Okwataga

By JULIET ROWAN
A New Zealand teenager may end up playing opposite Hollywood leading man Colin Farrell in a new take on the story of Pocahontas.

While rising star Farrell - an Irish actor with a reputation as a hell raiser - will play explorer John Smith in The New World, the role of his love interest Pocahontas is yet to be cast, and could go to a Pacific Island woman.

Christina Asher, of Auckland's Asher Casting, sent out an email this week seeking a "beautiful young dusky maiden" aged between 16 and 19.

The flexible Kiwi accent could prove crucial in winning the role in the movie about the clash of cultures between European explorers and native American tribes.

According to legend, Pocahontas, a princess of the Algonquian tribe, saved Smith's life as he was about to be clubbed to death, and the two became friends.

The film is set to be a Hollywood blockbuster, directed by Terrence Malick, whose last movie was the World War II epic The Thin Red Line.

"The film is set in 1607 in Jamestown America when everyone spoke English with an English accent and people were slim and physically athletic from having to chase down their food," Asher's email said.

But why cast a Native American in New Zealand?

"Well, it seems we speak a reasonable English accent, whereas Americans have difficulties."

In the email, obtained by the Herald, Asher suggests that teenagers with the looks of Miriama Smith or Shavaughn Ruakere could be in with a chance.

Smith has starred in local shows Mataku, Mercy Peak and Shortland Street.

Ruakere is a former What Now? presenter.

The cut-off date for applications is today, but Ms Asher said yesterday that if news of the casting went public she would have to cancel auditions.

She said the US producers wished to keep the casting quiet because it was customary not to go public until contracts had been drawn up.

__________________
In life there are few things that are certain...
me being sarcastic is one of them

Grits & Beans

Man I would Looooooooove to play pocahantas with Colin Farrell. *starts fantasizing* :2:

WhoMe

Why can't they give an Indian woman a chance to work on an accent? They have given other nonIndian actress's a chance to learn accents of other cultures, INCLUDING AMERICAN INDIAN STEREOTYPICAL BROKEN ENGLISH ACCENTS!
Why get someone from another part of the world to play an American Indian lead role because she has an English accent?

Indians need to take a stand on non Indians playing lead parts as Indians simply because they have brown skin?

Do we have any retrobution to contact anybody to voice our concerns?

This is wrong!

__________________
"Today, recognizing and respecting the origins of powwow aids in our Cultural Survival. If enough people break the rules because they are not satisfied...."We will have no culture."

WhoMe

Blackbear

Well said Whome.. Iwas thinking the exact same thing! Also.. that princess of the Algonquian tribe???? Who the heck is making this movie???? And yeah, john smith.. she would be around 13 for accuracy but we know this story was made up by smith anyhow so... WHO THE HECK IS MAKING THIS???

__________________
Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear... just sing, sing a song.

Okwataga

why didn't Wes Studi stand up for a native actress???

__________________
In life there are few things that are certain...
me being sarcastic is one of them

superndngyrl

well it happens to other minorities! They picked a Puerto Rican to play a Mexican in Selena!

__________________
The only time its too late to start dancing is when you're dead.

Heat Miser J

I know right? They could have at least picked a Kickapoo to play a Mexican. That would have been more realistic. ;)

__________________
A bit of health advice:
"Every time you sit in with a drum means that you've sat in with every person who has ever sat in with that drum before."
-Dr. Watson

WhoMe

__

And,

and,

and . . .


They cast Brad Pitt to play the lead in "The Mexican."

__________________
"Today, recognizing and respecting the origins of powwow aids in our Cultural Survival. If enough people break the rules because they are not satisfied...."We will have no culture."

WhoMe

Blackbear

LOL the mexican was a gun... it was'nt about a person mexican

__________________
Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear... just sing, sing a song.

bl@ckfoothoney

I Guess Native Women R Not Popular Enough I Have Long Hair Chit They Should Pick Me To Play Pocahontazz......lmao

*Kwe_Zee*

Well sheeit I got long hair too, pick me! LMAO... how sad. Anyways!!!!! This is all booolshyte as usual, they should just take a ndn actress from the east coast and give her a chance. I mean, it's been proven time and time again that a native actor/actress with no experience can come out and act the crap outta that part (whatever part they're playing). Daang, trying to make movies about ndns and thinking we're too stupid to "act" ourselves out. Figures.

transientsmiles

Yeah, I remember reading that a few days ago. I was thinkin, wtf, a Maori playing Pocahontas? how's that supposed to make sense?!
Were they too cheap to hire a speech coach person?!

__________________
"Why should one lock up a man or a woman who walked stark naked in the street? and why is no one shocked by absolutely nude statues, by pictures of the Madonna and of Jesus that may be seen in some churches?" - Voltaire :Naughty

DANCINGEAGLE

I played a white man once in a High School play. Really had to work on the accent though.

__________________
Through the good times and bad times, always pray.

Ulinawi

PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Pocahontas
By Rochelle Gollust


Broadcast: May 30, 2004
(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

People in America, a program in Special English on the Voice of
America.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

She lived almost four-hundred years ago in what became the American
state of Virginia. She was the first Native American to marry a
white person. I'm Shirley Griffith.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Ray Freeman. Today, we tell about Pocahontas, the daughter
of the chief of the Powhatan [POW-a-tan] Indian tribe.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Pocahontas was born in fifteen-ninety-five. She was one of twenty
children of Chief Powhatan. Powhatan ruled a group of more than
twenty Indian tribes in territory that is now the eastern state of
Virginia.

