I bet Thandie Newton has been pissed since this movie got off the ground.

Shoot even Halle could have done it…

I bet mainstream media will go with the “well she is half white so Angelina is playing that part of her” slant. You know the “she’s not really Black”.

Thandie Newton was too busy making Norbit.

I don’t know though. You have to see Angelina dressed like Mariane to judge. She’s a good match to play her, imo.

Jennifer Aniston and Mariane Pearl have been friends for several years, even before Brangelina. If she wants her friend to play her, that’s her choice. I also think the fact that they are close makes it better. She is personally invested in making this great. She understands how important it is to tell this story right, and if she doesn’t, she’ll have to be reminded of it every time she sees Mariane or Adam.

The only other actress I can see playing this is Thandie Newton. When I first heard they were going to make it into a movie, she is the only actress I could see playing this. What would have been outrageous is if Jennifer Aniston played Mariane as Jennifer hoped.

Ooops. I meant Angelina Jolie and Mariane Pearl have been friends…

There are hundreds of talented, biracial actresses who could’ve played this part. Not all wonderful actresses rise to the top of the ranks; this could’ve been some deserving woman of color’s shot. Angelina already has her damn statue!!! She really irks me, for many reasons. If she were half the woman she claims to be, she would’ve given this part to someone truly biracial. Honestly! Not to mention her fetish for the ‘exotic’; you really have to adopt a black baby from Africa when we have hundreds and thousands here in the united states that need a home? Ugh. She uses her children to make her feel more worldy and accessorized. Her self-important ass makes my skin crawl (and I am the whitest white girl ever, if that matters at all).

I have to say that no, not just any black or biracial actress could play this role. When talent and appearance are considered, Thandie Newton is the only one. Sophie Okonedo is a maybe. And yes, Thandie was busy doing Norbit (::shakes head::). Sophie Okonedo is definitely the more talented of the two, but knowing as much as I do about Mariane, I don’t think she’s the right fit. It’s just a gut feeling.

The criticism that these people garner (as well as Oprah, Bill Gates, Sheila Johnson, Madonna, etc.) for helping people outside of the U.S. amazes me. Would you be happier if she adopted a little healthy baby from the US that millions of other couples are waitlisted to adopt? Perhaps its because I’m African and when I do something for an American (volunteering in NOLA, teaching sex ed) or Asian (Tsunami, Hurricane) or Latin-American (education) people, I don’t even give it a second thought. People from my country or continent are not the only ones suffering. People are people. If in your heart, you want to do something, do it. She’s a d-mn UNHCR ambassador. It’s her JOB to be traveling around doing this stuff. Mia Farrow does it. Audrey Hepburn did it. Just because you don’t see Shakira, David Beckham, Nicole Kidman and the many other goodwill ambassadors doing their job well does not mean she shouldn’t. What is the job of a goodwill ambassador? To use their celebrity to bring attention to an issue! That’s why the UN is not asking your behind to do it.

Personally, I do plan on living in the US or UK. I wouldn’t adopt from either of these countries. There’s just a general fear that I’d have of the birth parents trying to take the kid away. I would also prefer to adopt an orphaned child rather than an abandoned child. I wouldn’t want my kid growing up seeking answers to why they were given up or why someone didn’t want them. I watch too much Dateline.

Thandie Newton is the only hands down person I can think of for the role. The bottom line is we need to have a larger pool of attractive, talented, non-ghetto black actresses.
Because I can honestly only count who we have out there on ten fingers. (I left out Megan Good and Vivica A. fox for obvious reasons)
I think the racist part here isn’t that Angie is playing a black woman (we have J-lo playing an Italian woman half the time) — rather the racisim here as that there isn’t more choice.

