Nia Hill, a black producer working in Hollywood, says the casting of Suvari in "Stuck" is indicative not just of the current state of racism in Hollywood, but reaches back to the very beginnings of the industry. "Unfortunately, the idea that roles that were specifically created for women of color have consistently been offered to white actors, spans at least a century back."
"Stuck" is only the latest example. Last year, there was "A Mighty Heart," in which Angelina Jolie, a white actress, played writer Mariane Pearl, who is Afro-Cuban and Dutch and grew up in France. Pearl reportedly wanted Jolie to play her, because she trusted her. But the black blogosphere lit up when the first pictures of Jolie, in a corkscrew wig and tinted makeup, first appeared.
Caramel-colored actress Thandie Newton told Britain's The Sun, after seeing photos from the film set in 2006, "God, I'm shocked. She's been blacked up to play a black woman. I have to say it's surprising, very surprising." Newton told the reporter she would have loved to have played the role of Pearl, but would not judge Jolie's performance until she saw it.
"Every black actress looked up and saw 'A Mighty Heart' and said, 'Why wasn't I asked to audition for that role,'" Rowell said. "I'm not here to chastise Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie for bringing the story to the big screen, but why not put a black actress in that role?"
Michael Rechtshaffen, a film critic and feature writer for The Hollywood Reporter, believes the reason is financial. "It's a difficult subject matter. It's going to be a challenge to get people in the theater, so you want to put your best foot forward," he said.
Yet, despite its bankable star, "A Mighty Heart" still tanked at the box office. Had the studio gone with a more obscure French actress, Rechtshaffen said, "it would have had no shot at all."
Similarly, Vaccari believes the film "21," which came out this spring, would have had little chance of being made if it had stayed true to the story it was based on from the book, "Busting Vegas: The MIT Whiz Kid Who Brought the Casinos to their Knees," by Ben Mezrich.
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