'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' so White: Lack of colored actors criticized in Quentin Tarantino's next
Quentin Tarantino is all set to start filming his upcoming film 'Once Upon a time in Hollywood' and while the movie consists of some of the biggest A-list stars playing parts in it, fans were quick to notice how the cast did not consist of any person of color.
Right from Margot Robbie to Leonardo DiCaprio to Brad Pitt, the movie has an all-white cast. As reported by Bustle, many Twitter users reported that the casting had been unintentional.
The movie is set to be based in 1969 in Los Angeles and revolves around the Manson Family and their trail of murders. Looking at the timeline of the event, social media users pointed out how there were several events that took place during the period which involved people of color. For instance, LAPD raids on the Black Panthers in Southern California had been one of the biggest events that took place at that time and people believe it would have been possible for the movie to capture the same.
At the same time, the movie has been described as a “Pulp Fiction-like tapestry” which suggest that there will be multiple storylines taking place. On June 7 it was stated that Dakota Fanning, Damian Lewis, Luke Perry and Emile Hirsch are all set to join the already massive cast of the upcoming movie. Burt Reynolds, Kurt Russell, Tim Roth and Michael Madsen are others who are on the list.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Quentin had mentioned how he had been working on the movie for a long time.
"I've been working on this script for five years, as well as living in Los Angeles County most of my life, including in 1969, when I was seven years old. I'm very excited to tell this story of an LA and a Hollywood that doesn't exist anymore. And I couldn't be happier about the dynamic teaming of DiCaprio and Pitt as Rick and Cliff," he said at that time.
People even expressed their disappointment on Twitter. “Guess none of these folks insisted on an inclusion rider," wrote one user. Meanwhile, others were disappointed to see very few females in the cast. "13 men and 3 women? It's set in Hollywood, not the Yukon," wrote one user, while another added, "Where Are The People Of Color??? Where Are The Women???"
Another pointed out how the casting was flawed as they noted, "The Manson “family” was heavily female, four females committed or helped to commit the two most famous murders and three victims were women. It’s quite literally impossible to tell the Manson story without including many more women."
Meanwhile, there are a few who defended the cast as one tweet read, "I'm not complaining about the lack of diversity because unlike in other instances here it actually makes sense based on the plot and when it's set. But in a general sense, I'm just tired and annoyed by this being the standard template for Hollywood representation."