I respect your opinion, and world issues are extremely important, moreso now than ever before. It is truly a global community, and personal choices, such as what type of baby to adopt, do not have to be justified. Obviously the benefit to a child of any color is immeasurable. I just feel that Americans do the black African-American diaspora a huge disservice in many socio-economic respects. The wait for a black baby in the US is quite short (3x shorter than the wait for a white baby, about 3-5 months), whereas the wait for a foreign baby gets longer and longer (12 months is pretty standard). So it’s really not about the wait. It’s about what people want in their “shopping cart.” And that’s why I find it sad. I’m all about helping people, but I really believe it’s more about image for Angelina than you’d like to think. Anyway, agree to disagree, I suppose.

Excuse me, but what the hell does the fact that Marianne Pearl being black have anything to do with this? Before your’e little racist post, I didn’t even know or care what Marianne Pearl’s ethnicity was. As far as I knew, she was just some French chic; that’s it. The fact that you are putting such an emphasis on the fact that she is biracial (which mean not only half black, but half white… sorry to burst your bubble), sheads a very interesting light on yourself. Who gives a shit if she’s part black, or part white, or part Scientologist (she’s not, I’m just using as an example). The point is, she suffered a lot and wanted someone to portray her accurately.

This is the kind of crap that pisses me off, anyone who is seen as half black is seen as only black. Is this fucking South Africa? What the hell? Get over yourselves. We are PEOPLE. That’s it. Just plain ol’, boring, black and white, Angelina Jolie portraying, Zahara adopting, steeling Jenifer Anniston’s man, but still love her anyways, people.

Yes, agree to disagree, though to make it clear, there are several waiting period. The agency waiting period for the people who handle the adoptions is far longer for Caucasian babies. For international adoptions, there are no agency waiting periods. The agency waiting period is an amount of time in which nothing happens basically. Once you submit papers to adopt internationally, they start processing it immediately.

Also, the period of time between submitting application and getting the baby varies as does the amount of time before that child is legally yours. All periods on average are shorter for international adoptions with exceptions for some countries that have very stringent international adoption rules (i.e. Namibia).

As for domestic adoptions, it is easier to adopt a black baby, a sick baby or an older child due to the lack of “demand.” A family friend is still trying to adopt a baby whose mother used drugs all through the pregnancy four years after he’s been in their home. Meanwhile, if he’s put in the foster system, no one will probably ever show interest in adopting him. The child has health and behavioral issues that I can’t imagine ever dealing with. It IS easier to adopt from abroad. Some of the red tape in the American system is necessary, but a lot of it is not. No one wants to get a kid that may be yanked away tomorrow.

This is waaay off topic, but yeah….

First off, Mariane is Afro-Cuban and Dutch.
Secondly, there is nothing wrong with a white woman portraying someone who is not white, considering the fact that Mariane isn’t fully african american. angelina jolie is an awesome actress, and they couldn’t have picked anyone better to fit the part.

plus, Mariane WANTED Angelina to play the part.

[…] A Mighty Insult To Black Actresses Everywhere - Stereohyped LOL! “If she ever decides to be an actress when she grows up, little Zahara Jolie-Pitt better watch her back. Her mom might steal all her parts.” (tags: blackface movies celebrities) […]

I agree that Thandie N would have been perfect for the part with regard both to visual similarity and acting ability; and I am no fan of Ms. Jolie. However, I think you should just adopt the notion that perhaps she is portraying the WHITE HALF of Mrs. Pearl–do you have a real or even working understanding of the term BI-racial?

Hi guys! Love the comments! And if I knew anything about international vs. domestic adoptions, I would weigh in. I don’t, so I’m staying out of it.

About my post — I assure you I know what biracial means. Thandie Newton, who was stuck doing a role like Norbit (and guys, I strongly doubt it was because she believed in the script) can’t take roles that embrace her WHITE HALF. Why? Because it’s a little hard to pass when you don’t have white skin. Halle Berry’s half-white, too. Is she going to get a role in a biopic playing Jackie Kennedy? Uh, no. I understand that this is what Mariane Pearl wanted; I mentioned it in the post. The fact that she wanted it does not change the negative reaction that I have to seeing Angelina Jolie, all tan and wearing a wig, in a role like this when Thandie Newton is playing second fiddle to Eddie Murphy in a damned fat suit. My point in all of this is that black actresses, including half-black actresses, are seen as the bottom of the barrel in Hollywood. I’ve mentioned this problem on the site before. I strongly doubt it doesn’t irk them to see Angelina Jolie in this role while they are out auditioning for the next Wayans brother vehicle. As a member of the Hollywood community and the mother of a black child, I feel that Angelina Jolie should know better. If the movie business were a bastion of racial equality, my reaction would have been different. But not even the most die-hard Jolie fan can pretend that it is.

