karem
Craftsperson
Posts: 74 
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Post by karem on Mar 3, 2014 13:15:28 GMT -5
Question - If you were going to make The Tale of Sinuhe into a film, what actors would you pick to play the main characters and extra's, and why ?
(serious replies only please).
Thanks
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Post by truthteacher2007 on Mar 4, 2014 10:58:05 GMT -5
Question - If you were going to make The Tale of Sinuhe into a film, what actors would you pick to play the main characters and extra's, and why ? (serious replies only please). Thanks How about the guy who played the gay love interest in The Joacobian building? I'm not too familiar with many Egyptian actors, (hell, I don't know most American actors). But ever since Ahmed Zaki, Egypt hasn't produced to my knowledge an actor that reflects the physical reality of Egypt. Everyone is still stuck in the mold of actors and actresses who are on the lightest end of the color spectrum and whose features look the most European. This guy looks like an Egyptian. I'd even say go to Upper Egypt, Luxor, Qena and find an unknown. Darker actors and actresses almost never get leading roles, that's one factor. Second and most important, is why can't the character be played by a native of the country? If the movies is about an Egyptian, why can't it be played by an Egyptian? We don't put whites in black face to play black characters anymore, we don't tape white peoples eyes back to play Asians anymore, why not get an Egyptian to play an Ancient Egyptian. They're not a dead race, they're still there and there are tons of people in Egypt right now who fit the physical profile of an Ancient Egyptian, so why not? I also think it would be liberating for Egyptians to see that A: Egyptians can play parts in major films outside Egypt, B: A dark skinned person can be a hero or heroine and receive international acceptance. You don't need to hide underneath white foundation to be in the media. If you're Egyptian you know exactly what I'm talking about. |
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karem
Craftsperson
Posts: 74
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Post by karem on Mar 4, 2014 12:14:06 GMT -5
Good points. I always enjoyed the intro part of Michael Jackson's 'Remember The Time' video with Iman and Eddie Murphey, although I would of probably gone for someone more similar in looks to Barack Obama for Akhenaten.
If modern Egyptians were playing the parts of their ancestors, would it also make sense to get Palestinians to play the part of theirs or would this film end up looking historically inaccurate ?
Anyone else got ideas as to who they would pick cast wise for a film version of the Tale of Sinuhe ?
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Post by truthteacher2007 on Mar 4, 2014 12:55:58 GMT -5
Good points. I always enjoyed the intro part of Michael Jackson's 'Remember The Time' video with Iman and Eddie Murphey, although I would of probably gone for someone more similar in looks to Barack Obama for Akhenaten. If modern Egyptians were playing the parts of their ancestors, would it also make sense to get Palestinians to play the part of theirs or would this film end up looking historically inaccurate ? Anyone else got ideas as to who they would pick cast wise for a film version of the Tale of Sinuhe ? Why would casting a Palestinian make the film look historically inacurate? Didn't Sinuhe go there? |
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Post by anansi on Mar 5, 2014 1:08:12 GMT -5
I am thinking of some folks that would do the parts justice so hang on a bit,one thing it would be great if you let folks know what the story of Sinuhue is so they can get a better idea of the plots and intrigue of the era don't assume everyone here heard the of tale.
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karem
Craftsperson
Posts: 74
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Post by karem on Mar 11, 2014 11:47:37 GMT -5
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Post by amunratheultimate on Mar 12, 2014 4:35:15 GMT -5
Question - If you were going to make The Tale of Sinuhe into a film, what actors would you pick to play the main characters and extra's, and why ? (serious replies only please). Thanks How about the guy who played the gay love interest in The Joacobian building? I'm not too familiar with many Egyptian actors, (hell, I don't know most American actors). But ever since Ahmed Zaki, Egypt hasn't produced to my knowledge an actor that reflects the physical reality of Egypt. Everyone is still stuck in the mold of actors and actresses who are on the lightest end of the color spectrum and whose features look the most European. This guy looks like an Egyptian. I'd even say go to Upper Egypt, Luxor, Qena and find an unknown. Darker actors and actresses almost never get leading roles, that's one factor. Second and most important, is why can't the character be played by a native of the country? If the movies is about an Egyptian, why can't it be played by an Egyptian? We don't put whites in black face to play black characters anymore, we don't tape white peoples eyes back to play Asians anymore, why not get an Egyptian to play an Ancient Egyptian. They're not a dead race, they're still there and there are tons of people in Egypt right now who fit the physical profile of an Ancient Egyptian, so why not? I also think it would be liberating for Egyptians to see that A: Egyptians can play parts in major films outside Egypt, B: A dark skinned person can be a hero or heroine and receive international acceptance. You don't need to hide underneath white foundation to be in the media. If you're Egyptian you know exactly what I'm talking about. That's ridiculous. It's like choosing an American actor to play a Native American just because now the foreign colonizer dominate the country demographically 400 years later. |
