A pologies! Crowe on casting Emma Stone in ‘Aloha’

LONDON: Director Cameron Crowe defended his decision to cast Caucasian actress Emma Stone as a part-Asian woman in his film “Aloha,” but apologized for offending viewers who said the role should have gone to an actor of Asian-Pacific heritage.
Crowe acknowledged the critiques in a statement posted on his website on Tuesday, saying he offered “a heart-felt apology to all who felt this was an odd or misguided casting choice.” Many critics questioned the decision. Entertainment Weekly’s Chris Lee wrote: “Accepting Emma Stone as an Asian-American in ‘Aloha’ requires a certain suspension of disbelief.”
Crowe had defended his casting choices for the Hawaii-based movie well before its May 29 release after it came under fire for its Caucasian-led cast, particularly Stone’s role as an Air Force fighter pilot who is one quarter Hawaiian and has a half-Chinese father.
But Crowe said he purposefully chose the green-eyed, strawberry-blonde actress to match the character of Allison Ng, who was based on a red-headed Hawaiian native. “Captain Allison Ng was written to be a super-proud one-quarter Hawaiian who was frustrated that, by all outward appearances, she looked nothing like one,” Crowe wrote. “Extremely proud of her unlikely heritage, she feels personally compelled to over-explain every chance she gets.”
The film has stumbled at the box office, having earned just over $10.5 million dollars in North America, according to Box Office Mojo. It has garnered a low 18 percent approval rating on film review site RottenTomatoes.com.