Live-action "The Last Airbender" principals cast

So they cast all white actors for the principle actors in The Last Airbender. Fans are freaking out about this for reasons I can't quite fathom.

C'mon, this is Hollywood! Did you really think they were going to cast an all-Asian cast just because the Avatar world is based on Eastern cultures? I'm not surprised, really.

Here's the thing: As soon as the hero protagonist is cast with an Asian, the movie becomes a "kung-fu" movie. Arguably, there will be a lot of "bending" forms and martial arts involved in Avatar. But from a business standpoint, this risky venture in yet another kids' fantasy remake needs as broad a base of viewers as possible. Why do you think Dragonball's been cast the way it has?

That's the nature of North American cinema--producers believe, rightly or wrongly, that the target audience is determined by who the audience members can identify with in the cast. And the largest market in America is--surprise, surprise--white middle class Americans.

Here's some damn good reading about racism and casting in Hollywood from a legal standpoint. A quote:

Unless the appearance of race is central to the authenticity of a role, such as when the story line actually requires an interracial couple of particular races, studio executives, producers, directors, agents, and casting directors should not be permitted to exclude from casting a particular class of actors of a certain race, even when those decisions are based on economic considerations—specifically, customer preferences.

I personally have no problem with the choices thus far, only because I've never seen any of these kids' performances. If we get anything close to the beauty and storytelling, along with some pretty special effects and decent acting, I'll be happy.

And now, because you're all wondering, here are the cast members:



Noah Ringer, a karate star chosen from an open casting call in Texas, and a kid who apparently has no picture up online, will play Aang.








Nicola Peltz, previously seen (and likely ignored) in "Deck the Halls" will play Katara.









Jackson Rathbone of kool-aid-crazed vampire fan-nomenon "Twilight" will play Sokka. Slapapow!









Jesse McCartney--yes, the kid singer--is in negotiations to play Prince Zuko. He'd better look as good shirtless.

Uh, I mean...