June 7th, 2012
04:26 PM ET
'Snow White' movie under fire for not hiring little peopleKristen Stewart's "Snow White and the Huntsman" performed well at the box office on its opening weekend, but the darker take on the classic fairy tale hasn't won fans within the Little People of America organization. The nonprofit, which provides support and information to people of short stature as well as their families, is taking "Snow White and the Huntsman's" studio, Universal, to task for not hiring little people to play the dwarves in the film. Instead, actors like Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins and Nick Frost were tapped to perform in the roles, and were digitally made to appear shorter on-screen.
In a statement, the Little People of America organization says that it advocates for equal employment of little people in a variety of industries, including entertainment, "which we believe should cast little people in the full breadth of possible roles." That would mean "both casting people with dwarfism as characters that were specifically written to be played by little people, and other roles that would be open to average height people and people of short stature." According to TMZ, Todd McCarthy, a little person who works with the theater troupe Beacher's Madhouse at the Roosevelt Hotel, is rounding up the similarly outraged to stage a "100-midget protest" at Universal. The studio told CNN that it's not commenting on the controversy.
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I love this movie! I hope there's a sequel to this.
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It's time to tell her the truth.I'm sorry that you didn't get the jobShe mended the broken doll.I expect to be there this evening.I know all about it.Nothing but death can part the couple.That makes no difference.I appreciate John's helping in time.Take me to the airport，please.I bought it the day it was released.
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Come ON. Assigning roles specifically to little people based on their stature is not Equal Opportunity Employment. It's discrimination. Equal Opportunity Employment is allowing ANYONE to apply for a job, regardless of physical characteristics.
I am sure that if a little person auditioned for one of the dwarf roles and was rejected, it wasn't because of their size. The most qualified person for the job should get the job. It would have been easier to cast actual little people in those parts, instead of doing all of the digital editing to make these "average size" actors appear to be dwarves, so the casting staff must have felt that the chosen actors lent something special to the movie.
If the casting staff would have ONLY hired little people to play the parts of the dwarves, they would have been criticized for that, too. Employers can't win, no matter how hard they try to make what they feel is the best decision.
I can see that if one Little Person had tried out for the roles offered and was refused, talent could be the reason why. No one should get something they don't deserve! However, if dozens or hundreds of Little People tried out for a role written for not only Little People, but a role obviously requiring a specific body type only found in specific dwarfisms, and they are all denied - I suspect that the equal opportunity act was not taken seriously. It was easier for them, financially to hire well known actors as the stars of their movie. More sales than hiring a an unknown name. It is sad because of the high unemployment rate among persons of short stature. Little People aren't calling the police on them, they are simply stating that there are qualified short statured actors out there that deserve EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
All I remember is Thor didn't have moljnir this time.
WoW!! I can't believe all the negativity and spewing here.
Too true. Just because people with short stature are looking for the same opportunities which tall ppl. enjoy. There is a lot of misinformation. To become informed see me: http://dwarfaware.wordpress.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/jenovesia or https://twitter.com/#!/followers. I am the mother of a child with drafism. Know what your talking about and don't be afraid to ask questions, I don't mind. Smiles!
If the producers _had_ hired "little people" to play the dwarfs, I'm sure that somebody would be screaming, "Dwarfsploitation!!!!!"
Isn't it non discriminatory because they did not use little people for dwarf roles? If they did use little people, then would it not be profiling?
Their dwarfs, not dwarves. Get it right, CNN.
Though, using the proper "they're" would make me look like less of an idiot.
Both "dwarfs" and "dwarves" are valid plural forms of "dwarf."
What isn't valid is the use of "their" to mean "they are."
People who live in glass houses ...
It's "they're" not "their." Get it right, Ira!
These little people may have a point. So I'm wondering now why animal rights advocates don't rise up whenever an animal is digitally rendered.
DAMMIT , HIRE ME OR I'LL PUNCH YOU IN THE KNEECAP...
If I was heading into my office and had to cross the "100-midget protest" line, I'd buy some of those 4' painting stilts.
Well if they want semi regular employment as little people in telecast roles, there is always Dwarf Porn.
hey, I'm an a**hole, i'm gonna sue Hollywood because they don't hire me as a bad ass on any film !
People are dismissing this argument because the population of "little people" is small in numbers therefor easy to overlook or brush aside. In Shakespearian times men played women in plays as women were not allowed to act. Black face which is now looked back on with great shame was once accepted because african americans were not allowed to act. You also have to consider the cost in CGI to change the body proportions of the average sized actors had to be rather pricey so I really do not understand their motives.
If you'd actually watch the movie, there are certain stunts that because of health concerns, could not be performed by little people without any cgi added.
It's as if any actor could stage a protest because they didn't pick them for a specific role. This protest is LAME!
I believe that the filmakers were wanting to display people which had normal porportions for their height. Almost all little people do not.
I just read today about how a little person actor said that he refused roles where he would be an elf, dwarf, leprechaun, etc., because he found it demeaning. You hire the little people, its demeaning. You don't hire them, its demeaning. GET OVER IT. If an actor wants the job, and the producer wants them to have the job, then its their movie.
effin' midgets!
Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister makes up for a lot of slights.
I actually have a different complaint about the movie. Snow White was not "white" and she most definitely was not the "fairest of them all" or even pretty–and she acted just like Bella from Twilight–which is to say, she did not act at all.
You are so right! She's not pretty, has a weird face, and cannot act her way out of a wet paper sack. ugh.,
"mmi16
Now is the time to start casting 'little people' into regular roles and using CGI to adjust their height to normal adult sizes. Equal opportunity."
