Scarlett Johansson and her withdrawl of Trans role

https://www.npr.org/2018/07/13/62898...=1531736874130

I have really mixed feelings on this news. I'm continually uplifted at the progressions that Trans community makes in the world. It's great that many more Transgender people are able to have such a voice in the world. I also see films such as Tangerine and A Fantastic Woman as great ventures in the modern film industry.

But I'm a bit confused at the pressure that was put on Scarlett Johansson to withdraw from playing a Transgender character. I don't understand how a talented actress is forced to abandon that project, and instead, a Transgender actor replace her. Isn't part of acting, to challenge yourself and play as diverse characters as possible? Why must the role go to a person of specific sexual orientation?

Were there cries from the LGBT community (or any other community) when Tom Hanks, Jared Leto, Matthew McConnaghay, Rachel Weisz, Chris Cooper, Ian McKellen, Jodie Foster (the list goes on......) played characters that were different from their real life sexual orientation? If not, why not?

Are we in danger now of seeing a dilution of the industry and film projects due to the potential of causing offence. I think that's a very dangerous and quite sad path to take.

It's a load of crap

I mean, if I'm a transgendered actor, I don't want a transgendered role. What's that called when an actor is looked at as only being able to play one type of role?

Yeah exactly. Johansson has been accused of helping to whitewash the industry, yet the very thing the LGBT community seems to be campaigning about in this case, is surely going to result in the same thing for Transgender actors.

It didn't help that they were reframing the story as less the story of a transgender man and more as the story of a female cross-dresser, effectively erasing the transgender element in the process. That's the key issue with films of this nature - creators that are unable and/or unwilling to treat the material with the respect it deserves, which honestly sounds like it's more likely to dilute the projects in question by having people disregard the very communities they're supposedly trying to represent and thus create hollow films in the process. That was the case with Dallas Buyers Club creating a fictional trans woman to serve as a foil for Woodruff (whose own bisexuality was erased from the finished film for the sake of bigot-redemption cliché), yet Vallée didn't even try auditioning actual trans women for the role. As such, films like that want to have their cake and eat it too - they want to appear progressive in building stories around the plight of marginalised communities but they ultimately compromise their own work by wanting to give award-baiting "brave" roles to privileged stars who care more about challenging themselves (and earning critical recognition) than doing right by the subject matter. This is the kind of phenomenon that Tropic Thunder aimed to mock by having a white actor "challenge himself" by undergoing surgery to play a black lead character while an actual black actor was relegated to playing a supporting role.

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But recently on an interview, she said " I have respectfully withdraw my participation in the project. " in the NBC news.

After people openly criticised her for it.

Isn't she gay?



Anyways, this film will most likely be seen by no one now and might not even go through anymore. So instead of one transgender person not getting a job, hundreds of people could be out of jobs.

I haven't done much research into the project like Iro apparently has, so I can't speak to the changes they were going to do for the role. Seems weird they would want to change up the role like that. Essentially stripping away the identity of the person and generalizing what others *think* these people are.

Some people are are trying to use an argument against The Rock in Skyscrapper for playing a handicapped character.

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That's precisely my point.

So her playing a straight person is the argument?

Yes. I want to know the rules.

Transgender people have to now play transgender characters. So just so the whole world is on the same page - what are the rules regarding people certain sexualities playing characters of certain sexualities?

In order for this situation to not happen again, it would be useful to know what is frowned upon and what isn't.

I suspect though, that just by even bringing this up I'd be castigated if I was a person in the public eye.

Wise words.... Yup, I image most all actors want to be known for their abilities to portray all different types of characters and people....and don't want to be pigeonholed into only playing 'who they are'....What's next, white bread actors can only play sandwiches We need to see people as people, not as labels!

Exactly. I think there are grey areas in this subject and these things aren't always intrinsically wrong.

I'm recalling the argument over Sulu's character being changed to gay in Star Trek Beyond. George Takei's point was that no matter his own sexual orientation he'd been playing a heterosexual character (something that does come across in the series) and, as an actor, it was his right to do so. I think he even, sensibly, suggested that it would be better to create a different character who happened to be gay. I think it was disrespectful of Simon Pegg et al to brush aside what he was saying and go ahead with the retcon.

A lot of crap

I really, really feel bad for people who only rely on new (made for pre-school) movies.

Absolutely ridiculous. Whatever happened to telling these numpties to go f**k themselves? When did society lose its spine?

Nobody knows the rules anymore. This whole thing is the reason there is such a populist hunger at the minute.


Nothing is safe, boy scouts, girl guides, male/female bathrooms. There are people out there who cant wait to think up new storms to pander to tiny % of the population.

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I mean, I get the backlash, but that's what being an actor is about! Playing people that aren't you, putting yourself in other people's shoes and new circumstances, where tf is the art if you strip that away from the job. We have to limit our artists now because some people will get offended? Screw that!

To be honest, only a really popular actor can make a film like this kind of successful, if that. The audience has shown that they won't really go out and support films with minorities (just look at Love, Simon). With a highly popular actress like Scarlet, at least they have a bigger chance of breaking even and being able to tell the story. Sadly, there aren't really any popular transgender actors, more people will go see a film with Johansson in the lead role than Jennifer from around the block.

I was thinking that too, when I first seen this controversy. I though to myself, and that's why Trump became president. I'm not a fan of Trump myself, but I really see a huge backlash happening, against these out of control, special interest opportunist...

Scarlett Johansson got the role because of two important factors, A) she's a well respected actress, and B) she has huge name appeal and can draw in an audience to make the movie money. And that's why she was choose over an unknown, no name recognition, trans actor.

It's not discrimination, if it was the producer wouldn't be telling the story of this trans person in the first place. I hope the entire movie gets shelved and never made, not because of the subject matter but because of the self serving me-me reaction.

Sounds similar in respect to the forced diversity affirmative action type reasoning -
Rather than an actor being able to play a role or any role based on their competency, it is now political.

Another push at control by certain people. Seems unnecessary for them to be involved without some controversy such as say Scarlett was a disrespectful actor or the role was tailor made for a specific actor said so from the writer and they weren’t allowed to audition or something. If there isn’t such reasoning or similiar they should stop involving themselves in others business.