DAREDEVIL LOOKS SILLY

[Dano]

Fair point, but if a character's race isn't inherent to the character and plot (for instance you obviously don't cast a black actor as a skinhead, or a white actor as an African tribesman), acting ability should be the key factor.  Actually, in this case, I think star-power has more to do with it.  Of the known box-office draws, MDC was probably the best choice.  And they wanted to get a known commodity in there because the movie-going public for whatever reason likes to see stars it's seen in other movies.

I might feel more like you do if I had ever read the comic book or even heard of Kingpin before a couple of weeks ago when someone brought this topic up on the messageboard.

[Evan3]

First, if I remember correctly, Daredevil had a black costume for a very, very short time. Look it up, I am sure of it. Although the red costume is the best, this black one is betterr than the yellow one they could have used. However, I thought studios learned their lesson about casting star power over talent when the Nic Cage as Superman (everyone say huh!!>>>???) was scuttled. However, Affleck as DD is just a huge mistake, they were doing so well.
Michael Jai White as Spawn- Great
Wesley Snipes as Blade- Really Great
Michael Keaton as Batman- Great
Tobey Maguire as Spider Man- Great
Eric Bana as the Hulk- Really Great
Ben Affleck as DD- huh, whoops doh, as bad as George Cloony Batman

As for Kingpin. In the comics, for the past 40 years, Col. Nick Fury, Agent of shield, was white. One day, he is black. One day Prof. X is wheelchair bound, now he is walking. Comics are always subject to the crazy writer's ideas. So, there is no reason that a black guy, especially of his stature shouldnt play the Kingpin. Plus, DD is blind, does he even know the color of the people he is fighting? No! So if he doesnt care, why should we.

[Dano]

Michael Jai White as Spawn- Great
Wesley Snipes as Blade- Really Great
Michael Keaton as Batman- Great
Tobey Maguire as Spider Man- Great
Eric Bana as the Hulk- Really Great
Ben Affleck as DD- huh, whoops doh, as bad as George Cloony Batman
*****  Agreed on all counts except Michael Keaton (although I must have totally missed the Hulk, last I remember it was Bill Bixby/Lou Ferigno.  Eric Bana I know from Blackhawk Down) .  

Keaton's a fine actor for light comedies, but in the otherwise excellent Batman, I just was nagged by the presence of Mr. Mom as the hero.

Obviously I haven't seen Daredevil, but I know enough about Affleck to know that the Mr. Mom effect will be in play if he tries to play a dark superhero.  Smirky fratboy types make bad superheros.

[ahab]

I really liked  Keaton as Batman. I thought he did a great job of bringing together Batman/Wayne. He was the best by far out of the three imho.


Shop Smart. Shop S-Mart.

[Dano]

Ahab- From what I have seen, you are in the majority and I am in the minority where Keaton is concerned.  I do think that Batman ultimately worked with great direction, set and costume designs, music, and acting.  And if I wasn't nuts about Keaton, I will concede that he was certainly better than the other two Batmans.

[Ash]

I don't know how this conversation got turned around to Batman.

Maybe if I examine every thread on this post I'll find it.

Weren't we talking about Daredevil?

Oh well.

[Evan3]

Oh, Eric Bana is in the upcoming Hulk movie this summer and the preview looks great

[Ash]

Check out the film called "Chopper".  
I watched it last year while in Australia when it came out.

He is an excellent actor!

[Fearless Freep]

I don't know the character of Daredevil or Kingpin to make an comment about that particular casting call. All l I can think is that it has to make sense.  If it makes sense for a person to be in that position, then it doesn't matter.  For example, a black guy as an Italian-style mafia boss is harder to be credible than a white guy.  I don't really know Kingpin's background, but if it's believable that a black man could be in that sort of position, than using a black actor shuold be just fine.

[Tommy]

I personally don't see anything wrong with MDC playing the part of the Kingpin.  Race is irrelevant in Hollywood movies since they usually add their own twists.  Also, there is the underlying question, "Can a Black man play Santa Claus or Hamlet."  I say "yes."

Nonetheless, if I were to make a movie that defined Dare Devil's legacy, a White guy that fits the King Pin's profile would be better suited for the sake of consistency and relativity.

There are cases where Race is almost as important as talent.  For instance, Zulu Warriors are better depicted using their respective ethnic race.  The whole idea of using "Whites" to portray "Whites" and "Blacks" to portray "Blacks" just has more dimension and believability.

[BlackAngel]

It's not too much about race, it's about content in movies based on comics, novels, cartoons, tv shows, etc.  Key word is "based".  When a movie is based on forms of media such as those, It suppose to give us a general idea on the character's profile and plot.  And most of these has been in american culture for years.  Here's what I'm talking about:

We all know about Mertaugh and Riggs in the Leathal Weapon series.  Now if a fifth sequal comes along, and instead of Glover and Gibson, it's Jackie Chan and John Leuguazamo playing the same role.

Or that bad mother-shut-your-mouth, Shaft.  But instead of Samue L. Jackson, it's Harrison Ford.

Or the next Spider-Man movie after the sequal.  Instead of Toby Maguire donning the webs, it's none other that Carrot Top (Spider senses tingling.  Someone didn't dial down the center)

The tv show Law & Order kinda fall under this as well.  But, it's based more on newspaper articles (or so they claim).  So the characters are more generally portrayed ( the focused individuals in these articles are white, but on tv, they're either black, hispanic , etc.)

The point is that Hollywood should not fiddle with things that have been with us for years.  MDC being the Kingpin is something I can take because basically, there's no one his size that can act as good as him.  Unless you want someone like King Kong Bundy or Paul White (The Big Show).  The fact is that the Kingpin is white.  Just like John Shaft is black.  That what I remember.
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And may the Schwarts be with you.

[Tommy]

Hahahaha... BlackAngel you have a way of proving a point... Agreed... I like it.  Hahahahaa.

[Dano]

Or the next Spider-Man movie after the sequal. Instead of Toby Maguire donning the webs, it's none other that Carrot Top (Spider senses tingling. Someone didn't dial down the center)
*****  I just want to point out that I notice quite a lot of cheap-shots and bashing directed at Carrot Top on this message board.  I think this is good healthy behavior.  Keep it up.

What was the name of the big giant bald dude in the Ed Wood movies?  Would he have made a suitable King Pin?

[Fearless Freep]

Too bad Sydney Greenstreet is dead

[Chadzilla]

Or we could always put Patrick Stewart in a fat suit!