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Actually they have a point–there are few roles for dwarves and other short people –if they are going to deprive them of even the roles which call for their type–then they will have even less roles to fill which means they CAN"T WORK IN THEIR PROFESSION> Gee. Their protesting makes a lot of sense–when you think about it.
The main problem with this drama is that Bella..I mean Snow White does not know how to act and there is something wrong with her face (teeth) it is as if she had them overstraightened to the point that she has no natural overbite and her teeth are sitting on top of each other like a cartoon's But besides the fact that Bella ala Snow White is not beautiful at all (and some might argue she is not even pretty) the girl cannot act. Charlize and others ran circles around her in acting and all she did was Bella sigh, and mumble and her usual furtive, supposedly wistful looks–Lord help us if she and Keanu Reeves are ever made to act opposite each other–we will have to throw in Nicholas Cage just to provide over drama–to make up for these perpetually dead, non acting, actors.
I am picturing the movie you just described, and laughing so hard that tears are running down my face! Who would provide the musical soundtrack, Morrissey?
News flash! The kid in the wheelchair on Glee is not crippled, Barak Obama is only half African and may not even be American, Ben Afleck was not blind when he did DareDevil (though, after seeing it, I kinda wished I was), and Daniel Day Lewis is not handicapped, despite his Oscar winning performance in 'My Left Foot'... People need to quit making themselves feel better by trying to tear somebody else down. It's Hollywood! Nothing is as it appears! They don't hire real aliens to attack Sigourney Weaver in the Aliens films. There is not a 9' tall green mutant Hulk in the Avengers. Had they hired little people for this movie, we would have been up to our waists in little people complaining of type-casting. If you can't grow taller, at least grow up!
Your post serves only to highlight your ignorance. What a tool!
I'm searching for the "like" button!!!
There are little people who are actors and could have played the roles... they used little people in The Wizard of Oz but since the western movie about cowboys (Terror of Tiny Town) I don't think there's been a movie that used midgets... and that movie was back in the 30s or 40s. The movie company should have used the little people actors but they chose to discriminate. Therefore i choose to NOT see the movie, ever.
The little people just don't look warrior enough to play the roles.
Is Randy Newman trying his hand at being a casting director?
I do not recall any similar complaints when the LOTR trilogy came out.
Little people were used in LOTR. They were doubles for the hobbits.
This just in, "straighty mc straighty movie is under fire for not hiring gay people"
What part of "a new take on the classic fairy tale" do people not understand??????????
This whole arguement should be tossed.
Bob Hoskins and Ian McShane are well known actors with fan bases. People like them, recognize the names, and go to see their films. Who says, "gee, lets go see the funny headed, misshapen, kinda freaky dwarves?" Thank God for CGI, makes for a much more interesting movie.
Now is the time to start casting 'little people' into regular roles and using CGI to adjust their height to normal adult sizes. Equal opportunity.
All dwarves are short people but not all short people are dwarves. Hmmmm.
We represent the lolipop guild, the lolipop guild, the lolipop guild. And we'd like to welcom you to munchkin land.
No swears, nothing derogatory and two posts were not printed. Hey, moderator. Can you see I'm giving you the finger?
Trolls!
Political correctness will be the downfall of modern day society.
Wow. Long list just to make a comment.any hook haven't seen the movie would like to soon. Hope it's worth it
OMG ... now "little people" are claiming it's politically incorrect for directors to select the actors they want for roles and digitally manipulate their images?
Face it ... a director has the right to choose actors as they see fit, and use whatever technology is available to get to their desired result.
Little people don't get that many roles anymore.
We don't use cannons to launch live people anymore. Now everyone wants to launch pumpkins.
queenbee10
What are the odds that when hunger games cast the black girl to play a part that many felt a white blond should play–the same people defending this were angry at the director for casting her?
Wonder the reaction if hollywood were to hire only minorities then digitally correct their images to resemble whites–how you would feel? Uh huh.
The dwarves need the work–It is not as if they can compete equally for acting jobs with other people.
Dwarves were short, stout people. Hobbits are (halflings)
Get Tom Cruise without his step stool. No CGI needed.
@ Michael Rodroguez. Shortness is not preventing anyone from stardom these days. Shorter actors are regularly placed on step stools and platforms and are shot at angles with other actors to make them appear taller than they are.
What BS–Dwarves and other "short people are out of proportion in head and leg size and so it is not a matter of just "steeping on a stool. When jobs call for dwarves–the real thing should be used and not given to other actors so they can make a living too. By your post, it looks like we are in denial about anyone who is discriminated against.
It was only to be expected–first we pretend like blacks are not discriminated and denigrated against then it spreads to denial and pretending no group is misrepresented and treated. Par of the course and you WILL reap what you sow
"short actors may get roles" (and always have) Dwarves are not just short they are differently proportioned. if a role does not call for a dwarf–they seldom get the job.
There are little people who are good actors. Look at game of Thrones. I'm sure that guy got cast because he is a good actor. This little people's actors guild is being ridiculous. Their "in" to the entertainment industry has more to do with them being short, than being good actors and I'm happy for the Game of Thrones guy for being cast o his own merit as an actor. But, the mythology Snow White calls for Dwarves, not midgets. Midgets are no better suited to play dwarves than regular size people anyway. The director would have used CGI to make midgets look like dwarves anyway.
Sorry little people, but I go to films to be entertained, and don't like seeing film magic ruined by mediocre acting. If the filmmakers decided they could cast anyone they wanted, thanks to CGI, instead of being limited to the handful of actors who were the right size, then they made the right choice. Peter Jackson made the right choice too, BTW.
