Warner Bros. Studios Presents

Transcription

1 Warner Bros. Studios Presents Ian Chen in AKIRA Topic: Warner Bros. casts Ian Chen in the upcoming film, Akira. Audience: The three main audiences are fans of Akira, diverse audiences and fans of action movies. Akira has been around since 1982 and has been in production in various countries until The movie has many fans that are looking forward to a new version of the manga series. Secondly, diverse audiences have seen white actors cast for Ghost in the Shell and other manga series and are looking for an actor of Asian ancestry to be cast in a manga series. Finally, since the manga series is live-action, fans of the action genre will be targeted. Key messages: The key messages are that Warner Bros. is ensuring the end of whitewashing in the company s films, Warner Bros. is releasing an authentic adaptation of Akira and Warner Bros. is exciting audiences about Chen s casting so they will want to see the movie.

2 Contact: Remi Sklar Tel. 565/ Cell Phone: 246/ IMMEDIATE RELEASE WARNER BROS. CASTS LEAD ACTOR IN AKIRA Warner Bros. casts Ian Chen as Tetsuo Shima in Akira Warner Bros. casted Ian Chen as Tetsuo Shima today for the upcoming Akira based on the manga series. Chen took part in a nation-wide casting call for the main role, winning the part over 10,000 other candidates. Warner Bros. finally greenlighted the movie after trying to film an adaptation to the manga series for 15 years. Chen s casting is the final step to fulfilling the dream of manga fans worldwide. Katsuhiro Otomo, the creator of the manga series, and Jordan Peele, the director of the upcoming movie, believe Chen is the perfect choice to lead into a new age of live-action manga. Ian is exactly how I imagined Tetsuo. He seems young and innocent but he s got a dark side right underneath the surface, Otomo said. With this movie, I think we could be changing the game of manga completely. Peele is excited to have a cast of all Asian-American actors. He said he believes the cast will reflect the nation s changing attitudes about diverse actors headlining movies. It s about time we have a diverse actor in the lead role, Peele said. I m so proud to be pioneering this trend, and I hope to see it continue a long way in the future. Ian is a strong kid who s leading the way, and I know he s going to deliver a fantastic performance in Akira. Akira is set to be released in theaters January 24, Warner Bros. leads the industry globally through a combination of feature film, television, home entertainment production and worldwide distribution. The Time Warner Company is at the forefront of the future through the development of current and emerging media and platforms. ### If you d like more information about the event, or to schedule an interview with Katsuhiro Otomo or Jordan Peele, please contact Remi Sklar. Visit to learn more about the film.

3 Stock Photos Ian Chen smiles for his first head-shot before filming Fresh off the Boat. Ian Chen attends his first red carpet press appearance. Chen says he s all about Minecraft, and TV in a spotlight on Angry Reader of the Week.

4 Chen shows off his playful side on Twitter. Katsuhiro Otomo created the manga series Akira in Chen plays Tetsuo Shima, the youngest member of a teenage biker gang. Chen s character, Tetsuo Shima, has problems being the weakest and most inexperienced member of the gang until he becomes absorbed in his new powers.

5 History of Akira: 1979: Katsuhiro Otomo created Fireball, a series that anticipated many plot elements of Akira. 1982: Katsuhiro Otomo wrote the first volume of manga, finishing the series in : Katsuhiro Otomo directed a film adaptation of Akira, released in Toho. 1988: Taito created a graphic adventure game of Akira for the Famicom console with the player in the role of Kaneda. 1988: Epic Comics published a color version in the United States from 1988 to The computerized color version revolutionized the way comics were colored. 2000: Dark Horse Comics published a new paperback edition from Titan Books published an original black-and-white version at the same time. 2002: Warner Bros. acquired the rights to create a film version of Akira. 2003: Tokyopop published a version of Akira as cinemanga, a film version that uses comic book panels and comic art. 2009: Random House published an English-language version from 2009 to : Warner Bros. announced that Jordan Peele signed on to direct Akira. 2017: Warner Bros. cast Ian Chen in the main role of Tetsuo Shima.

