Joseph Fiennes to play Michael Jackson in 9/11 road-trip drama

[Brian in Mesa]

Joseph Fiennes to play Michael Jackson in 9/11 road-trip drama

http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-r...ennes-michael-jackson-9-11-road-trip-sky-arts

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September 2001 was allegedly witness to one of the strangest road trips in history: Michael Jackson, Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando driving from New York to Ohio in an attempt to get home following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The saga is now being dramatised in a one-off special for Sky Arts, starring Joseph Fiennes as Jackson, Stockard Channing as Taylor and Brian Cox as Brando.

Details of the improbable trip emerged in 2011 when it was reported in Vanity Fair. The story goes that Jackson invited the pair to his concert at Madison Square Garden. Following the 9/11 attacks, when air travel to and from New York was cancelled, the trio rented a car and began their quest back to California. “They actually got as far as Ohio – all three of them, in a car they drove themselves,” claimed a former employee of Jackson. Brando apparently insisted on stopping off at various fast food restaurants en route.

 

[Covert Rain]

OK, going to state the obvious. How would this not be Joseph Fiennes putting on black face? Poor taste if this story is at all legit.

 

[Rivercard]

OK, going to state the obvious. How would this not be Joseph Fiennes putting on black face? Poor taste if this story is at all legit.

So Hollywood, how is that diversity plan coming along?

It will be Fiennes in blackface playing Jackson who was basically in whiteface. Wonderful.

 

[Covert Rain]

So Hollywood, how is that diversity plan coming along?

It will be Fiennes in blackface playing Jackson who was basically in whiteface. Wonderful.

In all fairness to Jackson he did suffer from vitiligo which is not the same thing.

 

[Rivercard]

In all fairness to Jackson he did suffer from vitiligo which is not the same thing.

Does Vitiligo give it's victims a white person's nose?

 

[Covert Rain]

Does Vitiligo give it's victims a white person's nose?

Wasn't it Diana Ross's nose he was trying to copy? Also, I have seen minorities with similar noses?

 

[Cheesebeef]

I don't know how this is possible with Fiennes.

 

[Stout]

OK, going to state the obvious. How would this not be Joseph Fiennes putting on black face? Poor taste if this story is at all legit.

Yeah, it's bad. What's worse is he'll probably look more like Michael Jackson that most black actors.

 

[Bert]

Yeah, it's bad. What's worse is he'll probably look more like Michael Jackson that most black actors.

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[oaken1]

OK, going to state the obvious. How would this not be Joseph Fiennes putting on black face? Poor taste if this story is at all legit.

First off..by that particular time Mike was not really black....he was paler than I am by far.

secondly... who cares what color his skin is...if he nails the role then he was the right choice...I was a huge Michael fan back in the day and I see no reason to have issue with this..... I was also a huge Nick Fury fan as well....and have no issues with Samuel Jackson playing that role.


Besides, the only other person they could find who looked just like Mike was janet...but she gained some weight and wont fit the glove.

 

[Covert Rain]

First off..by that particular time Mike was not really black....he was paler than I am by far.

secondly... who cares what color his skin is...if he nails the role then he was the right choice...I was a huge Michael fan back in the day and I see no reason to have issue with this..... I was also a huge Nick Fury fan as well....and have no issues with Samuel Jackson playing that role.


Besides, the only other person they could find who looked just like Mike was janet...but she gained some weight and wont fit the glove.

You seriously trying to compare someone playing a fictional character verses someone basically doing black face? Not the same thing IMO. I just think with the history of film making, the usage of black face, it's offensive and insensitive. I have not read anything from the family as of yet. I am interested to see what they think.

 

[StreetTruckinTitan]

Michael himself stopped being black in 1988. I dont see a problem with an actor putting on a pale face if Mike did it first.

 

[oaken1]

You seriously trying to compare someone playing a fictional character verses someone basically doing black face? Not the same thing IMO. I just think with the history of film making, the usage of black face, it's offensive and insensitive. I have not read anything from the family as of yet. I am interested to see what they think.

how are you even getting "Black Face" out of this?...... if Fiennes shows up on screen with shoe polish on his face then I will retract my support,.... but Michael Jackson's skin was NOT black.....

you have actually SEEN Michael,.... right?

 

[devilalum]

To make a black actor look anything like Jackson you'd have to paint his face white.

Come to think of it to make any actor look like Michael Jackson you're gonna need an entire team of makeup artists. Might require some CGI if his nose needs to fall off.

 

[Covert Rain]

how are you even getting "Black Face" out of this?...... if Fiennes shows up on screen with shoe polish on his face then I will retract my support,.... but Michael Jackson's skin was NOT black.....

you have actually SEEN Michael,.... right?

You honestly think black face is strictly about putting shoe polish on your face? Black face was much more than what it takes to make a white person look black or mimic what they sound like. The term "black face" simply doesn't reference only the look of one's skin.