I should clarify that I'm not trying to be pejorative in my use of the terms "midget vs. dwarf." I am trying to convey that Dwarves in the mythological sense is not the same as medical dwarfism, the condition that creates little people. Being a dwarf in real life does not necessarily translate into being a convincing mythological dwarf.
@D-Mo: The hobby shop just called: Your 23-sided dice are ready for pickup.
FYI @D-Mo – "midgets" and dwarves are the same thing, but the term midget is considered by little people to be an offensive & derogatory term.
it's ridiculous....back in the day they had men do drag to play female roles in plays...then of course we all know about whites playing Asians and Egyptians.....whites painting their faces to play blacks.....and still we have midgets, dwarves and all applicable roles being "digitally altered" when the can just get a small person, dwarf or midget to play the roles themselves.......and no one thinks Hollywood is biased?! think again.....when's the last time u saw a black lead in the bachelor or bachelorette? when's the last time an Asian female led a cast......why do we keep hiring ppl to play roles with accents when they don't have one? STUPIDITY...
you got it!
..the thing about a racist society is that they never see discrimination unless it is against them or if there is lots of blood. You are right in what you say–but don't expect too many of the dominant US race to agree with you or see your point.
..and no the fake black or fake asian or Indian or Egyptian is not necessarily the "best actor or actress" they are just the most well known–and why are they the most well known?
..why..because they are the only ones being used a lot–CATCH -22
Every single group in America has reason to "raise their ire" for just about anything nowadays. Enough of this stupidic behavior. As long as its not a "hate crime" then be glad your little people got a job to work in the movie. If you keep getting offended over nothing of any real substance, you may make film makers weary of offending you again and just stop hiring your moronic dwarfs. How about them apples?
um...i think u missed the point...the point was they DIDN'T HAVE ANY LITTLE PEOPLE in the movie.......
..it's only a "little thing" because it is not your "group". IN other issues–ordinary people who discriminate are the first to cry, whine and play the race card about their group's discrimination and unfairness. FACT.
TRANSLATION: Shut up and be grateful for the crumbs we throw to you. Sounds about right?
Such a "little" thing to get upset about; amazing how "small" some people are. What's next? Not hiring real giants for Jack in the Beanstalk? Say it ain't so, Joe.
Pretty pointless to protest now. The film's done and in distribution. Wasn't this group paying any attention when casting was being done?
Or do they just like to mouth off?
let's be honest – Little people would have had a hard time finding a place in the movies if CGI had always existed. To have a movie union based on "shortness" seems pretty ridiculous in this day and age. People should be cast in films based on the merits as actors. If you are a good performer, people will want to see you whether you are large, small, or CGI'd. If these people want to be cast based on the merit of "littleness" then aren't they just perpetuating negative stereotypes about shortness anyway?
Do you EVER stop and think maybe it's about who's qualified for the job and NOT about being politically correct ???
Get over yourselves. It's about getting the best outcome with the best talent for their money NOT dissing the Little People of the World.
It's not about political correctness in this case. There are midget actors who are great actors, so the issue is Hollywood's bias. It's Hollywood's stigma of hiring anyone who doesn't fit their idea of perfection. Neither James Cagney nor Audie Murphy could have been a leading man in today's Hollywood- they were far too small and short for today's Hollywood standards. Yet James Cagney is a Hollywood icon, and Audie Murphy just happens to be the most decorated solder in U.S. history.
@ Pina – Exactly!
I REMEMBER VISITING CHICAGO, I HEARD OVER THE RADIO ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
MINUTE MEN......BUT I THOUGHT IT SAID ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF MIDGET MEN DIRECTING TRAFFIC...HOW I
WANTED TO SEE THE MIDGET MEN....I WENT TO THE AREA AND LOOKED AND LOOKED , OH WELL HAD TO LEAVE....
SO I CAN UNDERSTAND PEOPLE WANTING TO SEE SMALL ACTORS DO A GOOD JOB...
all you ridiculous people criticizing them for complaining about being overlooked for roles that obviously should have gone to at least some of them make me laugh. you come off as insensitive, flippant, and entirely proud of it! i'm willing to bet that when you've found yourselves in the "wronged" camp at times, you complain just as much, although probably more obnoxiously.
they have a valid concern and have a right to be recognized. giving the roles of short characters to tall actors, only to make them appear as the short actors who were ignored in the first place, is like ordering a cheeseburger and removing the cheese, because all you wanted was a hamburger.
This is not a civil rights issue. These are actors, and every actor in Hollywood is at the whim of producers and directors no matter what size they are. Further, Dwarves in this mythology are bigger than most "little people" anyway. I don't see genuine little people being more convincing as a dwarf without CGI either. The most important criteria for casting these roles should be based on the strength of the performance, not the size of the performer. CGI is here to stay, and in my opinion, the best thing that ever happened to the film industry. Think that's unfair to little people? Think other performers out there aren't being usurped by technology too? Why don't you talk to a classical musician and ask them if their talents aren't being placed by technology?
Actually, for as angry as these little people are for not being cast in a movie requiring little people, how many movies are there about musicians where actual musicians aren't cast to play the part? Is this really any different? Little people: get over yourselves and find a niche for the 21st century. Those of you who are good performers should be cast on the merits of your acting, not your size.
EXACTLY!
I don't care, it was a great movie, I hope they keep turning out these darker versions of fairey tales, including the one recently released with Virginia Madsen on Little Red Riding Hood, that was cool too.
to stage a "100-midget protest" at Universal.
I'm sorry, but that's hilarious. A 100 midget protest a stones-throw from It's A Small World at Magic Kingdom.
