Harriet
Talk about controversial cast : Harrietscreenwriter Gregory Allen Howard reveals that , in 1994 , a Hollywood executive director want Julia Roberts to play American abolitionist and former slave Harriet Tubman in a picture show . One of the most pop actresses of all time , Roberts was specially beloved in the ' 90s , making her every studio apartment administrator ’s pipe dream casting . She starred ina serial of successful filmsin that tenner , starting with the ethnic touchstonePretty Womanin 1990 . That picture not only introduced her to a global interview , it also got her a 2nd Academy Award nominating speech . Roberts focused primarily on quixotic clowning for the rest of the ' 90 , leadingMy Best Friend ’s Weddingand reuniting with Richard Gere forRunaway Bride .
The filmHarrietstarsLeslie Odom Jr.and Janelle Monae , with Cynthia Erivo in the star role . It follow Harriet Tubman ’s journeying to exemption as well as efforts to maneuver C of striver to exemption using the Underground Railroad . The movie has garnered in general well-disposed reviews , specially for Erivo ’s public presentation . However , it has also been criticise for its formulaic nature .
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Gregory Allen Howard wrote in aLos Angeles Timesarticle that he waited 25 geezerhood for his movie to be made . When he first pitched the script in 1994 ( originally style " Freedom Fire " ) , the president of the studio ’s sub - recording label told Howard that he want actress Julia Roberts to play Harriet Tubman . What does n’t make sense is that Roberts is a white actress , and Tubman is a black historical figure , something that the sole black woman in Howard ’s meeting was agile to point out . The studio apartment administrator did n’t see this as an issue , allege , " That was so long ago . No one will know that . "
Gregory Allen Howard continued to draw the struggle he had getting a studio to accept his screenplay , being forever rejected for almost two decades . Howard claimed that Hollywood ’s mood involve to change first , and the start of that change began with 2013’s12 Years a striver . The film went on to gain several awards , including " Best Picture " at the 2014 Academy Award . Then hail the # OscarsSoWhite crusade and the runaway success of the 2018 superhero movieBlack Panther , usher in the everlasting clip to originate a pic likeHarriet .
Harriet Tubman is one of the most well - known African Americans in history , a figure of speech that many Americans learn about at a very early years . It is extremely improbable that no one would know that Harriet Tubman was black . In improver to this , Tubman was a slave in the 1800s in the American south , so even if she was n’t a famous figure , it would still be inaccurate cast . This paint a picture that the Hollywood administrator might have expected Roberts to habituate blackface for the portrayal , which would be equally ( if not more ) offence . Hollywood has had an payoff with whitewashing for days , whether it ’s the whitewashing of halfway Eastern type like inExodus : Gods and KingsorAsian characters like inGhost in the Shell . It ’s secure to say that if Julia Roberts was barf asHarriet , it would have left audiences point their pitchforks or at the very least , scratch their heads .
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Source : The Los Angeles Times
