Tim Burton slammed for comments on diversity

[Teh One Who Knocks]

FOX 411




Tim Burton came under fire on social media over his explanation on why his new movie's cast is overwhelmingly white.

The major characters in Burton's "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" are all white, save for Samuel L. Jackson's Barron.

"Nowadays, people are talking about it more, (but) things either call for things, or they don’t. I remember back when I was a child watching ‘The Brady Bunch’ and they started to get all politically correct, like, OK, let’s have an Asian child and a black — I used to get more offended by that than just — I grew up watching blaxploitation movies, right? And I said, that’s great. I didn’t go like, OK, there should be more white people in these movies."

Jackson commented that "Tim's a really great guy" and that he doesn't think the lack of diversity is "any fault of his or his method of storytelling."

The comments made Burton a trending topic on Twitter on Thursday, with many criticizing the director for his response.

Tim Burton is essentially saying "I never thought to put POC in my films because in the ideal worlds of my imagination, they don't exist."

— THE UNDRAGGED (@sakilegrannum) September 30, 2016

Its fascinating that Tim Burton has a huge imagination in the rendering of his films, but a Asian kid in Miss Peregrine is a stretch for him

— Shelly Ellis (@ellisromance) September 29, 2016

Some, however, defended the director.

To be fair, Tim Burton usually only casts the same three people over and over again, so he's not even diverse in the white people he hires.

— Valentina Cano (@valca85) September 29, 2016

All Tim burton is saying is that he hires people and likes people for their talent, not just because they're a certain race

— *which witch* (@BadMonkeysClub) September 29, 2016

[lost in melb.]

Hey, but Samuel is jet black. Counts for 2

[RBP]

Hey, but Samuel is jet black. Counts for 2

[Godfather]

Trying to create movies/tv in this landscape must be a fucking headache.

[DemonGeminiX]

Not if you don't give a shit... which, I suspect most people don't.

[Godfather]

Who can afford not to give a shit though, unless you own these execs, producers, marketers who make the decisions


Writer: "I have this great script for a new Ghostbusters movie where the boys are..."
Studio: "We love it already! But have you been on Twitter? Men are trending downwards, people want women these days"
Writer: "I, uhh, well I mean this is a beloved franchise and..."
Studio: "And we need some women of all shapes, people don't like fit anymore."
Writer: "But I mean these guys..er.. girls.. they're fighting ghosts, is it realistic that they'd be.. shapely?
Studio: "Absolutely. People will love it. We'll get Clinton to endorse it, and pay Bill Murray whatever he wants to get on board."
Writer: "I mean, I worked really hard on this script and I'm not sure people will..."
Studio: "Listen, this is what the people want. We'll call anyone who criticizes it misogynists and basement dwellers. It'll be a HIT. Oh and turn the urban up on the black character. WAY UP."

[DemonGeminiX]

And how'd that gamble turn out? It was considered a box office failure. The studio said to break even they would have to make at least $300 million, and to date, it's only scored $228. They said a movie of this scope should have made $500 million worldwide. They failed.

The studios need to relearn that when you try to push your PC bullshit on the masses, they'll reject it en mass, and you'll be left looking like a fool... just like all those execs, producers, and marketers who made the decisions in this case. It happened here, it's happened before, and it'll happen again. That's just the way it is.

You can lead a horse to water...

[RBP]

And how'd that gamble turn out? It was considered a box office failure. The studio said to break even they would have to make at least $300 million, and to date, it's only scored $228. They said a movie of this scope should have made $500 million worldwide. They failed.

The studios need to relearn that when you try to push your PC bullshit on the masses, they'll reject it en mass, and you'll be left looking like a fool... just like all those execs, producers, and marketers who made the decisions in this case. It happened here, it's happened before, and it'll happen again. That's just the way it is.

You can lead a horse to water...

You are such a privileged misogynist.

[DemonGeminiX]

Get back in the kitchen and make me a sammich!

[Griffin]