May 20 2008Gyllenhaal, Arterton Join 'Prince of Persia', Because They're Both Clearly From That Region
After Alone in the Dark, BloodRayne, Dead or Alive, Doom, Double Dragon, Hitman, House of the Dead, Dungeon Siege, Super Mario Bros., Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil, Street Fighter, Tomb Raider, and Wing Commander, you'd think it would be getting pretty hard to find respectable actors willing to risk their reputation on a video game adaptation. Yet, for whatever reason, Jake Gyllenhaal and Bond girl up-and-comer Gemma Arterton have reportedly been persuaded to star in Jerry Bruckheimer's Prince of Persia. I suspect the cacophony of cash register bells that went off when they heard how much they'd get paid played a large part in the decision, but we can pretend it was that the director of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Love in the Time of Cholera (also, Mona Lisa Smile) is at the helm, giving Prince a slight edge over the usual Uwe Boll fare.
I haven't played the Prince of Persia games, so could someone tell me if there's a legitimate reason why blatant caucasians are playing the roles of Persian royalty? Is it like The Love Guru, where it's explained early on that he's actually a white American raised there, and thus not the new Charlie Chan, or are we just using Alec Guinness in Lawrence of Arabia as a standard now?
Reader Comments
1. Michael - May 20, 2008 6:31 PM
The PoP game series featured a protagonist with an incongruous English accent, so I'm guessing fans of the series aren't going to have much problem wrapping their heads around this new wrinkle.
2. delic8 - May 20, 2008 6:37 PM
If Jake popped in some brown contacts and dyed his hair, he'd look a lot like actual Persian/Iranian guys that I know. Gemma would be a tougher sell, needing a dyejob and a tan, but either could pass. While it would be nice to get some actual Middle Eastern actors in there, that would also mean sacrificing an "A-list" cast.
3. John - May 21, 2008 7:11 AM
Wouldn't the contacts be blue? All the Persians I've ever known had blue eyes.
4. wendy - May 21, 2008 9:24 AM
Personally I hope it's like the original game, where the main character spends most of his time lining up jumps just to die but he looks really smooth doing it.
5. uni'tard - May 21, 2008 9:41 AM
give him some tacky fake gold jewelry and a white windbreaker track suit and he could be persian. easily.
6. Pat - May 21, 2008 10:41 AM
Is that the excuse for Love Guru? It's not a very good one. All that explains is why his skin is so light, not why he decided to make such a racist movie. Also, unfunny.
How about Anthony Quinn in Lawrence of Arabia, with his big, "Arabian" nose made out of putty?
Despite the high instance of Caucasian-as-Arabian in Lawrence of Arabia, it is as fair a movie to the Arabian people as I've ever seen made by a Westerner. To their religion, culture, politics, etc., it is more accurate and enlightened than anything Hollywood's making about the Middle East/Central Asia right now, that's for sure - with or without Obi-Wan's phony accent and Anthony Quinn's stereotype of a nose.
7. Amee - May 21, 2008 12:34 PM
yeah i'm not surprised-this is hollywood. although last i heard orloondo bland was playing the prince-jake, despite his caucasianess would make a much better prince. they're gonna go though a whole lotta fake tan tho!
8. Kewaa - May 21, 2008 1:32 PM
nah, i can totally see him playing the lead, he just needs a tan and longer hair. The games are ridiculously fun! although i wonder how much of the original plot is going to be transferred, i can't see Jake Gyllenhaal slaughtering zombies for 2.5 hours, but then again if they really got the director from Love in The Time of Cholera, watch out. That movie was horrible.
9. Apostrophe - May 21, 2008 11:55 PM
The trilogy of ps2 games are a masterpiece that told a fantastic story about a man who, against all odds, struggles to change his ultimate fate, death. In the first game he begins as a soldier in his father's army, attacking a nearby kingdom and, in an attempt to gain his father's honor, he sneaks into the treasure vault while the castle is under siege. There he finds the Dagger of Time, one of three items resistant to the transmogrifying powers of the Sands of Time, which when the prince unwittingly unleashes them, turns everyone into sand creatures.
Using the Dagger of Time, acquired early on in the game, the prince is able to literally reverse any event that just transpired with the foresight of what might have been and either plan accordingly for a puzzle or counter-attack an enemy. Basically he gets to relive a moment that would have otherwise killed him.
Jake Gyllenhaal doesn't make sense as a casting decision, especially when they were considering casting an actual Persian actor/model who is skilled in parkour. (wall running) and descended from actual Persian nobility..
10. In Wikipedia I trust - May 23, 2008 7:57 AM
I'm not a huge fan of classifying people by races but growing up with a lot of Persians I know they hated being called Arabs and considered themselves white. According to a Wikipedia article on Persian Peoples : "Native people of Iran are White Caucasian. "
11. someguy - May 27, 2008 2:56 AM
i agree with num. 10. A lot of persians are indeed WHITE.