islandclaws

It was the only movie to EVER open on a Saturday there! Of course it "broke the record"; there wasn't one.

kefrank

Ahem...notice the bold:

That's of any day of the week. Why not just acknowledge your inaccuracy? It won't impact your point much, because despite it's strong opening, it has dropped rapidly.

islandclaws

Eh, I'll give you that. I don't have a dog in this fight. But I found the usual PR spin to be a little funny since Disney so desperately wanted this to be a runaway in China and it isn't.

kefrank

I agree actually. It didn't perform nearly as well as they hoped, even though they tried to put a good face on it.

islandclaws

What I currently find very interesting in apparently Johnson is switching up ethnicity on one of the female leads, swapping out the rumored Rodriguez (IIRC that was her name) and is now looking to cast a Chinese actress. Thinly-veiled intentions indeed.

coli

I do recall JJ Abrams getting a question when they did the Presentation at SW convention last summer about why there weren't more Asian's in TFA? So I think Disney just doesn't want to deal with questions like this as they have pretty much covered all of their bases for the PC crowd.

kefrank

On a related note, I predict Rogue One will do bigger numbers in China than the Force Awakens has, if for no other reason than it has Donnie Yen and Wen Jiang.

joe_b

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/b2HGZPBDuDs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Regardless of diversity, I still feel that Disney's desire to attract the Chinese dollar is the biggest reason they'd go with an Asian lead -- especially since this report surfaced right after the film opened strongly over there. I wasn't that excited about Gina Rodriguez, but industry chatter sure made it seem like she was close to getting the part. Now shooting may be delayed and last minutes rewrites are supposedly happening... makes you wonder if there's any conflict happening behind the scenes.

Shazam

As an Asian guy, good grief. If I want to see a bunch of chinky chows in movies China/Korea/Japan spew out a ton of good movies every year. Also they have excellent TV serials of all ilk.

TGM

LMAO. I love this.

JeremyM

I guess they didn't excise Finn from enough marketing materials over there.

Disney sounds like some of my jobs. I'd hit my goals, collect a bonus, and then they'd double my goals. 2nd or 3rd on the all-time list was apparently not enough for them and now they're going to do stupid crap. I mean, I am fine with anyone being cast, but to change course on an actor that apparently was a "fit" to chase some elusive dollars is lame. IF all of this is accurate...

TGM

I'm not bothered by the change, if the character really could have been any nationality from the get-go. I don't blame them from trying to show as diverse of a cast as possible... everyone love Star Wars, and everyone loves characters that they can relate to... to cater to a population of Asian kids (or adults) by changing the actor from one nationality to another, as long as the hired actor is competent, is fine with me.

It will be interesting to see if Rogue One bests The Force Awakens due to Donnie Yen.

majorjoe23

So the last minute title change to "Star Wars Episode VII: The Asian Dude from Lost" did nothing to boose attendance?

Hazel Motes

me too, it makes me feel like its okay that I don't like Asian people.

kefrank

You are obviously not the target demographic for the marketing geniuses then.

james2025a

Why are there not more white people in Asian movies? My answer.....who the hell cares. If a movie is great i could not care less if the people starring in it are of caucasion, african, latino, or asian descent. Only when a movie is a success do people place the race card. You don't hear of many ethnic minoroties complaining of starring in Adam Sandler movies. Oh wait....

Michael Corvin

I agree.

I think the problem stems from the fact we see our nation as a culturally diverse so our movies should reflect that, to an extent.

Sean O'Hara

Because that's an accurate reflection of the countries they're made in. However, if you look at (mainland) Chinese movies and notice a distinct lack of Uighur, Manchu and Tibetan actors, that would be a better comparison -- and I'm sure there are groups in China that are concerned with just that problem.

windom

The release date for episode 8 has changed. It will now open in December. Not surprising considering the recent reports of delays to work on the script.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/star-wars-episode-viii-gets-857601

Timber

Why wouldn't they open it in December? It's not like in the 70's and early 80's when movies had long shelf lives and could be seen throughout the summer as was the case with the OT. Now movies have a couple of weeks/a month at best to make their money. Releasing right before Christmas, which is one of the biggest movie going days of the year and winter break is a blockbuster stroke of genius. They're only competing against limited release "Oscar bait" films at that time.

HN

i think it's more to not conflict with GotG 2; and that the December timeframe can make the boo coo dollars (a la TFA)

redrum

Star Wars vs. Avatar 2

That will be interesting

Artman

Always thought 1.5 yrs between episodes was pretty ambitious. Two yrs is still better than three and I'd rather they take the extra time.

Kal-El

I don't mind the extra wait if it means it gives them more time to get it right. Bring it.

Obi-Wanma

I won't lie, I'm disappointed, but only because I was really excited that there was only a year and a half until Episode 8. If they need more time to get it right, then by all means.