Sia Under Fire for Not Casting Autistic Actor for New Film

She belongs here.

Well they’re right. I cringe when these bland actors play autistic and get rewarded. Knowing damn well that autistic actors aren’t getting the work.

I've always hated everything about Sia. Her music. Her voice. Her ugly wigs. Her ugly face. Her downfall will be excellent.

And I cringe when they hire a disabled person who can't act. It's called acting after all.

They are really going after her. Hilarious. She doesn’t give a fuck.

“Hey remember when you apologised for people possibly finding elastic heart offensive or triggering? I really like your music but your response here was very childish.”

These morons.

OP please resubmit your post with a headline that integrates OH FANK YOU! YOU FIXDED MY CHEESEBURGER! into it someway

R4

When has that actually ever happened? “Disabled” actors are very rarely even given a chance to show their talents and have it way harder in this industry.

Roger. I want to have your babies.

She should have just said, "I am contractually obligated, under article 4.12 in the Satanic Contract, to use Maddie Ziegler in everything I do." Who could argue with that?

How can she even type with all that hair over her face?

God, this film as been in post for a good few years now. I was starting to think it had been shelved. Anyway, I have a very good friend who worked on the film. She said it was a magical experience and that Sia is a total sweetheart; very caring and creative and passionate. FWIW.

ps. It sounded like a dumb movie to me then when my friend was working on it, and it still sounds dumb to me now. But whatever. I think Sia really likes working with Maddie Z.

This wasn’t even a case of “talent” shining through. It doesn’t even sound like any other actor was seriously given a chance. She was always going to use Maddie no matter what. So her point makes no sense.

Sia seems autistic herself.

I’ve seen better heads on mops.

[...]

She said she hired something like 13 neuroatypical actors R16, so she claims she knows that information.

Here's my issue - the role should always go to the most believable person who's come in for that role. It's the same thing when casting LGBT characters. I don't care if you're casting the role of a sex worker who gets raped and an actor comes in who once was a sex worker who got raped. Sometimes, they're not the best fit or they can't pull off one particular dramatic scene in a realistic way that fits with the tone of the piece.

Effeminate gay actors also shouldn't complain about not being cast as straight guys in rom coms. Butch it up and maybe you'll get a chance, but no one's going to buy Just Jack as a fan of pussy. Turn off your emotions and think for a second. It's like casting a 76 year old as the mother of two 3 year olds. On what planet is that believable without changing the character to a grandmother?

R18

But this bullshit argument is the problem: it boxes out marginalized actors. Gay actors can’t get the same amount of work and shine as their straight peers. Same goes for the disabled.

Are they supposed to get roles based on charity or talent? That's obviously why someone like Laverne Cox gets roles. She's a terrible actress, but she keeps showing up in everything for some ungodly reason.

Has the Academy rescinded McConaughey's Oscar yet? Binary bastard.

So I guess "acting" is out the window since we can't hire people to portray things that they aren't in real life?

When someone needs a sarcastic, asshole sidekick, I'm available for SAG scale....

Heterosexuals increase their chances of winning a trophy for playing a gay character. Gay actors are assumed to just be portraying themselves.

It’s actually not really about “talent” in Hollywood. You think actors like Jennifer Lawrence and Nick Robinson were chosen for their great talent? Lol Most of these popular actors aren’t even that good.

TV is pretty different from film. TV (shows) is actually moving a lot faster ahead than film, though there is a lot of room for improvement.

R4 Chris Burke and Lauren Potter come to mind.

The commentators at jezebel think she has an inappropriate grooming relationship with Maddie and other underage people.

Monica Bellucci should have been raped before playing a rape victim.

The down-syndrome girl in glee was bad.

This was a really good, sweet scene

Am I now a fan of Sia?

[quote] But this bullshit argument is the problem: it boxes out marginalized actors. Gay actors can’t get the same amount of work and shine as their straight peers. Same goes for the disabled.

Life’s not fair. Acting, music, art, athletics— very few people are able to make a living from them, much less reach the upper echelons of Oscar winner or Olympian. People can try but they have to understand they may not succeed.

NO one wants to see a real retarded person on screen

R32

No one wants to see a real homosexual on screen.

No one wants to see a real black person on screen.

Why don’t you fools see how backwards you really are?

R33 must be new here

R32 Peanut Butter Falcon was a great film.

[quote]NO one wants to see a real retarded person on screen

Sissy made pizza bread in her pants

R35 Nothing happened. It was a total polemic.

"NO one wants to see a real retarded person on screen"

After the last 4 years they want a bit of relief from it.

R29 Omg I'm crying right now. That was amazing. I'm not a Glee person, but I know Jane Lynch's character was supposed to be a total hardass. That scene just killed me dead.