It's not Snow White's fault that those midgets can't act!!!!
If they put them on the movies they complain,if they don't they complain too...what can they do to make them happy?they are just miserable people !
Well my wife and I were thinking about seeing this movie, but after this we just couldn't and have a clear conscience.
Not!
You can disagree with the choice, but why do so many of you mock being a little person?
Who the hell are you?
You have no class or manners, stay on the internet and away from people, your fit to converse person to person, you'd be an imbarassment to yourself and family. Your what is called in the deep South, backward, mosly caused by inbreeding, and ignorance passed down from uneducated families.
Your behind the keyboard tough guy act is also offensive. Take your fake anger elsewhere.
When dont you give a few midgets a BJ if your so partial to them?
It's spelled "embarrassment" with an "e", not an "i".
Talk about being uneducated....you have 3 spelling mistakes in your rant.
You failed spelling in school, didn't you? More than a couple of mistakes. Come on now........fess up.
I swear, some people just can't live without complaining about something...this article is ridiculous!
The dwarfs used depicted in fantasy aren't the same as people who suffer from genetic dwarfism. To put it bluntly, they don't have short stumpy arms and legs. Don't like it? Tough!
Silly little guys! Just pat them on the head and send them on their way!
Tiny little brains to go with those tiny stumpy bodies. Sick.
That'll do pig... That'll do
Wait a minute, didn't the Little people of America complain last year that they do not want little people to be casted based on their height? Now they are complaining that the little people roles should be cast by little people because of their height. So what is the true stance? Cast little people because of their height or dont't cast them for their height?
Enough already. These "little people" complain that they are only hired for movies because of their height, then complain when they are not hired to appear in movies.
Wait till you hear from the "Snow Whites of America".
If they had cast "little people" in those roles, we'd be hearing complaints that the actors weren't "little" enough. Then there'd be a row about how little people have degrees of littleness and how people, even little people, discriminate based on these degrees of littleness.
Give me a break...
if someone has a vision for a movie and it doesn't involve little people with giant forheads and fat hands then why cant you just respect that little people? Get over it
They're upset at the loss of a couple of jobs, but actually, whenever little people *are* cast as dwarves or munchkins or whatever, they (advocate groups) complain as well.
Well, which do you want?
lol midgets
Okay, let us recap. The movie studio doesn't hire little people for the roles of dwarves because they didn't want to appear cheesy and, in today's society, insensitive. Several movies in the past have been criticized for using little people in roles that call for short individuals. Now we have little people complaining about not getting hired for roles that involve short stature. Then throw in the fact that the little people are complaining about a decision that is entirely up to the studio.
You just can't make this ridiculousness up.
Is it me or does anyone else notice that Kristen Stewart always has the same blah facial expression in every movie she's in...she always looks like she's depressed and ready to slit her wrists
Why not go the other route? Digitally enhance little people to make them big for "regular" roles.
Actually it would be a good plot for a "conversion" movie never done, where a little person gains the power to go back and forth between "height worlds".
They can't do that. There was a Seinfeld episode (the Stand In) about that. Heightening is forbidden.
Surely, you've must have missed seeing every movie featuring Tom Cruise...
of course dwarf talent, midgets & "little people" actors / entertainment were overlooked when they cast Snow White and the Huntsman!
we're guessing nobody saw eye to eye on this! it was a business decision and here the ticked off little stinkers are taking it as a low blow! get over it and move on! welcome to hollywood!
sometimes, you're just going to come up short and not get cast for all the "auditions" in life... 99% of the opportunities that are presented to us never come to fruition. we concentrate on booking the other 1%. because of that, we are busier then ever booking dwarf talent for event entertainment, promotional marketing and on camera talent appearances.
"come up short?" ha ha ha
So they should discriminate against real actors to make dwarfs happy? Yep that makes total sense.
Maybe they "Universal" just wanted to make a movie and never thought about discriminating against anyone, till someone else thought it was a good idea.
So Billy Barty, Warwick Davis, or Peter Dinklage are not "real actors"? These are just three that come to mind and Peter Dinklage has probably helped the movie industry the most in recognizing little people are capable of acting as more than just little people! There are tons of little people who are real actors who get stuck in roles just for little people, such as playing children or fitting into small costumes. If the industry was smart about it they would consider more little people for roles that are generally cast to the average height person. In fact if you watch Peter Dinklage in just about anything he has been in, the fact that he is a little person is almost irrelevant!
Aren't some little people 'real' actors too? I really don't care either way about this, but your comment sounds like you're stating they aren't real people... just saying.
lol! in jesse's world, "real actors" means non-dwarf/midget people.
It's going to be one of the shortest protests ever!
Wouldn't a 100-midget protest be a Parade?
No. 100 just makes it under the wire for a protest. Not positive but I think 101 makes a parade.
I did see a movie recently with dwarfs. I think the name was "The Ero tic Adventures of Little People". Acting wasn't all that great but loved the sound track.
I love midgets. I have one as a footstool right now. So cozy.....
Another one is in my yard peeing in the my little pond
I've had it up to HERE (holds hand at waist) with you people.
Coffee spewed everywhere. It's mean, but hilarious!
I aim to please. Sorry about the coffee.
LMAO, too darn funny!!!
And if they would've cast "little people" as dwarves, the little guys would have been all up in half arms about being stereotyped. Frickin midgets...
Last I heard, these folks were hiring: http://www.mcwusa.us/
It was the studios decision to hire who they wanted enough said. Everyone has a problem with everything these days. So let the Little people of America start their own studio production and hire only little people for movies. Geeze Louise!!
ok....if you want to make a believable movie use real people..plain and simple...most talented people are not even used...they receycle the same untalented kristen stewarts, rob pattisons, miley cyrus, lindsey lohan, etc...a bunch of crap in my day....and still is a bunch of crap
You're whining about other people's whining? Kind of ironic, isn't it?....
