That's the logic from director Julian Schnabel, who has taken some flak for casting Slumdog Millionaire actress Freida Pinto as the lead in Miral, a film about several generations of Palestinian women. "When people wonder, 'Why do you pick an Indian person?' Why is Russell Crowe Gladiator? I mean the guy is from New Zealand," Schnabel told the Guardian. "Ben Kingsley played Gandhi!" Yes, because the idea of Russell Crowe in Gladiator is one of worst examples of "color-blind casting" to ever occur. It totally took me out of the movie! Ahem. At least Schnabel didn't use The Last Airbender as a defense. [Guardian]
