“Aloha” director Cameron Crowe has responded to criticism of his casting of Emma Stone as a part-Asian character in the romantic comedy set in Hawaii.
“I have heard your words and your disappointment, and I offer you a heartfelt apology to all who felt this was an odd or misguided casting choice,” Crowe wrote on his blog, the Uncool, Tuesday evening.
The story of a jaded defense contractor (Bradley Cooper) looking to get his life back together co-stars Stone as Allison Ng, an Air Force pilot who is one-quarter Chinese and one-quarter Hawaiian on her father’s side; her mother is of Swedish descent.
“As far back as 2007, Captain Allison Ng was written to be a super-proud ¼ Hawaiian who was frustrated that, by all outward appearances, she looked nothing like one,” Crowe wrote. “A half-Chinese father was meant to show the surprising mix of cultures often prevalent in Hawaii. Extremely proud of her unlikely heritage, she feels personally compelled to over-explain every chance she gets. The character was based on a real-life, red-headed local who did just that.”