Not that I entirely disagree with them, but even in their statement they leave a fairly large loop hole:
""which we believe should cast little people in the full breadth of possible roles." That would mean "both casting people with dwarfism as characters that were specifically written to be played by little people, and other roles that would be open to average height people and people of short stature.""
So they're advocating for equality in casting, which is a good goal, but on the same side of things, saying that because the characters were written as little people that only little people should be cast as the characters? Doesn't that seem odd? I mean if you paraphrase it's basically says "Because the roles were written for little people, only little people should play them and we should also be allowed to play roles for average heighted people, but average heighted people aren't allowed to play roles for little people"
Pretty soon the only role I'll be allowed to play without a protest will be that of a faceless Internet commenter...
!!! I protest !!!
(Sorry. Had to do it.)
I don't remember either but did they protest Lord of the Rings too?
Quite possibly the dumbest story not involving Paris Hilton or a Kardashian. Oh those little people and their short tempers.
l am so tired of hearing these sort of issues... why is quality always being pushed away by 'correctness' whether social , political or any other soap box!!!! if any 'little people' tried out and didnt get the job, they should go stand in line with all the too tall people or red headed people or freckled people or too old people or the ones with the different accents etc and they can all complain together... until then, whoever has the money for the payroll gets to decide... suck it up, people!! .. ENOUGH!!!!
Totally agree
I heard Queen Elizabeth was suing because they did not hire a real Queen.
Then Justin Bieber should also sue.
I wish there were a like button for this.
Actors should be chosen by the casting director at the CASTING DIRECTORS discretion ... not out of some imposed sense of responsibility imposed on him or her by ANY political or social organization. If you don't like the choice in actors ... DON'T GO SEE IT.
As for not using "little people" to portray the dwarves ... perhaps NONE of them could act the part. Whaaaaaaa .... Whaaaaaa.... Get a friggen life.
A bit absurd to complain about this now, like it is the first time its ever happen. The same techniques have been used in Lord of the Rings, Once Upon a Time, and are being used in The Hobbit. Even with that, Little people are making more appearances in major films now days then before. Pirates of the Caribbean and Game of Thrones, to name some of the most popular. Its pretty much a lose lose situation. If they did use little people for all of the roles then it would go from "we never get hired" to "we're being made fun of". Enjoy the movies for what they are.
That's patherically hypocritical. So they want Little People to be cast in "other roles that would be open to average height people and people of short stature" but they complain when average height people are cast as people of short stature.
You might have a point if you said that roles about little people should be cast by little actors, but you ruined your whole point when you said that short people should be cast for roles of tall characters but not the other way around.
So, where are the elves and such – I mean, they are hiring humans to play elves. And aren't the Asgardian's torqued that humans are playing them! Oh wait, this is MAKE BELIEVE. The trick is to try and make it believable. That takes acting skill. There is no way that most humans with dwarfism can portray hardy, dangerous as all get-out dwarves who are mystical characters. Truly sad and silly.
Just for the hell of it........dwarves are humans.
FIRST OF ALL! MOST OF YOU WHO COMMENT ARE WHITE MALES! YES THAT I CAN READ!!! And most of you have the p*(is of a dwarf so why don't showcase that?!!! HOW DARE MOST OF A HOLES!!! MOST OF YOU ARE INADEQUATE AS LOVERS SO YOU TAKE TO THE INTERNET TO BERATE PEOPLE WHO HAVE LESS OPPORTUNITY TO DEFEND THEMSELVES FROM THE RIDICULOUSNESS AND PREJUDICES OF IDIOTS AND SMALL MALE PARTS LIKE YOURSELVES!!! It trully TRULLY AMAZES ME!!! MANKIND HAS REACHED THE BOTTOMLESS PITT!!! Why do we SUPPORT AND PROTEST FOR ONE AND NOT THE OTHER? Why are some prejudices accepted AND NOT THE OTHER? I am AN AFRICAN AMERICAN FEMALE WHO IS OF NORMAL HEIGHT AND I FOUND THE PIECE OF GARBAGE FILM SOOOOO OFFENSIVE NOT JUST BECAUSE OF THIS ISSUE BUT THE FACT THAT THE WRITING WAS GARBAGE! AS WELL AS THE ACTING!!! SHAME ON THESE BRITISH ACTORS!! THEY LOOKED LIKEED FOOLS!!! I LAUGHED THROUGH THE ENTIRE THING AND WAS EMBARRASSED FOR THEM!!!
You should be embarrassed at your tirade. Your use of caps communicates that you are an uneducated spoiled brat. There is issue here, but you aren't helping it.
Shut yo black ass up.
umm... ok...
whatever you say, doll...
LOL
Sounds like someone had a very unfilling romp last night. Said Tom Arnold of Rosanne Barr at one point "Even a 747 looks small when it's flying through the grand canyon".
Wow. Take those meds and adjust the tin hat sweetie. You think the film is offensive, but you laughed all the way through it? Riiiight.....
Go find reality and then get a grip on it.
Shut the hell up.
You are an embarrassment to African American females with your mistake filled incomprehensible tirade.
Two things..............it's mardigras not maridgras and spell check works you black female of normal height but of lesser intelligence. This article makes about as much sense as affirmative action. We can't do the work but you need more black people on the job. Grow up.
Honey chile', you dum. An u is a barrassement to us all.
Why don't we use the same CGI technology to allow 'little people' to play normal-height roles in movies?
