The Mask of Zorro
Summary
A former collaborator explain the unexpected story of how actor Tom Cruise savedThe Mask of Zorrofrom a likely cast disaster . The 1998 military action movietells the story of a thief who , in seeking revenge for his pal ’s last , is train by a man named Zorro , who is simultaneously pursuing his own vengeance . It was directed by Martin Campbell and starredAntonio Banderas as the eponymous Zorro , alongside a endorse casting of Anthony Hopkins , Catherine Zeta - Jones , and José María de Tavira .
yr afterThe Mask of Zorrohit field of operations , cinematographer Mikael Salomon — who was once fix to directThe Mask of Zorrobefore finally exiting the undertaking — explains how Tom Cruise saved the film . speak withSlashfilm , Steven Spielberg want Cruise to asterisk in the purpose at one point . Cruise declined the function because he is not Latino , like the character of Zorro , believe that him playing the role “ was not a great idea . ” Check out the full quote from Salomon below :
" Who else was [ in the mix ] ? Some big — oh yeah , Tom Cruise . Early on , [ Spielberg ] desire to offer it to him . Have you get word that ? He wanted to bid it to Tom Cruise . And my acquaintance and countryman Bille August had doneThe House of the Spiritswith all non - Latinos , and he got in so much red-hot water because of that , and they picket the motion picture in South America . And I articulate to Steven , ' You know , that ’s probably not a good theme , just for that reason . ' "
" One twenty-four hour period I was doing a commercial message and my supporter said , ' Mikael , there ’s Tom Cruise on the phone for you . ' ' Tom Cruise ? Okay . ' I had work with him on ' Far and Away . ' I was the [ theatre director of photography ] on ' Far and off . ' So he called me up and said , ' Thanks for the offering , but I think it ’s not a great idea for me to do this movie because , as you know … ' I say , ' Tom , you ’re a very sassy guy . Absolutely , you ’re dead right . ' "
How Does Tom Cruise’s Near Casting In Mask Of Zorro Reflect A Whitewashing Problem In Hollywood?
While Cruise andThe Mask of Zorroteam ended up get the good sense not to cat a White actor in the office of Zorro , the swashbuckler task was not without its cast flaws . Zeta - Jones and Hopkins , both White , played Hispanic characters in the motion-picture show . Given the movie ’s knowingness of the then - recentThe House of the Spiritscontroversy and that Cruise turned down a role on that footing , it is somewhat surprising thatThe Mask of Zorrostill has those glaring casting issues .
There have been several Zorro films over the years , but Hollywood has n’t really produced a right Zorro movie since 1940 ’s Mark of Zorro .
Whitewashing leading roll members is a problem that has persisted throughout the 21st one C in celluloid . Audiences have ascertain this with Scarlett Johansson ’s cast in a traditionally Japanese role in 2017’sGhost in the Shelland Emma Stone ’s cast as a part - Asian Hawaiian character inAloha . In 1998 , the awareness of whitewashing was much less a mainstayof shed conversation , making Cruise ’s refusal to take the role notable .
Luckily , the 2020s have bring more cognisance concerning the grandness of diverseness and accurately cast roles to the identities they are mean for . Still , the majority of head fictitious character in blockbuster films are White , and very few are played by Latino or Latino actors . AsHispanic and Hispanic actor uphold an on-going battle for moving-picture show function , it is important to keep chuck lessons from films likeThe Mask of Zorroin intellect .
reference : Slashfilm
