Considering Scarlett Johansson is in the middle of both a divorce and custody battle, one would assume her private life would be the main topic of conversation off the table in her dealings with the media.
And while Johansson does perhaps keep those cards much closer to her chest, there’s another work-related question she’s not interested in indulging: the white-washing of Hollywood.
Johansson is currently on the press tour for her newest film Ghost in the Shell, which is a Hollywood remake of an ultra-famous Japanese anime story, and since her casting was announced, critics have called the film out for “white-washing”.
And according to Fairfax Reporter Andrew Taylor, it was a topic of conversation journalists were told not to raise during a press conference in New Zealand, after he claims a publicist said they did not want to “offend her and create any animosity”.
So was it a publicist trying to protect the actress, or Johansson giving those direct orders?
It’s hard to tell. Since her casting was announced, Johansson has been rather quiet on the topic.
In fact, incessant criticism has circulated since the end of 2015, when a petition called for the dismissal of Johansson in the place of someone of Asian descent, so it’s a long time to keep relatively mum.
The petition questioned why the studio didn’t choose an ethnically appropriate actor as the film’s lead, while lamenting the lack of diversity on the big screen.
The Binge interviewed Miranda Tapsell about the need for diversity on Australian television and her struggle to get work as an indigenous actress.
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Interviewer: "so Scarlett, what caused you and random dude to break off your wild fling in the Bahamas?"
Press Secretary (off screen): "This interview is over. Now!"
Being a fan of the earlier adaptations I can assure you having a caucasian play the role of Motoko Kusanagi in this early part of her story is a crucial key part of the plot & the characters story.
SPOILER AHEAD:
The Major or Motoko Kusanagi is a cyborg, being part human part machine. She was a Japanese women who survived a plane crash. We find out that no surface tissue survived & quite possibly just her torso & head. When she was rebuilt into a robotic human prosthetic they selected a form resembling a female caucasian human due to the strength & space benefits of that larger frame. Ghost In The Shell is perhaps one of the most epic scifi story arcs to come out of the Japanese anime scene that spanned a number of seasons. Hollywood no doubt has plans to make many sequels following the Major's story. A large part of this story is the Major recollecting her past as a biological human in her original human form. She is rebuilt at a point toward the end of the final season & I'll leave it at that.