It's a damn movie. I was cracking up as my favorite character actors appeared as the 7 dwarfs. So to all dwarfs out there, this is movie acting and talent matters. Not physical attributes as special effects will alter anything. Cinema has always been championed by the performance not the physical or rather the imagined by the performance. Now we have the performance merged with the effects. If done well it is great!
Bottom line is that the few mainstream little-person actors can't play every stereotypical dwarf in the world of fantasy. I thought it was a clever move casting a bunch of guys that aren't little-people in real life. They fit the roles very well, and they were actually my favorite characters in the film. Seriously, as awesome actors like Peter Dinklage and Warwick Davis are, they aren't obligated to play roles like the Seven Dwarf's for the rest of their lives.
Personally, I thought the CGI Dwarves looked silly and pointless considering you could hire real drwarves and make it look more realistic. But I will say any kind of serious complaint about it is equally silly.
So this guy Todd McCarthy is attempting to generate positive awareness of issues faced by his fellow little people in the entertainment industry...a noble enough goal. And how does he choose do do it? By announcing that he is organizing a "100-midget protest" outside of a movie studio. It's ironic that a man who claims to be working on behalf of a group of people he believes are discriminated against is using a derogatory slur to define his act. Little people don't like to be called midgets. As a little person himself, Mr. McCarthy should know that. I'm pretty sure that any civil rights organizer of the 1960s wouldn't want their mass demonstration called the "Million N****r March". And he's probably fully aware of the fact that a hundred little people shouting and holding up signs on a sidewalk will be noticed, but it will be less about drawing attention to the issue of discrimination against little people, and more about passers-by laughing, taking pictures, and making insulting remarks. Half of Los Angeles will show up to ask these people to throw a ring into a volcano while singing "Follow the Yellow Brick Road". It's a shameless publicity stunt by someone trying to capitalize on controversy. He should be ashamed of himself.
OR...and I'm just spitballing here...he's using the term because it isn't as offensive as people like to think. Midget has long been the proper term, and it was relatively recently that somebody decided they wanted to get offended about something and said "ummmm...midget! I'll get offended about midget!"
Did disney hire little people...nope was animation...what is the difference....how many little people in the world anyway...and out of that how many can act.....or are males....this is just stupid I really need to stop looking at news....anything positive ever happen anymore..
Mirror, Mirror hired little people. Why couldn't these people?
You wrote my thoughts exactly.
Fours words.....Anything for a buck.
The mindless who post here just amaze me.
Do you REALLY think a film studio will hire a dwarf to play a leading normal size role, even though it would require Special Effects to change the dwarf? No, of course not, they would incur more cost to have that actor, ergo, dwarfs suffer at the hand of callous film makers who want Bob Hoskins face and acting, but are willing to reduce him through SE to get a dwarf Hoskins. This makes the market for real dwarves now zero basically. Of course they should scream about it. I am right there with them and will ban the viewing and purchase of any Universal product until they change this terrible optional hiring practice.
If they had hired dwarfs to play the part of Dwarfs they probably could not have called the characters Dwarfs because it would have then been politically incorrect.
Would have definitely been sued.
Uh, dwarf IS the political correct term, or little person.
What a stupid article. This brings affirmative action to a new, all time low. Hire little people just because they are little...what about their acting ability, or lack there of? This whole world has become stupid with its attempts to be 'politically correct'!! The hell with political correctness, give me some good old fashioned common sense!!!
Are you kidding me? I swear midgets find the stupidest things to complain about. I bet had they hired midgets to play the dwarves they would of complained saying that midgets were being exploited.
Gee, that idea worked wonders for "willow"....
So, using their logic there should only be blondes playing blondes, Irish people taking the roles of Irish characters, no body doubles, stunt men etc.? Total authenticity only? They don't have the monopoly on these parts anymore because of technology and that's the way it has been for most actors in the industry. When Sean Connery played a Russian in "Hunt for Red October" did we scream for a real Russian to play the part instead? They need to get over themselves and learn the craft so that at auditions their talent is what stands out – not their physical characteristics.
They didn't Hire migits because mythological dwarves are not the same as lmigits the proportions are not the same. This is the same reason they didn't use them in lord of the rings. If this hurts little peoples feelings thats just too bad. have someone write a movie about migits, then complain if they are not cas to play migitst.
You are missing the point; they wanted dwarf size people without the big mongoloid head.
They didnt hire 8 little people, because their are not 8 little actors with the aclaim for a holywood movie. You have the guy from jac***s, mini me and who else?
Peter Dinklage
Well there is also the black guy who played in Bad Santa, that makes 3.
They have a point. You can make the argument about male actors playing female roles in drag just because they're better actors, or white people being CGI'ed into black characters because the white people are better actors.... except that never happens, unless it's for comedic effect. The little people have a pretty legitimate beef here. And obviously this isn't the first film that's done this.
The director was not looking for little people (or what ever the politically correct term is) in this movie. They wanted the short in stature, but rough and strong as an ox look. These "dwarves" are fictional characters that spend their days in mines and should not be confused with dwarfs (those coping with dwarfism).
Dwarves are a fictional race, Dwarfs are real people with a genetic growth deficiency. If the race is fictional then anyone can play them in a movie. Just because the race of dwarves are short does not mean they should be played by dwarfs.
maybe they though Ian McShane was a better actor? you know.....talent wise? why would they settle with a possibly lesser talented actor, when they can just as easily render a better actor to be short?. Little people dont need to be handed over acting jobs just because of their stature,. Tha could be interpreted as discriminating against taller stature people from taking the role of a smaller person in a film? its the same problem, but it involves a minority group that feels it deserves to be handed opportunities, instead of earning it like everyone else. Not that there arent any talented actors of short stature, there are many, warwick davis being the most well known (to me).