FYI: Halle Berry to play a white teacher in “Class Act” (2008)

According to the Starpulse newsblog:

Halle Berry has signed on to star in “Class Act” - the true-life tale of a teacher from Nevada who ran for Congress after being challenged by her pupils. The star will play Tierney Cahill, a teacher from Reno, Nevada, who agreed to run on the condition her students would help her run her campaign.

Filmmakers made the unusual move of casting Berry in the part of Cahill, who is a white woman. A source close to the film said when actresses where being considered, they felt it was important to find the right actress to play the role, rather than the right white actress.

Thought I’d make a contribution to the discussion.

look, there is absolutely nothing racist about this post. the point is, there is a pitiful amount of meaty roles for black or ethnic or biracial actresses in hollywood. and for a white actress, who claims to be so racially sensitive and open about the fact that she’s not blind to color (so much so that she believes her adopted children should have ethnic/racial matches among her blended family), to take this role and not even AUDITION women of similar backgrounds to marianne pearl is highly racially insensitive. imagine the reverse….if thandie newton auditioned for the role of hilary clinton or cindy sheenan (living white women). she would be laughed out of the room. biracial may mean many things, but in the country i live in, it most certainly does not mean white.

But, lauren, would you be railing against the industry and against Thandie herself if Ms Newton were to be offered and subsequently accept, say, the Jackie Onassis role? I mean, would you say that she ’should know better’?

how in any way is this angelina’s fault. that kind of “blame everyone else for my problems” attitude is ridiculous. this is a movie about a real woman. this real woman CHOSE angelina to play her. what an honour for ANY actress. what was angelina supposed to say “no i won’t play you because you’re black.”??? yeah, i’d love to see how that would have gone over, i’m sure you would have had a hay day with that one. kudos to angelina for taking on this role.

as for not going going to see the movie because angelina plays her. thats just ignorant. lets close our minds to something for no good reason at all. pathetic!

Does anyone here think Al Pacino playing a cuban in Scarface or a Nuyorican in Carlito’s Way offensive??? B/c as a latin man, I find it extremely offensive and a joke to the point that I laugh/cringe every time he opens his mouth. Just b/c he looks like a duck and walks like a duck(definitely doesn’t quack like one)….he is not a duck! Thus the integrity of his character and the movie is compromised. Was Andy Garcia not available???? Hollywood is all about money and let’s face it, Angelina is a bigger box office draw. If Marianne Pearl wanted someone to accurately depict her story, she could have gone with someone who was a much better fit on all levels but she didn’t….and that tells a whole lot.

-Benny Blanco from the Bronx

nolean, thandie newton would never be offered the role of jackie onassis. c’mon! do you people seriously not get this? i have never, and am fairly sure that i will never, see a black or biracial woman play the role of a white iconic figure. and your comment clearly misses the point, that there is a lack of good roles for ethnic actresses in hollywood and it just isn’t right that they didn’t even audition any biracial or black women for the part. conversely, there is obviosuly not a lack of good roles for white actresses. it’s hard for ethnic actresses to break through in hollywood, this could have been someone’s chance. i felt the same way when not a single japenese actress was cast in memoirs of a geisha, when marisa tomei played the lead in a movie called “the perez family” and completly feel cabeza01’s argument. can you all seriously not understand this?

cabeza01, I haven’t watched Carlito’s way, but I have watched Scarface. I’m not offended by Angelina Jolie playing Mariane Pearl, esp. since the woman chose Angelina to play her and if I want my white actress Oscar winning friend to play me, then that is MY decision to make. Yes, Al Pacino plays a Cuban. J Lo also plays a Mexican and plenty of Italians and miscellaneous white women. So have Eva Mendes and Eva Longoria.

