TMC
07-08-2020, 01:24 AM
Thandie Newton (https://www.yahoo.com/news/thandie-newton-turned-down-charlies-170047420.html) in case you're wondering, was supposed to play the role (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-8499097/Thandie-Newton-recalls-turning-Charlies-Angels-disturbing-meeting-Amy-Pascal.html) that ultimately went to Lucy Liu:
Thandie Newton says she dropped out (https://screenrant.com/charlies-angels-movie-thandie-newton-exit-reason/) of a blockbuster movie role 20 years ago because she felt "objectified" in casting meetings (https://deadline.com/2020/07/thandie-newton-amy-pascal-charlies-angels-1202979960/).
The "Westworld" actor was originally meant to star (https://www.theguardian.com/film/1999/oct/06/news) alongside Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore in the 2000 film adaptation of "Charlie's Angels." (https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/thandie-newton-charlies-angels-exit?utm_medium=social&utm_term=organic&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=link_ad) It has been reported that Newton turned down the role of brainiac Alex Munday because "she was worried it would make her too famous," (https://www.oneindia.com/2008/09/10/thandie-newton-turned-charlies-angels-role-fear-fame-1221055560.html) so Lucy Liu was hired instead.
But in a new interview with Vulture (https://www.vulture.com/amp/article/thandie-newton-in-conversation.html?__twitter_impression=true), Newton revealed that inappropriate, objectifying, and racist (https://people.com/movies/thandie-newton-says-she-turned-down-charlies-angels-after-a-racist-meeting-with-producer-amy-pascal/) comments were made during meetings with the film's director and a studio executive (https://themuse.jezebel.com/thandie-newton-says-amy-pascal-asked-her-to-be-more-con-1844291111).
"One of the biggest movies I didn't end up doing was because the director (https://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/118366355.html) said to me, 'I can't wait for this. The first shot is going to be … You're going to think it's like yellow lines down a road, and you pull back and you realize it's the stitching, because the denim is so tight on your ass it's going to look like tarmac.' I was like, 'Oh, I don't think we're going to go down this road together,'" she said.
Newton later clarified that the movie in question was "Charlie's Angels," which was directed by Joseph McGinty Nichol, known professionally as McG.
Newton also accused Amy Pascal, a Sony executive at the time (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/08/business/media/amy-pascal-sony-pictures.html), of pressuring her to turn the character into more of a Black stereotype.
"I had a meeting with her, and she said, 'Look, I don't mean to be politically incorrect, but the character as written and you playing the role, I just feel like we've got to make sure that it's believable,'" Newton explained. "I was like, 'What do you mean? What changes would you have to make?'"
"She's like, 'Well, you know, the character, as written, she's been to university and is educated,'" Newton continued. "I'm like, 'I've been to university. I went to Cambridge.' She went, 'Yeah, but you're different.' She's like, 'Maybe there could be a scene where you're in a bar and she gets up on a table and starts shaking her booty.' She's basically reeling off these stereotypes of how to be more convincing as a Black character."
"Everything she said, I was like, 'Nah, I wouldn't do that.' She's like, 'Yeah, but you're different. You're different.' That was Amy Pascal (https://themuse.jezebel.com/thandie-newton-says-amy-pascal-asked-her-to-be-more-con-1844291111?rev=1594133376450&utm_campaign=Jezebel&utm_content=1594133514&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_source=twitter). That's not really a surprise, is it? Let's face it: I didn't do the movie as a result."
Thandie Newton says she dropped out (https://screenrant.com/charlies-angels-movie-thandie-newton-exit-reason/) of a blockbuster movie role 20 years ago because she felt "objectified" in casting meetings (https://deadline.com/2020/07/thandie-newton-amy-pascal-charlies-angels-1202979960/).
The "Westworld" actor was originally meant to star (https://www.theguardian.com/film/1999/oct/06/news) alongside Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore in the 2000 film adaptation of "Charlie's Angels." (https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/thandie-newton-charlies-angels-exit?utm_medium=social&utm_term=organic&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=link_ad) It has been reported that Newton turned down the role of brainiac Alex Munday because "she was worried it would make her too famous," (https://www.oneindia.com/2008/09/10/thandie-newton-turned-charlies-angels-role-fear-fame-1221055560.html) so Lucy Liu was hired instead.
But in a new interview with Vulture (https://www.vulture.com/amp/article/thandie-newton-in-conversation.html?__twitter_impression=true), Newton revealed that inappropriate, objectifying, and racist (https://people.com/movies/thandie-newton-says-she-turned-down-charlies-angels-after-a-racist-meeting-with-producer-amy-pascal/) comments were made during meetings with the film's director and a studio executive (https://themuse.jezebel.com/thandie-newton-says-amy-pascal-asked-her-to-be-more-con-1844291111).
"One of the biggest movies I didn't end up doing was because the director (https://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/118366355.html) said to me, 'I can't wait for this. The first shot is going to be … You're going to think it's like yellow lines down a road, and you pull back and you realize it's the stitching, because the denim is so tight on your ass it's going to look like tarmac.' I was like, 'Oh, I don't think we're going to go down this road together,'" she said.
Newton later clarified that the movie in question was "Charlie's Angels," which was directed by Joseph McGinty Nichol, known professionally as McG.
Newton also accused Amy Pascal, a Sony executive at the time (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/08/business/media/amy-pascal-sony-pictures.html), of pressuring her to turn the character into more of a Black stereotype.
"I had a meeting with her, and she said, 'Look, I don't mean to be politically incorrect, but the character as written and you playing the role, I just feel like we've got to make sure that it's believable,'" Newton explained. "I was like, 'What do you mean? What changes would you have to make?'"
"She's like, 'Well, you know, the character, as written, she's been to university and is educated,'" Newton continued. "I'm like, 'I've been to university. I went to Cambridge.' She went, 'Yeah, but you're different.' She's like, 'Maybe there could be a scene where you're in a bar and she gets up on a table and starts shaking her booty.' She's basically reeling off these stereotypes of how to be more convincing as a Black character."
"Everything she said, I was like, 'Nah, I wouldn't do that.' She's like, 'Yeah, but you're different. You're different.' That was Amy Pascal (https://themuse.jezebel.com/thandie-newton-says-amy-pascal-asked-her-to-be-more-con-1844291111?rev=1594133376450&utm_campaign=Jezebel&utm_content=1594133514&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_source=twitter). That's not really a surprise, is it? Let's face it: I didn't do the movie as a result."