Cameron Crowe, director of recently released movie 'Aloha' offers apology after facing controversies over casting Emma Stone - who is Swedish, English, German, Scottish, and Irish - as the film's heroine character Allison Ng, with "one-quarter Hawaiian" and half-Chinese father heritage, reuters.com reports.
In his blog, The Uncool, Crowe wrote an open letter regarding the 'misguided casting' explaining why the green-eyed, strawberry-blonde actress was given the role:
"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 heartfelt 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 controversy had many critiques saying, among which is Entertainment Weekly's Chris Lee who said: "Accepting Emma Stone as an Asian-American in 'Aloha' requires a certain suspension of disbelief."
Crowe, in his blog post, further explains:
"Whether that story point felt hurtful or humorous has been, of course, the topic of much discussion. However I am so proud that in the same movie, we employed many Asian-American, Native-Hawaiian, and Pacific-Islanders, both before and behind the camera..."
"I am grateful for the dialogue. And from the many voices, loud and small, I have learned something very inspiring. So many of us are hungry for stories with more racial diversity, more truth in representation, and I am anxious to help tell those stories in the future."
Emma Stone, on the other hand, had spoken nothing about the issue but has appeared in the movie's premieres and press conferences, vogue.com reports.
Despite the buzz, the romantic movie unfortunately had a rather underwhelming performance in the box office, raking just about $10 million in its opening weekend (against a $40 million budget), in a boston.com report. 'Aloha' premiered May 29 with Rachel McAdams, Bill Murray, John Krasinski, Danny McBride, and Alec Baldwin also starring in the movie.