P.S. I am not accusing anybody including the actor of racism. Only that this appears to be racially insensitive looking at the history of white actors mimicking people of color.

 

[Chaplin]

You honestly think black face is strictly about putting shoe polish on your face? Black face was much more than what it takes to make a white person look black or mimic what they sound like. The term "black face" simply doesn't reference only the look of one's skin.

P.S. I am not accusing anybody including the actor of racism. Only that this appears to be racially insensitive looking at the history of white actors mimicking people of color.

Then how would you approach it? Is it ok of a dark skinned actor "lightens" his skin for the part?

 

[Covert Rain]

Then how would you approach it? Is it ok of a dark skinned actor "lightens" his skin for the part?

You think that is the same thing? You think this is just about skin tone? It's about the historical context of white actors playing parts of people of color regardless of skin tone.

 

[oaken1]

You honestly think black face is strictly about putting shoe polish on your face? Black face was much more than what it takes to make a white person look black or mimic what they sound like. The term "black face" simply doesn't reference only the look of one's skin.

P.S. I am not accusing anybody including the actor of racism. Only that this appears to be racially insensitive looking at the history of white actors mimicking people of color.

Hollywood is all about the mimicry...it is what they do.

I grew up watching wild wild west every week...... but when will smith played james west in the movie version....there was no outcry,...and I have seen that movie at least ten times over the years.
Charlton heston was one of my movie heroes as a kid...but when Wil did omega man(I am Legend)...okay...seen that six or eight times as well..have it on dvd even.
nick fury and johnny storm,..both comic book icons I grew up with,...recently played by black actors, and done pretty well...nobody bats an eye and nobody cares.
Peter Dinklage is an actor I am a big fan of...I have seen him do a few roles where the fact that he is a dwarf was not a part of the story...it was a role any man could do as height was not a part of it.
Should Peter Dinklage not be able to do the same roles as a taller actor because he is a dwarf?....
Maybe, JF is a Michael Jackson fan and he sees this as an opportunity to pay tribute to an immensely talented artist?
perhaps you find it an issue that the roles I mention are of fictional characters...I do not. They are characters I grew up enjoying.... and so was Michael Jackson. Every single one of them were either in the tv or in a book,...none ever sat down at my dinner table.... they are all fictional characters who only become real when we acknowledge them.
for craps sake... Michael lived in neverland

 

[Chaplin]

You think that is the same thing? You think this is just about skin tone? It's about the historical context of white actors playing parts of people of color regardless of skin tone.

Ok. But how would you approach it?

 

[Covert Rain]

Ok. But how would you approach it?

Good question. They can do wonders with makeup. I don't think for a 30 minute comedy film anybody would begrudge an actor for doing so?

 

[Chaplin]

Good question. They can do wonders with makeup. I don't think for a 30 minute comedy film anybody would begrudge an actor for doing so?

Interesting thing with what you say is that your reasons could be the same reasons one would use to do the opposite. They can do wonders with makeup.

I don't know what the solution would be, but I don't think going "whiteface" is it.

 

[Covert Rain]

Interesting thing with what you say is that your reasons could be the same reasons one would use to do the opposite. They can do wonders with makeup.

I don't know what the solution would be, but I don't think going "whiteface" is it.

Someone black lightning their skin with makeup while still portraying someone black with a lighter skin tone is not the same thing as someone white portraying someone black giving the horrible history in Hollywood on this subject. Surely you see this? Maybe I am simply off base here.

 

[Chaplin]

Someone black lightning their skin with makeup while still portraying someone black with a lighter skin tone is not the same thing as someone white portraying someone black giving the horrible history in Hollywood on this subject. Surely you see this? Maybe I am simply off base here.

I absolutely think it could blow up in a bad way. Either way, the production is asking for trouble just making a show/movie with Michael Jackson.

My biggest issue is the actor himself. Joseph Fiennes? He'll always be Shakespeare to me, and there's no confusing him and Michael Jackson. Just strange--it's like casting Salma Hayek as Eleanor Roosevelt.

 

[Cheesebeef]

really good article that sums up my thoughts on the situation:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottme...h-a-token-amount-of-eye-rolling/#4342d8ee1cc7

it's hard enough for black actors to get leading roles in TV or movies... so, when a an actual black person in real life is being played by a white guy, you're gonna ruffle feathers. It speaks to the issue of lack of opportunity in Hollywood for minorities in general. If they can't even get a role playing a real-life minority, what can they get?

 

[SO91]

really good article that sums up my thoughts on the situation:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottme...h-a-token-amount-of-eye-rolling/#4342d8ee1cc7

it's hard enough for black actors to get leading roles in TV or movies... so, when a an actual black person in real life is being played by a white guy, you're gonna ruffle feathers. It speaks to the issue of lack of opportunity in Hollywood for minorities in general. If they can't even get a role playing a real-life minority, what can they get?

This may sound insensitive to some, but was Michael still viewed as black in the time period this is supposed to be set in?