i don't have a problem with casting people as different races. people who are "white" switch roles between americans and europeans all the time. when 'memoirs of a geisha' came out, people were upset because chinese women were casted instead of japanese women. movies require the viewer to exercise their suspension of disbelief and even though it's based on a true story, one has to remember that it's just that... a movie.

Oh, come ON. Marianne Pearl herself had no problems with the casting choice; I think she said that she was glad Angelina Jolie was playing her. If the subject in question doesn't mind at all (and I think Pearl is someone with strong convictions who wouldn't think twice about voicing her opinion), then why should anyone else?

As an African-American, I actually do not have much of a problem with Angelina Jolie playing Marianne Pearl. Jolie has very ethnic features and she actually resembles Marianne. However, with so few roles in Hollywood for people of color, I think that it is unfortunate that this role didn't go someone like Thandie Newton.

Although I agree her casting did take the role away from a plethera of black actresses, (some named, others not), at the same time an actor's role is to play characters other than themselves. Actors act. They wear costumes, change their body mass, change their accent, their hair color, etc.

I'm not sure this is so different from Julia Roberts' (attempted) Irish accent in Mary Riley, or the casting of two Chinese actresses (of which Gong Li) to play Japanese characters in "Memoires of a Geisha." And don't forget Tom Hanks portraying an Iranian in "The Terminal" or Jack Black playing a Mexican in "Nacho Libre." If you want to go further, how about Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal (both assumed to be straight) playing gay men in "Brokeback Mountain"? Or Jamie-Lynn Seigler (a Jew) playing Meadow Soprano (a Christian) in the series "The Sopranos"? Or Sacha Baron Cohen (a Jew) playing a Jew-fearing Kazakh in "Borat"?

In fact, you could come up with a hundred examples such as these. If Bond wants total accuracy, it would have been necessary to find not a black actress, as she suggests, but an Afro-Cuban-Dutch actress (preferrably in the exact genetic percentages as Ms. Pearl). Otherwise, putting a black actress (or Cuban, why not?) would also be a misrepresentation of the character portrayed. Add this to the fact that Marianne herself selected (or at least agreed with) Jolie as the lead actress, and Bond's argument quickly loses steam.

Worse, Bond's attack takes away from the true meaning and message of this film. A journalist was kidnapped and killed while reporting. Powerful governments were helpless to save him. This film has both personal and societal implications that instantly become lost in this controversy. This film is meant to provoke discussion, but of a different kind.

One final comment: Bond suggesting that Halle Berry would have been the better choice simply because she is just as hot as Jolie according to AskMen.com is insulting. This story is about a real life killing, not a beauty pageant.

Wonder if they're ever gonna fix the commen section here