Is it possible they (Universal) were not actually looking for the typical dwarf body type? I'm not talking about height but dwarfism often comes with a certain body type which usually puts them walking with an odd gait or disproportionate arm/leg to torso size? Perhaps they just wanted shorter actors with out that typical dwarf look.
As a black lady, I can see their point. It's even worse for little people to get roles. That one actor from "Elf" (Peter Dinklage is his name I think?) is the token "little person" I see in films. Pretty rude the studio aren't even responding. They know the little peoples assoc. doesn't have enough members so they aren't gonna pretend to care. To the people who say they complain no matter what – them sometimes commenting on the fact they are only chosen to be dwarves/munchkins doesnt mean they don't want that work. They're just trying to remind casting directors that they're not only little but also could play a normal role should the offer ever appear.
Peter Dinklage isn't a token anything. He's an excellent actor who deserves his roles.
Little People look retarded. They are ridiculous. Dwarves are not. Sorry but that's just the truth.
Maybe they can digitally stretch "Little People" so they can play the role of normal sized persons.
I guess they haven't been watching "Once Upon a Time" either. Snow's dwarves there aren't little people either. The main dwarf they focus on, Grumpy, is the guy that played Pintel in "Pirates of the Carribean". He is definetly not a little person.
Life's got me mad
But if I had a midget I'd be glad
To watch him jump around on my nintendo powerpad
He'd have a big head short legs and long torso
The name that I give my pet midget is little Gordo
I'd teach him tricks like backflips and side kicks
When company came over he'd perform and get tips
While I'm eatin at night, in the kitchen he'd be able
To get the food scraps that I threw under the table
If my midget was ever bad and acted enraged
Then I'd take him to the bathroom and put him in his cage
But If he kept acting up and really made me sick
I'd hang him upside down and poke him with a stick
Little Gordo would be good most of the time though
He'd like to wear a helmet and run around yelling Kaiyo
I'd take him for walks in the park on the weekends
And if he saw other midgets he'd say Can we be friends
He'd only need a 3 foot coffin when he was dead
And he'd be in the guiness book for the world's biggest head
What a funny little fellow, but don't call him a shrimp
Or he'll attack your leg cause Gordos a tough gimp
He'd have a pogo ball that he'd bounce on for hours
And dirty little fathead Gordo wouldn't take showers
When Halloween came, he wouldn't be a chump
Gettin all the candy goin round as a tree stump
That's just wrong . . . . . .
***************************************************************************************************************
Munchikins are cute and all, but this group of wee people need to quit whining and head on back to Munchikin Land, the Lucky Charms box, the side show or where ever they came from!
***************************************************************************************************************
Just plain stupid!!!
What about cgi armies in various movies (e.g. the star wars prequels), taking jobs away from starving actors – class action, anyone? (To the dimwits who think this is a serious comment – its not! The little people who are taking offense in this article need to sit down and shut up.)
They are basically saying "Screw talent. Hire solely based on physical characteristics even if they are nowhere near as good of actors as Bob Hoskins, Ian McShane, etc.".
Some people don't realize that having the talent and developed skill, knowledge of acting technique, etc. is something that only a tiny portion of the general population has. Dwarves (or midgets or whatever) are a tiny fraction of the general population, (no pun intended) and since being short of stature does not confer special acting talent, and the dearth of roles available to them reduces the opportunity for them to be actors, also reducing the average level of skill they'll have, (without as much chance to practice), so finding excellent actors who can naturally play dwarves or midgets or hobbits or whatever is vastly harder than just finding excellent actors, and making them look short using camera tricks, or CGI editing. Let's not forget that even if you have 10 people, all trained, skilled, talented actors, all trying out for a role, the casting director will only want maybe one or at most a couple of people. It's kind of like personal preference.
The midgets want to make it sound like there were a hundred well-qualified midgets, excellent actors all, just hanging around the studio lot or sound stage, hoping to get work acting in film and/or television, and that they hired normally-sized actors instead, then spent extra time and money to make them look smaller because they're jerks. The allegations sound like pouting.
If there were more of them, pretty soon, it would be seen as an outrage to cast a normal-height person as a dwarf, or whatever, as it is seen now to cast a white person as a black one, etc., especially if the person is wearing black-face. However, there are relatively few "little" people, so you probably won't see that.
Bingo
You got the talent and you are who they are looking for, you get hired. What the h- does this have to do with size?
"He's an angry little elf"....
Danged if you do, danged if you don't. ... I've seen little people complain when people hire them for roles like elves and dwarves b/c it's offensive, and now people are complaining b/c they weren't hired. Which one is it?
you're spot on. LPA would have complained if they hired them because it would have been offensive, and they complained because they didnt. Just a stunt to draw attention to their cause, thats all.
@Captain Jack..lmfao. Damn, that's nasty. You're a bad puddy cat.
Can't blame the guy for doing his job and trying to get more professional recognition of little people. That said, a creative endeavor should be free to cast the people they feel would best represent their intention, and actors like Bob Hoskins is rather difficult to replace.
When asked for further comment, the spokesperson for the little people stated, "We represent the Lollipop Guild, the Lollipop Guild.....the Lollipop Guild......."
So funny.
You guys have just made Yoda proud!!!!
the great thing about midgets is you can rip one right in their face since they're at bum level.
The only thing I thought while watching this film was, "hey! They found a midget that looks and sounds just like Bob Hoskins!" leave it alone, little people of America. It's a stupid complaint.