The point of the book and the movie was primarily so Adam Pearl could know more about his father and also so that people could know more about how Daniel Pearl lived (instead of the cruel and public way in which he died). I have two suspicions as to why Mariane Pearl chose Ms. Jolie. First, she wanted someone who was committed to telling the story right and had a personal stake in it, someone who is deeply tied to the story and knows her well enough to tell it as she intended. Alternatively, it could be that she knows Angelina Jolie is a talented actress and being from France were race politics are less of an issue, it just didn’t cross her mind that it would be an issue. I read an article she wrote about going back there to interview muslim Algerian women in Paris and she wrote about how though they have the similar skin color, she has always been treated normally/like other French people because she’s not Algerian nor is she a muslim.

Right on tigerr1978!

As a woman of color who is also a part of the film industry (studio side) I feel compelled to comment here.

Hollywood is not an equal opportunity place (and I’m certainly not saying that this is alright — simple fact). Seems like people are suggesting that we shouldn’t think twice about this casting decision because the world is colorblind, and we should be seeing these women as people, right? That’s a lovely dream world to imagine — just not the one that we live in today (AGAIN — this is an observation, not an endorsement).

The fact is that studio execs/casting directors would never consider Angela Basset to play Nancy Pelosi — and would be outraged at the idea of putting her in makeup to lighten her skin. In fact, Kerry Washington would not be considered for teh lead in “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” as Matthew McConaughey’s love interest. Minority actresses are not even considered for FICTIONAL roles that are initially conceived as white women. The best opportunities out there right now are lame, to say the least, in parts where these talented women are reduced to calling everyone “girlfriend” and saying “go ‘head girl” with gusto.

What this post is about is this lack of opportunity for women of color (and as Benny notes, men as well). And I would argue that the point here is not to limit anyone’s opportunities (the marginally talented Angelina Jolie included) — it is to OPEN those doors for everyone.

“Half-white” or no, when a biracial person enters a room in America, he/she is black. It’s just naive to think otherwise. Of course, the reasons behind this are dead-wrong (the antebellum “One-Drop” rule…ie, if you’re great-to-the-twelfth power grandma was black then you’re a slave), but it’s one of the realities of race in America. And yes, Halle Berry has a white half, but that white half would never be offered the role of Marie Antoinette. I’m so over the “get over it, why is color even an issue?” argument. In America, it will always be an issue. It’s our history. Grow up, Blah.

i don’t even want to respond b/c i think the people who are questioning the initial post are so misguided and have zero clue about what it means to be black in America. however, i wanted to write to show my support for lauren’s initial assessment of the situation. do you people really think we live in a country where race isn’t seen/experienced/made constantly relevant? fantastic if we did, but it’s just not the case. are these really black people commenting who don’t get it at all? i’m shocked that vesper gets it more than most of you all, and she said she’s the whitest white girl out. oh well. well it goes to show you, if it is black people who are writing, we all aren’t alike, that’s for sure. i need to remember that more often and not assume that people would just agree with lauren…still, your complete antagonism to what she’s saying is pretty shocking. daria already said that she’s african, maybe that’s just a different experience and prohibits you from understanding what lauren, cabeza, tia, and tigerr are talking about.

and who are these people referring to a “white half”…perhaps culturally, but not visually, and that is after all what a movie’s dealing with. people SEE black, not biracial.

sorry to get all confrontational, but these posts threw me for a loop.

gossipjunkie, you are right to some extent. While I have spent many years in America, I still consider my experience that of an African’s in America. I identify with other Africans and first-gen’ers than I do with African-American people simply because my experience is more in line with theirs.

We can agree to disagree on this issue. I do agree that there are very limited opportunities for Black and Asian actors, and these roles are typecast. Also, Hispanic actors are often typecast though some can “pass” as white so they have some more opportunities. I think most biopics and movies based on actual people are poorly cast, but that’s another conversation.

