Hollywood exec wanted to cast Julia Roberts as Harriet Tubman

[Ratel]

I loved Eve’s Bayou.

[PsiPhiGrrrl]

@Ryuthrowsstuff

Why the specific thing was added, and what they’re trying to say with it. If it’s as simple as adding a tense chase element, with a shocking twist cause he’s black? That’s pretty unnecessary, and pretty stupid.

I’m going to guess that it’s about crossover appeal to increase profits. There’s the view that younger audiences won’t watch if there’s no action - violence, guns, explosions, etc… The twist is designed to make it appeal to a certain demographic.

[anon3894935]

‘It was so long ago. No one is going to know the difference.’

I’d just love to see this logic turned around for other historical figures so that, say, Abraham Lincoln is played by Samuel L. Jackson, Benjamin Franklin is played by George Takei, Henry Ford is played by Scarlett Johansson, etc. They lived so long ago, who would be able to tell the difference?

[DukeTrout]

There’s no shortage of those things in the true story. Or the Drunk History, either!

[nungesser]

@PsiPhiGrrrl

There’s the view that younger audiences won’t watch if there’s no action - violence, guns, explosions, etc…

Well, she led a successful Civil War raid, so however it’s depicted in the film, her real life was most certainly filled with violence, guns, and explosions. (@DukeTrout beat me to it!)

[Anselm]

They cast Ricardo Montalban, who was Mexican, as Khan, who is from India. In the remake they cast Benedict Cumberbatch, who is as English as they come, as Khan. But this is all so far in the future, nobody will remember!

[knoxblox]

Plot twist: Harriet Tubman hires Viggo Mortensen to drive the escaped slaves north in his car.

[Grey_Devil]

If i could have Viggo give me a ride anywhere i would do the same

[jerwin]

Chuk Iwuji as Henry VI in Michael Boyd’s 2006 production of Henry VI Part I

Leslie Odom, Jr as Aaron Burr in Hamilton

And Avery Brooks as Tamburlaine:

Of course, in those cases, the play’s the thing, and historical authenticity can take a long walk off a short pier.

[anon3894935]

I assume in those cases, the assumption is that the audience knows their history well enough to understand the artistic license being taken. Weird how when black people are substituted into historical positions of power, it’s for smart people and when white people are substituted into historical positions of race-related activism or oppression, it’s for stupid people. (Disclaimer: Not actually weird, just pleasantly affirming.)

[jerwin]

I’ll wager that a good portion of the audience attending Tamburlain will have only faint memories of learning about Timur from wikipedia the night before the performance.

[Gyrofrog]

Sheesh…

“This movie is to soften the public up to the idea of taking a Black woman who freed slaves by leading them to freedom and getting her or another one like her on a $20 bill,” he said. “They can’t get a White woman, so they want a Black woman. They don’t care, they just want a woman, and it downs masculinity.”

Former TV Judge Joe Brown Lambasts Image of Harriet Tubman on $20 Bill

[alahmnat]

Woof.

Nobody tell him who’s on all of the money in the British Commonwealth…

[jerwin]

This portrait is from 1868, closer to her wartime appearance-- the inset on your quoted article is from 1871-1876.

A Previously Unknown Portrait of a Young Harriet Tubman Goes on View

[SheiffFatman]

@alahmnat

Nobody tell him who’s on all of the money in the British Commonwealth…

Pedantry alert!

1. It’s just the Commonwealth these days (or in full, the Commonwealth of Nations), not the British Commonwealth.

2. Most of its member states, with a clear majority of its population, are republics, and nearly a quarter of the ones that aren’t have a different monarch to the UK.

3. Even those which do have Brenda as head of state don’t necessarily put her fizzog on all their money. She’s currently only on the $5 note in Australia, for example. And she doesn’t appear on Scottish banknotes at all.