Netflix Tak Hingin nak “Whitewash” Adaptasi Filem Sword Art Online

Netflix lately kua movie-movie best. Cite terbaru, diorang nak buat adaptasi filem Sword Art Online. Penerbit eksekutif dia, Laeta Kalogridis dah siap declare awal-awal yang dia mahupun Netflix tak berminat nak whitewash cite ni. In case korang tak tau, whitewash ni maknanya nak mat salleh-kan mende tu, simple; macam Ghost in The Shell (yang asal-usul dia Jepn, watak-watak Jepun) jadi Scarlett Johannson yang berlakon.

Minah ni jugak terlibat dalam Avatar, Shutter Island dan terbaru Altered Carbon; yang dia tulis dan juga penerbit eksekutif. Dalam interview dengan Collider, dia ditanya apa yang dia nak buat untuk adaptasi Sword Art Online ni. Kalogridis, yang sedang menulis episod pilot jawab panjang, tapi essentially dia cakap “no to whitewash“.

Memetik dari page Collider:

KALOGRIDIS:

Well, let’s get the obvious bit out of the way, right away. SAO is an
essentially Japanese property, in which Kirito and Asuna, who are the two leads, are
Japanese. In the television show, Kirito and Asuna will be played by Asian actors. Whether or not that was the question underneath your question, it’s not a conversation about whitewashing. When I sold it to Netflix, we were all on the same page. They are not interested in whitewashing it, and I am not interested in whitewashing it. In terms of the secondary characters, because the game is meant to be global, the way it’s presented in the anime and in the light novels, there are secondary characters that clearly are from other parts of the world, like Klein and Agil. To me, it’s very obvious when you watch it that you’re meant to take that this game spans the globe, but Kirito and Asuna are very clearly located as kids from Japan, and Tokyo, if I’m not mistaken. That is what we will be doing because that is the story. They are, in my mind anyway, much like Major Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell, defined in part by being seminal characters in an Asian piece of art. That’s the first and biggest thing.

Buat masa ni takde tarikh lagi untuk episod premiere dia, pastu tak tau best ke tak. Tapi daripada perkembangan ni, kita boleh tau cite ni bermula dengan langkah yang positif.