Specific to this role, I don’t necessarily see Thandie Newton or most established actors for that matter going to a rough part of India to film a movie that will probably not be that successful commercially. It probably won’t yield any best actor noms because it’s almost melodramatic. Sophie Okonedo might but considering the security issues during “Hotel Rwanda,” maybe not.

You know, Halle IS supposed to play a White woman in a movie that comes out in 2008…

[…] film ’A Mighty Heart.’ Already some in the blogoshpere have dubbed Jolie’s a performance in blackface. They’ve got this one all […]

When Halle Berry plays Tierney Cahill, they will not whiten her up with make-up, and have her pass as white. That’s why Angelina Jolie is wrong.

According to Wikipedia:

Blackface is a style of theatrical makeup that originated in the United States, used to affect the countenance of an iconic, racist American archetype—that of the darky or coon. Blackface also refers to a genre of musical and comedic theatrical presentation in which blackface makeup is worn. White blackface performers in the past used burnt cork and later greasepaint or shoe polish to blacken their skin and exaggerate their lips, often wearing woolly wigs, gloves, tailcoats, or ragged clothes to complete the transformation. Later, black artists also performed in blackface.

Blackface was an important performance tradition in the American theater for over 100 years and was also popular overseas. Stereotypes embodied in the stock characters of blackface minstrelsy played a significant role in cementing and proliferating racist images, attitudes and perceptions worldwide. In some quarters, the caricatures that were the legacy of blackface persist to the present day and are a cause of ongoing controversy.

Doe Angelina’s portrayal of Marianne Pearl “proliferate racist images, attitudes and perceptions worldwide?” Does she intend to use this role to legitimize white superemacy and undermine social, economic and/or political equality or opportunity for black folks? Of course not.

Oprah spent $40 million of her own money on a school for girls in South Africa, rather than in the U.S. (Don’t young black girls struggle here too?). I bet many of the same people on this board defended her choice to do whatever she wanted with her own money.

At the end of the day, this is Marianne’s story and in a similar vein, she made her own choice too. No matter how unfair it may seem, in principal, she owes nothing to Thandie Newton or any other actress.

Marianne is pimpin Angelina so her movie will do well….she is thinking about herself. I don’t think Angelina is going to come out with huge earnings on this. Not compared to the money she took home for any of her other movies. Anywho….Marianne could have seized the opportunity to employ and launch the career of another biracial woman, but why do that when you can have Angelina play the part and launch yourself!

It’s about choice and integrity, you can reach back into your heritage to help others “come up” or you can come up yourself. Sometimes the latter is the harder road to travel and some people take the easy way out. We are all given choices, no one knows what they will choose until the option is laid out before you. Marianne chose something different..something for herself. While everyone will have their own opinion, we have to know that she is just trying to launch her own career in this whole process. Personally, I feel that if you know you are sitting on a “gold mine” why not use it to let Hollywood know that there are tons of African American, Biracial, and minority woman in general who are AMAZING actresses. While I think Angelina is a wonderful actress, it is my opinion that she does not have the theatrical range of Halle, Whoopi or even Oprah-not to say that these woman should be considered for the part but….HOLLYWOOD has tons of AMAZING minority actresses that only get parts where they “play the fool”. I would love to see a change, and Hollywood actually is a place where one person can make a difference. But it won’t be Marianne that chooses to make that difference!

I personally don’t consider what Angelina is doing Black-face since she’s not perpetuating a stereotype.

BTW…isn’t marianne pearl first and foremost a journalist and so is her husband? Isn’t this movie based on her memoirs? I am no genius but isn’t one of the core principles of being a journalist to get the story right. Who is doing the fact checking on this? Jayson Blair of the NY Times?

something about the playing dress up still has remnants of blackface to it. if she just played her as is, and said she wasn’t even attempting to stick to the real facts of the story (as far as portraying a black or biracial woman), i think it wouldn’t rub me the wrong way. but putting on makeup and wearing the wig just feels different somehow. i would feel uncomfortable if a white friend played dress up for halloween as some famous black person and wore blackface makeup, even if they weren’t doing it in a stereotypical way. if they could find a way to portray the same halloween person without the makeup or nappy wig, i’d likely react differently. something about black makeup just harkens back to a much too painful (and not too long ago) past—and i’m not even dealing with the greater point about taking a meaty role from black actresses.