[Quote] You think actors like Jennifer Lawrence and Nick Robinson were chosen for their great talent?

Jennifer can act though.

Lol at the comments stating that they are on the spectrum and have been “acting” like a neurotypical person for the past 20 years hahaha. If they are truly on the spectrum, nobody is buying it, snowflake. If they were so good at it, they would be called sociopath.

It’s called acting for a reason. An actor is hired for their ability to embody a role. Most autistic people can’t keep their shit together so how can they morph into someone else for a paying high pressured job? Menu is Sia casting acting jobs? Doesn’t she have more teenagers to adopt?

People rush to mention blackface to shoot down the “it’s called acting” argument.

R43

It’s true. Also, even white women at one time were not allowed to act. Men played the women.

So I assume Kate Hudson is playing a marginally talented actress in this film, if we're casting based on factual background info. Gotcha.

(Tig Notaro is also in it and will clearly mention having had cancer 27 times, as she does in anything she shows up in.)

Why the fuck is Sia directing a movie? Cunt can't even sing.

I commend Ryan Murphy’s effective casting of people with Down syndrome and possibly other disabilities in his shows, but I am on Sia’s side because I can’t stand the whining twitterati. Murphy is respectful in his casting and how he writes these characters who do not get a great deal of screen time . Accommodations needed for People with certain disabilities in large roles are likely not feasible or reasonable in film production schedules. It can be done appropriate with the proper amount of research and respect. Disabilities can be very nuanced and the comparison to blackface is completely outrageous.

No, the comparison is completely accurate. Almost every disabled character is played by an able-bodied actor. Where does that leave disabled actors? With extremely few opportunities and pretty much no place in the industry. It is the same thing black people, brown people, and women went through. The oppressor played them and they weren’t allowed a seat at a table.

*the table

[quote]Almost every disabled character is played by an able-bodied actor. Where does that leave disabled actors? With extremely few opportunities and pretty much no place in the industry. It is the same thing black people, brown people, and women went through. The oppressor played them and they weren’t allowed a seat at a table.

Since when did women not get acting jobs in movies?

R50

Obviously acting existed before movies and TV became the main medium, and in that place boys/young men got the roles of the women. It was illegal for women to act.

[quote] Where does that leave disabled actors?

Shitting in their diapers on the sidelines where they ought to be.

R51 It was illegal for women to act.

I thought we were talking about movies, I didn't think we were going back to the 1600s. Anyway (and I don't actually know) wasn't that just in England?

Yes, R53. Women acted in Ancient Rome and Greece, through the Middle Ages and renaissance and through to the modern pre-film age (and that’s just the western world). Elizabethan England is an exception. Social status of actors varies through these periods, but women were performing.

R48 They are not talking about disabled actors, they are talking about people with mental health conditions that make them impossible on a set.

Well, damn, this is....awkward....

At least they finally remade A Star Is Born with an alcoholic playing the Norman Maine role. It's so embarrassing how they used to cast non-alcoholics to play alcoholics. Hollywood's Hall Of Shame is full of such things.

Most of the blue tick accounts I've seen attacking Sia for her creative choices and her response to those who don't respect her creative choices and artistic integrity are the same blue tick accounts who are outraged almost permanently about everything.

I swear there's about 50,000 people on Twitter spread across the world who all follow each other, and all respond to the same outraged tweets.

Sia believes in 'blind' casting. Haha. Get it? Blind casting! She can't see through her hair!! Never mind. Fucking philistines.

[quote] Almost every disabled character is played by an able-bodied actor.

Tell me about it!

Some people are desperate to cancel anyone to feel important in their life.

With everything going on in the world, who was cast playing what in some silly movie should be near the very bottom of the list of things our society should be discussing and trying to address.

R61

You’re saying that because you have no compassion for what people are going through. You’re dismissing the hardships of disabled actors who can’t get work because you have your head up your ass. They struggle the most in the industry. You forget that this is their job. They need money to survive just like everyone else. They need work.

Oh please r62. Your post stinks of entitlement. No one owes these actors a career or work— the vast majority of actors, able bodied or no can’t scratch a living performing as it is.

No it’s isn’t fair, but that’s the nature of the business. Perhaps they should consider another line of work or work in another, more accessible part of the industry— just as many other people do when the realize it’s not possible to be a working actor.

And not everybody can ACT. Good acting takes talent and skill. Pity casting always ends up crap.

But if they can't find the real thing to cast in a role, there's always CGI. Look at Dumbo.

Aren’t we all somewhat autistic?

I have no idea who this person is, and have not read the article. But I like her response.

I am so thankful Rain Man was made in 1988