actress, and then told casting directors to cast a white actress. He made this plan years ago, so I guess it was a pretty good idea?
Later in the open letter, he points out that Emma Stone did “tireless research” to play Allison Ng, so it’s not her fault if you didn’t understand that she was part Asian.
Cameron Crone also writes he was “able to present the island, the locals and the film community with many jobs for over four months,” so that makes up for not casting Asian Americans in the movie.
“So many of us are hungry for stories with more racial diversity,” he concludes, “more truth in representation, and I am anxious to help tell those stories in the future.”
In Cameron Crowe’s opinion, Aloha was pretty good despite the “white-washing.”
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