WOW, You people are the WHOLE reason that there is still racism. The only people upset by this seems to be you and your closed minds. Who cares who plays the woman as long as the role is respected and done well.( do you think that for two seconds you can remember that this film is about the people not the color of their skin) Why does it matter if Jennifer Lopez plays a Italian? It doesn’t. and don’t be all ” oh well she must be a white girl” BS, I’m Mexican, Irish , and Norwegian. I was just raised to understand that we are all people we are not perfect and the reason racism is such a problem is because people like you. You like to feel as if you matter. You make this an ugly place.

It is not only minority women who have a problem so do white women too thats why the form their own production companies more minorities should do that also. I you are offended by Angelina playing that role then I am offended by Tayee Diggs playing a Jamaican in how stella got her grove back

[…] Mariane Pearl in A Mighty Heart, a small but very vocal segment of the population jumped to decry the casting as racist. Labeling Jolie’s work in the film sight unseen a”blackface performance”, the […]

[…] thought she was going to make a picture celebrating the life of a much beloved journalist. Then she forgot she was white, banned press from a movie about freedom of the press, and watched as distributor Paramount […]

[…] thought she was going to make a picture celebrating the life of a much beloved journalist. Then she forgot she was white, banned press from a movie about freedom of the press, and watched as distributor Paramount […]

The reason that Angelina is in this movie is 1) Brad Pitt produced the movie and 2) she will sell tickets so that the general public will see the movie. If she is not exactly black, well either is Pearl. Not that I think Angelina Jolie is a good actress - she isn’t, but if she sells tickets to get out some good information, who cares? P.S. Vote for Barack Obama for President!

Oh, good god! Has anyone actually seen the movie yet? I went last night– and was one of EIGHT people in the theatre, I might mention– and watched the movie.

Angelina’s race is of no consequence. Marianne Pearl believed that Angelina Jolie was the right person to portray her. A Mighty Heart is not a movie about Angelina Jolie. In fact, she’s not in as much of it as one might expect. The movie focuses on The Search For Daniel Pearl. No more. It’s not about race, class, creed, and most importantly, it is NOT about politics. They managed to take a highly charged politically significant event and show it without ever condemning anyone but the monsters who murdered Danny.

Half of the movie is subtitled and follows the police (etc.) in their search for the kidnappers. Hell, I think that the Captain had more screen time than Angelina.

A Mighty Heart is not about Angelina Jolie, “blackface”, or racial politics. It’s about people. Who gives a damn about what color Angelina is? She played the role. I’ll hear her tortured scream echoing in my heart for a long time. I am glad that this movie was made. I am glad that Angelina was chosen. And I am saddened to see that a movie made with SUCH care to NOT condemn anyone for their race– even the psychos who did this– is under public scrutiny because of the actress chosen. Who, by the way, did a great job.

I wish people would forget about the race and focus on the story. A man died, a woman was widowed, and a child lost his father. Who cares what their ethnic background is? Worrying about Angelina being white is more racist than her being cast.

I’m not sure what world some of you people are living in, but black people don’t yet have the luxury of not being race conscious. Feel free to disagree with some of our stances on Angelina Jolie and this movie, but the general refusal to understand that race does matter- as seen in this discussion and the one following the interracial dating piece- is unfathomable to me.

[…] thought she was going to make a picture celebrating the life of a much beloved journalist. Then she forgot she was white, banned press from a movie about freedom of the press, and watched as distributor Paramount […]

[…] that there was a shortage of roles for people of color, but that her portrayal of Mariane Pearl in A Might Heart was not a good example of the problem. And now? I’m fully aware that this sort of thing is […]