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people & arts Friday 25 august 2017

In this April 9, 2016 file photo, Ed Skrein arrives at the MTV Movie
Awards in Burbank, Calif.
‘Hellboy’ casting

prompts backlash This March 14, 2013, file photo shows Sam Beam, of Iron & Wine, during the SXSW Music Festival in

over ‘whitewashing’ Austin, Texas. Associated Press

By JAKE COYLE manga adaptation “Death Coming full circle for
flix release, the Japanese
AP Film Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — A Holly- Note” also drew criticism
cial-media outcry over the Asian actors. Though Ma- balladeer Sam Beam
wood film yet again finds for transferring a Japanese
story to Seattle without any
itself responding to a so-

casting of a white actor in samune Shirow, director of
a role that was originally the original “Ghost in the
Asian-American. Shell,” defended Johans- By DAVID BAUDER Sub Pop, which released Beam left Sub Pop to record
British actor Ed Skrein earlier son’s casting, many lam- Associated Press the first Iron & Wine disc in at a couple of larger labels
this week joined the cast of basted the choice. When NEW YORK (AP) — Song- 2002. but returned for “Beast
the “Hellboy” reboot “Rise the $110 million film flopped writer Sam Beam prefers to He describes much of his Epic.” Poneman said Sub
of the Blood Queen,” which in April, Paramount Pictures think of his career direction subsequent work as trying Pop isn’t big on prodigal
is to be the third film in the said the casting conver- less as looking back and on different sounds and son stories, but Beam “is so
comic adaptation fran- sation impacted reviews , more as going full circle. styles to see what fits. beloved and respected in
chise previously helmed and thus its disappointing Whatever terminology is “I was just sort of doing mu- our organization that doing
by Guillermo del Toro. The box-office debut. employed, Beam — who sic for a hobby and won anything other than pro-
character, Ben Daimio, Studies have shown that records under the name the lottery, basically, and ceeding would have felt
is Japanese-American in diverse casts often lead to Iron & Wine — has returned had a music career,” he wrong.”
Mike Mignola’s “Hellboy” better box office. And yet both to the Sub Pop label said. “So I had to figure Like many artists, Beam likes
comics and his heritage the top 100 films of 2015, where his career started out what I wanted to be, something to tie an album
is central to his backstory. a USC study found, con- and the warm, acoustic because I hadn’t thought together; his 2007 album,
Daimio’s grandmother was tained not one leading role sound of his early mate- about it.” “The Shepherd’s Dog,” had
a Japanese Imperial assas- for an Asian-American. rial. His sixth album, “Beast Beam makes some of the a dog in every song. This
sin in World War II. That has led to increasing Epic,” comes out Friday loveliest music in the in- time the characters in his
Many objected to the role frustration for many promi- and is much anticipated in die rock world. He dates songs all had some degree
not going to an Asian- nent Asian-American ac- the indie rock world. Some his melodic sense to the of frailty.
American actor and called tors and produced some dates in his fall tour of small hymns he heard while go- Now 43, this father of five
it another example of Hol- clever parodies. A New York theaters are already sold ing to church as a boy, daughters is less interested
lywood “whitewashing” digital strategist named out. and his parents’ Motown in the problems of youth
Asian characters. “I guess William Yu, inspired by the “You can’t really listen to records. He enjoys listening than in people who perse-
they want this to fail,” said “OscarsSoWhite” backlash, this record and say it sounds to harder stuff, to punk and vere after being knocked
actress Cindy Chu on Twit- created the website and like the old records,” Beam metal, but he recognizes around by life.
ter. The film’s distributor, hashtag “StarringJohn- said. “There’s a lot more his strengths and what fits The cover of “Beast Epic”
Lionsgate, declined com- Cho.” In photo-shopped going on. But at the same his voice. is a caricature of Beam
ment. A representative for movie posters, he imagines time, the approach felt fa- Jonathan Poneman, co- — you can tell it’s him by
Skrein didn’t respond to Cho single-handedly filling miliar again. I was writing founder of Sub Pop, said the guitar and big, bushy
queries Wednesday. the Asian-American lead- more introspective songs Beam has a devotion to beard — with a blindfold.
The backlash follows pre- ing-man void in everything and approached the mak- craft with a rival impulse to “All these things keep hit-
vious controversies includ- from “The Martian” to “Me ing of this record in a more cast aside orthodoxy. ting us over the head, no
ing the castings of Emma Before You.” intuitive way. It felt similar, “Sam is thoughtful, rebel- matter how old you are,”
Stone as a half-Hawaiian, “With every instance of but it felt like it took me do- lious but disciplined, so he said. “You say one day
half-Chinese Air Force pi- whitewashing,” Yu posted ing all of the other records that he can leverage a I’ll be all grown up and
lot in Cameron Crowe’s in response to the Skrein to get to this one.” huge natural gift to serve I’ll figure it all out, but you
“Aloha” and Scarlett Jo- casting, “an (Asian-Ameri- The North Carolina-born something as fleeting as a don’t. You just keep on
hansson as the cyborg pro- can) is subliminally told that Beam was a film professor mood, idea or feeling and learning the lessons over
tagonist in the Japanese they are not worth atten- who painted and wrote do so with an unerring feel and over again. And that’s
anime remake “Ghost in tion, not worth a place in songs on the side before — what some would call what these songs are all
the Shell.” This week’s Net- this society.”q he caught the attention of soul,” Poneman said. about.”q