In The Lord Of The Rings/The Hobbit, the Dwarves and Hobbits were not humans with growth hormone deficiencies. They were a separate race of people. It wouldn't have "looked right" to cast little people in those roles. Forced perspective and digital tricks were the right way to go for those movies.
I have not seen Snow White and the Huntsman, so I'm not sure if the dwarfs were supposed to be a separate race, or if they are supposed to be humans with growth issues.
If they ARE supposed to be humans with growth issues (ala Tyrion Lanister in Game Of Thrones), I suppose the little people have a reasonable point.
If not, well.. they need to quit whining.
those humans with growth issues were once the dominate species, from one celled to larger to larger
Good point. word
Remember "The Terror of Tiny Town"!
"Are you serious?? This claim is a joke, right? They hired the best actors for the job, period. Ever see the Wizard of OZ? The "little people" ruined that entire movie!"
Don't worry little people ! Hollywood is so out of ideas that another remake of Wizard of OZ will be coming out of pre-production script writing soon! Casting will begin and you'll be employed again!
==Yawn== What'd I miss? Oh, this crap again. If they wanted weirdly shaped Munchkins they would have hired so called "little people". But instead they wanted real actors. It's no different than using a straight guy to play a gay guy or like that ugly dude of African descent who likes to play that ugly old woman of African descent...if that's not disturbing enough.
Maybe a few hundred little people will march down a Hollywood street to the Universal Studios. That would a sight you don't see every day. I bet somebody in Hollywood is waiting for it to happen to film the whole thing for free since it is in a public space, and somebody else already has a movie script written.
The time to voice concerns was when roles were discussed and contracts signed. It appears that little people bodies were used so some got jobs. The little people must have been aware of the conditions of the jobs. Where was the Little People organization when roles were discussed? No sense in complaining now.
That's a tall order.
I wonder why they're complaining now. They didn't complain about The Lord of the Rings casting. They're not complaining about casting for The Hobbit.
Actually Lord of the Rings did use quite a few little people and the Hobbit is using quite a few more, they're only used for wider shots with prosthetics to make them appear to be the main actors.
Well I think it's dethpicable! I think little people should get the parts for little people. Who doesn't like seeing them, especially when they have to run.
They could always use them to plug up the extra wabbit holes!
Damned if you do & damned if you don't. If little people had been hired, then they would have claimed that they were being "exploited " and if they are not hired, the claim is that they were not used "in the full breadth of possible roles."
Exactly.
Well said. Congrats to the film makers for not exploiting 'little people.' Another frivilous complaint. Waa, Waa, Waa.
FINALLY! An article without the Kardashians!!!!!!!!!!!!! I lived long enough to see it!
They should protest the Lakers while there at it.
I love how the reaction here is to just call them whiners and say things like "Well I didn't get to be in the movie either!" We are a self obsessed culture aren't we? The claim here is not without merit, given the fact that a little person, who wants to be an actor, has a limited number of roles available to them. Thus, when a little person actor sees a role they could have played going to a CGI tall person, that would obviously be annoying. And don't even go with the best actor argument. If the best actor to play Othello was white, should they put him in blackface?
Notice they want to be considered for all roles, then everyone should considered for all roles, they can;t have it both ways. Now with that said, they could have done both, but why go Bob and say, sorry you can't apply for this role, your not an actual dwarf.
I agree with the blackface logic
Too late. Orson Wells did it in make up in 1952.
Who cares,this is acting that is what acting is all about, these were great actors and the movie and everyone were great. How dare anyone ridicule these actors, get over it, so what they did not hire real little people, maybe none of the real little people could have done a great job as these real actors, and believe me this movie was the BEST OF EVERYTHING.!!!!
Their logic is full of holes. They claim that little people should be cast in all roles, whether the role was written for a little person or not. But then shouldn't the reverse also be true? Namely, that normal sized people should be able to be cast in roles regardless of the size the role was written for. Isn't that how equality works? And doesn't that also mean that they shouldn't be upset at who was cast for this movie? Essentially, what they are saying now is, "when a movie studio casts a role, they should be blind to the actor's size ONLY if the actor is a little person."
Ahhhh.... little people suck as actors and their faces look sooo weird.....
not every midget can be Warwick Davis and I can't be Brad Pitt. deal with it
Exactly. I don't know why they are complaining. Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) is on the cover of Rolling Stone mag. (I think that is the mag I saw him on). I don't think we would have seen that 30 years ago.
A "100 midget protest"....that's adorable.
I guess that the equivalent of 50 average-height people protesting, haha. P.S. I'm going to hell.
Ummm, were there any Black, Asian, or Spanish people in this movie??!!! Stand in line Little people, a lot of people have a gripe with Hollywood's prejudice pratices!!! Also where there complaints with the Lord of the Rings trilogy??
Little people are great for strip-pers in limo's if you need them. A full sized strip-per can't really perform correctly.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy employed several dozen little people for scale purposes. This snow white movie accomplished those visual effects digitally rather than using "little doubles"
Angel are you spanish by any chance......
Little people always get the SHORT end of the stick.....BWAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA
Everybody's little standing next to Chris Hemsworth anyway.
Oh give me a break. I wasn't cast as Snow White. As a Jewish American Princess, I object!! They should have hired a PRINCESS to play a PRINCESS!! Put on your little people panties and suck it up, butter cup!
I'm pretty sure u would of got the role of snow white if u look bitter and unattractive.. It worked for Kristen Stewart!
Are you serious?? This claim is a joke, right? They hired the best actors for the job, period. Ever see the Wizard of OZ? The "little people" ruined that entire movie!