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Post by truthteacher2007 on Mar 12, 2014 8:57:16 GMT -5
How about the guy who played the gay love interest in The Joacobian building? I'm not too familiar with many Egyptian actors, (hell, I don't know most American actors). But ever since Ahmed Zaki, Egypt hasn't produced to my knowledge an actor that reflects the physical reality of Egypt. Everyone is still stuck in the mold of actors and actresses who are on the lightest end of the color spectrum and whose features look the most European. This guy looks like an Egyptian. I'd even say go to Upper Egypt, Luxor, Qena and find an unknown. Darker actors and actresses almost never get leading roles, that's one factor. Second and most important, is why can't the character be played by a native of the country? If the movies is about an Egyptian, why can't it be played by an Egyptian? We don't put whites in black face to play black characters anymore, we don't tape white peoples eyes back to play Asians anymore, why not get an Egyptian to play an Ancient Egyptian. They're not a dead race, they're still there and there are tons of people in Egypt right now who fit the physical profile of an Ancient Egyptian, so why not? I also think it would be liberating for Egyptians to see that A: Egyptians can play parts in major films outside Egypt, B: A dark skinned person can be a hero or heroine and receive international acceptance. You don't need to hide underneath white foundation to be in the media. If you're Egyptian you know exactly what I'm talking about. That's ridiculous. It's like choosing an American actor to play a Native American just because now the foreign colonizer dominate the country demographically 400 years later. The Modern Egyptians are indeed the descendants of the Ancient Egyptians. #2: Yes there has been mixing in the Egyptian population due to invasions, but mixing in Egypt is nothing new. Have you read the Tale of Sinuhe at all? That should tell you something. Although the Egyptians were a native African people, they had been absorbing foreigners into their society since at least the first intermediate period, definately the Middle Kingdom. The only thing that increased in later periods was the number of foreigners who came in. But in any case, especially in the north and in the royal court, mixed blood children raised as Egyptians was nothing new or unusual. #3:If you take a trip to the Cairo Museum and you look at all of the statuary and paintings from the Old Kigdom to the Ptolomaic period you will see that the faces in the museum are alive and well and walking all over Cairo. #4: Just about a little over 50% of the population has tropical African skin tones. If you don't believe me, go to Egypt and stand on any corner in Cairo. Just a few minutes in Midan Talat Harb and you will see exactly what I mean. Okay, to help you out, this is what I mean:  More than 50% of Egyptians look like this lady. Egypt is not a white country, never was, never will be. So with all those darkies running around, I dare say it's possible to find a modern day darkie to play an ancient darkie in Egypt. You don't need to go to any other store to buy chocolate in Egypt because they gots plenty right there. Unless you are suggesting that a dark Egyptian with East African features is not African enough for the job......  Is this enough chocolate to satisfy your sweet tooth? |
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Post by anansi on Mar 13, 2014 1:03:30 GMT -5
Marketability and ticket draw I say mix it up with the local talent as much as possible and draw some big ticket guys N gals from Hollywood the dude above is too beefy unless one is going for a regular sword N sandals type action flick Gladiator style, speaking of which if you are going to be as accurate as possible then nude and semi nude might be the way to go how ever if you release it on Starz/HBO as a series rather than an epic cinema event you will have less trouble with censoring and viewership..think Game Of Thrones..  |
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Post by truthteacher2007 on Mar 13, 2014 9:12:38 GMT -5
Marketability and ticket draw I say mix it up with the local talent as much as possible and draw some big ticket guys N gals from Hollywood the dude above is too beefy unless one is going for a regular sword N sandals type action flick Gladiator style, speaking of which if you are going to be as accurate as possible then nude and semi nude might be the way to go how ever if you release it on Starz/HBO as a series rather than an epic cinema event you will have less trouble with censoring and viewership..think Game Of Thrones.. I agree with you. I wasn't suggesting big guy as a candidate, only making a point that Egypt is not the land of vanilla and cream people make it out to be. Lots of chocolate and caramel to satisfy any sweet tooth. If they went the starz route, they might have a hard time getting Egyptian and Palestinian female actresses. They'd definately have to cast westerners for steamy female characters. But it would be a great marketing strategy to cast some big name Hollywood names for the sake of drawing power. I suck at recognizing celebrities, so I'll let others suggest names. |
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Post by azrur on Mar 13, 2014 14:37:34 GMT -5
alexander siddig from sudan
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Post by amunratheultimate on Mar 13, 2014 20:27:07 GMT -5