6 Transcript of a Speech by Kevin Tsujihara When I was ten years old, I thought I was invincible. Up to that point in my life, I had never experienced disappointment and I had never been stopped from getting exactly what I wanted. (Pause) But when I was in fifth grade, that changed. (Pause) I had this one goal in mind: I wanted to play Kurt in our small community theater production of The Sound of Music. We only had musicals in our community every two years and I knew I couldn t wait another two years to start my acting career so I thought this was it. This was my chance. I watched the movie every day after school to prepare myself and memorized lines and songs to make sure I would be ready for that audition. Finally, the day came and I entered the audition room with other members of my class. Immediately, two boys looked at me and chuckled. Isn t this play a little too white for you? one of them commented, still laughing. (Pause) I stopped. My face turned bright red. I thought back to the movie I had loved so dearly and knew so well and realized that even a community theater wouldn t bend race to allow for one kid. (Pause) I didn t make it to my audition that day. And throughout school, whenever I thought about auditioning for anything else, I wouldn t because I didn t see one character who was Asian and I thought that I couldn t audition for any role no matter the place or time if the role hadn t been previously played by someone of Asian origin. But this year, we ve had the opportunity to do something truly beautiful. We re taking a manga series loved by fans all over the world, and we re creating an American version. (Pause) But an American version doesn t mean a white version. America isn t just one race. Our version will cast American actors with Asian ancestry, bringing together the world of Japanese manga and our world of the rainbow of colors in America.

7 And even though I ve been a part of this creation since the beginning, I didn t realize how attached I really was to the project. I discovered that I ve been carrying around this feeling of inadequacy since I was ten years old. This feeling that I can t do anything because I m not the color that everyone I see on stage and on screen is. (Pause) And this is what makes me so excited about our live-action version of Akira. I don t want any child to think they can t fulfill their dreams because of their race. I don t want any child to think they don t have the resources to fulfill their dreams and I don t want any child to see a lack of representation on screen and think that their perspectives are not shared by anyone outside of their immediate community. (Pause) We need diversity in this industry because of the little boy who is teased for his race and isn t able to come up with a retort because our culture hasn t given him any reason to disagree with his bullies. We need to strive for a culture that celebrates every aspect of the human being and encourages all of us to thrive. We need to promote the perspectives of every race in our country to on screen status so that everyone knows that they are important and valuable in our culture. (Pause) And while Warner Bros. can t immediately solve these problems, we are on the way there. Movies like Akira that stray from the practice of bleaching our culture white are the first step. Diverse casting is the start to giving our children the encouragement and support they deserve. So, go out and make our film studios accountable. Call on them to choose stories to celebrate every perspective in our nation. Support movies that do celebrate diverse perspectives in our nation. If we all work on this together, there s no knowing what we might do. Thank you so much.

8 Feature story: When Ian Chen learned to read, he instantly gravitated toward comic books. Chen, 12, loved Archie and Superman, but most of all, he loved manga. His teachers couldn t get him to concentrate on homework because he would always be hiding a comic book underneath his desk. He would ve been the most irritating student in my class for that reason only, Mary Peterson, Chen s first-grade teacher, said. But he was one of the smartest in my class, and made sure to be friendly and engaging to everyone he met. After Chen s older brother, Eric, introduced him to Dragon Quest, there was no going back. Chen devoured manga, reading 30 manga series that year, including Akira. I don t know if it was the action or the cool storylines, but I ve always been hooked on manga, Chen said. That s why, when I heard they were casting Akira, I knew I had to be Tetsuo. Chen s father contacted his agent who told him about the 10 open casting calls. Chen begged his dad to drive him to the nearest call in Portland, and began the four-round auditioning process, winning the role over 10,000 other young actors. I just knew that this role fit me. Not only is Tetsuo a character I can identify with but he s a character that is originally Asian, Chen said. I am so excited to portray a character I have been reading about since I was 10 years old. Chen s casting is not only a big step in his career but a big step in history. Chen is the first Asian-American to be cast in an American adaption of a manga series. Through his casting, Warner Bros. is sidestepping massive controversy over Scarlett Johansson s casting as the main role in Ghost in the Shell. We wanted to be authentic with the story we re telling, Kevin Tsujihara, the CEO of Warner Bros., said. Tetsuo Shima has been Japanese in every version of his story. It simply wouldn t make sense for a white actor to portray him. Akira is another component of Warner Bros. recent diversity initiatives. The company created the Emerging Directors and Emerging Actors programs and has focused on hiring a larger representation of diverse actors on and off screen. Chen hopes that Akira s success will push other studios to cast Asian-American actors in lead roles. I m so excited to play Tetsuo, Chen said. But, most of all, I m excited that other boys like me will be able to see themselves represented on the big screen.

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