movies/tv Joseph Fiennes to Play Michael Jackson in British TV Show

[ThatOneComrade 1,091]

[Title belongs to Lisa Respers France, CNN. I'm bad at titles.]

 

So I've seen some news that there's gonna be a Michael Jackson movie, "Elizabeth, Michael, and Marlon," and Joseph Fiennes has been cast to play him.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/27/entertainment/joseph-fiennes-michael-jackson-feat/index.html

 

Now, I'm not usually one to care about what Hollywood or its variations do, but Michael was an idol to me when I was younger. As such, I, like many other people who are opposed to Joseph's casting, take his words in this Oprah interview to heart:

 

Michael's skin condition had clearly come to pass before 9/11, which is around the time that "Elizabeth, Michael, and Marlon" is set. The main argument against this choice is that casting Joseph, a white male, would go against what Michael had said he'd like to be remembered as: "I'm a black American. I'm proud to be a black American. I am proud of my race. I am proud of who I am."

 

I'll try not to deviate from the matter at hand but I'd like to give those of you who aren't in the US, or those who don't pay much attention to the entertainment industry, a bit of background information: There has been a lot of criticism over the last few years that minority actors/actresses are purposely getting pushed away from the Oscars due to voter bias, wherein the majority of the voters are white, male, and fairly old. Here's the simplified version of a Los Angeles Times survey:

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/03/oscar-voters-94-white-76-men-and-an-average-of-63-years-old/284163/

 

It wasn't too hard for people to make a correlation between the voter bias and the constant stream of white actors over minority actors. This may have been another reason why people are so against the, as some have called it, "whitewashing" of a black American icon.

 

Overall, I'm against the casting because I believe Michael's wishes should be respected, but what do you think? Is it fair for Joseph to play Michael Jackson under "creative freedom" as Sky Arts has said, or would it be a disgrace to Michael's memory to do so? And while you're here, do you believe that the Oscars have an unfair voter bias towards white men? Is it fair or not?