That's ridiculous. It's like choosing an American actor to play a Native American just because now the foreign colonizer dominate the country demographically 400 years later. The Modern Egyptians are indeed the descendants of the Ancient Egyptians. That's not true. Most modern Egyptians are the product of the Arab conquest and other past migrations. Of course there's some African people and admixture in the country. They were called Aamu (asians) in Ancient Egypt. Like the Kushite and other foreigners they were only a small part of the population. Modern Egyptians are closer biologically/genetically to Arab people and West Asians, while Ancient Egyptians (well the majority of them) are indigenous black African people (similar to Yoruba, Somali, Dinka, Afar, etc) not West Asians or Eurasians. |
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Post by amunratheultimate on Mar 13, 2014 20:29:00 GMT -5
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Post by zarahan on Mar 13, 2014 22:26:21 GMT -5
#1:The Modern Egyptians are indeed the descendants of the Ancient Egyptians. That's not true. Most modern Egyptians are the product of the Arab conquest and other past migrations. Of course there's some African people and admixture in the country. They were called Aamu (asians) in Ancient Egypt. Like the Kushite and other foreigners they were only a small part of the population. Modern Egyptians are closer biologically/genetically to Arab people and West Asians, while Ancient Egyptians (well the majority of them) are indigenous black African people (similar to Yoruba, Somali, Dinka, Afar, etc) not West Asians or Eurasians. DNA and cranial data confirm your point. Modern Egyptians are different from the ancients- and are a more Arabized population. Even the tail end of the dynasties shows how they were changing (Zakrewski 2004 quoted below). This fact makes some modern Egyptians upset, debunking their claims to represent the ancients while disparaging Africans. Of course we all know that SOME of today's Egyptians still remain somewhat like the ancients particularly the rural darker-skinned Baladi- the "sons of the soil"- the ones looked down on by many of the lighter skinned Arabized types. But they can cry all they want. The facts are what they are.  there are some who try to use modern DNA or downplay the African connection, but
this denial rebounds on them, for the studies they oft cite are based on SELECTIVE
SAMPLING near the Medit coast, and deal with MODERN Egyptians- the Arabized mix. there are others who try to use forensic science race methods, but the again its skewed sampling.
Forensic workers oft use the CRANID skull database to claim "representative" Egyptian.
Only thing is CRANID's reference comparison samples are all drawn from the far north near the
Medit, a more polyglot region with some mixes, while excluding numerous places in the darker,
historic south. Credible mainstream Egyptologists like Barry Kemp have noted this skewed sampling
that excludes the history of thousands of years located further south in the "darker" regions.   |
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Post by zarahan on Mar 13, 2014 22:52:06 GMT -5
Egypt is not a white country, never was, never will be. So with all those darkies running around, I dare say it's possible to find a modern day darkie to play an ancient darkie in Egypt. You don't need to go to any other store to buy chocolate in Egypt because they gots plenty right there. Unless you are suggesting that a dark Egyptian with East African features is not African enough for the job...
Agreed. Egypt always had a wide variety of skin tones. Dark skin is NOT "foreign" to Egypt though some these days seem to want to make it so to "disavow" any possible "African taint" and kiss up to white Western conventions and biases. The Tale of Sinhue is set in the 12th Dynasty era, a period when Nubian origin or linked Pharaohs were well represented in the ruling mix. Should not people acting in the play at least try to reflect some of this? Obviously the playwright has control over his creations but since the question of authenticity was brought up....  ^^ "Too black" to get an acting job these days? In the 12th Dynasty she might find a more welcome reception..Racism: The Arab world's dirty secret. www.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/opinion/10iht-edeltahawy.1.18556273.html?_r=0----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- per wiki "The Story of Sinuhe" is considered one of the finest works of Ancient Egyptian literature. It is a narrative set in the aftermath of the death of Pharaoh Amenemhat I, founder of the 12th dynasty of Egypt, in the early 20th century BC. It is likely that it was composed only shortly after this date, albeit the earliest extant manuscript is from the reign of Amenemhat III, ca. 1800 BC.[1] There is an ongoing debate among Egyptologists as to whether or not the tale is based on actual events involving an individual named Sinuhe,[2] with the consensus being that it is most likely a work of fiction.[3][4] Due to the universal nature of the themes explored in "Sinuhe", including divine providence and mercy, its anonymous author has been described as the "Egyptian Shakespeare" whose ideas have parallels in biblical texts. "Sinuhe" is considered to be a work written in verse and it may also have been performed.[5] The great popularity of the work is witnessed by the numerous surviving fragments.[6] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If the experts consider the guy who wrote it to be like an "Egyptian Shakespeare" it shows that places like Greece had no monopoly on plays or literature or philosophical frameworks exploring universal themes.
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