In sixteen-oh-seven, the Virginia company in England sent colonists
to settle the land that later became the United States of America.
The leader of the English settlers was John Ratcliffe. He claimed
the land for King James of England. He named the new colony
Jamestown, Virginia. The English colonists did not know that the
area already was settled by Indians.

VOICE TWO:

The Powhatan Indians lived in the area where the English colonists
landed. They were part of a large group of American tribes who spoke
the Algonquian language. The Powhatans had lived in the area for
almost one-thousand years. They built villages. They grew beans,
corn, squash and melons. They created a strong political system, led
by powerful chiefs like Powhatan. His power and wealth were evident.

Women of the tribes controlled the houses and the fields. They made
clothing of animal skins and containers of clay. Men hunted and
fished for food. Both men and women wore earrings and other objects
made of shells, pearls and copper.



The young Pocahontas often visited Jamestown during the colony's
first months. She was about twelve years old. The colonists knew her
well. She became an important link between the colonists and her
father, Powhatan.

VOICE ONE:

The Indians' culture was very different from that of the English
settlers. The two groups did not understand each other. The mis-
understandings led to hostile incidents between the colonists and
the Indians.

John Smith was an explorer, soldier and a leader of the Jamestown
colony. He was captured in sixteen-oh-seven by followers of
Powhatan. Captain Smith wrote about this incident in a book that was
published in sixteen-twenty-four. He wrote that Pocahontas saved him
from being executed by Powhatan. This story has been repeated for
hundreds of years. This is what most people know about Pocahontas.

VOICE TWO:

Most historians, however, do not believe that Pocahontas saved the
life of John Smith. Some believe that Captain Smith invented the
story after reading about a similar event that took place in
Florida. That event involved a captured Spanish explorer, an Indian
chief and the chief's daughter.

Some historians do not believe that John Smith's life was in danger.
They say that what Captain Smith thought was to be his execution was
really an Indian ceremony. The ceremony was meant to show that
Powhatan accepted Smith as part of his tribe. Historians say the
Indian chief wanted to make the English colonists his allies.

VOICE ONE:

After Captain Smith's capture, the Indians and the colonists agreed
to a truce. Pocahontas visited Jamestown more often. She may not
have really saved John Smith's life. But most experts agree that
Pocahontas helped the colonists. She brought them corn when they
were starving. She once was said to have warned the colonists about
a surprise attack by the Indians.

John Smith had been wounded during his capture. He returned to
England. Hostilities once again broke out between the Indians and
the English settlers. In sixteen-eleven, Thomas Dale became acting
governor of the colony. He started a new aggressive policy toward
the Indians. Two years later, an English soldier, Samuel Argall,
kidnapped Pocahontas. She was about eighteen years old. The
colonists kidnapped her because they wanted to prevent more attacks
by the Indians. They also wanted to force chief Powhatan to
negotiate a peace agreement.

VOICE TWO:

Pocahontas lived as a hostage in the Jamestown settlement for more
than a year. A colonist, John Rolfe, taught her English. He also
taught her the Christian religion. Pocahontas was the first Native
American to become Christian. She changed her name to Rebecca.

In sixteen-fourteen, she married John Rolfe in the church in
Jamestown. She was the first Indian woman to marry a white man. Her
husband believed that their marriage would be good for the colony.
John Rolfe said he married Pocahontas "for the honor of our country,
for the glory of God."

VOICE ONE:

Governor Dale immediately opened negotiations with Powhatan. The
result was a period of peace that lasted for about eight years.

Pocahontas' husband was a tobacco grower. She taught him the Indian
way of planting tobacco. This method improved the tobacco crop.
Tobacco later became America's first successful crop.

VOICE TWO:

In sixteen-fifteen, Pocahontas and John Rolfe had a son. They named
him Thomas. The next year Pocahontas and her family sailed to
England for a visit. In London, she was treated like a famous
person. She was officially presented to king James the First. She
also met John Smith again.

The Virginia Company said her visit proved that it was possible to
have good relations between the English colonists and the Indians.
The company urged more people to move from England to the Virginia
colony.

Pocahontas had her picture painted while visiting England. She is
wearing the clothes she wore when she met the King. They are the
kind of clothes that were popular in England in the sixteen-
hundreds. This picture is the only one that really is of her.

VOICE ONE:

Pocahontas and her family stayed in England for seven months. They
prepared to return to Jamestown. But Pocahontas became sick with
smallpox. She died from the disease. She was buried in Gravesend,
England. She was twenty-two years old.

Her son, Thomas Rolfe, was raised in England. When he was twenty, he
returned to Virginia. He lived as a settler in his mother's native
land. He married and had a daughter. Through Thomas Rolfe, a number
of famous Virginians have family ties to Pocahontas. These families
are proud to claim their ties to Pocahontas. They call
her "Virginia's First Lady. "

VOICE TWO:

Pocahontas left no writings of her own. The only reports about her
from the time we