A journalist is being hotly criticized for all but ignoring the Asian stars of a South Korean film at Cannes in favor of the film's two white headliners.
Stars Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander are being criticized as well for not calling out the journalist's behavior and sticking up for their castmates.
The controversy went down at a press conference at the Cannes Film Festival with the cast and filmmakers of the South Korean sci-fi thriller Hope.
The journalist raised eyebrows by beginning her question with: "Hi Michael, hi Alicia, I don’t know the rest of you.” It didn't really get any better from there.
Hope features a veritable who's who of South Korean cinema: written, directed, and produced by Na Hong-jin and starring Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Jung Ho-yeon, Uhm Tae-goo, and Lee Kyu-hyung.
The journalist seemed to have little interest in anyone besides Fassbender and Vikander, who are a married couple—though she did go on to ask about the director—without saying his name.
She said:
“I just wanted to ask if the director could say why he wanted to cast Michael and Alicia, two actors for the price of one, maybe?”
It was hard to miss some knowing glances being exchanged among the Asian cast members at the way they were slighted. The director, known as Na, seemed flustered when answering the question as well.
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Any way you slice it, the optics are pretty bad—and not just because everyone on the panel had a name plate right in front of them, if nothing else.
But it's especially bad given that it's not just the cast but the writer, director, and producer who are all South Korean. Fassbender and Vikander are arguably incidental in the grand scheme of things!
People online were quick to criticize the journalist's flippant attitude toward the South Korean cast members.
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Many also criticized Fassbender and Vikander for not calling out the journalist themselves.
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Fassbender and Vikander have not commented on the incident so far, nor has anyone else from the crew or cast.
The woman believed to be the journalist in question has reportedly made her social media presence private amid the uproar.
Press conference incidents aside, Hope has been one of the most celebrated films shown at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
The film centers on the residents of a remote harborside town not far from the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea as they battle an alien invasion that occurs just after a wildfire has knocked out all communications.
Praise has been particularly intense for Na, whom Vikander calls an "auteur" and is being heralded as one of the new important voices in international cinema.
Journalists should probably learn his name if they haven't already.
